Dan Schutte
On a purely temporal level and as a music lover, it's a lousy, sappy, dated song.
On a spiritual level it's a non-focused humanistic window dressing feel-good pop song that has not a thing to do with the sacred liturgy or our history.
The melodic structure you hear in our sacred music dates back to what was heard in the temples of the Israelites before our Lord walked the earth. It's the soundtrack of our faith. Such brings with it reverence and offers depth and meaning.
The poppy self-help pop songs bring with them a feeling of wanting to tie a rock to my head and jump in the river behind my house.
See as someone growing up to it in the 80's it had no semblance of pop to it anymore.
I agree it is about feelings, and its a feel good song. It doesn't speak of repentence for sins, or anything like that. In that aspect its wrong, but it is a nice melody, turns people to focus on God, and it talks of His unending and limitless Love for His people.
This is the first time I can recall thinking seriously about those songs, other than reflecting on how they apply to life and their message.
Thank you for that wonderful paragraph.
As I understand my music history, it was Pope Gregory (the Great?) who gathered the music together, had it written down, and enhanced its use in the mass. Same exact melodies used by Hebrews, cantor and congregation...he wrote down the music in a form that our present day evolved from, from 3, to 4, to 5 lines.
Also, I have read that there are portions of the brain that remain inactive throughout life, unless/until awakened by "Gregorian Chant." To hear the Trappist monks is awesome...
No wonder OCD turns me off. I was surprised to find one song in the OCD missalette--but not in Glory and Praise, iirc-- "The King of Glory Comes" (our priest only uses it once a year, on Christ the King Sunday) and the melody was said to be an ancient Israeli melody...when Hub plays that one, I always feel like dancing.