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Use: Lent, Triduum
Required Resources: 3-part choir
Language: English
During the latter part of Lent through Good Friday, the Church encourages us to meditate on the mystery of the cross.
This anthem is an effective way to draw the congregation into that mystery through music.
The beautiful text of this piece comes from the Byzantine Liturgy and from The Imitation of Christ:
Lord, on your cross we worship you.
We praise and glorify your holy Resurrection.
By the wood of the cross, joy has come to all the world.
This antiphon can be sung before and after four optional verses.
The last time, a Coda is added:
In the cross there is salvation, there is life.
And by the wood of the cross, joy has come to all the world.
Sr. Edith Scholl OCSO is a Trappistine nun of Mount Saint Mary Abbey in Wrentham, Massachusetts.
She wrote On Your Cross in three voice parts, for the contemplative nuns of the Abbey.
It can be sung equally effectively by a three-part male choir.
The optional verses from Psalm 71 are taken from the new Revised Grail Psalter, set to a three-part original psalm tone.
The work is meant for a cappella singing (like all CNP motets, it has a piano reduction for rehearsal), and would be ideal for use during the latter part of Lent, particularly on Palm Sunday or Good Friday.
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