You are right about the context, however I completely understand how it could be taken the other way. I too always thought of it as “Let’s gather ourselves in”. I think this is because the “gather us” refrain always comes after an entire verse that does not address God. So, in keeping with this “mode”, it can seem to mean that “us” is understood. Of course you are right that it is not, but one could take it that way, especially if one does not notice the semi-colon that appears before the prayer requests. It can sound like a period, in which case the requests would be a change of focus.
This is an edit: the preceding verses mention both God and us. Its really hard to make the
transition to just God. After studying the text, it becomes clear, but I bet many a parishioner doesn’t get it.
OK, that’s my complaint about the text: it isn’t written in an immediately understandable
manner. Besides being hazy on this point, it’s also extremely verbose.
Next hymn. I’m ready when anyone else is. I’ll wait.
That’s a fair point, and I certainly don’t think that
Gather Us In is any work of genius songwriting. On the other hand, it was only this year (!) that it suddenly dawned on that the “dominions, princedoms, [and] powers” who we demand to “cry out” in
Ye Watchers And Ye Holy Ones are the orders of angels, not actual earthly dominions, princedoms, or powers (i.e., kingdoms, nations, countries).
The rest of what you say amounts to perfectly valid reasons not to like the hymn. If I’d given it more thought, those are probably also among the reasons I don’t like it that much.
No, Mark. You are the one who has insisted, as I read your posts, in defensing what is pretty much an indefensible song. As others have indicated (which you seem to ignore), if there is even a remote petition, it certainly does not resemble one, and, even if it were, it comes at the end. The song is nebulous and is chock full of bad theology.
I listed thirteen separate petitions (one of them, “you shall call,” is in statement form but I take as expressing a hoped-for future action) that the hymn contains. I’m sorry you find it “nebulous”; I suppose it could be more concrete but then people would criticize it for making overly-specific demands of God, or whatever. And I don’t see where it contains one iota of bad theology. You certainly haven’t indicated any, just lobbed nebulous charges of badness.
Although, there is really no clear-cut indication as to who is “gathering us in”. As another poster said, it could be Zeus, Budha or some earth deity. If a non-Catholic, non-Christian listening to this song, they would not know what it’s talking about. Even if we were to buy into the contextual argument, even that tends to fall apart because it pretty much amounts to a glorification of the folks who are gathering in, and, not really gathering in because they are already there.
Could you please explain
from the text how it glorifies the folks who are gathered? I’ve repeatedly explained
from the text how it doesn’t – it cries out that some are poor and forsaken; it confesses that some are haughty and proud – but feel free to give it a shot for a change.
One of the most offensive lines to me is “not in some heaven, light years away”. What Haugen and his suppporters do not understand is that it is during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that heaven and earth unite. The Mass is supposed to help prepare us for that heavenly banquet.
Well, I’ve just been going by the lyrics you posted on the first page of this thread. Was that a mistake? I haven’t personally sung this song in ten (fifteen?) years.
