No Tetragrammaton!

While most in liturgical work should be well aware that the Holy See has prohibited the use of the Tetrgrammaton, the name which uses the four Hebrew letters YHWH. In English the name is pronounced “Y-hw-h"; this does present some problems for those that use certain compositions published in the last few decades.

Courtesy of The New Liturgical Movement and OCP here are some free PDF's which will allow this music to be sung (if you really must) whilst obeying the Holy See (not that all will obey, because "who is the Pope to tell us what to sing?"

Actually, these will come in handy where I sing as a Cantor for the Anticipated Mass on Saturdays and with our hope to form a youth choir, we can introduce these...for their "traditional" parents!

Download songs (PDF)

And the Father Will Dance (Carey Landry)
Como Busca la Cierva (Xavier Gonzales Tescuano)
Como Por Las Fuentes de Agua (Perla Moré)
El Rey De La Gloria (Aldo Blanco Dávalos)
I Lift Up my Soul (Tim Manion)
I Love You, Lord/Te Amo, Señor (Julie and Tim Smith)
In Praise of His Name (Roc O’Connor)
Let the King of Glory Come (Michael Joncas)
Like a Seal on Your Heart (Carey Landry)
Me Alegré (Carlos Rosas)
Sing a New Song (Dan Schutte)
The Lord is King (Rory Cooney)
Tu Eres Mi Hijo (Patricio Gómez Junco)
You are Near (Dan Schutte)
Y-hw-h (now titled "God of My Salvation") (Gregory Norbet)
Y-hw-h Is My Shepherd (now titled "Shepherd of My Soul") (Millie Rieth)
Y-hw-h, The Faithful One (now titled "The Faithful One") (Dan Schutte)

OCP grants reprint permission for these songs to current missal subscribers and hymnal customers through November 29, 2009.

For those in liturgy here in Canada desiring a "Canadian" source, the following is from the Fall 2008 Liturgy Newsletter from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops:

STATEMENT ON THE NAME OF GOD

(The following is a slightly adapted version of the message of Bishop Arthur Roche, Chairman of ICEL to the people of the Diocese of Leeds in England).

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament has issued guidance to Bishops’ Conferences on the translation of the ‘Name of God’ in texts for use in the liturgy. The directives expand on the instruction Liturgiam Authenticam and notethat the Hebrew-Tetragrammaton YHWH, Yahweh or Jehovah, has in the tradition of the Church always been translated as ‘Lord’. The Bishops’ Conference welcomes the attention that the Congregation has given to the due reverence we owe to the name of God. It is also worth noting that the use of Yahweh is highly offensive to the Jewish people.

These directives do not affect our current liturgical texts in use at Mass and other liturgies. Nor do they affect the forthcoming translation of Roman Missal, 3rd edition, which is being studied and voted on by the bishops, and is being translated following the guidance of the Holy See found in Liturgiam Authenticam.

The directive that the name Yahweh is not to be read, sung or prayed in the Liturgy or at other times of prayer affects more than the official texts of the liturgy. The name is found in some liturgical songs and parishes are required to refrain from using these texts. Publishers of Catholic liturgical material are asked to either omit or amend any texts that use the term. (In Canada, it should be noted that the CBW III followed this protocol when first published, and the name Yahweh has been replaced by the word “Lord.” NLO) Care should be taken when a reading is taken directly from a Bible (such as the Jerusalem Bible) to replace the word Yahweh with Lord where it occurs. The term should also be avoided in composed texts such as the Prayer of the Faithful.

It is part of our Catholic tradition that we offer reverence not just with the words on our lips but through actions such as a bow of the head. This bow is made whenever the Holy Trinity are named together, for example, in a doxology, and at the names of Jesus, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Saint in whose honour Mass is being celebrated. Though the document from the Holy See is concerned with language and translation it provides an opportunity to remind ourselves of the reverence owed to the name of God both in worship and in daily life.

The ancient Hebrews would not pronounce the Holy Name. Therefore they came up with the word Adonai, which is rendered in Greek as Kyrios, in Latin as Domine and in our English as LORD, properly rendered in capital letters.

Being cynical as usual, most liturgical musicians would probably object, "why should I do what Rome says?"

But of course, as the CCCB reminds us it may be "offensive to the Jewish people!" So, that will probably cause the "professional liturgists" to fall in line. Better to not offend our Jewish brethern than obey Rome in matters of the liturgy.

Hey as a "real" liturgist for the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, if it works, I'll take it.