March 6, 2022 : 1st Sunday of Lent
The antiphon relates to the Gospel of the day, specifically Lk 4:4:
It is written, One does not live on bread alone.
Jesus, however, only quotes the first half of the quotation from Deut 8:3, which provides the genesis for the antiphon:
so you might know that it is not by bread alone that people live,
but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.
The Missal version of the antiphon runs
One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. (Mt 4:4, the Gospel of Year A)
Since the Psallite antiphon was composed before the current Missal text was available, it was influenced by the ICEL 1998 Antiphonal:
We do not live on bread alone
but on every word that God has spoken
The Word without whom we cannot live comes to us at every Mass as the Body and Blood of Christ under the signs of bread and wine.
The psalm verses are taken from Ps 19 as suggested by the 1998 Antiphonal and by the current Missal.
The antiphon music deliberately makes use of phrases from the hymn tune PICARDY for ease of use by the people. A simple canon forms part of the vocal descants, while a drone note runs through the entire setting, anchoring it firmly. The optional keyboard accompaniment to the antiphon includes additional canonic motifs.
An extract from the recording on the album We Will Follow You, Lord will be found here.
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