I went to Vigil Mass yesterday. We sang it too (actually all the verses:thumbsup: ). It relates well to the Gospel (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32).
It isn’t the word “wretch” that makes it questionable, but the word “saved.” To an Evangelical “saved” means already saved, not in the process of being saved. A lot of Catholics wouldn’t know the difference, it’s true. But, we have plenty of Catholic hymns that are not theologically ambiguous and/or that were written by our great Saints. Why we have to go outside our faith to find songs to sing at Mass is a mystery to me. Especially considering no Evangelical would ever dream of singing an Ave Maria in his church------for theological reasons.
Della, as a cathedral choir member I can’t answer why we have to go outside our faith to sing non-Catholic hymns. The only answer I can come up with is that there are non-Catholic hymns which are indeed Catholic. The one that pops immediately to mind is “The Breastplate of St. Patrick” (i.e. Lorica of St. Patrick) which is not found in Catholic hymnals but in the 1947 Episcopalian hymnal. It’s awesome and we’ve used it several times. And, then too, why would we want to exclude G. F. Handel’s Messiah? Sword kinda cuts both ways.
Yes, but neither of these pieces have any theological problems, do they? That’s the real problem, not who wrote/composed them.
The words of Amazing Grace were put to an old Scottish or Irish tune that had been largely forgotten until the song came back to the British Isles in the 1960’s. It is particularly stirring played on bagpipes, but it would be no matter if the words were religious or not, IMHO.
It was sung at ours, too. I’ve always liked the song, and I really don’t care who wrote it. It’s part of American folk lure.
The tune is New Britain.library.timelesstruths.org/music/Amazing_Grace/score/
The funny thing is, you have no idea how many Protestant weddings I’ve sung for and they specifically request the Schubert or the Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria”. When I explain to them that it is the Hail Mary prayer in case their pastor might object, they actually don’t mind. Even the Pastors were ok with it. I’m not sure if it is because it is sung in Latin and they think most of their congregation wouldn’t know the difference or if it’s because it is for a wedding and not one of their services. This has been for Presbyterian, Lutheran, Congregational, etc. weddings. But I found that very surprising when I first starting singing for Protestant weddings.
But honestly, I think many Catholics really like singing “Amazing Grace”. It’s not my favorite and definitely not one of my top choices, although I used to really like it as a kid mainly because my mother used to sing it all the time around the house, so I have a special connection with it.Perhaps the musicians at the churches you have heard it in perform it badly. I’ve heard all kinds of “musicians” at various churches who didn’t have the ability to play any faster than a Largo tempo, so he/she made every piece of music sound like a funeral dirge. That said, I wouldn’t want to sing everything at an Allegro either.
Those two and Balm in Gilead. Actually, Amazing Grace bothers me the least of those three - maybe I’ve been desensitized to it through overexposure in popular media.
Actually, I attended a Christmas service at my grandmother’s (Southern Baptist) church, and the pastor’s daughter sang a very beautiful, a capella version of Ave Maria.
