Why do Churches Continue to Purchase OCP Material?

[clem456]

Good old look and lick, eh?

Reverence is discussed on this forum a lot…
Psalm 34 is beautiful. Dripping with reverence, praise, humility. The music is wonderful to sing in harmony. I really enjoy this one.

1I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
4I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
8Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
9Fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

 

[The_Curt_Jester]

Aah, OCP, how I detest thee - let me count the ways.

1. Vertical and horizontal inclusive language throughout, along with strong hints at feminist/pagan/Wiccan theology in some places.
2. Hazy theology and certain cases of direct heresy (i.e. Ashes, The Supper of the Lord, Sing a New Church, Anthem, etc.)
3. Alteration of (the few remaining) traditional hymns for “social justice” purposes.
4. “Contemporary” musical styles completely at odds with the Church’s teachings on sacred music - many are so hard to follow that people make the same musical mistakes from parish to parish. Many of the tunes are on a quality par with 1980’s Muzak.
5. Virtually no Gregorian chant, which should have “pride of place” in the liturgy according Vatican II documents.
6. A tiny number of Latin hymns, deliberately mistranslated in some cases (Panis Angelicus).
7. Mass parts which do not follow the approved texts (today this is mainly with the Spanish-language “Flor y Canto” hymnal, which has, for example, no correctly-translated Glorias).
8. Their ready-made Prayers of the Faithful do not follow the GIRM guidelines for the General Intercessions - for one thing, there are almost never prayers for the dead.
9. Floppy, disposable newsprint missals cheapen the Word of God and end up in the garbage when they expire.
10. A company that has been known to badger and harass pastors and music directors when they cancel their subscriptions, especially those in their home Archdiocese.

I read through most of the thread, but I think this particular post says much of what I would have said, though probably not as well. The problem isn’t just OCP, though. GIA and WLP are both pretty bad. In the four churches in which I have worked I’ve had to use OCP, GIA, WLP and Pray Together (Sunday Missal Service). The first three are pretty much the same, though GIA is better if you can get old (and I mean old) copies of their hymnals. Pray Together actually has mostly more traditional hymns without all the editing that the Big Three do to them. In all churches I’ve done my best to choose the more traditional music, but it’s not really easy considering the butchery done to it.

If you’re looking to get a new hymnal, go with Adoremus, St. Michael, or Vatican II. I’ve heard about the Lumen Christi, too, but I’ve yet to get a hold of a copy, so I can’t give a personal opinion on that one.

 

[superamazingman]

If you’re looking to get a new hymnal, go with Adoremus, St. Michael, or Vatican II. I’ve heard about the Lumen Christi, too, but I’ve yet to get a hold of a copy, so I can’t give a personal opinion on that one.

Yes!

By the way, the Lumen Christi isn’t really really a hymnal as it is a book for the Mass, including sung propers, ordinary, and the readings.