Category: Liturgy and Music

John Allen says that the revamped ICEL is collecting comments on the draft English translation of the Mass and will issue a completed text this summer. Anybody out there got a copy you want to leak to us?

I recently picked a hymn from Ritual Song for Mass, it was a familiar tune and looked like a good choice. But when we sang it in rehearsal, I got the full impact of the words. Sing along if you know the hymn tune “Beach Spring.”

As A Fire is Meant for Burning – v1.
As a fire is meant for burning
With a bright and burning flame,
So the church is meant for mission, Giving glory to God’s name.
Not to preach our creeds or customs, But to build a bridge of care,
We join hands across the nations, Finding neighbors everywhere.

Let’s break it down now.

As a fire is meant for burning
With a bright and burning flame,
Nice metaphor, but redundant use of the word burning. Fire burns – no need to remind us. How about bright and glowing? How about bright and holy, ie – Easter candle? You will be singing this during Liturgical functions, right? How about bright and warming? So much promise, so many possibilities…

So the church is meant for mission, Giving glory to God’s name.
I prefer my church to be “Church” but other than that this phrase is ok.

Not to preach our creeds or customs, But to build a bridge of care,
This is the line that almost set me into convulsions. Perhaps the author (Ruth Duck, b. 1947) meant creeds like the Boy Scout Pledge. Or perhaps the Shriner’s Oath. Or maybe the promise to take out the trash. Even so, “preaching Creeds” it pretty much what Jesus wanted us to do when He instructed the disciples to go to all Nations. Nothing wrong with preaching, Creeds or customs per se. And they certainly aren’t trumped “care” as though Paul wrote in Corinthians about how the “Greatest of These is Care.”

We join hands across the nations, Finding neighbors everywhere.
Did I just go from Mass to an “Up With People” concert? Is this the background music for a ride at Disney Land? I know “joining hands” is pretty important to people from Ms. Duck’s generation but the last phrase doesn’t even make a bit of sense. “Neighbors everywhere” is an oxymoron. I have few neighbors. They are within walking distance of my house. Or if I’m traveling far from DC and run into someone from my town, I might call him a “neighbor” in a general sense. But, I don’t make a habit of holding hands with them. And they aren’t everywhere because I’m not Mr. Rogers.

And this gets to the real issue: This hymn is nothing but nice, and in being it takes a broad slap at our Creed. Nice chases real prayer and authentic theology out of the room.

So whoever feels up to it: go ahead and write three verses that make some sense and glorify the Kingdom of God instead of the God of the Nice. Maybe I’ll print it in program and we’ll sing those words instead.

This came in the mail from San Antonio’s Fr. Christopher Phillips:

Many of those who have purchased a copy of The Book of Divine Worship have indicated an interest in having a video of the celebration of the Mass using the liturgy of the Anglican Use. Work has begun on the production of a DVD, and you may see a trailer of the upcoming video by going to this site:
http://atonementonline.com/dvd/index.php

The language manipulators are there, even at the Vatican:
A phrase in section 3 of the new apostolic letter on the liturgy says:
in French: la communauté des hommes,
in Italian: la comunità degli uomini,
in Portuguese: a comunidade dos homens,
in Spanish: la comunidad de los hombres,
in English: the whole community of men and women
Cardinal Arinze, would you kindly call your office?

When peaceful silence lay over all, and the night had run half of her swift course, your all-powerful word, O Lord, leaped down from heaven, from the royal throne. (Wis. 18:14-15)