YOM HA SHOAH  Lectionary #892
For daily Mass, observance of the Easter weekday takes precedence. But parishes may wish to observe this memorial in other ways on this date or at a special service shared with Jewish and Christian neighbors.

Shoah is the Hebrew word for “whirlwind.” It is the term used in the title Yom HaShoah (“Day of the Whirlwind”) to described the conflagration that swept up six million Jewish souls between 1938 and 1945. Every year, on Yom HaShoah, our Jewish brothers and sisters remember the martyrs who sanctified the name of the Holy One in the camps, the ghettos, and in the gas chambers. Even in the midst of our Easter festivities, we ought to pause with them to remember the martyrs, including, for us, many Christian martyrs among an additional six million people who died in the Shoah with the six million Jewish people.

Services on this day, especially in Israel, begin with silence, a pause to remember the six million. People are invited, in this silence, to take time to remember what happened, whether we understand it or not. We can take the time to focus our thoughts on how we can strengthen our faith in the Holy One in the wake of tragedy. We can take the time to contemplate what needs to be said about the tragedies, and how to say it. Silence affords us these opportunities.

Remembrance services also usually involve the lighting of candles, at least six—one for each million who died.

Although Yom HaShoah falls during the Easter Season, we might use appropriate readings, psalms, and songs in a non-Eucharistic service on this day, or at least remember the Shoah in intercession and sung prayer during the Eucharist. (We do not change the readings and other assigned texts for Mass or the liturgy of the hours, however.)

Here are some suggestions. The readings are taken from Lectionary #892-896: For Reconciliation, and from 927-932: For Refugees and Exiles and For Those Held in Captivity. The suggested songs are intended for use by a Christian congregation. (Choices of readings and songs for a shared service with Jews on Yom HaShoah, of course, should be made by a joint committee.)

Amos 5:4, 14-15, 21-24 (892-3)
The prophet calls on the people to let their worship be reflected in their deeds of justice.

Psalm 130 (894-2)
This individual lament is composed in three sections: a call to God to hear the psalmist’s plea (vv. 1-3), an affirmation of trust in God (vv. 4-6), and an invitation to the community to maintain trust in God (vv. 7-8).

Contigo, Mi Dios, Piedad (Hurd)  FYC 573/GP 276
Del Señor Viene la Misericordia (Schiavone)  FYC 571
For with the Lord There Is Steadfast Love (chant) BFW 527-528
La Misericordia Viene del Señor (Purtill)  FYC 572
Out of the Depths (chant)  BFW 84
Out of the Depths (Currie, Gelineau)  RS 175, ant. III/WOR 71
Out of the Depths (Gerrish)  JS 235/WC 520
Out of the Depths (Soper)  GP 277/JS 244
Óyenos, Señor (Rubalcava)  Cantos del Pueblo de Dios 80/WC 437
With Our God There Is Mercy (Manion)  GP 275
With the Lord There Is Mercy (Carroll, Gelineau)  RS 175, ant. IV/WOR 211
With the Lord There Is Mercy (Haugen)  GC 127/GC2 71/RS 176
With the Lord There Is Mercy (Joncas)  GP 344/JS 769
With the Lord There Is Mercy (Jordan)  LMGM 512
With the Lord There Is Mercy (O’Carroll) CH 118
With the Lord There is Mercy (Roberts)  LMGM 511

Romans 12:9-16b (928-1)
Let love be sincere.

Matthew 25:31-46 (932)
The final judgment is based on our care for those unable to care for themselves. “As long as you did it for one of these least, you did it for me.”

Other Songs

Abundant Life (Duck)  GC 710/GC2 703/RS 636
All You Who Pass This Way (Berthier)  GC 421/RS 567/WOR 440
An Evening Prayer (Battersby)  LMGM 312
Attende Domine/Draw Near, O Lord  WC 521
Change Our Hearts (Cooney)  GP 349
Come, Let Us to the Lord, Our God  CH 243
Comfort, Comfort, O My People  GC 326/GC2 331/JS 159/RS 488/WC 473/WOR 370
Comfort My People  CH 171
Comfort My People (Misetich)  JS 564
Deep Down in My Soul: Psalm 103 (Haas)  GC 880
Diverse in Culture, Nation, Race (Duck)  GC 739/GC2 729/RS 837
Escúchanos, Señor/Attende Domine  Cantos del Pueblo de Dios 29/FYC 100
For the Healing of the Nations (Kaan)  GC 719/GC2 712/JS 472/RS 823/WC 926/WOR 643
Give Me a Clean Heart (Douroux)  LMGM 279
Healer of Our Every Ill (Haugen)  GC 882/GC2 854/RS 958/WC 668
Hear Our Entreaties, Lord/Attende Domine  CH 238
Hear Us, Almighty Lord/Attende Domine  GC 387/RS 552/WOR 414
I Will Not Die (Conry)  GC 657/GP 716/JS 552/RS 771
In Love We Choose to Live (Cotter)  GC 873
Lead Me, Guide Me (Akers)  GC 574/GC2 555/LMGM 168/RS 712/WC 777
Let Justice Roll Like a River (Haugen)  GC 716/GC2 709
Lord of All Nations, Grant Me Grace  CH 612/GC 634/GC2 602/RS 751/WC 764/WOR 602
Make Us True Servants (Wente)  WC 923
My Soul Is Longing  WC 849
Out of the Depths We Cry (Dufner)  CH 246
Passionate God (Fulmer)  JS 680
Precious Lord, Take My Hand (Dorsey)  GP 478/JS 572/LMGM 162/WC 841
Remember Your Love (Balhoff et al.)  GP 474
Remember Your Mercy, Lord: Psalm 25 (Inwood)  GC 885/GP 476/JS 603
The Cry of the Poor: Psalm 34 (Foley)   GC 48/GC2 33/GP 203/JS 635/RS 69
The God of Abraham Praise (Yigdal)  GC 544/JS 779/RS 685/WOR 537
Voices That Challenge (Haas)  GC 721/GC2 702
We Cannot Measure How You Heal (Bell)  GC 575/GC2 558
Whatsoever You Do (Jabusch)  CH 609/GC 670/GC2 656/GP 558/JS 613/WC 934
When from Bondage (Dufner)  CH 252
You Have Rescued Me (Dufford)  GP 475