Well, trust me, if OCP is making a dust-up over it, it must be true.

Just by the wording alone they make it clear that this was a ham-handed, onerous move on the part of the CDW, and they want to create a hue and cry over it.

I'll wait for more info, but I'm thinking to myself, to quote Mr. Burns, "Excellent."


UPDATE:

With a bit more searching, I discovered an article here: http://holycrossfamily.blogspot.com/2008/08/vatican-says-yahweh-not-to-be.html
which references a news article over at Zenit on this issue.

Interesting.

Yes, it's true. I guess this means no more joyous choruses of "Sitting on a log with Yahweh's dog" from Gather Reprehensive - sung with full and active participation by the faith community with guitar and bongo accompaniment. Next they'll take away the dancing nuns. What's the world coming to? ;-)

It's the old formula for success. Leaders + spines = results

Um, doesn't "Adonai" have three syllables and "Yahweh" only two? Or have I been saying them incorrectly? I think the proper thing to do with "You are Near" is to remove the vowels from "Yahweh," so it becomes "YHWH." In fact, I think a good number of OCP songs would benefit from having all the vowels removed.

Actually "Adonai" properly has four syllables; in Hebrew the i is a full vowel, not a semivowel offgliding from the second a, yielding a diphthong, the way we usually treat it in English and Latin. So if "Yah" and "weh" is each sung to a quarter note, say, each syllable of "Adonai" would be sung to an eighth note.

Leland

You're probably right, though the word "Adonai" (not YHWH) does occur in the O Antiphons; will check Veni Emmanuel to see how many syllables it's construed as... it's the A in the ERO CRAS.

Leland

... once at a Catholic youth camp, we were encouraged to yell "HOLLA!" every time someone read from the Bible. It caught on quick enough, but obviously it didn't last.

.

Word, yo.

Wow, thanks for introducing me to Fr. Stan. Actually, his "instructional Mass" contains a lot of information that I wish our congregation knew, and I wish our priests talked about. Unfortunately, though, it appears he did this in the context of an actual Mass...

OK, SCDW has banned "Sing to the Mountains" from the Mass, along with other songs that invoke the Holy Name YHWH, but why stop there?

I'll be impressed to see any diocese whatsoever direct parishes to actually implement that ruling.

Until then, "raise your glasses/lift your hearts..."

I'll be impressed to see any diocese whatsoever direct parishes to actually implement that ruling.

I have absolutely no intention of waiting for the local ordinary to implement the ruling. It came from the "Home Office." If "middle-management" wants to ignore it, that's their business. As for me, I'll follow the ruling until I'm told not to.

I've been striking certain hymns and songs from our repertoire practically since I arrived two years ago. It started with "Ashes" because of the Pelagian heresy, right there in the first verse, big as life and twice as ugly. I continue to read hymn texts very carefully to ensure that the tenets of the faith aren't weakened or obscured.

Heresy is heresy. Liturgical abuse is liturgical abuse. A directive is a directive. If the local ordinaries wish to shirk their responsibilities, be it on their own heads.

I believe this only affects OCP; I know at least GIA or WLP, probably both, have editorial policies against the use of the tetragrammaton in texts that they publish.

I hope we remember we are Catholics, means we obey the Church's rulings and trust Pope, whether we agree or not. The final decisions are made by the Church, not by the individuals. Some good songs have to sacrifice becuase of the misuse of others. It happens all the time. The Church mucicians are servants, and we are here to serve the Master and the Church. We might not see what the Chruch sees. Our faith is on the Pope and the Church that they have the special grace and the giudance of Holy Spirit to teach and lead the faithful. The Church was divided because some didn't agree with what the Church teaches. I truly hope we remain faithful to our Holy Church, and all the great musicians humble themselves to follow her.

I just had it happen to me. I volunteer for the Noon Mass weekdays, and there is a guitarist who makes it when he can. He's a very guy, and has a good voice, but he's straight out of the 1960s. I pick opening and closing hymns, and he does the Gospel Acclamation and picks a song for Communion. Well, he picked "You Are Near" today - and I informed him during the Presentation of the Gifts that it was no longer allowed. He was fairly incredulous, but picked something else. He asked the Pastor after Mass who confirmed that we should refrain from that refrain until further notice and/or update of the song. (He always seems to be amazed when I'm right about something!)

I have to agree with Gavin on this one: why is it now bad to use Yahweh in our hymns? Isn't it a name for God in scripture? I am a bit confused...
Why don't the leaders have a little MORE spine and actually have a ruling on more important musical matters, without having to have a "vote"?

Our Pope wants to restore reverance in our Liturgy as you all know, and I think this is a good way of sending a message. Pope knknows many contemporary music went too far way from sasacredness. Maybe it seems to be a small matter, but it's like a etest for all the church musicians to show humility, and an eye opening for contemporary musicians. I'm sure it will make them ththink when they hear the message.
I think this message is very clear and solid, no confusions about it. If there are things that musicicans are confused about, I'm sure you can try to find an answer with faith and hope. i remember from reading about Mother Teresa. When she tried to start a new order, it wasn't easy for her, because there were rurules and misunderstandings. But she did it by following the rules with patience and humility. It took a long, long time to get a permission, but she didn't go out and did it her own way even if she had a call from Jesus. She is an example of all the Catholics, especially these days when many smart and intellectual people are trying to do their own things. You can voice your opinions without breaking the rules. It just requires lots of patience and humility. But we have to remember the final decisions are made by the authority of the Church, not by the individuals. Faith is about doing things that you don't even see. Maybe sometimes a blind person can see things better than people who can see, because of his trust and the wisdom.

As one who has never asked my Jewish friends about this (blush), I thank you for the clarification, Jan!

http://www.zenit.org/article-23414?l=english
Fragments from the Zenit article:

WASHINGTON, D.C., AUG. 19, 2008 (Zenit.org).- A note from the Vatican has reiterated a directive that the name of God revealed in the tetragrammaton YHWH is not to be pronounced in Catholic liturgy.
...
The June 29 Vatican message, from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, clarified that the name of God revealed in YHWH was not pronounced by the first Christians, following the tradition already in use.
...

Jun 29 CDWS message
Aug 19 Zenit news
Note the "reiterated a directive". Anyone have any pointers to the previous instance?
I did recall this...
2001-mar-28 Liturgiam Authenticam
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20010507_liturgiam-authenticam_en.html#_ftn34

41. The effort should be made to ensure that the translations be conformed to that understanding of biblical passages which has been handed down by liturgical use and by the tradition of the Fathers of the Church, especially as regards very important texts such as the Psalms and the readings used for the principal celebrations of the liturgical year; in these cases the greatest care is to be taken so that the translation express the traditional Christological, typological and spiritual sense, and manifest the unity and the inter-relatedness of the two Testaments.[34] For this reason:

a) it is advantageous to be guided by the Nova Vulgata wherever there is a need to choose, from among various possibilities [of translation], that one which is most suited for expressing the manner in which a text has traditionally been read and received within the Latin liturgical tradition;

b) for the same purpose, other ancient versions of the Sacred Scriptures should also be consulted, such as the Greek version of the Old Testament commonly known as the “Septuagint”, which has been used by the Christian faithful from the earliest days of the Church;[35]

c) in accordance with immemorial tradition, which indeed is already evident in the above-mentioned “Septuagint” version, the name of almighty God expressed by the Hebrew tetragrammaton (YHWH) and rendered in Latin by the word Dominus, is to be rendered into any given vernacular by a word equivalent in meaning.

DBP -

A friend who is a Jewish Cantor informs me that the Hebrew Scriptures were originally written without vowels; pronunciation was learned by those who would speak the holy text. When vowel "points" were later added, the writers used the vowels of "Adonai", inserted between the consonants of the name, creating a character set of "YaHoWa(i)H". The purpose was to remind the reader not to speak the word YWHW aloud. Most Cantors say neither, using the phrase "ha-Shem" ("The Name") in its place.

The Encyclopaedia Judeica goes on to express the belief that it was a misinterpretation by early Christian scholars that led to "Jehovah" being thought of as a word in itself. I believe that it is in the spirit of the message not to use the name "Jehovah" either.