Papal Visit

[nazard]

The Sunday after the present Pope's election I played "Full in the panting heart" at the end of mass. It was a bit of a culture shock for some, but the response was good. The congregation picked up the tune quickly and had a lot of questions afterwards. That last verse about magic wires is badly dated though. Would any of this board's poets care to rewrite it for the digital age? Don't make the same mistake though - avoid anything which will date quickly. Maybe we could sing a new version for the Holy Father when he comes.

[presbyter]

Maybe we could sing a new version for the Holy Father when he comes.

This one perhaps?


Full in the panting heart of Rome The pilgrim’s and the stranger’s home Our voices rise to God in prayer With faithful Christians gathered there God bless our Pope..... The great, the good
Almighty God, whose sacred word The great Apostle Peter heard Who guides with ever-faithful hand Your holy Church in every land God bless our Pope.....
O Lord of every age and place Peter’s successor asks your grace Abundant faith and strength provide Inspire and lead, protect and guide. God bless our Pope.....
O God of light and God of truth The hope of age, the strength of youth To whom the holy martyrs pray Renew and bless your Church today God bless our Pope.....
Where Peter is, the Church shall be As Christ once taught in Galilee Your saints join us to sing your praise From now until the end of days.
God bless our Pope.......

Joanna Bogle and Fiorella Sultana de Maria April 2005 for Pope Benedict XV1
Alternative last two lines in verse 4:
Renew in us your Church today The strength that is the martyr’s stay

[alan29]

What place does that hymn have at Mass? Or at all, given this sentiment
Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.
Surely the days of blinkered adulation are gone?

[nazard]

Thank you Presbyter.

OK, so we don't think its a good idea to call anyone good. I suppose all other positive adjectives must come under a similar cloud. Is anyone going to do another rewrite under this scriptural constraint? In the meantime, what are the copyright details for the Bogle / de Maria words? Can we use them freely?

My mind is having a quiet giggle at pictures of some previous popes. "God bless our Pope, the plump, the bald" springs to mind. You can see why I am not considered a poet.

As for odd hymns at mass, I keep them for the recessional. Once the Deacon has said "The mass is ended" it seems reasonable to think that the mass has ended, and if we want to have a religious sing song, that is a reasonable use for a church between masses. Or am I being irresponsible?

[alan29]

On that thinking you could do the hokey cokey!

[nazard]

I'm afraid I missed the religious implications of the hokey cokey. Perhaps I could use it a baptism by total immersion where the water temperature is too hot or too cold...

[docmattc]

Can we steer back to the topic of the Papal Visit please?

[presbyter]

I'm afraid I missed the religious implications of the hokey cokey.

Careful now please ....... hokey cokey is a mockery of the Mass

The movements poke fun at the movements of the priest (particularly in the EP) and 'hokey cokey' is "Hoc est Corpus"

Not nice.

[contrabordun]

This derivation of the song's lyrics seems to be a bit of a myth, at least according to its author's grandson, as reported in The Times last year.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article5488973.ece

[nazard]

Can we put the Hokey Cokey to bed with this link, please.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hokey_Cokey

The idea of Hokey Cokey being a corruption of Hoc est enim corpus meum is unlikely because these words are said inaudibly in the tridentine mass, and so it is unlikely that they were sufficiently widely known to be viable as the butt of a joke.

To get back to topic, the point where all this started was whether it was acceptable to sing religious songs which are not in praise of God at mass. My point was that I always leave hymns about saints, popes etc until the recessional. By then, mass is over.

As it is nearly St Patrick's day, people will be singing, mostly straight after mass, that memorable line "Thou who art high in the mansions above." Our "little darlings" always ask what he is high on.

[PaulW]

All is revealed!
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Coventry, Wesminster.

[presbyter]

There's more

http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/

[Southern Comfort]

All is revealed!
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Coventry, Wesminster.

There's more

http://www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/

Neither of these sources, it is to be noted, yet gives the precise order of events. The grapevine still says that Westminster comes before Coventry. The only thing which seems to be definitely confirmed is that he starts off in Scotland.

[presbyter]

"Midlands today" has broadcast this evening that Coventry Airport - Beatification - is the last event.

[presbyter]

An additional spanner in the works is that the Welsh have now woken up to the fact that he isn't planning to go to the principality and have said "Oy!" Remains to be seen whether this changes anything in the planning.

Perhaps we'll be singing one of those BIG Welsh hymn tunes. Who knows?