At the suggestion of the author, I provide below a list of suggested Communion psalms to be sung during the Divine Service throughout the year. This same material is found as an appendix in both The Lutheran Gradual (2017) and Lutheran Offertories and Communions (2019).
—Matthew Carver
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In the traditional liturgy of Holy Communion inherited by all churches that trace their liturgical roots to Latin Christendom, some of the proper chants change each Sunday. Of these, the only ones retained by the Lutheran Church are from the Service of the Word: the Introit, Gradual (or Tract), and Alleluia Verse. The proper chants from from the Service of the Sacrament were not retained: the Offertory and Communion chants. In the Lutheran Churches of North America, the Offertory has become an Ordinary; only one or two textual options are given in Lutheran Service Book, for example, and there is no provision for a Communion Psalm or chant.
In St. Louis at Emmaus Lutheran Church, about 2008–2017, there arose a practical need for reestablishing the Communion chant in the form of a proper Communion Psalm. The congregation was small, it celebrated the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day, and the organist wanted to commune each time. When the organist would commune, there was a space of time in which there was no music. To provide beautiful music to adorn the reception of the Holy Supper, the following schedule of Communion Psalms was developed.
The Communion Psalms were chosen based on the traditional Communion chants. If a Communion cited a verse or two of a Psalm, the cantors at Emmaus would sing a larger selection from that same Psalm, including the traditional Communion text, from The Brotherhood Prayer Book. (Emmanuel Press, 2005, 2007). If the traditional Communion was taken from one of the Gospels, from the Apocrypha, or another liturgical text, we substituted a Psalm that was related to the Gospel for the day, or that prophesied Christ and His Church, or that foreshadowed the Lord’s Supper. Thus the Emmaus Communion Psalms list was developed. It is offered here in the hopes that Evangelical Lutheran churches will embrace Psalmody, the “prayerbook of the Bible,” more fully in their worship of the one true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
—Benjamin T. G. Mayes,
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN.
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COMMUNION PSALMS FOR THE CHURCH YEAR
Advent
Advent I Ps. 85:6–13
Advent II Ps. 24
Advent III Ps. 90:11–17
Advent IV Ps. 80
Christmastide
Christmas Eve (Midnight) Ps. 110
Christmas Day Ps. 19
Sunday after Christmas Ps. 72:1–9
Circumcision & Name of Jesus Ps. 8
Sunday after New Year Ps. 145:1–7
Epiphanytide
Epiphany Ps. 72:10–19
Epiphany I (The Octave / Baptism of Our Lord) Ps. 45:1–8
Epiphany II Ps. 128
Epiphany III Ps. 105:6–11
Epiphany IV Ps. 119:89–96
Epiphany V Ps. 32
Epiphany VI / Transfiguration Ps. 2
Pre-Lent, Lent, & Passiontide
Septuagesima Ps. 31:12–18
Sexagesima Ps. 43
Quinquagesima Ps. 78:22–29
Ash Wednesday Ps. 51:1–11
Lent I (Invocavit) Ps. 91:3–13
Lent II (Reminiscere) Ps. 5
Lent III (Oculi) Ps. 84
Lent IV (Laetare) Ps. 122
Lent V (Judica) Ps. 119:25–32
Holy Week
Palmarum Ps. 22:1–11
Maundy Thursday Ps. 111
Easter Day, Monday, Tuesday Ps. 118:19–29
Easter I (Quasimodogeniti) Ps. 81:10–16
Easter II (Misericordias Domini) Ps. 23
Easter III (Jubilate) Ps. 146
Easter IV (Cantate) Ps. 66:1–12
Easter V (Rogate) Ps. 96
Ascension Day Ps. 68:24–35
Sunday after Ascension (Exaudi) Ps. 47
Whitsunday, Monday, Tuesday Ps. 104:27–35
Trinitytide
Holy Trinity Ps. 33:1–12
Trinity I Ps. 41
Trinity II Ps. 13
Trinity III Ps. 25:8–14
Trinity IV Ps. 44:17–26
Trinity V Ps. 18:1–15
Trinity VI Ps. 27
Trinity VII Ps. 105:39–45
Trinity VIII Ps. 31:1–8
Trinity IX Ps. 34:1–10
Trinity X Ps. 74:10-17
Trinity XI Ps. 51:12-19
Trinity XII Ps. 147:12-20
Trinity XIII Ps. 104:13–23
Trinity XIV Ps. 36:5-10
Trinity XV Ps. 146:5-10
Trinity XVI Ps. 102:12-22
Trinity XVII Ps. 71:15-24
Trinity XVIII Ps. 100
Trinity XIX Ps. 96:7-13
Trinity XX Ps. 119:1-8
Trinity XXI Ps. 119:49-56
Trinity XXII Ps. 119:81-88
Trinity XXIII Ps. 17:4-15
Trinity XXIV Ps. 116:10-19
Trinity XXV Ps. 46
Trinity XXVI Ps. 50:1-15
Trinity XXVII – The Last Sunday of the Church Year Ps. 45:9–17
Common of Saints
Apostles’ and Evangelists’ Days Ps. 19
Martyrs’ Days Ps. 46
Confessors’ Days Ps. 21
Virgins’ Days Ps. 45
Proper of Saints
The Circumcision and Name of Jesus (Jan. 1) Ps. 98
The Presentation of Our Lord / Purification (Feb. 2) Ps. 65
The Annunciation (March 25) Ps. 72
The Nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24) Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79)
St. Peter and St. Paul (June 29) Ps. 46
The Visitation (July 2) Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)
St. Mary Magdalene (July 22) Ps. 119:121–128
St. Bartholomew (Aug. 24) Ps. 9:1-10
St. Michael & All Angels (Sep. 29) Ps. 103:13–22
The Festival of the Reformation (Oct. 31) Ps. 118:13–18
All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) Ps. 148:8–14
Dedication of a Church Ps. 84
