Liturgical Notes
I arrived at the decision to not submit this weekly article last
Monday as I enjoyed the last day of a family golf weekend. My e-mail to Andrew, our editor playfully
announced; “I would be taking a Mulligan.”
The deadline came and went as details on the tragic shootings in Las
Vegas came to light.
The next morning I revisited my original selections for this
weekend’s music. My original choice for entrance hymn needed to be changed. Beginning liturgy with a rousing and joyful
setting of psalm 118 (This is the Day #568) seemed inappropriate.
My revised choice is the spiritual found on the other side of
this page; “A Shelter in the Time of Storm.” The original text by Vernon
Charlesworth contains familiar images that can be found throughout
scripture. They depict God as constant,
present and strong or to use a contemporary term; rock-solid. The verse comes from Isaiah 25:4 reminding us
that God watches over us and “is a
shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat”. The writer of the original hymn-tune, Ira
Shankey was inspired by the singing of the fisherman off the north coast of
England as they returned to the safety of the harbor chased by storm clouds.
The version that we will sing is an adaptation by Rev. Jan
Michael Joncas. Fr. Joncas was ordained
a priest for the Archdiocese of St. Paul - Minneapolis, MN in 1980. He is an Associate Professor at the
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN teaching in both the Department of
Catholic Studies and the Department of Theology. He
also teaches in the Liturgical Studies faculty of the Department of Theology at
the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN. You will probably recognize some of his other
compositions which include: We Come to
Your Feast, I have Loved You and On Eagles Wings.
I’ve spent the week playing and praying this hymn in order to
prepare it for liturgy. I’ve also thought
about how I might explain my rationale for its use as gathering/processional
hymn.
The first question is; “Why make a change based on an event?” The answer is contained in the timeliness and
timelessness of liturgy. We come to liturgy at a particular moment in human
history as well as our own our life’s journey.
We simultaneously step out of time to connect with a God who is unbound
by time. … “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord
one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day.” 2 Peter
3:8
The second question is; “Why this song?” For me the answer lies in a faith that God is
and continues to be with us in times of joy and sadness, triumph and tragedy,
gentle breeze and raging storm. Fr. Joncas
was kind enough to share his answer when I contacted him via Facebook.
It (the
song) arose out of my (personal) struggle with Guillain-Barre syndrome back
in2003-2004. It’s in a black spiritual
style since I find the spirituals tradition to be both particularly American and
profoundly prayerful.
With prayers for those affected by shooting in Las Vegas
particularly the 58 who died and those who mourn them,
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