Wherein Papa Z rants . . .
Advent is upon us, and Christmas is near. Some of the most beloved church music will be sung over the next 6-8 weeks. Advent Lessons and Carols; Christmas Lessons and Carols; “Messiah” Sing-Alongs, etc., will be enjoyed by many.
HOWEVER, WOE to you who thinks that you actually know the words of your favorite Christmas Carol by heart! Your Missalette publishers know better than you do! Inclusive language — not only horizontal, but vertical — is now the norm! I know, I know, we mustn’t hurt anyone’s feelings by actually using phrases like “God made Man” or “Born to raise the sons of earth” or “God in Man made manifest”. Better, of course, to artificially contort beloved texts in order to utterly confuse people in the name of “political correctness”!
To top it all off, the liturgical contortionists at GIA edit texts differently from those at OCP (who edit texts differently from Word, etc.) So there is no continuity even amongst the revisionists!
If modern day hymn-writers (and I’m using the term VERY loosely) want to compose politically correct, inclusive-language un-singable music for the rest of the year, I suppose that can’t be helped. (There’s a reason why Catholics don’t sing — but that’s another post!) But for Christmas? Please just leave us alone!
Advent Blessings,
Papa Z.
“Please just leave us alone!” Unfortunately, they won’t since their god is manna and their desire to make money no matter the cost of confusion/disorientation they create in the minds of many of the faithful will always trump the faithful’s right to proper worship.