Some standards in the Catholic hymn repertoire will soon have to be changed or dropped. Caught in the liturgical crosshairs are songs such as “You Are Near,” “I Will Bless Yahweh” and “Rise, O Yahweh.”
The Vatican is invoking ancient tradition and ruling that the name of God not be used or pronounced in songs and prayers during Catholic Masses and liturgies.
Specifically, the Vatican says to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton–YHWH, the four consonants of the ancient Hebrew name for God.
“As an expression of the infinite greatness and majesty of God, it was held to be unpronounceable,” the directive says. It points to alternatives: the Hebrew word adonai, the Greek kyrios and Latin dominus, all of which mean “lord.”
Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, said the Vatican decision provides “an opportunity to offer catechesis for the faithful as an encouragement to show reverence for the name of God in daily life, emphasizing the power of language as an act of devotion and worship.”
He said the directives would not “force any changes to official liturgical texts” or to the bishops’ current missal translation project but would affect some liturgical music and the composition of prayers like the general intercessions during Mass.
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