Church Music

This is a new Marian hymn that is sincere and singable and written by Brigid McNally. I often say here that I have trouble with songs about Mary due to my Protestant upbringing, but this is good.

The sheet music, MP3 and backing are available at Willow.

Which didn’t stop me making a backing as well:

Chorus

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Blessed among all women are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now,

and at the hour of our death. Amen.

1 Wise and strong, compassionate and kind, tender and graceful.

You’re a shining star in the darkest night.

Chorus

2 Humble and sure, glorious and brave, loyal and loving.

Queen of Heaven, Queen of all our hearts.

Music and verse lyrics © 2025 Brigid McNally

Payl Taylor’s Mass of St Francis is a very popular setting in Australian churches. There were six settings recommended initially and this was one of three that were playable in a typical suburban church. It was one of two we used back in Queensland and it is the only mass setting we use at my current parish.

I got this comment from Isaac Reefman about the mass recently:

I/my brother made a simplified harmony for guitarists and contemporary musicians that is now available from willow here: https://willowpublishing.com.au/product/mass-of-st-francis/

It’s barely adapted from the original, but some of the busy chord changes that don’t translate so well to guitar/comping have been simplified.

The mass is now best obtained from Willow where you will find the original setting, the Gospel Acclamation that wasn’t in the original music and Reefman’s simplified guitar setting.

I currently play the whole mass down two semitones, which helps. The Kyrie and Gloria I play down from D to C but capo 3 (in A) which I find makes the “busy” changes better. The rest being in F, I should play Capo 3 in D, but I drop it to capo 1 again for singing comfort. We still use the Celtic Alleluia instead of Taylor’s acclamation.

It would be nice to have a second mass locally but I’m not sure anyone has the energy to teach a new setting. I’m happy enough to be using this mass setting every week.

I like Erwin Cabucos’s versions of the mass parts:

An organ based take:

This is the last song from the Praise to God parish hymn book I’ll be doing for now. There are others to cover, but I was looking at ones derived from smaller collections that I am unlikely to ever cover on their own. This one is from the Young People’s Folk Hymnal Vol 1, still available from GIA and even with postage to Australia it’s less than $10 all up. I’d be concerned it is old stock from when they took over WLP and when it is gone it is unlikely to be reprinted.

Scribd has a version in Eb for choirs, thankfully PTG is in A for the rest of us.

This song was written by the great folk songwriter, Anonymous. The version in PTG doesn’t have all the lyrics below – it has one verse with the first two lines of the first verse and last two lines of the second verse. The clips below suggest high rotation in Africa.

Come to the Lord with a song in your heart,
for the Lord our God is good.
Shout out your praises for all that he has done;
give him glory as you should.

Come before his alter rejoicing. Beat the drum and
strum the guitar. Let cymbals sound out the news
we have found out he loves us as we are.

Praise him for his loving kindness. Praise him
for his outstretched arm. He shields us from any
kind of foe and keeps us safe from harm.

For people who pray on their feet:

Choral:

This is 60s folk song that the Dominican’s Praise to God parish hymn book got from the Young People’s Folk Hymnal, who presumbaly got it from the Franciscan’s release by Sebastian Temple. Mary at Godsongs is all over the Folk Mass era and as always provides the salient background to this song.

The text is here. As a prayer for peace the words have not aged I’m afraid. The collection at GIA is your best bet for the sheet music.

BIAB and 6/8 is usually going to come out Irish, which in this case is a plus – there is a real chance of dreariness otherwise.

The With Joyful Lips people changed the setting:

With Joyful Lips is downloadable on the internet and is the ultimate cut and paste job. They suggest that the author of this text is unknown – I have seen it called traditional elsewhere – and it is set there to a tune by Manuel De Souza.

This is more folk mass loveliness from Sebastian Temple that made it into the Praise to God parish hymn book.

Temple has a very similar fingerpicking style to Paul Simon so I assume they learnt it from the same English folk singers.

Mary at Godsongs again has useful background and the lyrics are here. The best bet for the sheet music remains the Young People’s Folk Hymnal Vol 1.

The last collection that I will look at that was used in the Praise to God parish hymn book takes us back from obscurity to the American mainstream with the Young People’s Folk Hymnal Volume 1. This was a WLP publication that, since WLP was swallowed by GIA, is astonishingly still available to purchase at GIA for $US 1.95!

This is a Sebastian Temple, of “Make Me a Channel” fame, song that is apparently well known but is new to me. It is a commitment prayer that would find a use in commissioning and at Gifts

The text is here. Mary at Godsongs looks into it’s difficult availability as sheet music, so I’d take a punt on the collection at GIA.

This is a song based on Colossians 3 by Father Jim Cosgrove. It was the title track of a 1985 collection and apart from that I can find nothing about this song anywhere. He cowrote the song with G. Quaglio. It’s a song about being grateful, which is always a good thought.

It may not have been published as sheet music because the editors have transcribed it in their house style.

I made a backing:

1 You are God’s chosen people he loves you tenderly,

So be clothed with the cloak of compassion

And with gentleness and kindness,

Forgive as Jesus does, let your patience reflect his own.

Chorus

So sing psalms and hymns to God, with songs your Lord adore,

With thanksgiving in your hearts praise his name,

With thanksgiving in your hearts sing praise to God.

2 And over all these garments to bind them all as one,

Put on love as your crown to complete them,

Let the peace of Christ be with you,

Because it is for this as Christ’s body you have been called.

Chorus

3 So always be ye thankful, be filled with gratitude,

Let Christ’s message be richly within you,

In all wisdom teach each other.

Sing psalms and hymns and songs, do all things giving thanks to God.

Chorus

© 1985 Jim Cosgrove

There was an album in 1985 called, With Thanksgiving in Your Hearts, by Father Jim Cosgrove. Two songs from it wound up in the Praise to God parish hymn book.

This song suggest itself for entrance on Palm Sunday.

I’m assuming he is the “singing priest” from this article. He was lauded on Australia All Over:

Australia Army Chaplain. Padre Jim Cosgrove is a person who supports, comforts, encourages, informs and inspires other Australians, both within the armed forces and in the larger community. It’s for these reasons that we named him our Australian All Over for the year 2014. We will post a profile of Padre Jim on our website shortly.

He appears to have stayed in the military.

I can’t find any trace of the sheet music, I’m afraid. He does have a linked in account if you are desparate to find him for the music.

Chorus

Open the gates of holiness, I will come and praise the Lord.

This is the gate of holiness where the just may praise the Lord.

Glory and praise to you who have answered my prayer.

Praise to the Saviour, Alleluia praise the Lord.

1 Blessed is he who comes to us in the name of the Lord.

Blessings upon the Holy one, from the temple praise the Lord.

Come now to strengthen us, be the light of our way.

Grant us salvation, Alleluia praise the Lord.

Chorus

2 Come forward in procession to the altar of the Lord.

Come forward in procession and with branches praise the Lord.

Praise him, O Praise our God for his love does not end.

Come now and worship him, Alleluia praise the Lord.

Chorus

© 1985 Jim Cosgrove

The title track from Kevin Bates‘s album, Whispers, was chosen for the Praise to God parish hymn book by the Dominican Fathers.

I can’t find any sheet music for this one and it isn’t listed on One Licence as far as I can see. It doesn’t look like anyone has taken over his website since his death and this may not be a Willow copyright like the others.

It’s more a personal reflection than a song for liturgy but he makes a good point that is more relevant now than forty years ago when he write it.

I made a backing:

1 Everybody has a story, everybody has a song.

Everybody has a people and somewhere to belong.

But some have lost their story and some forget their song.

Some don’t know where they’re going to ‘cos someone else forgot to sing along.

Chorus

But there’s whispers in their/our/my memory, pictures from the past.

What about the future? “Come to me and rest” they’ll/we’ll/I’ll hear at last.

2 Some people don’t remember, people cannot hear.

People have a time to beat and products to prepare.

We all enjoy our privacy, we all sing our own song.

But much too loud for harmony, we don’t need them to come and sing along.

Chorus

3 I sing too loud to hear the song that quiet moments sing.

I run too fast to notice what the silence has to bring.

I hear his voice impatiently, then I race on anyway.

I’m into sound not silence and I don’t need him to come and have his say.

Chorus

4 It sounds a sorry story, it sounds a broken song.

And it sounds as if we’re frightened and we’ve nowhere to belong.

But listen to the gentle voice that from the silence springs

And hear the Spirit calling as a people comes to life creation sings.

Chorus

© 1985 Kevin Bates SM

This is another gentle song from Kevin Bates SM, that was collected from his album, Whispers, for the Praise to God parish hymn book.

It sounds like a song for Lent, but you could imagine it for a funeral. Willow suggest it for a wedding, but they have always been far tougher than I.

This is a Willow copyright and an MP3 is available at their site but no sheet music. They would still be your first port of call if you needed the sheet music.

PTG at least had the chords this time so no guessing for my backing. It is marked at a tempo of 85, but I took it up to 96.

1 Long have I loved you, for long have I been

Lifted by your love to sing.

Long have I waited to tell you this way,

Just how near I hold you today.

2 Remember the times we both lost our way,

Each on a cross seemed to die.

Remember the morning when rising again,

The world hardly had time to cry.

3 Still we must listen for what is to come.

Loving can never stand still.

Watching and waiting and shaping our way.

Lord, all our story will fill.

© 1985 Kevin Bates SM