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 7:31 pm
As a former Baptist who loved Mary, Did You Know? back then, this song has actually sparked a lot of thought on my part over the years.
I don’t think the “will soon deliver you” line is problematic from a Catholic perspective. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception itself states that Mary was preseved free from all stain of original sin “in virtue of the merits of Christ.” If the I.C. were viewed otherwise, the whole idea would be heretical (which, of course, it isn’t).
Also, I think we should keep in mind that it is amazing that here is a song about Mary loved by Protestants. Which is pretty darn cool. I have heard of Protestant churches changing the line “the Babe, the Son of Mary” in What Child Is This to “the Babe, the Son of God” because the original gives too much attention to Mary.
Would anyone like some Nestorianism with their coffee?
As for it’s appropriateness at Mass, I’ll leave that to others to decide. It strikes me that most of what we sing in most parishes isn’t ideally suited for the liturgy.
December 22, 2008 at 7:45 pm
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December 22, 2008 at 7:47 pm
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December 22, 2008 at 8:00 pm
You’re going to the wrong parish! come to were I am and you’ll never ave to deal wit this kind of stuff.
December 22, 2008 at 8:02 pm
(Sorry for the deletions, I keep making typos!)
Why would it not be appropriate at Mass?
Because regardless the theology, the lyric is puerile and amateurish (“water” does not rhyme with “daughters”) and the music insipid.
With a musical legacy that includes Gabrieli, Mozart, Schubert and Bruckner, it is appalling so many Catholics forsake it in preference to ghastly processed music-product like “Mary Did You Know?” for use in our Holy Mass.
December 22, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Back when I used to attend my territorial parish, they sang this song. My 16 year old daughter, when she heard the line “will soon deliver you” said to me sotto voce, “already has delivered.”
She had already received the benefits of Christ’s death which was still, in our human timeline, to happen. For her delivery from sin to be in the future implies that at that minute she was in sin. Therefore I think the line is borderline heretical. Borderline because you can parse it in such a way as not to be heretical. But the person who wrote the song clearly did not have in mind Mary Immaculate.
Joe! many people have no choice but to attend a parish which features puerile ditties like this, and worse. I have a choice because I live near a city that 100years ago started having a large influx of eastern european immigrants. Therefore there are Eastern rite parishes I can attend. If I lived smack in the middle of my diocese, I would have no choice. People with families and jobs to consider can’t just up and move to a place where the church is in better shape. Any many do suffer considerably from this.
Susan Peterson
December 22, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Could be worse–you could still be singing Awesome God and El Shaddai.
December 22, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I heard this song used last year at Midnight Mass.
It is certainly problematic from a Catholic theological view. Most of it could be understood in quite an orthodox manner. At the Annunciation Mary would have known little and was responding in faith.
Mary’s deliverance though was a fruit earned in anticipation of Jesus death and our salvation. She was already delivered from sin from conception.
Though you can’t really expect a Protestant song to get this right. The song doesn’t really bother me that much since at least Protestants are thinking about Mary at all. In a Catholic Church though there are so many much better songs and I don’t mean “Hail Mary, Gentle Woman” which has the most insipid melody.
December 22, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I often try to focus on the glass being half-full, because it seems so easy for Catholics to become Eeyore. It’s hard to bring people to Christ when we lack true joy. Something that some Catholics can learn from our Protestant brothers and sisters. How do we Catholics bring fullness of Christ’s teaching if nobody wants to listen to us grumble. So here’s how the glass is half-full…
“When you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.” professes His Divinity. This was the inspiration for a Protestant painting, “Kissing the Face of God.” This is a good thing.
The repetition of “your baby boy” helps people realization of how special and extraordinary our Mother Mary is. Nobody else can claim that intimate relationship with Him. The only one close could be St. Joseph. Does it provoke deeper thought? Another good thing.
Now, the problem with the verse… “This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you” is the interpretation of the word “deliver.” “Deliver” has several meanings. It could be accurate if it were implying that she will be delivered the same way Jesus was delivered. She was also delivered to the “wolves” (by suffering along with Him) as well as delivered from this sinful world (through her assumption). Unfortunately, we all know how it’s meant by Protestants and other Catholics who don’t know their faith. Maybe if we thought more deeply, we could convert more Protestants.
If more people understood (starting with Catholics first) that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the absolute highest form of prayer on this planet, I think we could do better (not just talking about the hymns either). I think that we often forget that the entire Holy Mass is a prayer from beginning to the end… not just a formal get-together with a series of songs, readings, responses, etc. We are literally in communion with ALL of heaven… Angels, Saints, and umm … GOD! I think we can and should do better.
One final note… if you leave your liberal parishes, who will be there to guide the lost sheeple? Don’t leave it up to the lost shepherds. I don’t blame any of you though… I’ve got 8 children (12 yrs. and under). I don’t want to lose any of them either. If it were just my wife and I, I would have to stay on the front lines of the battle. God Bless all of you and yours.
December 23, 2008 at 1:25 am
The theology of this song, I think, is OK–Jason is exactly right. The bigger problem is that hymns are the FIFTH option given in the rubrics for music at Mass. That means that the Church recommends 4 other things as more proper to the Mass, and the 5th option is exactly that. The more appropriate option is sing the “propers” of the Mass–namely the Intorit, Offertory and Communion antiphons. These are actually the texts given by the Church for each Mass and relate to the readings. Yet almost no one knows they exist!
December 23, 2008 at 5:09 am
“water” does not rhyme with “daughters”
In Philadelphia it does. 🙂
The bigger problem is that hymns are the FIFTH option given in the rubrics for music at Mass.
Sorry, but the horse has already left that barn. I agree with you, of course, but I don’t think you’re going to get any traction with your parish priest or local ordinary. Better to expose this song for the Protestant junk that it is.
December 23, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I agree with several other commenters (Lori, Jenny, Sarah, etc.) that Jesus the infant would grow up to the cross and the deliverance that led (out of time) to the Immaculate Conception. I’ve always thought that.
This song may not be appropriate for mass, but it is prayerful, more so than most songs on the radio now. I love it. In fact, last week I posted someone’s YouTube version on my blog, complete with snippets from gospel movies.
December 23, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Anonymous said…
The theology of this song, I think, is OK–Jason is exactly right. The bigger problem is that hymns are the FIFTH option given in the rubrics for music at Mass. That means that the Church recommends 4 other things as more proper to the Mass, and the 5th option is exactly that. The more appropriate option is sing the “propers” of the Mass–namely the Intorit, Offertory and Communion antiphons. These are actually the texts given by the Church for each Mass and relate to the readings. Yet almost no one knows they exist!
They exist at my parish. You probably have to go to a ‘traditional’ Church to find them sung. At our Church, they are sung in Latin and we have the English text to read in our missals. Sad to see that they are not remembered by most modern Catholics.
December 23, 2008 at 7:28 pm
The composer is a “Methodist-rite” Catholic. So we can’t blame the Protestants only the Catechists.
I knew the man.
December 23, 2008 at 8:24 pm
The composer is a “Methodist-rite” Catholic. So we can’t blame the Protestants only the Catechists.
Do you mean the man who wrote the music (Buddy Greene) or the man who wrote the lyrics (Mark Lowry)?
What is a “‘Methodist-rite’ Catholic”?
December 23, 2008 at 8:24 pm
This would be an interesting conversation but for the tone of many of the posts. Why does “Protestant” come off sounding like profanity? These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. This gross disdain surely leads no one to Catholicism.
Shame on us.
December 23, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Do you like the Beatles:”Let it be.”? This was sung at the end of Sunday Mass over in this town.
December 24, 2008 at 1:32 am
None of this is as bad as suffering through Catholic school “Christmas Concerts.” I use both terms loosely. Of course, tonight’s included Mary Did You Know – it was one of the better selections, but waaay too hard for third graders.
December 24, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I agree with the comments about the appropriateness of the song at Mass as the line about the time deliverance is definitely unorthodox. I also agree that we shouldn’t get too grumpy outside of Mass about this issue; I think it’s wonderful that protestants would sing this song and, as I see, seeking an understanding or looking to Mary’s faith as model. Another observation, though, is that the protestant songs about Mary are not as good as Catholic songs; I think it’s because they are too afraid to approach her and fall into what they characterize as idolatry. I think these songs are signs of an awakening that I hope continues.
December 25, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Not appropriate for Mass but . . .
It seems to me that the questions are rhetorical, the answer is yes.
While the composer may have thought he was attacking Catholic teaching, the teaching is is that Mary was saved by the foreseen merits of Jesus Christ, the joke is on the composer if we have halfway decent catechesis. (A whole different problem)
But if Mary’s little Babe is the “The Great I AM” is she not the MOTHER OF GOD.