The concord of the Western Church is fractured and broken in so many ways, and yet one thing that amazes me is how the music of the Church, her hymnody, continues to cross all lines. So Lutherans cheerfully sing "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" and never think of it as a Roman Catholic hymn. This morning on EWTN the Entrance Hymn at the mass was "Lift Up Your Heads" by the Lutheran pastor Georg Weissel. Pity that the Roman Catholics don't sing terribly well - because the hymn deserves far more gusto than it was given. Of course, the tune they used didn't help! Yet how instructive that they sing it at all. They recognize in its words their faith, words they can pray. And we do too. It would be very interesting to make a study of the Adoremus hymnal and compare how many hymns overlap with LSB. Here's the list, by the way, for any who want to do the homework:
Adoremus Hymnal
And how many consider that "Beautiful Savior" is an Italian eucharistic hymn (really!) and that "Glory be to Jesus" is a hymn for the Feast of the Precious Blood (1 July, old calendar).
ReplyDeleteLouder still and louder,
ReplyDeletePraise the precious blood!
Amen!
By the way, we almost invariably sing "Beautiful Savior" - when we sing it - during distribution. : )
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. That'll help me get through one of the hymns that isn't exactly on my Top-10 list. Stephen did that for me for a lot of them too, and really helped me learn to love some of those 1800s hymns that I'd previously disliked.
ReplyDelete"Beautiful Savior" also has the distinction of having been translated by my second favorite 19th century Lutheran dispensationalist.
ReplyDeleteWho's your first favorite?
ReplyDeleteLöhe.
ReplyDeleteAnd said Dispensationalist and every Lutheran hymnal since has omitted the key eucharistic stanza (missing stanza 5 from the English):
ReplyDeleteLiebster Herr Jesus, Hie bist gegenwärtig,
In dem heiligen Sakrament;
Jesu, dich bitt ich, Sei uns genädig,
Jetzt und auch am letzten End!
(From Handbook to Christian Worship, p. 384)
Translated roughly:
Dearest Lord Jesus, Here you are present
In the Holy Sacrament.
Jesus, I ask you, be present for us
Now and at our last hour!
There's also another alternate version of st. 5 along the same lines.
"Weep with those who weep . . ."
To rhyme it and make it fit with the rest of the hymn as we have it in the hymnal, what about this?
ReplyDeleteDearest Lord Jesus,
Here art Thou with us,
In this most holy Sacrament:
Jesus, I pray Thee,
Be ever near me
Now and when my short life is spent.