Reflections on Contemporary Hymns

hat tip to the New Liturgical Movement for the link.

Posted by Fr. Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. at 4:35 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

found here.

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I hope to be blogging again by Advent.

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I worked in Music ministry from 1971 to 1988. During that time I wrote a lot of music, and published nine cassettes of Liturgical music. Actually I would only admit to writing about one third of it. Some of the older stuff is really not very good music. But there are a few pieces I wrote that I would not mind praying again as part of the liturgy, especially some of my psalm settings.

But it is amazing how music travels. I just recieved this email:

Hello Fr Keyes from Papua New Guinea.

I am sure you are amazed that an email is coming from a place that is probably unknown to you. The reason I am emailing to you is because we usually sing a Lord's Prayer Hymn (Our Father) that is composed by you.

I would like to know if there is a recording of this song, and under what album it was recorded under, and if it is sold anywhere in Australian Catholic shops.

Thank you and God Bless.

The piece in question took an Honorable Mention at an NPM composition competition in 1979. It is not a song that I would use anymore simply because I am not sure the refrain format works liturgically. However, I would be most interested in hearing hgow a song I wrote in the '70s now translates into another culture. I may send them my recording in exchange for a recording of their choir doing in.

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It has happened before that someone thought the homily was so beautiful they wanted a copy of it. Well, tonight was the first time that had ever happened to me in Spanish.

The English is below, after the Spanish. I will leave it to you whether you think it is beautiful. Spoken word is always different from written word. Tonight I was preaching in two languages, and when you do that everything needs to be short and to the point, otherwise it is a painfully long homily.

The Homily:

Este día es reconocido como el día de los muertos. En realidad nosotros también celebramos este día como el día de los vivos. En la resurrección de Jesús nosotros creemos que la muerte esta vencida por siempre. Este es el Centro de nuestra fe y nuestra esperanza. La muerte no es lo último del camino. Vivir es nuestro destino.

Hoy es un día de recuerdo. Recordamos a todos los que se fueron primero que fueron marcados con la señal de la fe y con la señal de la Cruz.

El momento de nuestra muerte va a ser un momento de despertar, un descubrir del lugar donde hemos estado, viviendo en el Cuerpo de Cristo cercas de Dios y rodeados de todos los Ã?ngeles y Santos.

Si permanecemos en Cristo, los que están presente con el están presente con nosotros también. El apóstol nos recuerda que nosotros que hemos sido bautizados en Cristo somos bautizados en su muerte. Si compartimos su muerte también compartimos su resurrección. Esta es la razón por la que nuestra esperanza no nos defraudara.

El no nos abandona. El ha hecho un camino antes de nosotros y nos acompaña en nuestra jornada a su Reino.

La muerte es una parte normal de la vida. Cuando recordamos a los muertos, nuestra fe crece y nuestra vida se enriquece. Por ejemplo, en mi memoria de la vida de mi abuelita, yo recuerdo sus palabras y su ejemplo, y pienso que no esta lejos de mi, porque los lazos de amor no se rompen con la muerte.

Esta es nuestra fe, es nuestra esperanza, y nuestra esperanza no nos defraudara.

The English Homily:

This is often known as the day of the dead. In reality we also celebrate this as the day of the living. In the resurrection of Jesus we believe that death has been conquered forever. This is the center of our faith and of our hope. Death is not the end of the road. To live is our destiny.

Today is a day of remembrance. We remember all those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, all those who have gone before us marked with the sign of the cross.

The moment of our death will be a moment of awakening, a discovery of the place we have been all along, living in the Body of Christ close to God and surrounded by all the angels and saints.

If we remain in Christ, those who are present with him are present to us as well. The apostle reminds us that we who are baptized into Christ Jesus are baptized into his death. By sharing a likeness to his death we share a likeness to his resurrection. This is the reason that our hope will not disappoint.

He does not abandon us. He has led the way before us, and indeed accompanies us on our journey to the kingdom.

Death is a normal part of life. In our remembrance of the dead, our faith grows and life grows richer. For example, in my memory of the life of my grandmother, I remember her words and her example, and I realize that she is not far from me, as the bonds of love are not broken with death.

This is our faith, it is our hope, and hope will not disappoint.

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