How would you phrase a revision to Mary Did You Know?

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A few members of our choir usually sing solo pieces right before Christmas Eve mass and I am wanting to do Mary Did You Know.

Part of it goes like this:

…your Baby Boy has come to make you new.
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

The words in bold could simply be changed to “us”, but it doesn’t really rhyme that way. Any suggestions on how to make it more graceful?
 
Change the first ‘you’ to 'all or us, make the second line to ‘the child you have given life has given life to you’
 
Joyful_1 said:
A few members of our choir usually sing solo pieces right before Christmas Eve mass and I am wanting to do Mary Did You Know.

Part of it goes like this:

…your Baby Boy has come to make you new.
This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you.

The words in bold could simply be changed to “us”, but it doesn’t really rhyme that way. Any suggestions on how to make it more graceful?
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I’ve heard it sung as: This Child that you delivered had once delivered you. More theologically correct, but it doesn’t flow as well.
 
My advise is to drop the song all together as it is heretical or at least misleading about Mary. Below is our pastor’s critique of the song lyrics. God bless.

Thanks for the e-mail.

Your suspicions regarding “Mary, Did You Know?” are correct. The very title of the song is misleading. We need to remember some of the effects of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. One effect was that she received the same gifts that Adam and Eve had before the Fall. One set of gifts Adam and Eve had are the preternatural gifts, of which there were 3 kinds. The one of most interest to this discussion is infused knowledge. Infused knowledge is a special knowledge of the providence of God. It is the ability to see in the natural the supernatural of what God is doing.

Mary saw the supernatural ramifications of all that Jesus said and did. Recall that Luke tells us that Mary “pondered all these things in her heart.” Also, Mary was “full of grace” from the moment of her conception. Her will was completely united to the will of God at all times. She experienced throughout her life the “transforming union”, the pinnacle of the spiritual life possible here one earth.

Souls in that state of union have a much greater knowledge and love of God, the spiritual writers teach us. Plus, Mary knew the Hebrew Scriptures intimately. So she knew that Jesus was the Incarnate Word of God (Lk 1) as well as the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (Is 52-53). She also knew from Simeon’s words that she would suffer with Him. Conclusion: she knew a lot more than is implied by the song “Mary, Did You Know?”.

Please do not include that song in your repertoire. Hope all this helps.

You and your family are in my prayers. Thanks for the beautiful family picture you sent for Christmas.

Kindest regards,
Fr. Tom
 
I think the song is OK, except for the line "this Child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you, because it’s asking the question. As Catholics, we can answer: Yes, Mary knew. Nancy Krebs has written a beautiful song titled just that Mary Knew
 
Personally, I would just rewrite the song thusly:

“Yes, I did.”

Sam, the Neon Orange Knight
 
stccp said:
My advise is to drop the song all together as it is heretical or at least misleading about Mary. Below is our pastor’s critique of the song lyrics. God bless.

Thanks for the e-mail.

Your suspicions regarding “Mary, Did You Know?” are correct. The very title of the song is misleading. We need to remember some of the effects of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. One effect was that she received the same gifts that Adam and Eve had before the Fall. One set of gifts Adam and Eve had are the preternatural gifts, of which there were 3 kinds. The one of most interest to this discussion is infused knowledge. Infused knowledge is a special knowledge of the providence of God. It is the ability to see in the natural the supernatural of what God is doing.

Mary saw the supernatural ramifications of all that Jesus said and did. Recall that Luke tells us that Mary “pondered all these things in her heart.” Also, Mary was “full of grace” from the moment of her conception. Her will was completely united to the will of God at all times. She experienced throughout her life the “transforming union”, the pinnacle of the spiritual life possible here one earth.

Souls in that state of union have a much greater knowledge and love of God, the spiritual writers teach us. Plus, Mary knew the Hebrew Scriptures intimately. So she knew that Jesus was the Incarnate Word of God (Lk 1) as well as the Suffering Servant of Yahweh (Is 52-53). She also knew from Simeon’s words that she would suffer with Him. Conclusion: she knew a lot more than is implied by the song “Mary, Did You Know?”.

Please do not include that song in your repertoire. Hope all this helps.

You and your family are in my prayers. Thanks for the beautiful family picture you sent for Christmas.

Kindest regards,
Fr. Tom
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Ever heard the phrase ‘don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good’?

I think its a lovely song that encouraged a lot of our Protestant friends to consider Mary and her contribution for the first time.

Clearly not theologically perfect, but while there are better songs, there are many, many worse ones as well, published in the back of your OCP missalette.
 
Remember that singing during Mass is meant to be prayer (the whole Mass is prayer). I’m sure you know that, but just giving a friendly reminder. 🙂
 
As Catholics, we can answer: Yes, Mary knew.

**Do you actually think that, had the Theotokos been questioned at the time, she would have replied with a fully Athanasian and Chalcedonian Christology?

I don’t think so.**
 
Eucharisted said:
Remember that singing during Mass is meant to be prayer (the whole Mass is prayer). I’m sure you know that, but just giving a friendly reminder. 🙂
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Exactly. We only do the solos before mass for that reason.
 
sing “Has delivered you”. Because She was delivered by her savior, but before her conception, because it is outside of time.

The “did you know” question is a whole different issue.
 
Leave it alone. There is a lot worse music in our “gather” songbook than this one that is sung every Sunday. “Peace is flowing like a river” is one of them. Our guitarist sings that during Holy Communion. Disgusting!
 
davy39 said:
Leave it alone. There is a lot worse music in our “gather” songbook than this one that is sung every Sunday. “Peace is flowing like a river” is one of them. Our guitarist sings that during Holy Communion. Disgusting!
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Or that neo-Pagan classic, ‘Gather us in’: nothing in it a coven would object to, but not so good for a Christian Church.
 
I don’t have a particular problem with this song. It is lovely, with one MINOR change in lyrics (“This child that you’ve delivered HAS delivered you”).

As far as the “did you know?” part, I frankly think it is a rhetorical device – rather like asking a new mother, “Do you know you have a beautiful baby?” Of course she knew.

I’ve sung this song for many, many years in the context of Christmas concerts – and I always make the change above.

'thann
 
Sam_Maloney said:
Ever heard the phrase ‘don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good’?

I think its a lovely song that encouraged a lot of our Protestant friends to consider Mary and her contribution for the first time.

Clearly not theologically perfect, but while there are better songs, there are many, many worse ones as well, published in the back of your OCP missalette.
Click to expand...
Yes and no song is theologically perfect as no song can do justice to the ineffable glory of God.
 
There are so many beautiful Christmas hymns and carols -ditch the Protestant junk and sing the good stuff.
 
Sam_Maloney said:
Ever heard the phrase ‘don’t let the perfect become the enemy of the good’?

I think its a lovely song that encouraged a lot of our Protestant friends to consider Mary and her contribution for the first time.

Clearly not theologically perfect, but while there are better songs, there are many, many worse ones as well, published in the back of your OCP missalette.
Click to expand...
:: Applauds:: That and I think I remember something in the Catechism of the Catholic Church to the effect that Mary’s salvation was worked out during Christ’s redemptive death for all mankind, He just applied the grace to her before it happened since Christ, as God, is outside of space and time as we limited humans know it…
 
Personally I like the song the way it is. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Kathy
 
bpbasilphx said:
As Catholics, we can answer: Yes, Mary knew.

**Do you actually think that, had the Theotokos been questioned at the time, she would have replied with a fully Athanasian and Chalcedonian Christology?

I don’t think so.**
Click to expand...
Eh, all the song is asking Mary is if she knows the following:
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver you
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Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little boy
Youve kissed the face of god
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Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb
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Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the great I am
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Given what Luke writes:
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (God saves). He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How shall this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
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…Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.”
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…she would have known the above, except for the specifics like miracles, So the song is in fact deficient regardless of Marian teachings, since the answer would obviously be “yes” to at least some of the points. (lyrics)
 
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