Those who crave pomp and circumstance and ostentation don’t seem overly thrilled with Pope Francis, who has made simplicity a very clear priority. He embodies the words of Isaiah: “Like a shepherd, he feeds his flock; in his arms be gathers the lambs.” And he says, “The shepherd should smell of the sheep.”
Those in high places who have ignored his example have found themselves removed from their opulent dwellings to lead lives of contemplation and repentance.
Though Bernadette Farrell’s song “Alleluia! Raise the Gospel” was written long before Francis’s election to the papacy, it is certainly in tune with his message:
Tremble, you who build up riches.
Tremble, you with opulent lives.
Tremble, when you meet the poor
and see Christ in their eyes.
I think it makes an extraordinary Gospel Acclamation.
Latin hymns in challenging arrangements can distance the music ministry from the lives of parishioners. If our music is more suited to a museum concert than to living liturgy, our priorities may be out of whack. A fine line can divide beautiful but inaccessible music from texts and tunes that speak to the lived experience and hopes of the community. I’m not saying that everything should be lowest common denominator—that’s the road to disaster. But there’s good reason why something as simple and unadorned as “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” has endured for so many centuries.
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from Religious Clip Art for the Liturgical Year (A, B, and C).
This art may be reproduced only by parishes who purchase the collection in book or CD-ROM form. For more information go http://www.ltp.org