Jamie of Ad Limina Apostolorum notices the songwriters for the Servant Song in the Gather Comprehensive Hymnal – Ziggy Stardust and Bobby Fisher. Jamie could find no evidence that it was David Bowie’s alter ego Ziggy that wrote this hymn. I heard the song before and I don’t think that David Bowie on a bad day would have written the music for it. It sounds more like the name some androgynous liturgical songwriter would take on as a pseudonym.
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This past Sunday we sang a “hymn” from the Gather and the text came from the Upanishads (hindu scripture)…!!!!
I used to like songs from that book but I think maybe it’s called maturity…I’m turning 24 in a few months…
I flipped to the cover as the choir was singing this song and I couldn’t find an imprimatur or a nihil obstat…it was, however, “approved” by the Archdiocese of Chicago I think.
Peace, L.
Thomas Aquinas didn’t have a problem with using pagan philosophy (Aristotle) and adapting it for the Church. Ask any Thomist.
Todd,
This principle is true, Aristotle’s thought was adapted. The crucial point here is that the method of adapting needs to be more nuanced than a straight copy-paste.
Peace, aa.
Right, of course. I suppose we can be thankful the Gather tune wasn’t presented in Sanskrit. In fact, if it was an ICEL translation, it might be so far off the original mark in the conservative eye so as to be nearly acceptable. Do we have a reference on the hymn in question?
Well I admit it was pretty ecumenical, which feels nice…It was some song with “Peace” in the title. I just think there’s better hymns out there, and even in the Gather book itself, that could be sung during the offertory.