I like In Perfect Charity by Randall DeBruyn, as one example.

Yeah, I've used a lot his work over the past few years. I hope that he continues to publish stuff!

A few I happen to like include Farrell's "O God, You Search Me" and a couple of Schutte pieces, namely "Let Us Go to the Altar" and "Song of Mary."

At the Cathedral we do have one Mass (Sunday evening) with some contemporary music. It typically features the Lumen Christi Introit, Gregorian Kyrie, Lumen Christi Psalm and Alleluia, a contemporary hymn/song accompanied on piano during the Offertory, Gregorian Sanctus and Agnus Dei, Lumen Christi Communio, followed by a hymn or motet after Communion, and contemporary hymn/song accompanied on the piano as a Recessional. Occasionally a more traditional organ-based hymn will replace the Offertory or Recessional.

I often find one of the most difficult parts of my week to be figuring out the two contemporary pieces at this Mass. Thus far this Advent we've done a piece by Matt Maher, a few Taize things, a John Foley, and an old Glory and Praise warhorse that I had forgotten until looking at the NPM Planning Guide.

The Taize Wait for the Lord seemed to hold up, as did John Foley's Cry of the Poor. The others either seemed to clash with the reverence, incense, and army of altar boys or just generally seemed dated.

@hartleymartin: You pose a good question about "gems of modern/contemporary hymnody." Unfortunately, that term has too many meanings. I, along with Kathy and Adam, zeroed in on contemporary metrical and rhyming texts. cgz wrote about a tune. Others have referred to works of modern "troubadours" who write both text and tune. So we have metrical and rhyming hymn texts, new tunes to accompany someone else's new texts or texts from 200 years ago, biblical songs (paraphrases of scriptural texts by folks like Lucien Deiss), hybrid biblical songs with a scriptural text for the refrain and non-scriptural verses (usually without rhyme or strict meter) written by the author-composer, and a host of other variants on these.

Perhaps your interest lies in the works of the contemporary troubadours (authors-composers)? Or perhaps you may wish to discuss several different genres on different threads?

@cgz: "In the Cross of Christ I Glory" appears twice in The Hymnal 1982, first with RATHBUN, then TOMTER. IMO both 87 87 tunes are rather lackluster. A few dozen hymnals published in the USA since 1985 have included the 190 year old hymn, but only one (The New Century Hymnal) has included TOMTER (again as a second tune to RATHBUN). It does not appear that denominational hymnal editors think much of the thirty year old tune.

Well, the process has to start somewhere, Melo. :-)

I actually don't mind "Christ, Be Our Light" written by Bernadette Farrell.

Interesting that you picked this one as an example, because I have always had a problem with it. Verse 3 states: "Make us your bread, broken for others, shared until all are fed." This is one of those popular, contemporary images that I think clouds the true nature of what is happening in the mass. This idea is similarly expressed in Rory Cooney's "Bread of Life" and David Haas' "To Be Your Bread Now" and "Now We Remain".

Sorry if I have ranted about this before. My number one criterion for choosing contemporary music (or any music for that matter) is that it is faithful to Church teaching. Anything that is questionable or confusing - I simply avoid. With so many options from which to choose, why even go there?

I don't think "Christ, Be Our Light" is unfaithful to Church teaching. Rather, I'd say it is incomplete. There's nothing wrong with saying we are called to be light for the world or bread for the world. But, IMO, an important link is missing in each verse. For instance, in verse 1, people are longing for the light; you, O Christ, are that Light; help us, your Church, reflect your radiance. In verse 3, people are hungering and thirsting; you, O Christ, are the Bread broken for others; help us to bring you to a hungry world, etc.