“This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine. But other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.”
– Lloyd Stone, This is My Song
“It’s Independence Day weekend – why don’t we sing something more patriotic like ‘God Bless America’?” I get asked this one a lot. At least once or twice a year, substituting in Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veteran’s Day, etc. And my answer always goes back to the same topic on repertoire selection I addressed a few weeks ago – is it 1) liturgically sound, 2) pastorally appropriate, and 3) musically worthy? I don’t question the validity of a lot of patriotic songs on their musicality. Most of them are very memorable, very singable melodies that complement their texts beautifully. So we can check that box. Pastorally, there may be some merit to acknowledging the civil events outside of the liturgical calendar. After all, we are a community squarely in the geography of the United States, and impacted by the land in which we all live. But do these songs reinforce the pastoral needs the Church is called to address with her people? Is the message of God’s Word and presence in and among us central to most songs celebrating our national identity? Not quite – even if they might tangentially acknowledge or address God, they aren’t as indicative of our relationship as a Church with our Creator as they are about our individual relationship with our country. So question two is debatable, but leans toward a ‘no’ for me.
As for the question of liturgical appropriateness, this falls in the more strongly objectionable category. The Mass is a celebration of the Catholic (universal) Church, not a service for our local congregation alone. The language of the Eucharistic Prayer reinforces this – we pray not just as those gathered here and now, but with the whole Church, on Earth and in Heaven. The Church has no reason to sing “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” any more than they would the national anthem of Mexico or Germany. Furthermore, these texts do not support the rites of the Mass occurring when hymns and songs of praise are sung… there is nothing “Eucharistic” about “America the Beautiful,” for example, Incarnation and Most Blessed Sacrament Parish Bulletins that would merit it’s use as an offertory or communion hymn. There is no scriptural basis to “God Bless America” that reinforces the readings we hear at Mass. It’s not that these are bad songs, it’s just that our liturgies are not the appropriate venue for in the same way a civil public event honoring our fallen soldiers on Memorial Day (of all religious and faith backgrounds) would find On Eagle’s Wings an inappropriate choice. “This is My Song,” quoted above, is the rare exception. I will routinely program this for liturgical use because it fixes a lot of the issues addressed with patriotic hymns. The text expresses pride and appreciation of one’s homeland, while (and this is the important part) acknowledging the honest and equally earnest love of others around the world with the land and country in which they too live. It speaks to both our civil patriotism and also coequally, an awareness that God is not bound by our borders and is truly “God of all the nations.” Happy Fourth of July, everyone.
Please accept this invitation to participate more fully, more actively, in our parish’s music ministry. If you are interested in singing in the choir, leading the congregation as a cantor, or enriching our liturgy as an instrumentalist, email Shawn Gelzleichter at sgelzleichter@gmail.com or call the rectory at 781-662-8844.