B
barb_finnegan
Guest
me,too
I’m going to think that, too!But I LIKE ‘Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’…don’t like ‘Gather Us In’…though I used to sing it when I was a cantor…eww,
Glad I go to the TLM!
- Status
I’m going to think that, too!But I LIKE ‘Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’…don’t like ‘Gather Us In’…though I used to sing it when I was a cantor…eww,
Glad I go to the TLM!
B
barb_finnegan
Guest
Great parody Katy!
I was singing it softly to myself-couldn’t help but laugh quietly-I’m in the library.
L
LRThunder
Guest
C
Cat
Guest
I love Gather Us In.
When we first started attending Mass (we were kicked out of our evangelical Protestant church), we sang Gather Us In one Sunday. It made my cry, because I wanted so much to be “gathered in” to a church.
I remember copying the words on a napkin in my purse and saving them for a long time. I would take them out at work and read them because they were so uplifting to me. I love the symbolism in the song. I don’t understand why some of you are so down on symbolism and yet you love Latin.
Whenever you are gagging into your hand during Mass and wishing that the wise bishops appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ would see the light that you have seen and expunge the hymnals of this abominable travesty, remember me crying over its message while I was still Protestant, and reading the words off a napkin for spiritual nourishment.
Keep in mind that there are many people in the Church besides you and yours. And someone who is starving, as I was, can’t eat the rich food and drink that you all thrive on. At that time, I didn’t understand fully why we had been ousted from our church, and the last thing I needed was to sing hymns in a foreign language that I couldn’t understand.
As for the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald–I suppose it does sound a little like Gather Us In. So what? They’re both good songs.
When we first started attending Mass (we were kicked out of our evangelical Protestant church), we sang Gather Us In one Sunday. It made my cry, because I wanted so much to be “gathered in” to a church.
I remember copying the words on a napkin in my purse and saving them for a long time. I would take them out at work and read them because they were so uplifting to me. I love the symbolism in the song. I don’t understand why some of you are so down on symbolism and yet you love Latin.
Whenever you are gagging into your hand during Mass and wishing that the wise bishops appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ would see the light that you have seen and expunge the hymnals of this abominable travesty, remember me crying over its message while I was still Protestant, and reading the words off a napkin for spiritual nourishment.
Keep in mind that there are many people in the Church besides you and yours. And someone who is starving, as I was, can’t eat the rich food and drink that you all thrive on. At that time, I didn’t understand fully why we had been ousted from our church, and the last thing I needed was to sing hymns in a foreign language that I couldn’t understand.
As for the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald–I suppose it does sound a little like Gather Us In. So what? They’re both good songs.
B
Bruised_Reed
Guest
Aw, maaan. I feel like I hate this song a little less now. I remember how certain songs ministered to me while I was struggling years ago (crisis of faith thingee). I have a soft spot for them even though I don’t think the music or lyrics are all that good anymore.
But I still like the parody.
M
mantilla410
Guest
Gather us In - never really cared for it, not “gagging in my hand” reaction, just kinda, “eh” about it. We don’t sing it in choir very much @ the 9 a.m., but the guitar singers (sorry, the way I see them because practically everyone but the lady who plays the triangle is carrying one) at the 11 a.m. have it as one of their standards. Now of course, either the Gordon Lightfoot lyrics or the parody will be going through my mind and I will REALLY have to work on keeping my composure. 
As for the “singing hymns in a foriegn language”, well, that stuck a bit. The most perfect moment of prayer I have experienced was when I was singing Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” at Holy Thursday Mass. There were angels in that choir that day, I’m sure. We had never been able to produce so perfect a sound before and when it was done we all looked at each other and whispered, “Whoa!”
As for the “singing hymns in a foriegn language”, well, that stuck a bit. The most perfect moment of prayer I have experienced was when I was singing Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” at Holy Thursday Mass. There were angels in that choir that day, I’m sure. We had never been able to produce so perfect a sound before and when it was done we all looked at each other and whispered, “Whoa!”
B
benedictgal
Guest
Marty Haugen really has no sense of the concept of Catholic dogma, let alone Catholic liturgical theology. I would not expect him to because he is Protestant. It’s like expecting sleeves on a vest; they just are not going to be there.
Apart from the fact that it does sound like a pop song, Gather Us In is pretty much centered on us with very little reference to God. In fact, whatever reference there is strikes me as marginal, at best.
The Mass is supposed to prepare us for the heavenly liturgy. The fact that the song says “not in some heaven, light years away” does not take this important fact into account. Furthermore, “here we will take the wine and the water” is inaccurate. We bring the bread, the wine and the water during the offertory. It is the priest who consecrates these into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and then offers them, in our name, to the Father.
It used to be that the hymns were a tool to express the basic Truths of our Faith while at the same time being directed to the Triune God.
When the USCCB did its preliminary studies on hymns a couple of years ago, it found that 10% of the hymns focused on God the Father.
Because quite a few of the songs focused around ourselves, it begged this question from the USCCB:
If were to examine “Gather Us In” point by point, we would find that it simply doesn’t pass muster.
Regarding the issue of Latin, it is not the average foreign language. As Latin-Rite Catholics, it is our language. Furthermore, it is steeped in Tradition. And, if we want to get into genuine symbols, then we don’t need to look any further than the hymns that St. Thomas Aquinas wrote. You can’t get any more doctrinally sound than that.
Apart from the fact that it does sound like a pop song, Gather Us In is pretty much centered on us with very little reference to God. In fact, whatever reference there is strikes me as marginal, at best.
The Mass is supposed to prepare us for the heavenly liturgy. The fact that the song says “not in some heaven, light years away” does not take this important fact into account. Furthermore, “here we will take the wine and the water” is inaccurate. We bring the bread, the wine and the water during the offertory. It is the priest who consecrates these into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and then offers them, in our name, to the Father.
It used to be that the hymns were a tool to express the basic Truths of our Faith while at the same time being directed to the Triune God.
When the USCCB did its preliminary studies on hymns a couple of years ago, it found that 10% of the hymns focused on God the Father.
Because quite a few of the songs focused around ourselves, it begged this question from the USCCB:
The USCCB noted that :
And, the other finding that the USCCB made was that:
These findings were from a powerpoint that the Subcommittee on Liturgy did in advance of Sing to the Lord, which was supposed to have brought us into compliance with Liturgiam Authenticam. However, because the USCCB failed to adopt the document by the necessary votes, it was never sent to Rome for recogitio. Instead, it was simply regarded as a teaching document with little to no authority.
If were to examine “Gather Us In” point by point, we would find that it simply doesn’t pass muster.
Regarding the issue of Latin, it is not the average foreign language. As Latin-Rite Catholics, it is our language. Furthermore, it is steeped in Tradition. And, if we want to get into genuine symbols, then we don’t need to look any further than the hymns that St. Thomas Aquinas wrote. You can’t get any more doctrinally sound than that.
I
IrishAm
Guest
Yep, I’ve always said the same . . .
G
GabrielPenfield
Guest
This just in from GIA Publications, regarding their Hymnal Gather 3:Yes, I feel somewhat the same. I’ve never really ever felt comfortable singing:
Not in the dark of buildings confining
Not in some heaven, light-years away
here in this place the new light is shining
Now is the Kingdom, now is the day
That’s why I’ve relegated myself to playing that song when it comes around.
The Chicago Archdiocesan theological sensors, who approve all of GIA’s hymnals for publication, asked that stanza 4 be removed.
T
Tybourne
Guest
Yes! With no offence meant to Cat’s experience, we can all live without that de-eschatalogical verse,
C
Cat
Guest
Hey, I don’t mind if they threw out a verse!
My pipe organ teacher is requiring me to play at his hymn-playing workshop at the end of November, and it sounds like one of my assignments will be to demonstrate how a contemporary Christian hymn like “Gather Us In” can best be played on the pipe organ. (Hint–the organist shouldn’t play it in the same style as Bach!)
Since I’m still pretty darn clumsy at the pipe organ, I appreciate the fact that there are now less verses for me to stumble through at the workshop!
BTW, I hope everyone caught the timeline here–it will take me almost TWO MONTHS to learn to play one hymn. So much for all the people who think pianists can just sit right down and learn how to play that pipe organ in a few hours!
My pipe organ teacher is requiring me to play at his hymn-playing workshop at the end of November, and it sounds like one of my assignments will be to demonstrate how a contemporary Christian hymn like “Gather Us In” can best be played on the pipe organ. (Hint–the organist shouldn’t play it in the same style as Bach!)
Since I’m still pretty darn clumsy at the pipe organ, I appreciate the fact that there are now less verses for me to stumble through at the workshop!
BTW, I hope everyone caught the timeline here–it will take me almost TWO MONTHS to learn to play one hymn. So much for all the people who think pianists can just sit right down and learn how to play that pipe organ in a few hours!
S
StarFireKK
Guest
Thanks for explaining this. I will be the first to admit I know nothing about music so I am always happy to learn more.
On a lighter note. To my knowledge my parish has never sung “Gather us In” but if we do and I start out with “The legend lives on…” I’m going to cheerfully blame CAF.
C
Cat
Guest
Please forgive me if I already stated this on this thread (the thread is rather old).
What’s interesting is that those who compare “Gather Us In” to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” are assuming that EVERYONE knows “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
I never listened to the radio or much pop music growing up, because I was raised Baptist and this kind of music was strongly discouraged.
My husband DID listen to pop music (shame on him! he was raised Assemblies of God, which is even stricter than my Baptist church when it comes to modern music!). And it was he who told me about the song after we had been married for many years. I first heard of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the historical event that prompted the song when our daughters went to a figure skating competition in Duluth–my husband started singing the song, and I had no idea what he was singing, and he was shocked that I had never heard this song, so he had to explain the whole thing to me. That was in the mid 1990s.
So whenever we compare music, we need to realize that there are lots of people who don’t know the pop songs. We can’t assume that everyone is just like us.
Even the song from The Brady Bunch is not known by everyone. That song was popular during a small number of years (the 1970s). Cable TV and recording technologies (VCRs, DVDs, etc.) has made it possible for new generations to hear this song. But I daresay that many many people in the United States and the rest of the world do not know this song at all.
So IMO, it is small-minded to compare songs to each other. I’m guessing that almost any song done in church is probably similiar to another song sung in secular settings. Many of our great hymns are sung to melodies that were originally secular (e.g., Be Still My Soul is the tune of Sibelius’ Finlandia, a song about Finland). So what? This is only an issue for those people who, for some reason, are unable to disassociate the sacred song from the secular song. That’s THEIR problem to deal with.
What’s interesting is that those who compare “Gather Us In” to “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” are assuming that EVERYONE knows “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
I never listened to the radio or much pop music growing up, because I was raised Baptist and this kind of music was strongly discouraged.
My husband DID listen to pop music (shame on him! he was raised Assemblies of God, which is even stricter than my Baptist church when it comes to modern music!). And it was he who told me about the song after we had been married for many years. I first heard of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the historical event that prompted the song when our daughters went to a figure skating competition in Duluth–my husband started singing the song, and I had no idea what he was singing, and he was shocked that I had never heard this song, so he had to explain the whole thing to me. That was in the mid 1990s.
So whenever we compare music, we need to realize that there are lots of people who don’t know the pop songs. We can’t assume that everyone is just like us.
Even the song from The Brady Bunch is not known by everyone. That song was popular during a small number of years (the 1970s). Cable TV and recording technologies (VCRs, DVDs, etc.) has made it possible for new generations to hear this song. But I daresay that many many people in the United States and the rest of the world do not know this song at all.
So IMO, it is small-minded to compare songs to each other. I’m guessing that almost any song done in church is probably similiar to another song sung in secular settings. Many of our great hymns are sung to melodies that were originally secular (e.g., Be Still My Soul is the tune of Sibelius’ Finlandia, a song about Finland). So what? This is only an issue for those people who, for some reason, are unable to disassociate the sacred song from the secular song. That’s THEIR problem to deal with.
F
FatHead
Guest
agreed
F
FatHead
Guest
do you mean poetic and heretical?
P
ProVobis
Guest
youtube.com/watch?v=Q0DqPSF2fyo
Melody-wise it (TWOTEF) appears to have just a constant (and somewhat boring) repeat of the same one-line melody without the (expected) expansion, as in “Gather Us In.”
Lyric-wise there is no comparison.
S
StarFireKK
Guest
Cat no one is saying you can’t like the song “Gather Us In.” You have a very touching story about the power of the song and that is lovely.
But I think you are being a little hard on the OP. He just noted that the priest didn’t like the song because it reminded him of the Wreck. The OP was just asking if anyone else had made that association.
No one is saying that the hymn should be removed because it reminds us of another song. I don’t think anyone is assuming everyone knows The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald or the Brady Bunch song. On the other hand, music is part of what keeps a culture together, so I don’t think it is wrong to say “hey doesn’t this remind you of that _____ song?”
Personally, I love “On Eagles Wings” but that song gets made fun of a lot on CAF. So does Amazing Grace and several other hymns. That doesn’t mean I can love them and sing them to my hearts content.
N
Newbie2
Guest
B
Bluegoat
Guest
Yes, this. Gordon Lightfoot is a great folk singer, and that is a great song.
Gather us in is just banal junk music.
To be honest, I’d rather sing WOTEF in Mass than gather Us In.
- Status