Is there anything in these lyrics objectionable to Catholics?

[Della]

Bob, I see #5 as most problematic for us Catholics:

5
Too soon we rise; the symbols disappear;
The feast, though not the love, is past and gone;
The bread and wine remove, but Thou art here,
Nearer than ever still our Shield and Sun.

It’s definitely not Catholic theology that the “symbols disappear” when communion is over. The hymn’s lyricist seems to denying the Real Presence, although he appears to allude to some kind of divine presence for communion in other verses. And the ones that say we lean on God alone and need “no other arm” to lean upon could be taken as denial of the Communion of Saints. I any case, it’s a nice hymn as far as it goes, but, IMHO, it’s too iffy to be used for a communion hymn for the Mass.

 

[JB_Brother_4446]

Bob, I see #5 as most problematic for us Catholics:

5
Too soon we rise; the symbols disappear;
The feast, though not the love, is past and gone;
The bread and wine remove, but Thou art here,
Nearer than ever still our Shield and Sun.

It’s definitely not Catholic theology that the “symbols disappear” when communion is over. The hymn’s lyricist seems to denying the Real Presence, although he appears to allude to some kind of divine presence for communion in other verses. And the ones that say we lean on God alone and need “no other arm” to lean upon could be taken as denial of the Communion of Saints. I any case, it’s a nice hymn as far as it goes, but, IMHO, it’s too iffy to be used for a communion hymn for the Mass.

Is it not written, “Thus says the Lord, Cursed is the man who puts his trust in another man?”

 

[Della]

Is it not written, “Thus says the Lord, Cursed is the man who puts his trust in another man?”

Sure, but that doesn’t negate the Communion of Saints, either. We say in the liturgy of the Mass that we rely on the constant intercession of the saints. Considering the lyricist was Presbyterian it’s only logical to say that he may have been denying the CofS with his lyric. Of course, he may simply have meant that God alone is our redeemer and the only name by which we can be saved, but the lyric is ambiguous enough for Catholics to wonder at the lyricist’s intentions. Which is all I stated in the first place.

 

[JB_Brother_4446]

Sure, but that doesn’t negate the Communion of Saints, either. We say in the liturgy of the Mass that we rely on the constant intercession of the saints. Considering the lyricist was Presbyterian it’s only logical to say that he may have been denying the CofS with his lyric. Of course, he may simply have meant that God alone is our redeemer and the only name by which we can be saved, but the lyric is ambiguous enough for Catholics to wonder at the lyricist’s intentions. Which is all I stated in the first place.

Who are the saints praying to?