A Catholic Book of Hymns: Organ Edition

These hymns have been adapted for playing on the organ.

How are they different?

When playing hymns on the organ or piano from a hymnal, the sound is less than desirable and not what the composer intended. Words that have multiple syllables must have a note for every syllable. This creates a challenge for those of us that play the organ or piano because sometimes we must play them as written, other times we play them as tied notes, so our playing does not sound "choppy".

Organists who have had the rare opportunity to study hymnplaying are taught to do this automatically, on the fly.

We have written these hymns out to make them sound better on the keyboard. You are playing the same notes that are being sung, but in a way that balances out the sound coming from our instrument.

The background of this hymnal:

"Music and silence-how I detest them both!" --Screwtape, under-secretary to the devil, The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

It'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.

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!

You may want to begin by buying a few books for the organist and cantor or singers for funeral Masses where many of the older. beloved hymns are requested, more for the choir and eventually, the entire congregation. Having this full-harmony hymnal in the hands of the congregation will work to improve the singing of your people. Let the musicians in your congregation sing in their own voice, which has always been the goal of hymn composers!

This is a permanent hymnal, totally immune to translation changes to the Mass or the Readings - the next planned for 2025 - as these hymns are the original texts with no modern text updates.