So yesterday I went to Mass with my wife’s family in Philadelphia. Mass was nice except for the one year old in my arms who was the worst baby…evah.
But following the Eucharist, the song was, “Mary, Did you Know?”
Now, I’ve never given the song a moment’s thought. To be honest, I think I’d only heard it once or twice on an Amy Grant Christmas CD. But I’d certainly never heard it before in Mass. My nine year old always wants to sing along in Mass so I quickly found the page for her to read the words. And I read the words over her shoulder.
Now one thing unsettled me from the start which was the questioned ignorance of Mary in the song. Not that I know what Mary knew or didn’t know but the question presumes that Mary might have been wandering into this whole Theotokos thing blind. Exactly what knowledge was imparted to her is a mystery but in the Magnificat she does say,
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me–holy is his name..
Doesn’t exactly sound like she’s completely clueless does it?
But the song itself is definitely a Protestant song. The writer Mark Lowry is an evangelical and I think the song shows it. Look, I’m not against the song. I think it’s good that Protestants are contemplating Mary. But the lyrics are simply not appropriate for Mass.
Here’s the lyrics that jumped out at me:
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver you
Now, according to Catholic doctrine, Mary was born without original sin. Deliverance had already been acquired.
Now, I’m fairly sure that 99.8 percent of the people attending Mass didn’t focus on the words and it likely won’t corrupt anybody’s faith but isn’t it a bit wrongheaded for that song to be sung at Mass?
December 22, 2008 at 4:17 am
Lex orandi, lex credendi.
Qui cantat, bis orat
Put them together and it’s easy to see why so many Catholics have no idea what they believe.
God Bless,
Ryan
December 22, 2008 at 4:29 am
Yes, inappropriate. I would argue not just in content, but in form. I can’t imagine that that song, with whatever lyrics, would be suitable for Mass.
December 22, 2008 at 4:38 am
But that deliverance was, outside of time, brought about by his death at Calvary, so that statement is really not that far off.
And, for the rest of it….I’ve thought a lot about this song. I’m a convert to the faith and cringe at most things protestant. However, I do not think this song is as heretical as many are quick to scream it is. I think it’s more of misunderstanding. After all, the protestants don’t have the Tradition and theology that goes along with the teaching of Mary, so they’re bound to get a few things wrong.
The pervasive question of “did you know?”….Yes, Mary knew that she was the mother of our Emmanuel, but did she know every incident that was going to occur in his life or how it would all happen? While she was intimately united through her espousal with the Holy Spirit and her preservation from Original Sin, the Church doesn’t teach that she knew everything that would befall her son. And thus, is the “did you know?” really that far off? Let us pray for protestants that as they continue to ponder Mary and her thoughts, they will grow closer to Christ and His true Church.
That being said…I don’t think it’s at all appropriate for Mass. Sacred Liturgy….sacred music.
December 22, 2008 at 5:05 am
It’s true that his saving death at Calvary had yet to occur, so it might be correct to say that she will be delivered. However, Mary’s subjective salvation, in time, had already occurred; the fruits of an event that had yet to occur. Therefore, it is probably fair to view this song as suggesting that both the objective(Christ’s death) and Mary’s subjective(personal application of) salvation had not yet occurred.
December 22, 2008 at 6:28 am
I had to laugh when I saw this post, as I have the same reaction to this song!
The other night on our diocesan Catholic TV station (not as good as it sounds, as much of the content is non-Catholic/non-religious, though the station is owned and operated by the diocese), there was what appeared to be a Catholic school group singing this song in what appeared to be a Catholic church! I even commented to my husband about the song being inappropriate, but he had never heard it. I flipped the station pretty quickly.
It’s sad for me to see such disrespect for Our Lady, especially as these days bring us the readings about her from St. Luke’s Gospel. What a beautiful meditation can be had on these passages!
May God bless you all with a Merry Christmas! Blessed Mother, pray for us!
December 22, 2008 at 8:15 am
What exactly do these prots think that the angel was on about at the Annunciation? Or is that one of the bits that they redacted from their bibles?
December 22, 2008 at 9:41 am
Martin Luther spread his heresies by composing popular hymns…
…so did Arius…
Yes, it does matter what we sing.
December 22, 2008 at 10:29 am
Actually, this song sounds a lot like the Maronite Sedro for the Annunciation, except we sing about Mary cowering in doubt and worrying if she’s pure enough to bear Christ.
By the way, I’ll post it later today, but right now I have to go take the GRE.
December 22, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Good luck with the GRE, Eo. I’m nervously awaiting my LSAT results.
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Um, I’m sure the Protestants who wrote it thought of Jesus saving Mary from her sin, but I don’t think the lyric is actually that big a problem. Mary and Jesus both, though, perfect, still had to deal with the effects of sin, right? So, you could say he’s delivering her from the effects.
That said, yeah, the line I find a bit annoying, but not as much as the many versions of the song where people ham it up. I hate hamming up or overstylizing any song, and some church singers (and a lot of Christian recording artists) do it, a lot. To me, that’s distracting. If that song is sung gently and humbly I don’t mind it nearly so much, but when people make it a showpiece it’s really grating.
December 22, 2008 at 3:04 pm
I think it’s left open…it never says “Mary DIDN’T know”…more along the lines of “she pondered these things in her heart”.
Also, it acknowledges her immediate “Yes” to God and show amazement that she was so open to His Will, almost like “When you said yes, did you really know what you were fully getting into? And even though you didn’t know/understand everything, you still said yes? Wow, what faith!” I find that she’s held up as a role model of faith in this song…and the “salvation out of time” explanation seems valid enough/innocent enough.
That being said, of course it doesn’t belong in Mass.
December 22, 2008 at 4:02 pm
The composer used to live in my parish – which meant that we got to sing it twice as a congregation and listen to him do a solo every year.
Hated each time that I heard it.
Now it’s made its way into muzak – heard it in a store. Talk about creeping heresy.
December 22, 2008 at 4:03 pm
It doesn’t belong in mass, but I never thought it was that bad. Mostly because I’ve always imagined Mary smiling at each of those questions and saying “Yes, I did.”
December 22, 2008 at 4:14 pm
We have done it at mass but changed that line. So you are not the only one thinking about such things.
December 22, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Protestant pap.
December 22, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I could think of much worse songs, but it is still inappropriate for Mass. Is it a little theologically shaky? Yes. But, it is coming from a different theological perspective on Mary. So, it seems a bit over-reactive to me to complain about one line, when the intended audience isn’t Catholic.
Again – I don’t think it is appropriate liturgical music. But, the song is better than a host of other Christmas songs.
December 22, 2008 at 4:53 pm
I’m also okay with the line about deliverance as God operates outside of time and Mary’s anticipatory grace of sinlessness was merited through Christ’s passion.
However, the question, “Mary did you know?” irks me because, yes, she did know. The angel told her so. Joseph knew too. The question isn’t just un-Catholic, it’s unbiblical.
However, the Kathy Matea version is sure pretty, as well as the rest of that album.
December 22, 2008 at 4:57 pm
…especially the line about kissing the face of God. It’s goose-bumpy, for sure.
December 22, 2008 at 4:59 pm
…It reminds me of a prayer to St. Joseph that I’ve been using for a few years:
“…I dare not approach while He reposes near they heart. Press Him in my name, and kiss His fine head for me, and ask Him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath. St. Joseph, patron of departing souls, pray for us.”
December 22, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I’m starting to lean toward Lori’s line of thinking here. It’s not, “You’re just an ordinary woman, did you know that Jesus was Lord?” But more like, “Did you realize the greatness of all that He would do when He grew up?”
Still, some lines answer yes, others no.
Q:Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
A: No, probably didn’t foresee every miracle.
Q: Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you.
A: Yes
Q: Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
A: No
Q: Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.
A: Yes
The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.
Q: Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am.
A: Yes
December 22, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I actually really enjoy this song. I think I was particularly sensitive to the song when I heard it was written from a Protestant’s point of view, but from studying the lyrics I really don’t find it offensive, as a Catholic. I agree with Daddio/Lori in that I think the song is more reflective of Mary’s awe in raising Jesus than it is an implication of her ignorance/sinfulness. I think some of these things she knew, obviously, and others she didn’t, but the overall tone (to me) is reverent toward her, more like questioning the total mystery of Mary. I mean, these are questions I would want to ask Mary myself! I myself wonder if she fully realized what she was getting herself into, not that she had no idea that she was the mother of the Savior.
Why would it not be appropriate at Mass?