3 things

Three things this week have led me to start this blog.
1. eek no one to play the piano or organ for our small very casual choir at Mass Saturday night...
2.This link in Silent Servants a blog by my favorite Secular Franciscan (for personal reasons). I think it is a good article but he uses this term "Kumbaya Catholics" which gives me pause...
3. Confirmation that Catholics will no longer use the name Yaweh in prayer or song in the Liturgy...

Okay what do I mean by those elipses eh?

1: no one to play means I have to dust off my guitar and try to return to my Folk Mass days of 30 years ago. The spirit is willing but the finger tips are sore ;-)

2. I have been chatting off and on with Silent Servants blogger, Idj about all the cantankerous discussion of Liturgical music on the web...talk about a complete lack of Christian harmony ... so the term Kumbaya Catholic sounds like a pejorative term kind of like 'Cafeteria Catholics' ...Bless his heart, Ron Rolheiser once debunked that insult in my hearing by pointing out we are ALL cafeteria Catholics...the traditionalists don't help themselves to the liberal Catholic opportunities and vice versa...perhaps the same can be said for music.

Kumbaya is a lovely spiritual and I guess i am lucky that it didn't get overplayed at Folk Masses I attended in my youth...there are a few hymns and Mass parts from that era that I don't particularly want to hear or play or sing again...but it was a time when the Congregations were beginning to sing and the efforts to write easy to learn and play music led to some works that get tedious after a while. Over playing music will do that...I would be happy NOT to hear Handle's Messiah for much the same reason. For the record I think Gregorian Chant is beautiful...I also love some of the contemporary hymns and Mass parts...and I believe there is a parishioner for every choice a choir could make.

3. I knew this was coming. Appropriating a Jewish term and then using it in a manner that would scandalize an observant Jew is just wrong - rude, etc. There are a couple of Hymns that I love which originally used this name including Dan Schutte's 'You are Near' which has been edited in CBW to 'O God'. That substitute jars on my ear. Walking home from work and mulling this over yesterday I wondered if one could substitute "Jesus" in this refrain. Ah now we get into that Trinitarian mystery about knowing the Father through the Son...does it work? I dunno I am just an amateur who can barely read music .. but likes to sing.

okay time to stop blogging because the finger tips on my left hand are REALLY tender from practicing my guitar for Mass tonight. I am truely thankful that the pianist and organist will be back at Mass next week.