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Songs That Make a Difference (in the faith life of American Catholics)
National Association of Pastoral Musicians ^

Posted on 01/23/2006 7:53:15 AM PST by NYer

Here are some of the selections that we have received from respondents to the survey of liturgical songs that have made a difference in the faith life of American Catholics.


All Are Welcome
Text and music: Marty Haugen, b. 1950.
I believe that the words really are words for our time, both for our Church and our world. They tell us who we ought to be and what we are to be about as Catholic Christians. It calls us to be who we say we are. When we sing it at our parish I feel a real sense of community, even though I know we have a long way to go to be the ideal Christian community. When we sing it I experience a sense of unity even as it challenges us to strive together to become that more ideal Christian community. (Linda Corey, Eau Claire, WI )

Ave Verum Corpus
Text: Ascr. to Innocent VI, d. 1362. Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756 - 1791.
In 2001, after 9/11, my church in New York City did a memorial concert and produced a CD to raise money for the firefighters' and rescue workers' widows. We chose Ave Verum among others, because it poignantly confronts suffering and yet it proclaims the core truth of our faith: Christ's suffering (and ours) is redemptive; he is with us in life, in the Eucharist forever, and in death that opens to eternity with him. (Colleen Baxter, Sarasota, FL )

Be Not Afraid
Text: Based on Is 43:2-3; Lk 6:20 ff.; Bob Dufford, sj , b. 1943. Music: Bob Dufford, b. 1943.
The message, "Be Not Afraid," is stressed multiple times by prophets, disciples, and Christ himself! This is the story of my life and this is the true word of God. He is always with us; hence be afraid of nothing! It gives much hope, comfort, and peace - things we all desire and strive for. (Andrew Berthold, Omaha, NE )

Here I Am, Lord
Text and music: Dan Schutte, b. 1947
I first heard this song shortly after publication when my sister completed her training for youth ministry. It spoke clearly of her reasons for vocation, and she and he husband (whom she met during training) still work in the field for the Oakland Diocese. Most of my family members have served our parishes as musicians, singers, CCD teachers, and ministers of the Eucharist. I still get a lump in my throat when I sing this hymn. How else do you respond to the Lord's call but to use his gifts in service to others? (Steven West, Morton Grove, IL)

Lord of All Hopefulness
Text: Jan Struther, 1901 - 1953. Tune: SLANE.
I have long loved this hymn as a prayer for God's blessing throughout the day, but it took on a new meaning as a prayer of blessing and thanks for a life when we used it for the funerals of my father and mother. (Gordon E. Truitt, Sykesville, MD)

I remember the first time I heard Lord of All Hopefulness . It was a rainy day and we were having Morning Prayer in the center hall instead of in church. I was in first grade and didn't have my own book or know the words to the hymn. I looked lost to an older boy with a book, who let me read over his shoulder. I thought it was really nice of him and now whenever I hear this song I remember it. I also think this hymn is very calming and peaceful. It makes me feel relaxed and makes me think about how God is always with me through anything. Our music teacher told us this morning that it is not only about him being there all day, but all throughout our lives, and the end of the day is like the end of our lives, and God is with us through all of it. That is why Lord of All Hopefulness is special to me. (Maria Lattanzio, Immaculate Conception Regional School , Franklin , NJ )

My Soul Is Thirsting (Ps 63)
Music: Michael Joncas, b. 1951
I find the psalms to be the richest source of my prayers. I am constantly amazed that a poet from 3,000 years ago has put into words the same experience of God that I have. Psalm 63 is one of my favorites and this setting has enabled me to memorize the psalm and keep it with me, no matter how far I may be from my Bible. (Terri Miyamoto, Staten Island, NY)

Pescador de Hombres
Text and music: Cesáreo Gabaráin, 1936 - 1991
This hymn was truly inspired by our heavenly Father as is expressed through the very eloquent expression of Gabaráin as he makes "eye contact" with the Spirit of Jesus. I have visited Catholic liturgies all over the world and have rejoiced to hear this unifying hymn sung in many different languages. This is the most requested hymn when our choir is asked to sing for funerals, weddings, birthdays, etc. (Cordelia Garcia, Santa Fe, NM)

Praise to the Lord
Text: Joachim Neander, 1650 - 1680; tr. by Catherine Winkworth, 1827 - 1878.
Music: LOBE DEN HERREN; Straslund Gesangbuch, 1665.
It is a great hymn of praise known to many Christians, Catholic and Protestant. When I was in college and sang in a concert choir, this hymn served as our theme, sung at the beginning of our concerts. When I passed my exam for my master's degree, I joyfully sang this hymn (all five of the original stanzas) on my way home in the car. I learned it in my Lutheran childhood and still use it in Catholic music ministry. (Naomi Matthews, Madison, WI)

Salve Regina
Text: attr. to Hermanus Contractus, 1013 - 1054. Music: Chant, Mode V
Connects us to 700 years of Catholics, and in its style and mood, really back to at least the seventh century. Together, the living and the dead make up the "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews), and we are connected to the great saints of the past who sang these very words to this very melody. (Joe Mulrooney, Rochester, NY)

Tantum Ergo
Text: Thomas Aquinas, 1227 - 1274. Tune: ST. THOMAS
It connects with the early days of my faith life and I still find myself humming it. (Peggy D'Elia, San Francisco, CA )

The Cross of Love Blessing Prayer
Text and music: Rufino Zaragoza, OFM
This song unites people to the cross in a way that makes the cross something one would eagerly want to take up as it is a cross of love. . . . I cried and cried the first time I read the words. It struck a nerve deep within me, close to my heart.

An odd occurrence happened the first time I used this song. I included it as a song after communion for everyone to sing on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On that Sunday I started the song and then heard strange sounds of metal clanging. I had no way of knowing this, but found out afterwards that an elderly man in the rear pew of the church had collapsed after receiving communion and an ambulance was called. We sang as they laid him on the stretcher, and as we sang the last note of the song, the ambulance workers were out the door. I of course had no idea of all that had transpired downstairs in the main body of the church, although the cantor's eyes were quite wide and her facial expressions a little unusual. It was even more startling to realize that the opening words of the song are, "May the Lord bless and keep you till your journey is complete." Fortunately the gentleman had not completed his journey just yet and was given the medical treatment needed. It was a strange coincidence for sure, but certainly for that gentleman a fitting song for the moment and a beautiful song celebrating the cross and our call to discipleship. (Katherine M. Joseph, Merrimack, NH )

The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Text: Henry Williams Baker, 1821 - 1877. Music: ST. COLUMBA, trad. Irish melody
This wonderful combination of inspired text and beautiful hymnody has found its way into my heart on many occasions, from mourning the tragic death of a young student to celebrating with my parish community. Henry Baker's text does brilliant justice not only to the psalm (23) itself, but to the remarkably well-intertwined themes of trust, faith, love, providence, reconciliation, and hope. Equally as impressive to me is the way that this extraordinary hymn-tune and the emphases of the text complement each other, within each verse and through the piece as a whole, creating a musical journey from quiet gratitude to awe-inspired joy. (Tony Ward, Omaha, NE )

The Lord Is My Hope
Text and music by M. D. Ridge
This song has been my source of strength during some of the toughest, hardest times of my life. It's so easy for shadows to confuse our vision or sorrow to claim one's heart, but the Lord is there always to help those who rely on him and his assistance and love. I find courage to move forward with this song. My Shepherd and King is forever with me; I know that I DON'T walk alone. (Patricia McGinley, Philadelphia, PA )

Voices That Challenge
Text and music by David Haas, b. 1957
When we first used this song at the campus ministry at James Madison University in Virginia , a young woman came up after Mass with tears in her eyes and said, "I've never heard anyone mention AIDS in church before. My brother died of AIDS, and I've been afraid to tell anyone about him, until now." Ironically, I had considered not singing that verse, because I didn't want to offend anyone. the young woman was voice that challenged me to keep singing for those who need their voices heard. (Steve Raml, Glendale, AZ )

We Are Called
Text and music by David Haas, b. 1957
This song speaks to me as a Christian who is called to make a difference in my world, whether that's in my family, my neighborhood, my work, or my main ministry, which is serving the people in Haiti through the PTPA program. It also reminds me of God's call to me that I experienced when I made a Cursillo weekend in 1995. (Mary Rehovsky, Nashville, TN )


TOPICS: Activism; Apologetics; Catholic; Current Events; General Discusssion; History; Ministry/Outreach; Prayer; Religion & Culture; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: christianmusic; hymns; music
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1 posted on 01/23/2006 7:53:17 AM PST by NYer
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To: american colleen; Lady In Blue; Salvation; narses; SMEDLEYBUTLER; redhead; Notwithstanding; ...
How about a little sing along :-)

Bob Soren's Hymn-type MIDI Sequences

2 posted on 01/23/2006 7:54:33 AM PST by NYer (Discover the beauty of the Eastern Catholic Churches - freepmail me for more information.)
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To: NYer

What, no "Eagles Wings"?

Just so you know, I will bear a deep and lasting grudge as long as "Here I Am, Lord" is gnawing away at my brain.


3 posted on 01/23/2006 8:01:36 AM PST by heartwood
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To: NYer
What, no "lord of the Dance"? < / sarcasm>

Some of these songs("here I am Lord") give me the creeps.

4 posted on 01/23/2006 8:01:43 AM PST by conservonator (Pray for those suffering)
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To: NYer

Pange Lingua for me.

For my children The King of Love My Shepherd Is. They all had to sing this a cappella. Once, they sang it for a Requiem Mass and they've not forgotten how moving that was.


5 posted on 01/23/2006 8:01:55 AM PST by Carolina
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To: heartwood

dang, you read my mind!


6 posted on 01/23/2006 8:02:29 AM PST by conservonator (Pray for those suffering)
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To: heartwood
What, no "Eagles Wings"?

Just so you know, I will bear a deep and lasting grudge as long as "Here I Am, Lord" is gnawing away at my brain.

On the ratings list they have "Eagle's Wings" and "Here I am" at #1 and #2.

7 posted on 01/23/2006 8:03:58 AM PST by Carolina
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To: conservonator

"Some of these songs("here I am Lord") give me the creeps."

That's always annoyed me. Shouldn't it be "Here am I Lord." I AM has a special meaning theologically.


8 posted on 01/23/2006 8:09:24 AM PST by Nihil Obstat
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To: NYer
I believe that the song we all know as "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly was originally titled "In the Garden of Eden".

But I suspect it will get few votes.

9 posted on 01/23/2006 8:10:40 AM PST by ClearCase_guy
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To: Nihil Obstat
That's always annoyed me. Shouldn't it be "Here am I Lord." I AM has a special meaning theologically.

Good point, but since most of the ditties Dan and his cronies pen are self centric, I'm not sure if he didn't mean exactly what he wrote.

10 posted on 01/23/2006 8:13:35 AM PST by conservonator (Pray for those suffering)
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To: Carolina

Like the Pope said: "the truth ain't subject to a majority vote" and the best song isn't determined by a popularity contest. Permit me to post this:

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
Que sub his figuris vere latitas:
Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,
Quia te contemplans, totum deficit.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur:
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius,
Nil hoc verbo Veritatis verius.

In cruce latebat sola Deitas,
At hic latet simul et humanitas:
Ambo tamen credens, atque confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro poenitens.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor,
Deum tamen meum te confiteor:
Fac me tibi semper magis credere,
In te spem habere, te diligere.

O memoriale mortis Domini,
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini:
Praesta meae menti de te vivere,
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

Pie pellicane, Jesu domine,
Me immundum munda tuo sanguine:
Cujus una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

Jesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro, fiat illud, quod tam sitio:
Ut te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beatus tuae gloriae. Amen


11 posted on 01/23/2006 8:14:10 AM PST by Nihil Obstat
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To: Nihil Obstat

How could such a list exist without stalwart hymns like "Holy God We Praise Thy Name" or "Soul of My Savior?" And, many, many others!


12 posted on 01/23/2006 8:27:21 AM PST by GeorgiaGuy
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To: Nihil Obstat
Adoro te devote

One of the best.

13 posted on 01/23/2006 8:30:50 AM PST by siunevada (If we learn nothing from history, what's the point of having one? - Peggy Hill)
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To: Nihil Obstat

Thanks. A far superior hymn than the Pesky Pescadores left over from yesterday.

14 posted on 01/23/2006 8:35:08 AM PST by Carolina
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To: conservonator; Nihil Obstat
Shouldn't it be "Here am I Lord." I AM has a special meaning theologically.

Not unless Scripture needs a re-write.

The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.”

Given that, I still don't understand where "I will hold your people in my heart" came from. That's the line that gives me the willies. But then, it's all about Me, isn't it?

Coulda been a song with some long term potential.

15 posted on 01/23/2006 8:39:48 AM PST by siunevada (If we learn nothing from history, what's the point of having one? - Peggy Hill)
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To: Carolina

I would gladly take your Pesky Pescadores over the "Lord of the Dance" song we had to endure and offer up yesterday.

"It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on."

What the h...? I remember "I am the way the truth and the light", "I am the bread of life", "I am the Good Shepherd", "I am the alpha and omega", etc. But I am the dance, with a devil on my back? Don't remember that one.


16 posted on 01/23/2006 8:43:30 AM PST by Nihil Obstat
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To: Nihil Obstat
Compare "Lord of the Dance" with "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"

TOMORROW SHALL BE MY DANCING DAY

Tomorrow shall be my dancing day;
I would my true love did so chance
To see the legend of my play,
To call my true love to my dance;

Chorus
Sing, oh! my love, oh! my love, my love, my love,
This have I done for my true love

Then was I born of a virgin pure,
Of her I took fleshly substance
Thus was I knit to man's nature
To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

In a manger laid, and wrapped I was
So very poor, this was my chance
Betwixt an ox and a silly poor ass
To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

Then afterwards baptized I was;
The Holy Ghost on me did glance,
My Father’s voice heard from above,
To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

Into the desert I was led,
Where I fasted without substance;
The Devil bade me make stones my bread,
To have me break my true love's dance. Chorus

The Jews on me they made great suit,
And with me made great variance,
Because they loved darkness rather than light,
To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

For thirty pence Judas me sold,
His covetousness for to advance:
Mark whom I kiss, the same do hold!
The same is he shall lead the dance. Chorus

Before Pilate the Jews me brought,
Where Barabbas had deliverance;
They scourged me and set me at nought,
Judged me to die to lead the dance. Chorus

Then on the cross hanged I was,
Where a spear my heart did glance;
There issued forth both water and blood,
To call my true love to my dance. Chorus

Then down to hell I took my way
For my true love's deliverance,
And rose again on the third day,
Up to my true love and the dance. Chorus

Then up to heaven I did ascend,
Where now I dwell in sure substance
On the right hand of God, that man
May come unto the general dance. Chorus

17 posted on 01/23/2006 8:50:39 AM PST by Carolina
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To: NYer; All

I despise Oregon "Catholic" Press...

The Hidden Hand Behind Bad Catholic Music
By J.A. Tucker

Well, if your missalettes are like those issued in more than half of American parishes, they're copyrighted by the Oregon Catholic Press (OCP)-the leading Catholic purveyor of bad music in the United States. Four times a year, it prints and distributes 4.3 million copies of the seemingly unobjectionable booklets (which OCP doesn't call missalettes).

But that's just the beginning of its massive product line, where each item is integrated perfectly with the others to make liturgical planning quick and easy. To instruct and guide parish musicians and liturgy teams, the OCP prints hymnals, choral scores, children's song books, Mass settings, liturgy magazines (with detailed instructions that are slavishly followed by parishes around the country), and CDs for planning liturgies and previewing the newest music.

This collection of products, however, does not include a hymnal-or anything else-designed to appeal to traditional sensibilities (its Heritage Hymnal is deceptively misnamed). The OCP's experts never tire of promoting the new, rewriting the old, and inviting you to join them in their quest to "sing a new church into being" (as one of their hit songs urges). The one kind of "new" that the OCP systematically avoids is the new vogue of traditional music that has proved so appealing to young Catholics.

The bread and butter of the OCP are the 10,000 music copyrights it owns. It employs a staff of 150, runs year-round liturgy workshops all over the United States, sponsors affiliates in England and Australia, and keeps songwriters all over the English-speaking world on its payroll. In fact, it's the preferred institutional home of those now-aging "St. Louis Jesuits" who swept out the old in 1969 and, by the mid-1970s, had parishes across the country clapping and strumming and tapping to the beat.

The OCP also sails under the flags of companies it has acquired, established, or represented along the way: New Dawn Music, Pastoral Press, North American Liturgy Resources, Trinitas, TEAM Publications, White Dove Productions, and Cooperative Ministries. Every time it purchases-or assumes the distribution of-another publisher, its assets and influence grow.

Power Without Authority

But while the OCP dictates the liturgies of most U.S. parishes, it has no ecclesiastical authority. It's a large nonprofit corporation-a publishing wing of the Diocese of Portland-and nothing else. It has never been empowered by the U.S. bishops, much less Rome, to oversee music or liturgy in American parishes. The OCP's power over Catholic liturgy is derived entirely from its copyrights, phenomenal sales, and marketing genius. Nonetheless, it wields the decisive power in determining the musical culture of most public Masses in the United States.

And once a parish dips into the product line of the OCP, it is very difficult to avoid full immersion. So complete and integrated is their program that it actually reconstructs the sense that the liturgy team has about what Catholicism is supposed to feel and sound like.

But few of those subject to the power of the OCP understand that it's the reason why Catholic liturgy so often seems like something else entirely. For example, pastors who try to control the problem by getting a grip on their liturgies quite often sense that they're dealing with an amorphous power without a name or face. That's because very few bother to examine the lay-directed materials that are shaping the liturgies. Too many priests are willing to leave music to the musicians, fearing that they lack the competence to intervene.

Meanwhile, the nature of the OCP is completely unknown to most laypeople. Many Catholics shudder, for example, when they hear the words Glory & Praise, the prototypical assortment of musical candy that was already stale about 15 years ago but which mysteriously continues to be repackaged and rechewed in parish after parish. "Here I am, Lord," "Be Not Afraid," "City of God," "One Bread, One Body," "Celtic Alleuia," and (wait for it) "On Eagle's Wings"-these all come courtesy of the OCP.

But at the publisher itself, this moldy repertoire is not an embarrassment. On the contrary, the publisher brags that Glory & Praise, whose copyright it acquired in 1994, continues to be the best-selling Catholic hymnal of all time. And what about those prayers of the faithful that seem far more politically than doctrinally correct? They're probably from the OCP, too. A new edition of its Prayer of the Faithful is printed every year. (In what is surely great news for the unrepentant, the OCP brags that the volume helpfully includes "creative alternatives to the Penitential Rite.")

Hijacking of Catholic Truth

It wasn't always like this. Before 1980, the OCP was called the Oregon Catholic Truth Society. It was founded in 1922 in response to a compulsory school-education law that forced Catholics to attend public schools. Archbishop Alexander Christie got together with his priests to found the society. Its aim: to fight bigotry and stand up for truth and Catholic rights.

In 1934, the Oregon Catholic Truth Society released a missal called My Sunday Missal. It was good-looking, inexpensive, and easy to use. It became the most popular missal ever (you can still run across it in used bookstores).

But the rest of the story is as familiar as it is troubling. Sometime in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Oregon Catholic Truth Society began to lose its moorings. Catholic truth had to make room for the Age of Aquarius.

Thus, in the course of a single decade, a once-reliable representative of Catholic teaching became reliably unreliable. Money given to the organization to promote truth was now being used to advance a revolutionary approach to Catholic life, one that repudiated traditional forms of the faith. The only thing that did not change was the breadth of its influence: Under the new dispensation, it was still a powerhouse of Catholic publishing.

De Profundis

If you've been keeping up with the OCP's latest offerings, you know that the songs from the mid-1970s don't begin to plumb the depths. The newest OCP hymnals are jam-packed with music from the 1980s and 1990s, with styles meant to reflect the popular music trends of the time. (Actually, they're about five years behind the times.)

They sail under different names (Music Issue, Journeysongs, Heritage Hymnal, Glory & Praise), but the content is similar in all of them: an eclectic, hit-and-miss bag with an emphasis on new popular styles massaged for liturgical use. (Worst choice: Spirit & Song, which "encourages the youth and young adults of today to praise God in their own style.")

Some of the newer songs sound like variations on the musical themes you hear at the beginning of TV sitcoms. Some sound like Broadway-style love songs. Others have a vague Hawaiian, calypso, or blues feel. You never know what's going to pop up next.

Not all of it is terrible. In fact, there are real toe-tappers among the songs. The question to ask, however, is whether it's right for liturgy. The answer from the Church has been the same from the second century to the present day: The Mass requires special music, which is different from secular music and popular religious music. It must have its own unique voice-one that works, like the liturgy itself, to bring together time and eternity. It's a style perfectly embodied in chant, polyphony, and traditional hymnody.

The OCP revels in its ability to conflate these categories; indeed, that's the sum total of its purpose and effect. And judging from its newest new line of songs and CDs-"we just couldn't wait until our next General Catalog to tell you about it"-your parish can look forward to a variety of ska and reggae songs adapted for congregational purposes.

How It Hooks You

But let's go back to that innocent, floppy missalette. The OCP claims it has many advantages. Missalettes "make it easy for you to introduce the latest music to your parish, and changes in Church rituals are easy to implement." Thus the missalette is "always up-to-date."

It's also quite a bargain. If you buy more than 50 subscriptions to the quarterly missalette, you receive other goodies bundled inside. You'll get a Music Issue (the main OCP hymnal) to supplement the thin selection in the missalette. In addition, you'll receive a keyboard accompaniment book, a guitar book, the Choral Praise Comprehensive, a handy service binder, two annual copies of Respond & Acclaim for the psalm and the gospel acclamation, biannual copies of Prayer of the Faithful, two subscriptions to Today's Liturgy (which tells liturgy teams what to sing and say, when and how), and one master index. And the more you buy, the more you get.

Why would you want all this stuff? Well, if you're in parish music, you'll quickly discover that the missalette has too few hymns to cover the whole season. The Music Issue seems like an economical purchase. But there's something odd about the OCP's most popular music book: There's no scriptural index. How do you know what hymns fit with what gospel reading?

No problem. Just buy a copy of Today's Liturgy, which spells it all out for you. If you want a broader selection of possible hymns, you can also order the OCP's LitPlan software or its monthly Choral Resources, which is visually more complicated than the Federal Register (but still contains no scriptural index).

If you follow the free liturgical planner closely, you'll notice you can purchase a variety of choral arrangements and special new music (copyright OCP) that match perfectly with the response, the hymnal, and the missalette (copyright OCP), which is itself integrated with the prayers of the faithful (copyright OCP) and the gospel (not yet OCP copyright). And so it goes, until you follow the complete OCP plan for each Mass, from the first "Good morning, Father!" to the last "Go in peace to love and serve others!" By making each element dependent on the next, the OCP has ensured a steady-if trapped-clientele.

Musical Gnosticism

But why should the liturgy team go along with this program? The average parish musical team is made up of nonprofessionals. Its poorly paid members are untrained in music history; they have no particular craving for chant or polyphony, which often seems quite remote to them. Most musicians in average Catholic parishes would have no idea how to plug into the rite an extended musical setting from, say, the high Renaissance, even if they had the desire to do so.

The OCP understands this point better than most publishers. In an interview, Michael Prendergast, editor of Today's Liturgy, pointed again and again to the limited resources of typical parishes. The OCP sees serving such needs as a core part of its publishing strategy; its materials keep reminding us that we don't need to know Church music to get involved.

Lack of familiarity with the Church's musical tradition would not be a grave problem if there were a staple of standard hymns and Mass settings to fall back on. But it has been at least 30 years since such a setting was available in most parishes. The average parish musician wants to use his talents to serve the parish in whatever way possible, but he's at a complete loss as to how to do it without outside guidance. The OCP fills that vacuum.

Under its tutelage, you can aspire to be a real liturgical expert, which means you have attended a few workshops run by OCP-connected guitarists and songwriters (who explain that your job as a musician is to whip people into a musical frenzy: loud microphones, drum tracks, over-the-top enthusiasm when announcing the latest hymn). These "experts" love the OCP's material because it allows them to keep up the pretense that they have some special knowledge about what hymns should be used for what occasions and how the Mass ought to proceed.

Real Catholic musicians who have worked with the OCP material tell horror stories of incredible liturgical malpractice. The music arrangements are often muddled and busy, making it all but impossible for regular parishioners to sing. This is especially true of arrangements for traditional songs, where popular chords give old hymns a gauzy cast that reminds you of the 1970s group Chicago.

The liturgical planning guides are a ghastly embarrassment. Two years ago, for example, the liturgical planner recommended "Seek Ye First" for the first Sunday in Lent ("Al-le-lu-, Al-le-lu-yah"). In numerous slots during the liturgy, OCP offers no alternative to debuting its new tunes. When traditional hymns are offered, they're often drawn from the Protestant tradition, or else the words are changed in odd ways (see, for example, its strange version of "Ubi Caritas"). The liturgical instructions are equally pathetic. On July 8 this year, the liturgical columnist passes on this profound summary of the gospel of the day: "Live and let live."

The Middle Way?

Nevertheless, the OCP seems to have solved a major liturgical rift affecting today's local churches. Just as every parish used to have a low-Mass crowd and a high-Mass crowd, there are now two factions in parishes:

One wants more "contemporary" music of the sort seen in Life-Teen Masses-loud, rhythmic, and rockish. Another wants traditional music and sensibly asks whatever happened to the hymns of the old days. These two groups are forever at loggerheads and have been so for decades. In fact, most pastors are so sick of the dispute that they'll do anything to avoid talking about music at Mass.

This is where OCP steps in and serves as the peacekeeping moderate. After all, it's an established music publisher, and thanks to the missalette, it doesn't appear (at first) to be particularly partisan. Its literature contains enough traditional material to allow the liturgical team to claim they're sensitive to the needs of both the contemporary and traditional factions. Indeed, the OCP eschews the most extreme forms of grunge-metal Life-Teen music (though its Spirit & Song comes close). At first sight, it does appear to take the middle ground between two extremes. In truth, however, it's only slightly behind the curve of the most radical liturgical innovators-as it's always behind the curve in the popular styles it tries to imitate.

What about the other option of splitting up the Masses according to style, so that those who like traditional music can have their own Mass and the people who compose for the OCP can have theirs? Prendergast rejects this. Whether the style is traditional, contemporary, folk, or even "rock," Prendergast says, "everyone in the parish has to be exposed to it." And what if a pastor just doesn't like rock and other contemporary styles? Prendergast says, "I would talk to the [chancery's] Office of Worship about him." I asked whether that means he would turn this poor priest in to the bishop. His response: "I would try to arrange for him to attend a workshop on liturgy."

With a great deal of knowledge, careful planning, and conscious intent, it is possible to manufacture decent liturgies even if the OCP music is all you have. You'll have to dig to find the good hymns (10 to 20 percent in the typical OCP publications), but it can be done. It's also true that not everyone involved with the OCP wants to destroy all that has gone before. There are probably many people on its middle-aged staff who from time to time cringe at the music, just as the people in the pews do. For his part, Prendergast is sure that he thinks with the mind of the Church, and there's no reason to doubt his sincerity.

In fact, there are periodic signs of hope. Regular readers of Today's Liturgy might have been astounded to see the recent one-page article buried in its pages that urged children be taught Latin hymns and chant. "The Second Vatican Council did not destroy the tradition of chant," said the writer, who was a student of the excellent English composer John Rutter. "We can still claim our chant heritage as part of the living Church's journey into the future." Indeed we can! But the news seems to be slow in getting around the OCP office. (The same issue contained a blast against a poor old lady who read a prayer book during Mass instead of singing goodness knows what.)

What's completely amazing about the entire OCP family is how lacking it is in self-awareness. The poor quality of contemporary Catholic music is a cultural cliché that turns up in late-night shows, Woody Allen movies, and Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion. It is legendary among real musicians. Ask an organist what he thinks about today's Catholic music, and you will receive a raised eyebrow or a knowing laugh.

What You Can Do Right Now

The truth is that no one is happy with the state of Catholic liturgical music-least of all musicians-and the OCP is a big part of the problem. So, what can you do? Step 1 is to get rid of the liturgical planning guides and use an old Scripture index to select good hymns that have stood the test of time (if you absolutely must continue to use the OCP's materials). Step 2 is to rein in the liturgical managers and explain to them that the Eucharist, and not music, is the reason people show up to Mass Sunday after Sunday. Step 3 is to get rid of the OCP hymnals and replace them with Adoremus or Collegeville or something from GIA (no, none of these is perfect, but they are all an oasis by comparison).

Finally, reconsider those innocuous little missalettes. These harmless-looking booklets may be the source of the trouble. Parishes can unsubscribe-accept no OCP handouts or volume discounts. There are plenty of passable missalettes and hymnals out there, and all the choral music you'll ever need is now public domain and easily downloadable for free (www.cpdl.org).

In his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2000), Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger states clearly that popular music does not belong at Mass. Indeed, it's part of "a cult of the banal," and "rock" plainly stands "in opposition to Christian worship."

This is very strong language from the cardinal. And yet we know that many liturgy teams in American parishes will continue to do what they've been doing for decades-systematically reconstructing the liturgy to accommodate pop aesthetic sensibilities. The liturgy is treated not as something sublimely different but as a well-organized social hour revolving around religious themes.

It's up to you to decide the future course of your parish's liturgy: reverent worship or hootenanny. Despite what the OCP might tell you, you can't have both.

originally taken from Crisis Magazine, Jan 1, 2002

18 posted on 01/23/2006 8:58:19 AM PST by markomalley (Vivat Iesus!)
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To: markomalley
In his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2000), Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger states clearly that popular music does not belong at Mass. Indeed, it's part of "a cult of the banal," and "rock" plainly stands "in opposition to Christian worship."

Dear Pope Benedict, I know you have your hands full, but...

19 posted on 01/23/2006 9:16:55 AM PST by heartwood
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To: markomalley
Step 2 is to rein in the liturgical managers and explain to them that the Eucharist, and not music, is the reason people show up to Mass Sunday after Sunday

*************

Exactly right.

20 posted on 01/23/2006 9:21:35 AM PST by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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