The Fourth Sunday of Lent and Qingming Jie
This weekend, the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Catholics all over the world chanted the same familiar Psalm. The Lord is my Shepherd; There is nothing I shall want. It's a Psalm we often associate with funerals. We sang it here in Beijing as well. 上主是我的牧者，我实在一无所缺 (Shàng zhǔ shì wǒ de mù zhě, wǒ shízài yī wú suǒ quē).
What was striking once more this year was the concurrence of the Lectionary readings and the Chinese calendar. In January, we heard the Beatitudes during Spring Festival, the Christian definition of "blessed" (in Chinese 有福的) a stark contrast to the same words' meaning in the context of Chinese New Year. This Tuesday is Qingming Jie, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day. It is the traditional holiday to tend to ancestral graves. Last year, Qingming Jie came after Easter, so it does not always fall during Lent. But this year it did, and we heard a Requiem Psalm as millions are travelling to old hometowns to remember their families' dead.
This is what it sounded like.
What was striking once more this year was the concurrence of the Lectionary readings and the Chinese calendar. In January, we heard the Beatitudes during Spring Festival, the Christian definition of "blessed" (in Chinese 有福的) a stark contrast to the same words' meaning in the context of Chinese New Year. This Tuesday is Qingming Jie, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day. It is the traditional holiday to tend to ancestral graves. Last year, Qingming Jie came after Easter, so it does not always fall during Lent. But this year it did, and we heard a Requiem Psalm as millions are travelling to old hometowns to remember their families' dead.
This is what it sounded like.
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