The thoughts, ideas, findings, and fancies of a Catholic student at Our Lady's University.

Monday, January 30, 2006

Gotta love the community college...

Overheard at school today:

"So, like what are you learning in your math class?"
"Like fractions and decimals and stuff. It really sucks."
"Yeah, I hate learning that boring *stuff* you're never gonna use again."

Sunday, January 29, 2006

That 70's Song

One of the best things Jenny's ever discovered at church was an old songbook in the bench of a little-used piano. I was flipping through that book during a meeting last week, and found a gem that I just had to share (by Erich Sylvester, if anyone's curious). There among "We All Have Fun When God Mixes With Us!" and "Good Morning, Zachary" was "Stay With Me":

I am a man without envy
No roof and no walls to defend me
In hope that someday you'll defend me
And take all my troubles away

Refrain:
Walk with me, talk with me
Tell me about all the good things you've done
Stay with me, pray with me
Leave all your blues in your shoes at the door

I went to school for a long time
Expecting to stay in a straight line
Until I discovered that great minds
Don't stay in a straight line at all

Refrain

I was a child once, I know it
My mother has pictures to show it
But she always knew I'd outgrow it
I guess that's what pictures are for

Repeat refrain until no one is left alive...

Monday, January 16, 2006

Amy Welborn asks how many people heard "Here I Am, Lord" at Mass yesterday, and the number of people who did is rather staggering (222 comments at this writing). This comes in the same week that the diocesan newspaper reveals that, according to a poll by them, "Here I Am, Lord" is the second-favorite song in the diocese.

The most surprising thing about their survey results is that there are three Latin songs on the list ("Tantum Ergo," "Panis Angelicus," and "Pange Lingua"), making Thomas Aquinas more popular than Marty Haugen. Their explanation of the Latin on the list? From the article that accompanied the list: "Latin, as three of the top 25 songs suggest, is still prominent in liturgical music. 'A new generation might be inclined to sing Latin because they don’t have memories of [Mass in] Latin and because they are expected to sing in other languages,' Silhavy said."

And then, there was an editorial on the same topic, which noted the list's lack of anything written in the last 15 years, and offers a solution. "The next time you hear a new song at your church, try to learn it. Give it a chance. Thank your parish music leader for keeping alive those well-loved favorites, but thank them for trying something new, too." Certainly, if a song worthy of the Mass is introduced, I'll thank whoever introduced it, but it's been a verrrrry long time since I've heard anything new that didn't sound like it was written in a Burger King drive-through (scroll down to the second piece on the page).

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