Nominees for worst hymn

[elgar]

How about those insipid little 3 chord ditties from the 60s? There is one that comes to mind, “Sons of God” and I can’t remember who wrote it. Went like this:

Sons of God, hear His holy word.
Gather round the table of the Lord.
Eat His body, drink His blood.
Then we’ll sing a song of love.
Allelu-allelu-Alleluia.

Maybe I’m being too hard on this genre. At least it was honest and trying not to be anything more than a very simple guitar song. Compare this to the schlock produced by the St. Louis Jesuits in the 80s. Really no more substance musically, but artificially dressed up unsingable tunes, insane rhythms with nothing much to say. No wonder Catholics can’t or won’t sing.

For the record, the composer of “On Eagle’s Wings” has recently discovered the good stuff (Gregorian Chant and decent polyphony) of the church. I read somewhere that he “rues the day” he wrote that awful tune that continues to haunt him as it is sung in many RC churches 50 Sundays a year.

 

[benedictgal]

How about those insipid little 3 chord ditties from the 60s? There is one that comes to mind, “Sons of God” and I can’t remember who wrote it. Went like this:

Sons of God, hear His holy word.
Gather round the table of the Lord.
Eat His body, drink His blood.
Then we’ll sing a song of love.
Allelu-allelu-Alleluia.

Maybe I’m being too hard on this genre. At least it was honest and trying not to be anything more than a very simple guitar song. Compare this to the schlock produced by the St. Louis Jesuits in the 80s. Really no more substance musically, but artificially dressed up unsingable tunes, insane rhythms with nothing much to say. No wonder Catholics can’t or won’t sing.

For the record, the composer of “On Eagle’s Wings” has recently discovered the good stuff (Gregorian Chant and decent polyphony) of the church. I read somewhere that he “rues the day” he wrote that awful tune that continues to haunt him as it is sung in many RC churches 50 Sundays a year.

At least there is hope of some sort of repentence. It is very sad that most people’s idea of sacred music comes from the bvnality and the tripe produced by the SLJ and constantly plugged by OCP.

 

[m134e5]

I’m all for that, but then they better darn well start providing for living wages to be paid to musicians who can handle a higher caliber of music. There is this fallacy that classically trained musicians just fall out of the clouds and take on volunteer posts at parishes just for the fun of it.

I still have student loans to pay off!!!

Want better music at your parish? Figure out a way to jump-start your parish’s stewardship so you can pay for it. We gotta eat too.

Exactly…

Volunteers are nice, but so many people I know don’t want to major in music “because there is no money in it”. It’s hard to be a good church music director without a degree in music, and there isn’t much incentive to get a degree in music if most Catholic church jobs in it out there are volunteer only. (Generosity is a good thing, but bill collectors don’t care about that).

 

[Guitar]

Exactly…

Volunteers are nice, but so many people I know don’t want to major in music “because there is no money in it”. It’s hard to be a good church music director without a degree in music, and there isn’t much incentive to get a degree in music if most Catholic church jobs in it out there are volunteer only. (Generosity is a good thing, but bill collectors don’t care about that).

It’s also hard to be a good church music director when the business of earning your living leaves only “leisure time” (ha ha) to devote to practice, planning and research. Even without a degree in music, I know how much more I could do and at what level I could play if there were a guaranteed minimum paid towards my living and the sum total of it wasn’t whatever I can negotiate with brides and bereaved families. My parish wants one jot more out of me, it seriously has to help pay my bills so I have the time to devote to it.

 

[pnewton]

It’s also hard to be a good church music director when the business of earning your living leaves only “leisure time” (ha ha) to devote to practice, planning and research.

As with all things, there is usually a way to be better and faster. I have gathered a few tips here and try to always improve. I have to do this on a few hours a week and it’s not easy. It is one reason I only add new music slowly. I keep my music organized at home so I don’t have to spend much time on housekeeping. I rotate music by not filing the songs I use for a while, so I know what I have done. Yes, a paid position would be nice, but my parish flat doesn’t have the bucks for it.

 

[Guitar]

As with all things, there is usually a way to be better and faster. I have gathered a few tips here and try to always improve. I have to do this on a few hours a week and it’s not easy. It is one reason I only add new music slowly. I keep my music organized at home so I don’t have to spend much time on housekeeping. I rotate music by not filing the songs I use for a while, so I know what I have done. Yes, a paid position would be nice, but my parish flat doesn’t have the bucks for it.

This is all true and I have to be as efficient as possible. We have well-established filing, music selection and communication systems - if we didn’t we’d go under. Part of my problem is the day job involves a lot of stuff out of left field (short notice ridiculous hours and travel) which is very destabilising. It is the forward planning, getting out there and researching new material and hymnals, the think-space needed to develop the management system and training documentation we desperately need, etc etc that loses out - I find you can keep 90% of the mechanics ticking over but it’s the “overhead” stuff that can make a huge difference that misses out unless you have the financial means to guarantee the time needed to concentrate on it. And even with all the efficiency in the world, there are limits to the technical level at which you can play without a certain amount of practice time at some regularity. I am currently at nowhere near my technical potential for this reason.

 

[elgar]

Although worthy of discussion, I think we are drifting away from the topic at hand.

 

[pnewton]

. Part of my problem is the day job involves a lot of stuff out of left field (short notice ridiculous hours and travel) which is very destabilising.

Fortunately I know my schedule far in advance and it is pretty set. I understand what you are saying about lack of technical expertise. I consider that just one more area to have to work around. Specifically, I do not do nearly as much on piano as I would like, as it is by far my second instrument.

elgar:

Although worthy of discussion, I think we are drifting away from the topic at hand.

Then let me tie this into the topic. It is a important for the person in the pew to understand what those who pick these songs have to contend with. It is easy to speak of hymns that we find tiresome or irritating. It is another thing entirely to jump in and give large volumes of time preparing the music for the liturgy, or if one has not talent, to greatly increase giving so a full time musician can be placed on staff. Frankly, I get tired of some of the belly-aching I read here from people who have never lifted a finger to help with the liturgical music. On one hand, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But on the other hand, if you aren’t going to be part of a solution, then realize that those who are working hard do not give your opinion much credence.

I know most here in the liturgy corner who are engaged in music and gleaned good advice. But some of the stuff is beyond me. Heck, it took me three months the first time I learned the Exultet. The Pater Noster took just as long. My changes to the liturgy will have to be slow and painstaking. Until then, it may be Eagle’s Wings or Amazing Grace.

I still won’t sing* Sing a New Church*, though. I got to have some standards.

 

[elgar]

I know some have a problem with the theology of “Amazing Grace” in the context of Roman Catholicism but will accept the pure simplicity and singability of this tune/text any day to that of “On Eagle’s Wings”. “Amazing Grace” has passed the time test. Both are popular these days in Catholic and Protestant churches.

 

[brotherhrolf]

Fortunately I know my schedule far in advance and it is pretty set. I understand what you are saying about lack of technical expertise. I consider that just one more area to have to work around. Specifically, I do not do nearly as much on piano as I would like, as it is by far my second instrument.
Then let me tie this into the topic. It is a important for the person in the pew to understand what those who pick these songs have to contend with. It is easy to speak of hymns that we find tiresome or irritating. It is another thing entirely to jump in and give large volumes of time preparing the music for the liturgy, or if one has not talent, to greatly increase giving so a full time musician can be placed on staff. Frankly, I get tired of some of the belly-aching I read here from people who have never lifted a finger to help with the liturgical music. On one hand, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But on the other hand, if you aren’t going to be part of a solution, then realize that those who are working hard do not give your opinion much credence.

I know most here in the liturgy corner who are engaged in music and gleaned good advice. But some of the stuff is beyond me. Heck, it took me three months the first time I learned the Exultet. The Pater Noster took just as long. My changes to the liturgy will have to be slow and painstaking. Until then, it may be Eagle’s Wings or Amazing Grace.

I still won’t sing* Sing a New Church*, though. I got to have some standards.

I plead guilty. PNewton where are your elders? Of course we have paid positions - young folks with good voices usually attending LSU’s School of Music. But the rest of us are old fogeys’ who struggle but manage. Where are your old fogey’s? I don’t read music worth a darn but I learn my part by ear in the final analysis. Sight reading music is not part of my strength. My fellow tenor and I have sung together for 25 years. He is able to read music. I am able to memorize and blend. If I had to sight read, I’d flunk.

We also use cassette tapes to learn parts. I have sung along on the way home learning my part. You don’t have to have a choir of professionals, you need a choir of people who are willing to work.

 

[pnewton]

We also use cassette tapes to learn parts. I have sung along on the way home learning my part. You don’t have to have a choir of professionals, you need a choir of people who are willing to work.

Hey, I listen to you, benedictgal, puzzleannie and others. I use the tape idea with both the Pater Noster and the Exultet. They just took forever. It would be nice to have a working choir some day. Right now there are only 3-5 of us, at least that speak English. Actually, you have given me an idea. I think the old fogey’s are a lost cause, but maybe I could tap into the high school age.

 

[Guitar]

You don’t have to have a choir of professionals, you need a choir of people who are willing to work.

If you can secure the services of one or two suitable people in just the right places (i.e. someone to do things like prepare tapes for the choir) it allows other people to achieve one heck of a lot through plain old-fashioned work. It’s just those sorts of things that I wish I could commit to doing but know at the moment I cannot thanks to the need to earn a living and also fill my own slot on the roster.

But now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

 

[Ghoti]

Whe my dad went to school, he was in the choir – St Pat’s provided the choir for Sunday Masses at the Basilica, and St Bon’s provided the altar boys. So I guess it was easier, because choir practice became part of the school curriculum.

Here in Toronto, there’s always St Michael’s Cathedral, home of the St Michael’s Choir School. I’ve been to a couple of Masses – gorgeous.

The choir at my parish church is nice; odd, though, my neighbourhood is predominantly Serbian/Croatian, but the choir is almost 100% Filipino.

 

[LilyM]

Whe my dad went to school, he was in the choir – St Pat’s provided the choir for Sunday Masses at the Basilica, and St Bon’s provided the altar boys. So I guess it was easier, because choir practice became part of the school curriculum.

Here in Toronto, there’s always St Michael’s Cathedral, home of the St Michael’s Choir School. I’ve been to a couple of Masses – gorgeous.

The choir at my parish church is nice; odd, though, my neighbourhood is predominantly Serbian/Croatian, but the choir is almost 100% Filipino.

Coming from both Serbian and Croatian stock, and been through the singing in many a Croatian Mass in my time, I can tell you it may be because of the national tendency towards slight but noticeable tone deafness

 

[GemmaRose]

In another forum, folks were invited to post their favorite hymns. Following the original poster’s vein, I now ask for candidates for the bottom of the barrel. Here are mine:

Pescador de los Hombres (Lord, When You Stood by the Seashore)
Here I Am, Lord
Glory and Praise to our God
The King of Glory
Sing a New Song Unto the Lord
Lead Me, Lord
O Love of God/O Amor de Dios
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
Bread of Life
Gather Us In
Song of the Body of Christ
Sing a New Church
Whatsoever You Do
They’ll Know We are Christians
On Eagles’ Wings
Lord of Glory (especially when they sing with a banjo)
Battle Hymn of the Republic
Though the Mountains May Fall
One Bread, One Body
We Remember
Hail Mary, Gentle Woman
We are the Light of the World
Pan de Vida
City of God
Ven al Banquete/Come to the Feast
Alabare

I realize this is a rather long list, but I’m sure that there are some other hymns that are worse.

Benedictgal, do you have no other hobbies than to bash liturgical music that you don’t like? You seem to take a heck of a lot of time on many different threads to try to force your personal opinon down other people’s throats.

While I agree that there are a few bad songs on your list (and I believe that “Lord of the Dance” is a hands down winner in the dreadful category), your list contains many songs which are not only beloved by very, very many Catholcs, but move their minds and hearts to God, and as such fulfill what liturgical music is supposed to do.

In addition, composers are people gifted by God with creativity. Some are more gifted than others… but all who write liturgical and Christian music are at least trying to use their talents for God, instead of writing negatve and discourteous things about others.

I’m curious… how much music have you written?

Do you realize that as you may sit at a Mass thinking, “Ugh! There’s ‘Here I Am’ again,” that someone seated next to you might be praying, *“Here I am Lord. My heart has heard You calling me. Do with me as You will” * ??

What don’t you like about “Lord of Glory”? The joyful sound of it (or is joy also against the rubrics?), or the words which come from Scripture?

How about “Though the Mountains May Fall”? Again, is it the joyful tone, the comforting words, or the Scriptural basis for the words?

Have you ever looked out at a congregation singing “Glory and Praise to Our God” with joy on their faces because they are singing with praise to glorify God? (Oh, there’s that joy problem again!) – I have.

Have you ever seen comfort on the faces of the bereaved while “On Eagles Wings” is sung at a loved one’s funeral? – I have.

Have you ever seen tears of love for the Blessed Mother in the eyes of a group of Rosarians as “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman” is being sung? – I have.

Have you ever heard anyone say, “I couldn’t stop singing ‘City of God’ all week. I don’t remember every word, but I sang it all the way home from Mass last week after it was the Closing Song, and it really helped me remembere during the week that this is what we are supposed to be doing… building the City of God” ? – I have.

If your answers to any of these questions was no, maybe it’s because I have been a liturgical musician and have sung in church (paid and unpaid) for 35 years, and, as you state in your post:

… Now, I am not a musician. …

---

*“Dear God, do You know the greatest grief one of Your creatures can bear? It is the thought that she can never love You enough. ” *- St. Gemma Galgani

 

[GemmaRose]

You like that, do you?

Well, here’s a couple more (although I can’t take any credit):

*Though the mountains may fall, and the hills turn to dust,
We will never get rid of this song.
Like a big ball of wax, it will stick in our ears,
Drowning out other tunes that belong.
Long beloved by Pastorals,
In the 60s they are trapped.
Though a mother forsakes her child,
Who will dare disown this cr*p?
Could you please play some silence?
Give the microphones away?
Won’t you stop moving to and fro,
What if someone wants to pray?
Let’s all clap with the Father,
For he’s just like you and me.
Once he lived for the Roman rite,
Now he lives for Community.

ANTHEM
We write hymns, we’re composers,
We are fans of one another.
We make hymn books for tomorrow
While we rake in cash today.
We’re the best, we’re the greatest,
So our hymns are all you need.
And our songs are all you hear in church,
The only ones indeed.*

And finally…

*You need not fear that terror of the night,
Indigestion, intestinal pain,
Though thousands writhe in anguish,
Pepto will steer you clear!

And we will feed you all, on chicken wings,
Greasy fries with stringy cheese,
Salad that isn’t all that green,
And ice cream, out of a machine,
At the end!*

(more at mgilleland.com/music/moratorium.htm)

I clicked on the above link and was surprised at such a long list of poor examples of Christianity. I am sure that people such as the members of that website are who give Catholics such a bad name.

And for all those who are so gifted at writing parodies of the music of those who write music solely to praise God, maybe they should try writing some music they think would be appropriate (and then watch their attempts get bashed on a CAF thread).

---

*“Dear God, do You know the greatest grief one of Your creatures can bear? It is the thought that she can never love You enough. ” *- St. Gemma Galgani

 

[Cat]

Benedictgal, do you have no other hobbies than to bash liturgical music that you don’t like? You seem to take a heck of a lot of time on many different threads to try to force your personal opinon down other people’s throats.

While I agree that there are a few bad songs on your list (and I believe that “Lord of the Dance” is a hands down winner in the dreadful category), your list contains many songs which are not only beloved by very, very many Catholcs, but move their minds and hearts to God, and as such fulfill what liturgical music is supposed to do.

In addition, composers are people gifted by God with creativity. Some are more gifted than others… but all who write liturgical and Christian music are at least trying to use their talents for God, instead of writing negatve and discourteous things about others.

I’m curious… how much music have you written?

Do you realize that as you may sit at a Mass thinking, “Ugh! There’s ‘Here I Am’ again,” that someone seated next to you might be praying, *“Here I am Lord. My heart has heard You calling me. Do with me as You will” * ??

What don’t you like about “Lord of Glory”? The joyful sound of it (or is joy also against the rubrics?), or the words which come from Scripture?

How about “Though the Mountains May Fall”? Again, is it the joyful tone, the comforting words, or the Scriptural basis for the words?

Have you ever looked out at a congregation singing “Glory and Praise to Our God” with joy on their faces because they are singing with praise to glorify God? (Oh, there’s that joy problem again!) – I have.

Have you ever seen comfort on the faces of the bereaved while “On Eagles Wings” is sung at a loved one’s funeral? – I have.

Have you ever seen tears of love for the Blessed Mother in the eyes of a group of Rosarians as “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman” is being sung? – I have.

Have you ever heard anyone say, “I couldn’t stop singing ‘City of God’ all week. I don’t remember every word, but I sang it all the way home from Mass last week after it was the Closing Song, and it really helped me remembere during the week that this is what we are supposed to be doing… building the City of God” ? – I have.

If your answers to any of these questions was no, maybe it’s because I have been a liturgical musician and have sung in church (paid and unpaid) for 35 years, and, as you state in your post:

---

*“Dear God, do You know the greatest grief one of Your creatures can bear? It is the thought that she can never love You enough. ” *- St. Gemma Galgani

Bless you for writing this!

I have written music for years, but since coming into the Catholic Church, I’ve written nothing. I’m afraid to.

A few weeks ago I finally got up the nerve to ask our children’s choir director if I could teach the 3rd graders one of my children’s songs. She agreed (I’ve been accompanying her choir for three years now).

We did “Don’t Eat Daniel” and to my joy, the kids liked it so much that they told their other teachers about it, and I was asked if the kids could sing the song in their Bible class. They asked if they could keep the CD so that they could do the song more in the future.

The choir director told me quietly, “You really should DO something with these songs of yours. They’re good.”

Well, I’m not sure if I have the courage yet. I don’t mind if people don’t go ga-ga over my songs, but I do not wish to be called “heretical” or “irreverent” or “inane” or any of the other horrible adjectives that are leveled against Marty Haugen, Haas, Schutte, and some of the other modern Catholic composers. I personally think these men have earned a Martyr’s Crown because of the hatred that they have to endure on this earth.

Some would say that ridicule and scorn don’t entitle one to a Martyr’s Crown as much as flame and sword, but people, words hurt even more than physical pain. Physical pain can often be relieved, but words continue to haunt for the rest of your earthly life. Words also cause the recipient to sin mortally by responding in like with resentment and even hatred against the critic.

For the critics who say, “Well, we’re only trying to make you compose better music by criticizing your songs”–HEY! I’m already doing the BEST THAT I CAN!!! Do you think I sit down and decide to write a really AWFUL hymn that insults the Lord and is hard to sing and that is irreverent and heretical? NO! I write the songs that the Lord leads me to write. **You got a gripe about my songs or about ANY songs that other composers write about God? Then GO TO GOD ABOUT IT! Tell Him that He should do a better job of distributing composition talent to His creatures! **

I’ll bet some people on this forum criticize the birds’ songs.

 

[benedictgal]

Benedictgal, do you have no other hobbies than to bash liturgical music that you don’t like? You seem to take a heck of a lot of time on many different threads to try to force your personal opinon down other people’s throats.

While I agree that there are a few bad songs on your list (and I believe that “Lord of the Dance” is a hands down winner in the dreadful category), your list contains many songs which are not only beloved by very, very many Catholcs, but move their minds and hearts to God, and as such fulfill what liturgical music is supposed to do.

In addition, composers are people gifted by God with creativity. Some are more gifted than others… but all who write liturgical and Christian music are at least trying to use their talents for God, instead of writing negatve and discourteous things about others.

I’m curious… how much music have you written?

Do you realize that as you may sit at a Mass thinking, “Ugh! There’s ‘Here I Am’ again,” that someone seated next to you might be praying, *“Here I am Lord. My heart has heard You calling me. Do with me as You will” * ??

What don’t you like about “Lord of Glory”? The joyful sound of it (or is joy also against the rubrics?), or the words which come from Scripture?

How about “Though the Mountains May Fall”? Again, is it the joyful tone, the comforting words, or the Scriptural basis for the words?

Have you ever looked out at a congregation singing “Glory and Praise to Our God” with joy on their faces because they are singing with praise to glorify God? (Oh, there’s that joy problem again!) – I have.

Have you ever seen comfort on the faces of the bereaved while “On Eagles Wings” is sung at a loved one’s funeral? – I have.

Have you ever seen tears of love for the Blessed Mother in the eyes of a group of Rosarians as “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman” is being sung? – I have.

Have you ever heard anyone say, “I couldn’t stop singing ‘City of God’ all week. I don’t remember every word, but I sang it all the way home from Mass last week after it was the Closing Song, and it really helped me remembere during the week that this is what we are supposed to be doing… building the City of God” ? – I have.

If your answers to any of these questions was no, maybe it’s because I have been a liturgical musician and have sung in church (paid and unpaid) for 35 years, and, as you state in your post:

---

*“Dear God, do You know the greatest grief one of Your creatures can bear? It is the thought that she can never love You enough. ” *- St. Gemma Galgani

First of all Gemma, if you examine these songs in comparision to official Church documents, including Sacramentum Caritatis, you will find that many of them do not pass the “smell test.” Just because I am not a musician doesn’t necessariy discount my opinions. I have enjoyed the trust of my bishop and my rector when planning Masses. In fact, I am still asked to help in selecting music and readings for the Mass. You need not take such an insulting tone with me.

There is more to music than just whether or not it “feels good.” That has never been a criteria for Sacred Music. Documents like Musica Sacram, the Chirograph on Sacred Music (written by Pope John Paul II), the Moto Proprio on Sacred Music written by Pope St. Pius X and Sacramentum Caritatis are excellent frames and points of reference, not to mention the writings of the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.

Now, are you also ready to discount him because he is not a liturgist, but, rather a theologian? The problem is that most people will sing what they feel like without even reading the Church’s documents.

The City of God hymn focuses more on ourselves than on God. It is about what we are doing. We become the subject, not God. Many of our modern hymns take on that approach. The Lord of the Dance is based on a heretical, gnostic gospel that reduces the Salvific Mysteries of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection into a simple traipse. This makes for bad theology.

Incidentally, most of what was “performed” at the DC Mass on Thursday should belong to that list. It was more of a performance than anything else. The settings were horrible and most contrary to everything the Church has written and said. This was certainly an embarassment for those Catholics who genuinely care about Sacred Music. NYC’s music, on the other hand, was far superior.

 

[benedictgal]

Bless you for writing this!

I have written music for years, but since coming into the Catholic Church, I’ve written nothing. I’m afraid to.

A few weeks ago I finally got up the nerve to ask our children’s choir director if I could teach the 3rd graders one of my children’s songs. She agreed (I’ve been accompanying her choir for three years now).

We did “Don’t Eat Daniel” and to my joy, the kids liked it so much that they told their other teachers about it, and I was asked if the kids could sing the song in their Bible class. They asked if they could keep the CD so that they could do the song more in the future.

The choir director told me quietly, “You really should DO something with these songs of yours. They’re good.”

Well, I’m not sure if I have the courage yet. I don’t mind if people don’t go ga-ga over my songs, but I do not wish to be called “heretical” or “irreverent” or “inane” or any of the other horrible adjectives that are leveled against Marty Haugen, Haas, Schutte, and some of the other modern Catholic composers. I personally think these men have earned a Martyr’s Crown because of the hatred that they have to endure on this earth.

Some would say that ridicule and scorn don’t entitle one to a Martyr’s Crown as much as flame and sword, but people, words hurt even more than physical pain. Physical pain can often be relieved, but words continue to haunt for the rest of your earthly life. Words also cause the recipient to sin mortally by responding in like with resentment and even hatred against the critic.

For the critics who say, “Well, we’re only trying to make you compose better music by criticizing your songs”–HEY! I’m already doing the BEST THAT I CAN!!! Do you think I sit down and decide to write a really AWFUL hymn that insults the Lord and is hard to sing and that is irreverent and heretical? NO! I write the songs that the Lord leads me to write. **You got a gripe about my songs or about ANY songs that other composers write about God? Then GO TO GOD ABOUT IT! Tell Him that He should do a better job of distributing composition talent to His creatures! **

I’ll bet some people on this forum criticize the birds’ songs.

Cat, perhaps you should begin by reading the Church’s documents on what constitutes fitting Sacred Music for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Surely, there is nothing wrong with composing songs for children to use in Catechism Class. However, the Mass does have special requisities. A good launch pad for you is to read the Chirograph on Sacred Music by Pope John Paul II, the Moto Propio by Pope St. Pius X and Musica Sacram. Then, read the writings of the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, especially A New Song for the Lord and Spirit of the Liturgy.

Before you start hurtling insults at people because we have legitimate concerns, why not familiarize yourself with these important documents? Let these be your guide when writing songs. I sincerely believe that when you read through them, you will find that they will be an excellent guide.

Jesus founded His Church on the Rock of St. Peter. The Apostolic See is the Chief liturgical steward of the Church. When the Apostolic See speaks, it is Peter speaking. Why not read the documents and see them for yourself?

 

[dandn5000]

I’m going to add another nomination for “Alle, Alle, Alleluia”.

Ohh, my GOSH!

At my school, the (non-Catholic, which may just explain it) music teacher/Mass accompanist sees fit to use the refrain for this for the Gospel Acclamation, complete with clapping and tambourines. For the entire fourth quarter of the school year.

planetsmilies.net/vomit-smiley-31.gif

I remember when I was in around first grade, the music teacher then would use it very, very rarely, usually for a special occasion. If that were the case now, I could stomach it. But its used so often, and it is so freaking annoying, it makes me want to vomit.

I would have no qualms whatsoever if this hymn/acclamation suddenly found itself in the burn pile, never to be retrieved.