George Weigel on Hymns

Mulier Fortis brought to my attention a wonderful article by George Weigel on theologically incorrect and otherwise annoying hymns used in Catholic Churches. Sadly, I was familiar with every hymn he referred to. I responded to Mulier Fortis' post with a little rant of my own. I thought I'd share with you.

Sing to the Mountains
Why are we singing to the mountains and the sea when Jesus is present in the Tabernacle and on the Altar? How about sing to Jesus?

I am the Bread of Life
I am the Resurrection
I will sweep away your transgressions
I am neither the Bread of Life, nor the Resurrection, nor am I capable of sweeping away your transgressions so I don't know why I have to sing these silly songs in the presence of the one who is the Bread of Life and the Resurrection, and who will sweep away your transgressions. I agree with George Weigel. Get rid of all the I am God/I am Jesus songs. I find these incredibly frustrating. Also included in this list are
- You are Mine
- Alleluia, I will Come
- Return to Me
- This is my Body
- I Will Never Forget You

I have no problem with more modern hymns so long as they are theologically correct and don't distract from the liturgy.

That being said, one of my other pet peeves is whenever Tantum Ergo, O Salutaris,O Sanctissima, Ubi Caritas, Veni Creator, Adoro Te Devote, Salve Regina, Ave Maria, Pange Lingua, etc... are sung in English. I'm no Latin buff and I don't even attend Latin Mass regularly, but can we at least just keep these in Latin?

Ok, that's enough of my rant.

Oh, speaking of George Weigel though, I should probably remind everyone out West that he's going to be giving a conference in Victoria, BC, called Discovering the Catholic Way of Life on the weekend of September 22nd and 23rd. You can get more information at this website.