Music Notes for the Third Sunday of Easter, April 19, 2026

April 17, 2026

Music Notes for the Third Sunday of Easter, April 19, 2026 Dr. John Michniewicz

The readings for the Third Sunday of Easter continue the focus on the events after Jesus’ resurrection, leading to the Gospel reading, which recounts the iconic narrative known as the “Road to Emmaus.” Here, the Risen Lord is recognized in the “Breaking of the Bread.” In the First Reading (Acts 2:14, 22–33) Peter proclaims that Jesus is the chosen Messiah of God, the One who was promised. Though he was cruciﬁed, he rose gloriously from the dead, appearing to his disciples. Peter’s clear pronouncement, titled by scholars as Kerygma (or proclamation) essentially calls to those hearing the message that they should repent, be baptized and live in the new life that Christ is offering. Peter quotes Psalm 16, referencing its author, David:

Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my ﬂesh, too, will dwell in hope,

because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life; you will ﬁll me with joy in your presence.

Psalm 16 is a “resurrection psalm,” essentially afﬁrming that God will not abandon his Holy One to the grave. In the context of the readings from the Third Sunday of Easter, it is a joyful declaration of the risen Christ. The ﬁnal verse: “You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever,” shows life as a journey that continues in the fullness of God’s eternal presence, a living hope for all. In the Second Reading, 1 Peter 1:17-23, Peter afﬁrms that redemption was part of God’s eternal plan before the foundation of the world, and that through Christ believers come to trust in God who raised Christ from the dead. Then the Gospel Reading, Luke 24:13-35, recounts the message of “The Road to Emmaus.” On the afternoon of the ﬁrst Easter day, two disciples are walking from Jerusalem toward the village of Emmaus, about seven miles distant, discussing the events of the cruciﬁxion. A stranger joins them, it is the Risen Christ, though “their eyes were kept from recognizing him.” The stranger listens to their grief and

confusion, then speaks about Moses and all the prophets to interpret for them all the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they arrive at Emmaus, they urge the stranger: “Stay with us, for it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” At the table, when the stranger takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, their eyes are opened, and in that instant of recognition, he vanishes from their sight. They say to one another: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” They return at once to Jerusalem to announce: “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon! He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” Scholars and theologians note that this narrative also serves as a foundational model for the Christian liturgy itself. There is a model for an overarching two-fold structure of the liturgy, Liturgy of the Word: the readings and an exposition on them (the homily) and then the Sacrament: recognition of Christ’s presence in the “Breaking of the Bread.”

Sunday’s Entrance Hymn is At The Lamb’s High Feast We Sing, (Worship Hymnal No. 512). The text, translated from the 4th-century Latin hymn Ad regias agni dapes (At the royal feast of the Lamb) connects the idea of the Hebrew Passover to Easter and Christ’s Resurrection. Many scholars believe that the hymn was written by St.

Ambrose (c. 339–397 AD) who was Bishop of Milan and one of the four original Doctors of the Church. Further, St. Ambrose is considered the “Father of Church Hymnody,” introducing congregational and antiphonal (responsive) singing to the Church. The hymn’s English translator, Robert Campbell (1814-1868) was a lawyer residing in Edinburgh, Scotland, a Presbyterian convert to Roman Catholicism. The “Lamb’s high feast” is a direct foreshadowing of the heavenly banquet and recalls the earthly table where Christ revealed himself to his disciples, and is revealed in the Eucharist. The hymn’s themes of resurrection victory, the Paschal Lamb, and the sacramental banquet reﬂect the readings from the third Sunday of Easter. The majestic, but straightforward and singable hymn tune, “SALZBURG”, was written by Jakob Hintze (1622-1702), and most hymnals now use the 17th century harmonization by Johann Sebastian Bach.

At the Lamb’s high feast we sing

Praise to our victorious King, Who has washed us in the tide Flowing from his pierced side. Praise we him, whose love divine Gives his sacred Blood for wine, Gives his Body for the feast:

Christ the victim, Christ the priest.

Where the Paschal blood is poured, Death’s dark angel sheathes his sword; Israel’s hosts triumphant go

Through the wave that drowns the foe. Praise we Christ, whose blood was shed, Paschal victim, Paschal bread;

With sincerity and love Eat we manna from above.

Mighty victim from on high, Hell’s ﬁerce pow’rs beneath you lie; You have conquered in the ﬁght, You have brought us life and light. Now no more can death appall, Now no more the grave enthrall; You have opened paradise,

And in you your saints shall rise.

Easter triumph, Easter joy, This alone can sin destroy;

From sin’s pow’r, Lord, set us free, Newborn souls in you to be.

Father, who the crown shall give, Savior, by whose death we live, Spirit, guide through all our days:

Three in One, your name we praise.

Here is an impression rendition for Choir, Brass and Percussion as sung at the Basilica of the Nation Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMifhBSeTgI

The Presentation Hymn, As We Gather at Your Table, (Worship Hymnal No. 831) also reﬂects the readings from the Third Sunday of Easter. The hymn echoes the themes of community, communion and the presence of Christ. In the ﬁrst and third verses, we see Christ as the personiﬁcation of Love. Michael Hawn observes that in the ﬁrst verse, Love is shown as being victorious, “Teach us through this holy banquet, how to make Love’s victory known,” a clear reference to Christ’s victory over death through the Resurrection. In the third verse, Love is shown as both “triumphant” and “welcoming.” This is a reference to the triumph of Christ on the cross (stated at the end of the second stanza) as well as Christ who extends the invitation to all, even the “last and least,” aligning perfectly with the disciples seeing Jesus in the “breaking of the bread.” The second verse references the mission of the disciples to share Christ’s peace, compassion and forgiveness to all in the world. In the third verse, it is the Eucharist that gives strength for the church’s mission. The phrase “repeat the sounding joy,” is a reference to the famous Christmas hymn, Joy to the World. Here, it also brings the idea that the banquet is one that is ongoing, on earth and in heaven with the saints.

As We Gather At Your Table

As we gather at your Table, As we listen to your word,

Help us know, O God, your presence; Let our hearts and minds be stirred. Nourish us with sacred story

Till we claim it as our own;

Teach us through this holy banquet How to make Love’s vict’ry known.

Turn our worship into witness In the sacrament of life;

Send us forth to love and serve you, Bringing peace where there is strife. Give us, Christ, your great compassion To forgive as you forgave;

May we still behold your image In the world you died to save.

Gracious Spirit, help us summon Other guests to share that feast Where triumphant Love will welcome Those who had been last and least. There no more will envy blind us

Nor will pride our peace destroy, As we join with saints and angels To repeat the sounding joy.

At the 11:30 Mass Presentation, the choir will offer K. Lee Scott’s jubilant anthem, Joy to the Heart. K. Lee Scott (b. 1950) is a highly respected American composer of sacred music celebrated for his elegant contemporary style. This anthem echoes the joyful reaction of the disciples when they realized the traveler on the road was in fact the risen Christ. The anthem uses the text “Joy! joy! joy to the heart, and all in this good day’s dawning” as a repeated refrain, further emphasizing the disciples’ joyfulness following Christ’s resurrection. The writer, John Frederic Bennet

(1920-1991) was a poet and English professor, at Beloit College and Indiana University among others. His text captures both Jesus’ divinity and a relatable, accessible humanity, using contemporary sounding language to describe Christ as “our Brother,” and that Christ’s “hurt hands” and “darkest hurt” brings “life on life for you and me.” The text, straightforward and relatable, still has though a profound depth and sophistication. Further, Scott’s music uses brass fanfares, uplifting, majestic melodic lines and triumphal sounding music to celebrate Christ’s

resurrection and the joy it brings to all believers. The word “dawning” in the refrain also has a double signiﬁcance. There is the “dawning,” of course, of Easter morning and Jesus’ resurrection, but also there is the “dawning” realization by the disciples that the stranger on the Emmaus road is the risen Christ. In its text and music, Joy to the Heart celebrates the risen Christ, echoing the Emmaus disciples’ encounter with the stranger who transforms their grief into joy.

Joy To the Heart!

Look there! the Christ, our Brother, comes resplendent from the gallows tree and what he brings in his hurt hands

is life on life for you and me.

Refrain: Joy! joy! joy to the heart and all in this good day’s dawning.

Joy! joy! joy to the heart

and all in this good day’s dawning.

Good Jesus Christ inside his pain looked down Golgotha’s stony slope and let the blood ﬂow from his ﬂesh

to ﬁll the springs of living hope. Refrain

Good Jesus Christ, our Brother died in darkest hurt upon the tree

to offer us the worlds of light

that live inside the Trinity. Refrain

Look there! the Christ, our Brother, comes resplendent from the gallows tree and what he brings in his hurt hands

is life on life for you and me. Refrain

Here is a magniﬁcent performance of Joy to the Heart as presented by the choir, organ and brass ensemble at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61NDvy7wgGU

The Communion Hymn, In The Breaking of the Bread (Worship Hymnal No. 944) provides a direct musical setting of Luke 24:35, reinforcing the moment of recognition in the Emmaus story. The refrain draws directly from the climactic line of today’s Gospel: the Emmaus disciples’ announcement that the Risen Lord “was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” This hymn, as a communion processional hymn, accompanies the act of coming forward to receive the Eucharist. In a way, it enacts the moment of recognition described in the Gospel, illustrating the encounter of the two disciples with Christ. The ﬁve brief verses are drawn from the Communion Antiphons for the Sundays of Easter, weaving together the individual encounter of Emmaus with the collective witness of the early Church.

Writer Delores Dufner is an American sacred music composer, librettist, and organist whose works have been included in Catholic hymnals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Dufner is a nun of the Order of Saint Benedict at Saint Benedict’s Monastery in Saint Joseph, Minnesota. She is on the faculty of Saint Benedict’s College and Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota. Composer Michel Guimont (born 1950) is a prominent Canadian composer, organist, and choral director, recognized for his work in sacred music.

Since 1991, he has served as the director of music at the Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica in Ottawa, where he is a well-known ﬁgure in Canadian liturgical music.

Refrain:

In the breaking of the bread

We have come to know the Lord, And in drinking from the cup We have shared the life of God.

As we walk the dusty road,

Sharing all our doubts and fears, Someone joins us on the way,

Gives us hope in place of tears. Refrain

As we gather on this day, As we hear the stories told, In the story of the cross

Our life’s meaning will unfold. Refrain

Like disciples long ago, On path by faith begun, In the joy of Easter light,

We will meet the Risen One. Refrain

At the banquet Jesus blessed, We remember and give praise, For the gracious love of God, Overﬂowing all our days. Refrain

Let us, as we walk the road, Meet the stranger as a friend; Let us, with the Risen Christ,

Travel till our journey’s end. Refrain

Following Communion at the 11:30 Mass, the choir performs Egil Hovland’s Stay with Us. Hovland (1924–2013) was one of Norway’s most distinguished and proliﬁc composers of the twentieth century, with a wide-ranging and cosmopolitan musical education. In addition to his studies with prominent European composers, he also even studied with Aaron Copland and Tanglewood. Hovland wrote in an extraordinary range of styles, Norwegian-Romantic, Gregorian-inﬂuenced,

neo-classical, twelve-tone, aleatoric, and serial, yet his sacred choral output is characterized above all by lyrical accessibility and a deep spiritual sensitivity. His output includes two symphonies, a trumpet concerto, a Norwegian Te Deum, a

Gloria, a Magniﬁcat, and numerous works for organ. His original Norwegian anthem

Bli hos oss, (Stay with us) is among his most beloved pieces.

This anthem weaves together Luke 24:29, the disciples’ plea to the unrecognized Jesus, “Stay with us, for it is almost evening,” with the ancient Greek evening hymn Phos Hilaron (O Gracious Light) one of the oldest surviving Christian hymns, dating from at least the fourth century. The fusion of these two texts is theologically interesting: the Emmaus disciples’ invitation to the stranger to remain becomes, in Hovland’s setting, inseparable from the ancient Christian practice of welcoming the Light of Christ at evening prayer. The “world’s true light” who “shines so the darkness cannot overcome it” is recognized simultaneously as Jesus on the Emmaus road and as the eternal Word, who is the light of the world. The evocative imagery, combined with Hovland’s serene and luminous choral writing, makes Stay with Us a perfectly realized Easter meditation.

Musically, the anthem transitions from a quiet, prayerful, petition at the beginning of the work to a powerful proclamation of Christ’s enduring presence. Starting in a major key sonority, the middle section then sets the text: “Jesus Christ the world’s true light, Shine so the darkness cannot overcome it!” in a faster tempo and contrasting minor key sonority. This section, using just the upper voices, emphasizes the idea of light shining from above. The return of a rich sounding, darker, fuller voicing with the added tenors and basses gives a sense of complete conﬁdence and security with the return of the text, “Stay with us, Lord Jesus, it soon is evening, Stay with us, Lord Jesus, for night is falling.” This time though, set in a higher key, the music emphasizes a serene, but more intensive statement of the text. Although a miniature composition, it shows an exquisite and sophisticated style in its calm and straightforward sounding outlook, but one that is highly profound in its affect and message.

Stay with us, Lord Jesus, Stay with us.

Stay with us, it soon is evening, And night is falling.

Jesus Christ the world’s true light!

Shine so the darkness cannot overcome it!

Stay with us, Lord Jesus, it soon is evening, Stay with us, Lord Jesus, for night is falling.

Here is a beautifully sung version of Stay With Us, as sung at the Basilica of Mary by the National Lutheran Choir in Minneapolis, Minnesota. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmO0MUBr1Fk

Sunday’s Final Hymn is Christ the Lord Is Risen Today (No. 496 in the Worship Hymnal). This hymn was written by Charles Wesley (1707–1788) in 1739, initially under the title Hymn for Easter Day. Charles Wesley, one of the most proliﬁc and arguably the greatest hymn writers in the English language, is thought to have composed over 6,000 hymns during his lifetime. This Easter hymn was ﬁrst sung at the Foundry Meeting House in London, a large church converted from a former iron foundry.

Wesley drew inspiration from an older anonymous text Jesus Christ Is Risen Today, which had appeared in an English translation of the medieval Latin Surrexit Christus hodie in the 1708 collection Lyra Davidica (Harp of David). Wesley’s language assembles a tapestry of scriptural allusion, drawing on Matthew 28, 1 Corinthians 15, Colossians 3 and the Psalms. Jesus’ resurrection is celebrated in an uplifting song of praise, serving as a call to discipleship and a victorious afﬁrmation of faith. The hymn tune LLANFAIR was written by Welsh composer Robert Williams (1782 – 1818) the year before he died. It was named for the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyll (!) on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales.

Here is the Choir and Brass Ensemble in 2024 at Old South Church in Boston performing

Christ the Lord Is Risen Today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04gLvzfId_s