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 26, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Timing is everything. I wrote my first post before Christmas. My parish decided for the first time to have us sing this song at Mass during the Christmas liturgy.
December 8, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Why would this song offend anyone? This is a song that reaches out to the whole world with the message of Christ, and yet we have catholics getting offended. Whether protestant or catholic who cares! This is masterful written song. If you read the Bible carefully, you will find that Mary is very human, not divine like the catholics want to make her. There is nothing in the Bible that hints she ascended into heaven. She is dead like all the rest of humanity waiting to be ressurected at the end times. She also had more babies which were the brothren of jesus. Not to be confused with the disciples.
December 10, 2009 at 3:23 am
I think the song is great. There is no scriptural support for Mary being without sin.
December 10, 2009 at 3:32 am
I think the song is wonderful. I do think those who feel the need to be a critic, cause far more harm than they think.
December 27, 2009 at 4:48 am
I think the song, "Mary Did You Know", is very moving. As a senior person who's been a Catholic her entire life, I find this song not at all divisive, but beautiful and spiritually inspiring.
Nona Higgins
February 3, 2010 at 7:29 am
thank you,,,, this song has to be offensive to Christ, it denies the immacualte concepetion ,,,,, period, why is there further discussion?