Updating Hymns...

The Pastor in Valle has been having fun, composing a modern version of Eternal Father, strong to save for Sea Sunday.

I particularly liked the nod to futurechurch with the removal of any mention of Father or Son, particularly in the last verse...

Ungendered three and sexless one,
Who only want us to have fun,
Who made the mighty ocean deep
For surfers o’er its foam to leap:
O hear us as we cry to thee
For those who like to water-ski.

I think it's particularly important to be politically correct, especially as the Apostleship of the Sea have decided to eschew obedience to Catholic teaching in asking Cherie Blair to head their annual fundraising campaign...

Caritas In Veritate...

The new papal encyclical, Caritas in veritate, is out today. You can see it at the Vatican website HERE. In it, the Holy Father emphasises how important Humanae vitae is for understanding human development in its fullest sense... life ethics and social ethics cannot be divorced from each other.

Great stuff. Now let's see which paper picks up on (and mis-represents) the anti-contraception bugbear first...

Happy Anniversary, Summorum Pontificum...

It's hard to believe that Summorum Pontificum came out two whole years ago... Deo gratias! In consequence, I am shamelessly stealing His Hermeneuticalness' celebratory YouTube video...

The number of Masses celebrated according to the usus antiquior appears to have escalated exponentially, looking at the LMS adverts for EF in papers such as the Catholic Herald... and, of course, this wouldn't have been quite so easy without the help of the Bishops of England & Wales - by (re)moving all the Holy Days, they made it possible for priests and laity who wish to observe the proper feasts to switch to the Extraordinary Form calendar... and, freed from the need to provide extra Masses on those former Holy Days of Obligation, more priests can get together for Solemn High Mass...

I doubt that this was the intention of their Lordships, but every cloud has a silver lining, eh?

More Blog Stats...

The indomitable Fr. Z rose splendidly to the challenge (I thought he might: his dispute with Fr. Longenecker over clerical accoutrements resulted in "blog-posts at dawn" until gentlemanly honour was satisfied...)

A quick look at his blog revealed that he posted at 1:20am local time. I made a comment to thank him, and saw that the UK is about 6 hours ahead. So, any stats spike should appear at, say 7am-ish over here...

Ummm, yup... bang on!

Blogging Stats...

My last post has attracted some attention (deservedly so, IMHO, if only for the comments which have ensued!) His Hermeneuticalness even deigned to give me a link... (yes, I grovelled shamelessly... but my stats have gone down a bit since my posting became erratic...)

Now, have a look at the SiteMeter summary, and see if you can work out roughly what time he published his blog post...

Ok, I'm going to throw down the gauntlet to the indomitable Fr. Z, just to observe what sort of a spike I'd get...

Time For Some "New" Hymns...

Chris plays the organ at the 9am Mass. He apparently asked, "Shall I play Colours of Day during Communion?" I'm pretty sure he was joking. "Yes," came the reply, "do that... and I'll send the boys round to break both your legs, and you can follow on with I watch the sunrise (through my hospital window)."

This led to a few more suggestions for hymns which might have unpleasant consequences if sung, (other than the usual stomach-churning nausea...)

Bind us together, Lord (with splints that cannot be broken)

One leg, one body...

This is my body (broken by you)

I danced in the morning (but couldn't walk in the afternoon)

All over the world, the Spirit is moving (but I'm not)

Father I place into your hands the things I cannot do (because I'm in plaster)

Here I am, Lord (because I'm unable to move)

You shall cross the barren desert (not on crutches, you won't)

I will raise you up (on traction strings)

Any other suggestions - in the com-box, please...

Further discussion reminded me of Stephen Colbert's classic take on The King of Glory and a parody of liturgical dance...

One point worth remembering: the "modern" hymns which are supposed to appeal to the teenagers of today, well, they were mostly written in the 1970s and early 1980s. That's around 30-40 years ago... ie. 15-25 years before your average teenager was born. In some cases, it's about the time their parents were born... by my reckoning, that no longer qualifies as "modern!"