Pastoral Music – Liturgy and Life

October 25, 2021October 25, 2021

New Podcast Introduces “Hidden Figure” Fr. Clarence Rivers

Fall is my favorite time of year, but this Fall is extra special, as it marks the release of a project that has been a long time in the making: a new podcast exploring the life, legacy and my own brief, personal encounter with Black Catholic priest, composer and liturgical pioneer, Fr. Clarence Joseph Rivers. Since November is Black Catholic History Month, there’s no better time for this launch.

From the official press release:

“The podcast seeks to introduce Fr. Rivers to Catholics of any color who have never heard of Rivers or the profound impact he made on the way Catholic worship looks and sounds today.

“Created and co-hosted by Emily Strand (of the podcasts Beyond the Words and Potterversity), Meet Father Rivers seeks out individuals who knew Rivers at all stages of his career—from the youthful optimism of his early years to the disillusionment and isolation he seemed to experience toward the end of his life. Strand and guests dialogically uncover hidden truths of Rivers’ (and their own) personal history, revealing both the gift of Blackness and the impact of racism and oppression—historical and ongoing—in the American Catholic Church.

July 3, 2020December 14, 2021

Author’s Note on a Previous Post

[content warning: David Haas]

Each post on Liturgy and Life is a snapshot in time; I don’t tend to edit or update posts after the fact, except to fix the odd typo. I’m making an exception for this post, because it hasn’t aged well. I am grateful to those friends who took the time to help me understand how the phrase “cancel culture” hurts more than helps; I relied too heavily on it in this piece, and I apologize. One person’s wise words sum up well the problem with the phrase, in that it “purports to describe too many things to be useful as a category for deep reflection.” Conflating too many concepts in one phrase, they went on to say, risks dismissing behaviors or actions that are unacceptable, and those who bravely call them out. Soon after I wrote the piece, I tried to correct my error by adding the footnote that follows the piece, but alas, more of a clarification was needed. This note seeks to provide such clarification.

I continue to stand by what the original piece calls into question, namely:

wedding an artist too closely to their art (I am particularly opposed to this in most cases, as an artist and a sinner, and as someone whose artistic heroes were not always perfect)
banning art for any reason (which also doesn’t age well)

March 14, 2020March 14, 2020

Moving Ministry Online

These are weird, wild times we live in. Masses are not cancelled where I live (yet), but COVID-19 has caused our Bishops to dispense us from our Sunday obligation for the next three weeks. My parish has cancelled all non-essential (that seems to mean non-sacramental) gatherings. This includes our weekly choir and ensemble rehearsal, though we are still permitted to gather and sing/play for Mass on Sundays, with the important instructions to stay home if members are particularly vulnerable and/or experiencing symptoms of any kind.

On one hand, we could take this ban on non-essential gatherings as an invitation to relax while we deal with this unprecedented public health crisis. Tuesday night choir will be one less thing to worry about as we all focus on staying healthy and safe.

February 27, 2019March 3, 2022

An offering of what? Re-assessing the song “Ashes”

UPDATE by Emily

Thursday, 3 March 2022

As foreshadowed by Chris Brunelle’s comment on my original post (thanks, Chris!), the song “Ashes” was given a deep lyrical revision for its appearance in Oregon Catholic Press’ Breaking Bread hymnal. I can confirm this update appears in the 2022 hymnal, but I am told it debuted in Breaking Bread 2021. (I am so far past considering this song for use in the liturgy, I confess I did not notice the revision last year.) The revision removes a lot of the self-absorbed language from the verses that I critique below, but it retains the misleading identification of ashes as “an offering,” so prominent in the song’s refrain.

Still, I find it interesting and perhaps encouraging that a major publisher took the time to consider theologically-based critiques of a popular song and to do something about it.

Do note that what I’m critiquing below are the songs original lyrics, not the revision.

Thanks for visiting,

Emily

ORIGINAL POST, dated 27 February 2019:

We rise again from ashes,

from the good we’ve failed to do.

We rise again from ashes,

to create ourselves anew.

If all our world is ashes,

then must our lives be true,

An offering of ashes,

an offering to you.

(lyrics from the song “Ashes” by Tom Conry c. 1978 New Dawn Music)

Catholics have been singing the song “Ashes” at Ash Wednesday Masses in English-speaking North America since the late 1970s. Many Catholics view it as the inevitable choice for the occasion; I have heard more than one person claim “it’s not really Ash Wednesday” if we don’t sing “Ashes.” Thus in preparing the Ash Wednesday liturgy, “Ashes” gets a free ride; its popularity means it is not subjected to the usual scrutiny. “Ashes” on Ash Wednesday is a fait accompli.

September 17, 2018September 18, 2018

Now Is the Time

“Brothers and sisters: In this instruction I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good.” (1 Cor. 11:17)

I have always loved the first reading for Mass today, from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. First, it demonstrates Paul’s fiery spirit; one can hear the passion of the Apostle to the Gentiles coming through clearly (maybe a little too clearly for those whose behavior he speaks against).

Secondly, and more importantly for me, he’s fired up about the liturgy, about getting the way we do liturgy right. I think of this passage, and hope I’m standing with St. Paul when I advocate for or against some seemingly insignificant liturgical observance or practice. Too often, eyes glaze in response. “Surely it doesn’t matter that much,” many argue. “If our hearts are in the right place, if we’re participating with gusto, who cares about the details?”

This is an argument I’ve heard a lot lately with regard to the music we use in liturgy. Why can’t we sing more songs from this or that Christian radio station, or from this or than experience of charismatic youth camp? The young folks love them! And isn’t that the point, to evangelize? To engage the youth, to get them excited about Mass? Continue reading “Now Is the Time”