Nominees for worst hymn

[FrCorey]

The lyrics are straight from Psalm 43 - and you, Father Corey, above all, should’ve known that. Are you daring to call the psalms either trivial or pagan? :ehh:

no, I guess I don’t like the tune to it.
I was raised with the simple tunes, like holy, holy, holy.

hmm, course then again I like Enya,
did you see when she sang for JPII?
youtube.com/watch?v=b5hHxZeuHqg&feature=related

 

[PacoG]

Worst Hymn? The protestant version of “Praise to the Lord” which has replaced the traditional Catholic version in most hymnals. If you look at the words, the Catholic version ponders the sacred mysteries we are about to celebrate. The Protestant version is a rewrite of the Catholic version so it is gutted of Catholic theology.

Since it is usually used as an entrance hymn, the Catholic version better prepares and focuses us for what the Mass is. The Protestant version is just another feel good, Sunday worship service song you would hear at the First United PresboMethoBaptiPalian Church down town.

**“Praise to the Lord”
(Catholic Version) **
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him for He is our health and salvation.
All you who hear to his presence draw near; Join in profound adoration.

Praise to the Lord, let us offer our gifts at the altar.
Let not our sins and offenses cause us to falter.
Christ, the High Priest, bids us all join in his feast,
Victims with Him on the altar

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is us adore Him.
All that has life and breath come now rejoicing before Him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again.
As we here worship before him.

Praise to the Lord (Protestant Version)
Praise to the Lord,
the Almighty, the King of creation.
O my soul, praise him,
for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
now to his temple draw near;
join me in glad adoration!

Praise to the Lord,
who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
surely his goodness
and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew
what the Almighty can do,
who with his love doth befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord!
O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath,
come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.

 

[pnewton]

Worst Hymn? The protestant version of “Praise to the Lord” which has replaced the traditional Catholic version in most hymnals.

Thank you for posting all the words. I love every verse of that great hymn and frequently use it for an entrance. If adoration of God the Almighty is what you call feel good, then put me down. I bet many here wish this was the worst they had to deal with.

 

[LilyM]

no, I guess I don’t like the tune to it.
I was raised with the simple tunes, like holy, holy, holy.

hmm, course then again I like Enya,
did you see when she sang for JPII?
youtube.com/watch?v=b5hHxZeuHqg&feature=related

Aah, so it’s a case of not liking the TUNE, rather than the lyrics - understandable I wonder what sort of tune David would’ve had for it originally and whether that might not have sounded ‘pagan’ for you too, in spite of it being sung regularly in the Temple.

 

[PacoG]

Thank you for posting all the words. I love every verse of that great hymn and frequently use it for an entrance. If adoration of God the Almighty is what you call feel good, then put me down. I bet many here wish this was the worst they had to deal with.

The Protestant version of Praise to the Lord is gutted and lacking in the same value as the Catholic Version of Praise to the Lord. The comparison is similar to the difference between the Catholic and Protestant forms of worship. It is just like how any Protestant worship service pales in comparison to The Mass. The merits and benefits of the Mass and Catholic worship are infinite. Protestant worship is of limited merit on a good day.

Secondly, Praise to the Lord is traditionally used as an entrance hymn. As such, it should prepare and properly dispose people to participate in the sacred mysteries. “let us offer our gifts at the altar./Let not our sins and offenses cause us to falter./Christ, the High Priest, bids us all join in his feast,/Victims with Him on the altar” does that. It best describes what Christ does for us at the Mass–offer sacrifice–and what we are to do (join our sufferings, gifts and prayers in union with His sacrifice). On the other hand, “Ponder anew/ what the Almighty can do,/who with his love doth befriend thee” is feel good, Protestant pap.

Finally, as Catholics, we are entitled to our legacy of hymns. Not that of Protestants. The Protestant version of “Praise to the Lord” has no place in a Catholic Mass.

 

[FrCorey]

Aah, so it’s a case of not liking the TUNE, rather than the lyrics - understandable I wonder what sort of tune David would’ve had for it originally and whether that might not have sounded ‘pagan’ for you too, in spite of it being sung regularly in the Temple.

of course there are some gregorian monks that I like also. one of my favorites is tears in heaven.

 

[Mystic_of_God]

My nominee is an (un)original composition by a parishioner.

We have begun a tradition of singing it on Good Friday, what a way to mess up a perfectly fine Good Friday service.

 

[Ghoti]

I haven’t heard “Praise to the Lord” in quite a while, but the last time I heard it, it was the Catholic version – however, the penultimate line of the first verse was “to the **altar **draw near”.

According to what I find online, the original hymn “Lobe den Herren” was written by Joachim Neander, a Calvinist. So I doubt that the “protestant version” derived from the Catholic – more like the other way 'round.

Now, here is the text in German:

Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren!
Meine geliebte Seele, das ist mein Begehren.
Kommet zu Hauf! Psalter und Harfe, wacht auf!
Lasset den Lobgesang hören!

Lobe den Herren, der alles so herrlich regieret,
Der dich auf Flügeln des Adelers sicher geführet,
Der dich erhält, wie es dir selber gefällt.
Hast du nicht dieses verspüret?

Lobe den Herren, der künstlich und fein dich bereitet,
Der dir Gesundheit verliehen, dich freundlich geleitet.
In wieviel Not hat dich der gnädige Gott
Über dir Flügel gebreitet.

Lobe den Herren, der deinen Stand sichtbar gesegnet,
Der aus dem Himmel mit Strömen der Liebe geregnet.
Denke daran, was der Allmächtige kann,
Der dir mit Liebe begegnet.

Lobe den Herren; was in mir ist, lobe den Namen.
Alles was Odem hat, lobe mit Abrahams Samen.
Er ist dein Licht; Seele, vergiß es ja nicht;
Lob ihn und schließe mit Amen!

I ran it through Babelfish, unfortunately this is what I get:

Praise to the gentlemen, the powerful king of the honours! My loved soul, that is my desiring. Come to Hauf! Psalter and harp, wake up! Let the praise singing hear! Praise to the Mr., which everything so wonderful govern, that you on wings of the Adelers surely gefuehret, which receives you, as it pleases you. Don’t you have this feel? Praise the gentlemen, which prepares artificially and finely you, who you health lent, you friendly led. In how much emergency the benevolent God spread you over you wings. Praise the gentlemen, which visibly gesegnet your conditions, that from the sky with rivers of the love rained. Remembers, what the allpowerful can do, which meets you with love. Praise the gentlemen; which in me is, praise the names. Everything which Odem has, praise with Abrahams seed. It is your light; To soul, do not forget it; Praise it and closes with Amen!

Anyone here sprechen the Deutsch?

 

[LilyM]

I haven’t heard “Praise to the Lord” in quite a while, but the last time I heard it, it was the Catholic version – however, the penultimate line of the first verse was “to the **altar **draw near”.

According to what I find online, the original hymn “Lobe den Herren” was written by Joachim Neander, a Calvinist. So I doubt that the “protestant version” derived from the Catholic – more like the other way 'round.

Now, here is the text in German:

I ran it through Babelfish, unfortunately this is what I get:

Anyone here sprechen the Deutsch?

It actually translated ‘Lobe den Herren’ in two different ways? “Praise to the gentlemen” and “Praise to the Mr” You’d think at least the translation would be consistent, even if consistently wrong

 

[pnewton]

Finally, as Catholics, we are entitled to our legacy of hymns. Not that of Protestants. The Protestant version of “Praise to the Lord” has no place in a Catholic Mass.

I see. Well, fortunately I include a great wealth of variety at the Masses where I choose the song, including some written by Protestants. I have no prejudice based on the author if I find the song theological sound and liturgical appropriate. I deliberately include some Protestant hymns as the majority of my parish is converts.

 

[Guitar]

This song is based, in part, on the heretical, gnostic Acts of John. It also draws the pagan deity Shiva as an influence. As far as I’m concerned, this song shouldn’t even be in any hymnal. It’s as though we would be singing George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord, especially where he starts calling out Hare Krishna.

How do we know this song is based on the Acts? The Acts use the dance metaphor, and this song uses the word dance once in the chorus, but it needs a little more than that to prove the author has based the text on the gnostic Acts. Otherwise, every religious ditty using the word “dance” stands equally accused.

As for Shiva, Sydney Carter, if I remember correctly, had a Shiva statue on his desk … did Sydney Carter write these words? It is entirely possible to have someone pen lyrics that contain a dance metaphor without Shiva necessarily being the inspiration.

 

[Phemie]

Worst Hymn? The protestant version of “Praise to the Lord” which has replaced the traditional Catholic version in most hymnals. If you look at the words, the Catholic version ponders the sacred mysteries we are about to celebrate. The Protestant version is a rewrite of the Catholic version so it is gutted of Catholic theology.

Since it is usually used as an entrance hymn, the Catholic version better prepares and focuses us for what the Mass is. The Protestant version is just another feel good, Sunday worship service song you would hear at the First United PresboMethoBaptiPalian Church down town.

**“Praise to the Lord”
(Catholic Version) **
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him for He is our health and salvation.
All you who hear to his presence draw near; Join in profound adoration.

Praise to the Lord, let us offer our gifts at the altar.
Let not our sins and offenses cause us to falter.
Christ, the High Priest, bids us all join in his feast,
Victims with Him on the altar

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is us adore Him.
All that has life and breath come now rejoicing before Him.
Let the Amen sound from his people again.
As we here worship before him.

Praise to the Lord (Protestant Version)
Praise to the Lord,
the Almighty, the King of creation.
O my soul, praise him,
for he is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear,
now to his temple draw near;
join me in glad adoration!

Praise to the Lord,
who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
surely his goodness
and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew
what the Almighty can do,
who with his love doth befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord!
O let all that is in me adore him!
All that hath life and breath,
come now with praises before him!
Let the amen sound from his people again;
gladly forever adore him.

My Catholic Book of Worship III has different lyrics again:

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the king of creation!
O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!
Come all who hear: Brothers and sisters draw near,
Join in profound adoration!

Praise to the Lord, who does prosper our work and defend us;
Surely God’s goodness and mercy here daily attend us.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
Who with divine love befriends us.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in us adore him!
All that has life and breath come now with praises before him!
Let the “Amen!” Sound from God’s people again,
Gladly with praise we adore him!

 

[Guitar]

According to what I find online, the original hymn “Lobe den Herren” was written by Joachim Neander, a Calvinist.

And the Calvinist forbad instruments, especially the organ.

 

[Cheresse]

What do you think of this–during the reading of the Gospel during the last weeks of Lent, our pastor had a cantor leading little verses. In the account of the Samaritan woman at the well, it was “Give us living water;” with the blind Bartimaeus, it was “Look at me–I was blind and now I see;” with the raising of Lazarus, it was “Roll away the stone, come out.” When I questioned him about this, he told me that those long Gospels cannot be read properly by only one person (he had a deacon and a lay reader assisting). I felt as though I was at a play and not Sunday Mass!

 

[Phemie]

What do you think of this–during the reading of the Gospel during the last weeks of Lent, our pastor had a cantor leading little verses. In the account of the Samaritan woman at the well, it was “Give us living water;” with the blind Bartimaeus, it was “Look at me–I was blind and now I see;” with the raising of Lazarus, it was “Roll away the stone, come out.” When I questioned him about this, he told me that those long Gospels cannot be read properly by only one person (he had a deacon and a lay reader assisting). I felt as though I was at a play and not Sunday Mass!

That practice is clearly forbidden by the GIRM.

1. If there are several persons present who are able to exercise the same ministry, nothing forbids their distributing among themselves and performing different parts of the same ministry or duty. For example, one deacon may be assigned to take the sung parts, another to serve at the altar; if there are several readings, it is well to distribute them among a number of lectors. The same applies for the other ministries. But it is not at all appropriate that several persons divide a single element of the celebration among themselves, e.g., that the same reading be proclaimed by two lectors, one after the other, except as far as the Passion of the Lord is concerned.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

And I forgot the winner of this version of the Raspberry Awards:

LORD OF THE DANCE:bigyikes:

This also takes the Hall of Shame prize for most banal and insipid song that best represents the worst in “liturgical” music.

LOTD is high art compared to this:​

• Psalm 23 for Busy People
  Toki Miyashina
• The Lord is my Pace Setter, I shall not rush,
  He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals,
  He provides me with images of stillness,
  Which restore my serenity.
  He leads me in ways of efficiency,
  through calmness of mind; and his guidance is peace.
  Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day,
  I will not fret, for his presence is here.
  His timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.
  He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity,
  by anointing my head with his oils of tranquility,
  My cup of joyous energy overflows.
  Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours,
  For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord,
  and dwell in his house for ever.

• which has found its way into at least one Catholic hymnal, in England (in a Northern diocese). :hypno:

 

[pnewton]

I know of at least one case where the Catholic version was a severe downspiral of a great Protestant hymn. “Come Thou Font of Every Blessing” was changed to “Sing a New Church Into Being.” I would say it is one of my worst hymns, but I have no idea what it means.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

The Protestant version of Praise to the Lord is gutted and lacking in the same value as the Catholic Version of Praise to the Lord. The comparison is similar to the difference between the Catholic and Protestant forms of worship. It is just like how any Protestant worship service pales in comparison to The Mass. The merits and benefits of the Mass and Catholic worship are infinite. Protestant worship is of limited merit on a good day.

**Why do some Catholics always have to throw up over other Christian worship ? **​

…On the other hand, “Ponder anew/ what the Almighty can do,/who with his love doth befriend thee” is feel good, Protestant pap.

**There’s nothing wrong with that hymn, theologically, or as verse: it does at least scan as well as rhyme, unlike far too much that passes for poetry these days. It’s also memorable, unlike the most of the stuff inflicted on Christian worshippers now. **​

Finally, as Catholics, we are entitled to our legacy of hymns. Not that of Protestants. The Protestant version of “Praise to the Lord” has no place in a Catholic Mass.

**It’s a far better hymn than the tawdry & untheological, doctrine-free rubbish usually churned out nowadays: not least by RCs. Don’t blame Protestants for what Catholics put in Catholic hymnals or in Catholic services. **​

 

[benedictgal]

**Why do some Catholics always have to throw up over other Christian worship ? **​

**There’s nothing wrong with that hymn, theologically, or as verse: it does at least scan as well as rhyme, unlike far too much that passes for poetry these days. It’s also memorable, unlike the most of the stuff inflicted on Christian worshippers now. **​

**It’s a far better hymn than the tawdry & untheological, doctrine-free rubbish usually churned out nowadays: not least by RCs. Don’t blame Protestants for what Catholics put in Catholic hymnals or in Catholic services. **​

But, some of the stuff from the Praise and Worship anthem CDs that are continously plugged on TNT, TBS and other cable channels do come from the Protestant ecclesial communities.

I will grant you that a lot of it has to do with the immediate effects of the Second Vatican Council, where people followed the spririt, rather than what the Council actually said. This month’s online edition of Adoremus has an interesting article called The Decline and Fall of Church Music is a pretty good read. It says, in part:

Church Music As Easy Entertainment
The problem essentially began in the middle 1960s, when the idea of entertaining music came to dominate the impulse to strive for beauty and excellence in liturgy. It was as if people said: down with skill, down with all these standards, let’s just sing whatever comes to mind and makes us feel good. Although Catholic music before this was not perfect, and plenty of bad music was still around, there had been an effort to improve it for decades, and results were beginning to appear.

Many Protestant churches seem to have had a delayed reaction to the new trend in music for worship, plunging into “praise music” by sometime in the early and mid-1970s. Three decades later, my Protestant friends are despairing at what has happened. They grew up in a world in which hymnals were usually written in four-part harmony, and congregations often sang the hymns in parts. Even when they weren’t in the choir, people identified themselves as altos or tenors or basses. Choirs in medium-sized city parishes often had 50-80 members, and they weren’t distinguished so much by their ability to read and sing (most everyone could) but rather by their willingness to commit a huge amount of time to learning difficult music, like cantatas, for performance during holiday seasons.

(Catholics were never that well-off chorally speaking. Nonetheless, there were singers and choir members and parishioners who did know the repertoire, could read music, and recognized true ideals of sacred music.)

But now, my Protestant friends tell me, several generations have been raised on “praise” choruses, which might be compared to musical comic books. There is a role for this music, to be sure, and no one wants a world without them completely. The problem is that they came to set the standard, and now my friends are worried. Not only are there fewer and fewer singers left; there are fewer and fewer people around who can even teach or play musical instruments.

Music That Does Not Inspire
One might name a thousand factors that led to this situation (how convenient to blame recorded music and popular media!); but the most obvious reason is rarely stated: the music people were offered and embraced as the core repertoire for worship did not inspire them to acquire the skill needed to produce beautiful music. Where was the challenge? When triviality dominates, ideals disappear; the result is a universal dumbing-down of aesthetic sensibility, and then also of religious culture.

When I hear my Protestant friends describe their situation, it is especially painful to realize that Catholics are now about five or ten years “ahead” of them in the musical decline. We can tell them a thing or two about what it is like to worship in parishes where there are only a handful of musicians for every several hundred worshippers. It’s not just that “Catholics don’t sing” — many apparently can’t. There is a pervasive lack of ability to sing, of the capacity to hit a pitch and hold it, of knowing what it means to read notes going up and down, of rudimentary knowledge of rhythm — all of this musical ability has been seriously undermined by several decades of artistic decline.

This article makes your points, as well as mine and Paco’s painfully and acutely. Those of you who are ready to hurl “rolling eyes and gasps” at me and accuse Adoremus of not being in line with the Church because the publication is despised in certain circles should step back and be open to what the article (and Adoremus, for that matter) clearly elucidates.

I was reared in the early states of the post Council era, when everything pretty much sounded like something Karen Carpenter would have sung. Mind you, this is also the era that gave us Disco, the Village People and KC and the Sunshine Band, as well as Barry Manilow. Now, listening to my dad’s satellite radio (which he tunes to the 70s ), some of the soft pop sounds eerily like the SLJ dribble we still have to sing at my parish, on occasion.

The only upshot to the music the Holy Father has to endure during the DC Mass is the fact that he will now have first-hand experience to what we have to suffer through at every Mass. He wasn’t exactly beaming for joy with the music he heard during the 2005 WYD Mass (one only has to look at the closeups from the Vatican feed to see his consternation). That’s why the music for the 2008 WYD Mass has taken on a different turn.

 

[Cat]

I read German a little.

The “Protestant version” seems closer to the German version. Keep in mind that many Germans are Reformed (Calvinist). My great-uncle was a German Reformed minister.

I honestly see nothing opposed to the Catholic Church teachings in the Protestant version. Honestly, some of you will see a demon behind every bush (this is a Protestant expression, as far as I know). It is a great hymn, no matter which version you sing.

The version that I grew up with (in the Protestant church) said, “Gladly for aye we adore Him.” That was always a nice link with our past, and I wish it hadn’t been changed in modern translations.

In fact, as I read through some of my Protestant hymnals, I don’t find the version that was posted on this thread. There are other “Protestant versions” than the one that is posted in this thread. Please don’t assume that all translations are the same. I pointed out one little difference in the paragraph above.

I don’t have time to post the entire version that I sang right now, but we did sing 4 verses. But here is the second verse that has not been posted yet:

Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth. Shelters thee under His wings, yea,so gently sustaineth. Hast thou not seen how thy desires e’er have been granted in what He ordaineth?

Yes, I know, it’s Calvinist theology (“Divine Providence”) But it’s also Catholic, because Catholics believe that as we yield to the Lord, He will make us more like Him.

I really WISH that people would stop blasting songs with such colorful language. Many people have used these songs at funerals of loved ones. What a terrible thing to come here and read that the song that Mama loved so much is puerile or theologically fluffy or childish! That just makes people feel bad.

If you don’t like a hymn, fine–just state your opinion. But don’t rip it to shreds, please. This is not Critic’s Corner and no one is paying you to write creative insults about hymns.