A Catholic Book Of Hymns

"Music and silence-how I detest them both!"Screwtape, under-secretary to the devil, The Screwtape Letters by C. S. LewisIt's easy to see why the enemies of mankind would hate and fear both sacred silence and sacred music. Both bring joy, spur contemplation, and draw the soul nearer to the Lord. Both have been part of our private prayer as well as our communal liturgy for thousands of years.The Psalms-biblical songs of praise, supplication, and wonder-have been sung for three thousand years. Naturally, Jesus, His disciples, and later the early Christian community also sang hymns (from the Greek word meaning "songs of praise"), as The New Testament makes clear. We sing because we love, and sung praise elevates our words, takes them out of the realm of the commonplace, and increases our joy. The holy pleasure of singing to God involves the entire person-spirit, heart, mind, and body-and unites us not only with the Divine but also with one another as a worshiping community.This collection of hymns for the singing Catholic congregation exemplifies the best of the genre. These songs are religiously orthodox, beautiful, sacred, and-for the most part-familiar. But here you will also find worthy hymn tunes and texts that are new to you.We present this book to propose not that hymns replace the proper chants for that days Mass* but live happily alongside them. In most instances the proper chants for processions are the prerogative of cantors and choirs and, as they change very day as part of the Mass aren't practical to be sung by the congregation. Hymns, on the other hand, belong to all the faithful and serve as a key means of the "active participation" spoken of in Vatican II's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Hymns have been sung as an important part of the Liturgy of the Hours for century upon century, so they are nothing new, new only to be sung at Mass. "To promote active participation, the people should be encouraged to take part by means of acclamations, responses, psalmody, antiphons, and songs, as well as by actions, gestures, and bodily attitudes. And at the proper times all should observe a reverent silence."Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Vatican II, 1963), Paragraph 30In a parish where the scriptures are sung, the introit will accompany the procession of the ministers and the cross. Clergy, choir, and people can then sing a congregational hymn. The same is true at offertory and Communion: hymns can follow the proper chants. And at the conclusion of Mass, a suitable hymn can send the people forth with the praise of Almighty God on their lips.May this book bring joy to all who sing from it! What is the source of the Sung Antiphons for the Roman liturgy Mass?The proper texts of the Antiphons of the Roman liturgy may be found in: Graduale Romanum; English translations of these texts are also widely available. The antiphons from the Roman Missal, third edition, may also serve as proper texts. For more information see: Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Vatican II, 1963), Musicam Sacram (Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, 1967)The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 2010.

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Hymns are more than beautiful musical compositions; they provide us with a heightened language for praising and speaking to God, all while teaching us theology that reflects both the depth and complexity of Our Lord. Sacred hymns in our day have given way to “fifth-rate poetry set to fourth-rate music,” as C.S. Lewis once remarked. At times, the music used in worship can make us feel as though the culture is usurping the Church rather than being transfigured by it. There is a clear and present need to resurrect those distinctively different songs with a distinctively different vocabulary for people who want to live distinctive lives as followers of Christ. In these pages, Fr. George William Rutler introduces and reflects upon dozens of the greatest hymns written from the earliest years of the Church through the Twentieth Century. The text and composition of each hymn is included, as well as inspiring accounts of their authors and composers, fascinating stories and historical events connected with them, and notes on the significant contributions each one made to theology and music. Fr. Rutler has recovered here a rich musical legacy that will help us to give glory to our God who is Lord of all.

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936 of the best and most popular hymns, songs and chants, both old and new. A generous selection of singable Mass settings. A complete set of Responsorial Psalms and Gospel Acclamations for Sundays and major feasts. Extensive indexes in the melody and organ editions that make choosing hymns as easy as possible. The index is also available separately for ease of use. All hymns are in singable keys - some are given in two keys for younger or older singers. All editions are clearly set, well printed and strongly bound for life.

Nearly 300 classic, time-honored hymns your choir and congregation will love singing! Our selections are musical, singable, truly sacred, theologically solid, and-for the most part-familiar, although you will also find some that are new to you. All 295 hymns are scored for the organ in this ORGAN EDITION and use traditional hymn texts, not modern adaptations. This organ edition is a companion volume to A Catholic Book of Hymns, a true SATB four-part harmony hymnal for Catholic congregations. Catholics can sing and will sing in harmony if they are given the music to hold in their hands.The organ edition is 7 by 10 inches, larger than the standard pew book, making the music easier to read when it is on the organ music rack. What's different about this book? Hymn books are scored for singers, not organists or pianists. Books of hymns loos strangely different to an organist because it is very different.If you're a singer, every syllable of each word has to have its own note, which, if played on the organ or piano, makes the music choppy. Sung by the human voice, the same line sounds smooth and musical, not at all choppy because the singers' consonants merely alter the vowel sound but don't divide the music with percussion and silence as when you hear the same phrase played on a keyboard.Hymnbook music forces the organist to adapt on the fly, not playing all the notes, playing some - but not all of the repeated notes - into long-held notes. It is a difficult trick to learn to instantaneously convert an entire choir score into organ music in your brain.To some organists this conversion of vocal music to organ becomes second nature, but others are never able to grasp it. As a result, they can grow to dislike playing hymns, finding them a chore and feeling frustrated-especially when they hear another organist and wish they could play like that. There is a simple solution. Play the hymns from a matching organ edition that has all the hymns written out as organ music.And that's exactly what organists say when they discover this organ edition: "Well, now, this looks like organ music. I can play this." One of the benefits of A Catholic Book of Hymns is that all the hymns are free to post and use in streaming and podcasts without payment or permission needed. Play, sing and revel in the sound of your choir and congregation all singing in harmony. What people are saying about A Catholic Book of Hymns I wish my parish was in the market for a new hymnal. This would be perfect . . . this could possibly be the most comprehensive Catholic hymnal in existence.- Henry GaidaI looked through this hymnal, and I love it! I've been looking for something like this, where I don't have to go searching through several different hymnals to find what I need. It's hard to find a hymnal that combines selections that are traditional in the United States and the beautiful British hymns that have good (not sappy) English texts. . . . [This] also has hymns that are good for Roman Catholic devotions.- Kaoru TamuraThank you for creating this resource. It's comforting to see the proper texts and not what seems to be the rage lately, of changing the text to suit the mood of the day.- Michael KeefeThank you so much for this wonderful compilation. The whole website is a great contribution to Catholic music.- Daniel ArbergOn the whole, a very impressive list. A fine work indeed!- M. Jackson OsbornSo excited to see A Catholic Book of Hymns up on Sacred Music Library. I had suggested Great St. Joseph and Hail, Glorious St. Patrick a few months ago. Glad to see they made the final cut. These are two gems of hymns, and I haven't seen them in any modern hymn books. Good to see them in this hymnal, engraved so beautifully and clearly. Thank you for your continuing contribution to the Church, especially in sacred music.- Matthew Ramire