patriotism in Church

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Goodness, I am simply amazed that the singing of America The Beautiful or some other patriotic song in Church on July 4th can cause such a debate. 😦

Actually, it saddens me to think that we cannot take a single minute on our Independence Day ( a single minute, once a year folks!) to thank God for all that He has Blessed us with in this beautiful country. I for one, got goosebumps when our congregation sang this beautiful song of thanks and upon singing it, I immediatly gave my thoughts and my thanks to Him, because without His grace, none of what we have or accomplished would have been possible. Singing this song in a ball park would not have done that! My Church, my beautiful Catholic Church, was and is the perfect place to sing this song of thanks.

Reading the debate going on here over a parish’s decision to sing a 1 minute patriotic song that is sung once a year, reminds me just how tough it must be to be a parish priest…
 
jimcav said:
Goodness, I am simply amazed that the singing of America The Beautiful or some other patriotic song in Church on July 4th can cause such a debate. 😦

Actually, it saddens me to think that we cannot take a single minute on our Independence Day ( a single minute, once a year folks!) to thank God for all that He has Blessed us with in this beautiful country. I for one, got goosebumps when our congregation sang this beautiful song of thanks and upon singing it, I immediatly gave my thoughts and my thanks to Him, because without His grace, none of what we have or accomplished would have been possible. Singing this song in a ball park would not have done that! My Church, my beautiful Catholic Church, was and is the perfect place to sing this song of thanks.

Reading the debate going on here over a parish’s decision to sing a 1 minute patriotic song that is sung once a year, reminds me just how tough it must be to be a parish priest…
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Can I get an AMEN up in here?

AMEN!!!
 
smithm29 said:
Compare America with traditional indulgenced prayers after communion and see if the focus is the same:
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The much beloved Marian hymn and oft-used recessional hymn “Immaculate Mary” contains a prayer for our homeland…

We pray for our Mother, the Church upon earth,
And bless, dearest Lady, the land of our birth.
Ave, ave, ave, Maria! Ave, ave, Maria!

Oh my God…call the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. Get it banned. It detracts from the Eucharist because it mentions the “land of our birth.” Pull out some obscure story about the Cure of Aurs or St. Louis de Montefort frowning on this song as they exited from Mass one Sunday.
 
PacoG said:
The Church recognizes the need to pray for our nation. There is a Mass with special readings in the U.S. Missal and Lectionary and a special opening prayer, prayer over the gifts and post-communion prayer when Independence Day doesn’t fall on a Sunday. They are:

First Reading: Isaiah 9:1-6 or 32:15-18, 20 or 57:15-19
Psalm 72 or 85.
Second Reading: Phillippians 4:6-9 or Colossians 3:12-15 or James 3:13-18
Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 5:9 or John 14:27
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12 or John 14:23-29 or John 20:19-23

There is also a special Mass for Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November).

First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:7-18 or Kings 8:55-61
Psalm 113 or 138
Second Reading: Colossians 3:12-17 or Timothy 6:6-11, 7:19
Gospel Acclamation: Ephesians 1:3 or 1 Thessalonians 5-18
Gospel: Mark 5:18-20 or Luke 12:15-21 or Luke 17:11-19

In short, the Church sees the inclusion of our National civic holidays as fit for inclusion and special celebration on the liturgical calendar. In fact, they rise almost to the level of solemnities with three readings (as opposed to daily Masses which just have two) and special prayers.
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You have a good point, Paco. However, the problem lies in that the Fourth of July occurred on a Sunday this year. Thus, the Sunday takes precedence over everything. Interestingly enough, as far as I can tell, the United States might be the only country that has its own secular holiday included in the Roman Missal. Of course, given the anti-clerical conditions under which Mexico was founded, I seriously doubt (in fact, I don’t even remember) seeing anything for 16 de septiembre in the Roman Missal approved for use in Mexico.

Now, Fr. David also raises a good point, too. Inasmuch as the Mass ends with the dismissal, we need to keep the music used for the Holy Sacrifice sacred. There are some great songs that could fit the holiday:

How Firm a Foundation
Christ is Made the Sure Foundation
Eternal Father, Strong to Save
Faith of Our Fathers

We need to put things in perspective, too. I am extremely proud to be a Texan. However, as much as I love Texas, I can’t very well sing “Texas our Texas,” let alone, “The Eyes of Texas” at Mass. Nothing precludes us from praying for our country and our state during the General Intercessions, though.
 
benedictgal said:
We need to put things in perspective, too. I am extremely proud to be a Texan. However, as much as I love Texas, I can’t very well sing “Texas our Texas,” let alone, “The Eyes of Texas” at Mass. Nothing precludes us from praying for our country and our state during the General Intercessions, though.
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I think God would disagree with you on the Eyes of Texas. He is a Longhorn. Why do you think he made sunsets burnt orange. 😃

I’m sure some Aggie or Sooner is going to post a disagreement. But we know who they truly serve. 😃

(I’m joking.)
 
EDIT: Content deleted because I’m not sure how to delete a post.
 
I’m glad to see that “Eternal Father Strong to Save” is included in the list of acceptable hymns. Many of our parishioners recognize this as “The Navy Hymn”. We sang all of the verses as published in our Music Issue for our entrance hymn on Sunday, July 4. These verses include prayer for those who serve on sea, land and air. I’ve heard that hymn played many times in our church mostly at funerals of retired sailors, but also used as hymns on secular holidays such as the July 4th and Memorial Day.

On the lighter side, our church is next to the shipyard so when we hear the bugle call on week day mornings we know that Mass will begin in 5 minutes. Our entrance hymn usually drowns out the “Star Spangled Banner” 🙂 except on those few occassions when our song leader gets laryngitis.
 
PacoG said:
I think God would disagree with you on the Eyes of Texas. He is a Longhorn. Why do you think he made sunsets burnt orange. 😃

I’m sure some Aggie or Sooner is going to post a disagreement. But we know who they truly serve. 😃

(I’m joking.)
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Yes, but God made Man in His divine image, and we bleed maroon.
 
catsrus said:
I was thinking during the closing that if I was a Catholic visiting from another country instead of another town, I might be annoyed by this blatent display of patriotism in church. Are we not Catholics first and …(fill in the nationality) next?
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I would have no problem at all if some sense of national pride was displayed at Mass if I was the alien visiting another country. I surely would have no problem with a song that was a prayer asking for guidance and blessing.
 
jimcav said:
Goodness, I am simply amazed that the singing of America The Beautiful or some other patriotic song in Church on July 4th can cause such a debate. 😦
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It’s a CAF thing. Such issues will always bring about debate.
 
pnewton said:
It’s a CAF thing. Such issues will always bring about debate.
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True enough!

I’ve been around here for a few years now and I’m often amazed at the things we Catholics debate. This one is right up there with the best of them!😃
 
It is entirely inappropriate to sing these American songs and gloat about being Americans in church. If you want to sing patriotic songs, go to a parade.
 
Brooke449 said:
It is entirely inappropriate to sing these American songs and gloat about being Americans in church. If you want to sing patriotic songs, go to a parade.
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You’re from Canada, then, I presume?
 
Hymns are prayers, folks. It would be unfortunate not to pray for this nation under God, especially on the anniversary of our founding. To those who have claimed that hymns of the nation are not appropriate but prayer intentions for the nation are fine, you need to remember the words of St. Augustine: “When you sing your pray twice!”
 
fencetennis said:
Hymns are prayers, folks. It would be unfortunate not to pray for this nation under God, especially on the anniversary of our founding. To those who have claimed that hymns of the nation are not appropriate but prayer intentions for the nation are fine, you need to remember the words of St. Augustine: “When you sing your pray twice!”
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But, a lot of the times, the focus is on the nation in these songs and not necessarily on God. Even though America the Beautiful does have some religious undertones to it, I still do not believe that such songs are appropriate for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. You don’t sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus on Christmas. Whatever music is used within the confines of the Mass needs to be sacred.
 
benedictgal said:
Whatever music is used within the confines of the Mass needs to be sacred.
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The recessional is not during the Mass, it is after. A song praying for God to bless America is not profane or inappropriate after Mass.
 
For some reason, I think “My Country 'Tis of Thee” shouldn’t be sung at Mass. It seems to be more so centered around our country than God. It mentions God in the last verse, but the first three verses are iffy.
 
CoffeeHound said:
The recessional is not during the Mass, it is after. A song praying for God to bless America is not profane or inappropriate after Mass.
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But the building itself remains a sacred space, and shouldn’t be used for just any old purpose for the heck of it. Even if a concert is held in the church, it should be appropriate music (e.g. not heavy metal with blasphemous lyrics), and precautions taken to preserve the dignity of the Blessed Sacrament, etc.

I think it is proper and fitting to recognize the secular holiday by praying for the nation in the general intercessions. Lord knows your nation, as ours, needs prayers in these challenging (for a Christian) times. It is also fitting, in the intercessions, to give thanks for the bounty of the nation. In fact that’s where the liturgy does allow some leeway.

What happens in the Church regardless of whether in the context of the Mass or outside of it, should keep the focus on God.
 
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