Journeying Into Mystery

PT Barnum is attributed in saying, “A Sucker is born every minute.” The comedian, W.C Fields did say, “Never give a Sucker an even break.” Yesterday, when trump announced in a joint press conference with netanyahu, that the United States will take over ownership of Gaza, we saw these two phrases lived out. The biggest con man in American history, donnie trump, got suckered into a disastrous con by benjamin netanyahu. This is not the first time that the United States has been suckered. Two, within my own lifetime, Vietnam, and, Iraq and Afghanistan were disastrous cons for Americans in terms of human life, civil unrest, and a decimated economy. Having just gotten out of the disaster of Afghanistan, thanks to the treaty in which trump drew up with the Taliban that took both the United States and the Afghani people to the cleaners in his first term, we are going back into another grave disaster for the United States.

Throughout ancient history, no foreign power has been able to control Gaza much less all of Palestine. Whether it be the Pharaohs of Egypt with their mighty armies, Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army, Cyrus and the Persians, the Greeks, the Roman Emperors with their mighty armies all the way up to the present, no foreign power has ever been able to control Gaza for long periods of time. Like Afghanistan, they all end up leaving in disarray and complete defeat.

What is trump thinking? He can build golf resorts there? He can exploit the land for his own greedy benefit? Like our immoral invasion of Iraq, and our prolonged stay in Afghanistan, also ordered by three of the greatest chicken hawks of the time, George W Bush, Rumsfeld, and Cheney, we destroyed our economy and the lives of a generation of young men and women by their foolish greed for oil (it’s always about oil, isn’t it?).

Now corrupt little donnie trump, the worst chicken hawk of them all, having dodged being drafted to fight in Vietnam by his equally corrupt father, is involving us in the worst historical quagmire of Gaza. He will destroy our economy as he did his first term, and, also the lives of another generation of young men and women who will fight there. In golf terms, Gaza is just one big sand trap, a sand trap from which no one can escape without grave(s) after effects.

What is trump thinking? I keep on repeating that question even though I know the man is completely devoid of any rational thought. He sits in the oval office looking like an obese Homer Simpson. The main difference is Homer is smarter and only dreams about doughnuts and Duff Beer. trump sits there and thinks about broads, sex, diet coke, KFC, Big Macs, Whoppers, fries, money, porn stars, sex, fast food, sex, diet coke, power etc.

Two songs from two generations fighting in disastrous conflicts should give us all pause for reflection as we enter into this very dangerous time for the United States. One is a folk song, and the other, a heavy metal band. Both of these songs can be heard on YouTube.

MASTERS OF WAR

The first song is Masters of War, composed by a young Bob Dylan on the eve of the United States entering into that complete disaster called Vietnam.

Masters of War (Witmark Demo – 1963)
Song by Bob Dylan ‧ 1963

Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you sit back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
While the young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You’ve thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain’t worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I’m young
You might say I’m unlearned
But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I’ll follow your casket
By the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand over your grave
‘Til I’m sure that you’re dead

Songwriters: Bob Dylan
Masters of War (Witmark Demo – 1963) lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

The disaster of Vietnam killed over 58,220 American military personnel, men and women. This number does not include those who have died from the effects of Agent Orange many years following the war, or suicide.

B.Y.O.B (Bring Your Own Bomb)

The second song is by the heavy metal band, Systems of a Down, entitled B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Bomb), composed in 2005 as a protest song against the disastrous Middle East war in Iraq and Afghanistan, in which lies from both george w bush, cheney, and rumsfeld got the U.S. involved (warning the song has some profanity in it).

B.Y.O.B.
Song by System of a Down ‧ 2005

You
Why do they always send the poor?

Barbarisms by Barbaras
With pointed heels
Victorious Victorias kneel
For brand new spanking deals
Marching forward, hypocritic
And hypnotic computers
You depend on our protection
Yet you feed us lies from the tablecloth

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la, ooh
Everybody’s going to the party
Have a real good time
Dancin’ in the desert
Blowin’ up the sunshine

Kneeling roses disappearing
Into Moses’ dry mouth
Breaking into Fort Knox
Stealing our intentions
Hangers sitting, dripped in oil
Crying, “freedom”
Handed to obsoletion
Still you feed us lies from the tablecloth

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la, ooh
Everybody’s going to the party
Have a real good time
Dancin’ in the desert
Blowing up the sunshine
Everybody’s going to the party
Have a real good time
Dancin’ in the desert
Blowin’ up the sunshine

Blast off, it’s party time
And we don’t live in a fascist nation
Blast off, it’s party time
And where the fuck are you?

Where the fuck are you?
Where the fuck are you?
Why don’t presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why don’t presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?

Kneeling roses disappearing
Into Moses’ dry mouth
Breaking into Fort Knox
Stealing our intentions
Hangers sitting dripped in oil
Crying, “freedom”
Handed to obsoletion
Still you feed us lies from the tablecloth

La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la, ooh
Everybody’s going to the party
Have a real good time
Dancin’ in the desert
Blowing up the sunshine
Everybody’s going to the party
Have a real good time
Dancin’ in the desert
Blowin’ up the sun

Where the fuck are you?
Where the fuck are you?
Why don’t presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why don’t presidents fight the war?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?

Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?
Why do they always send the poor?
They always send the poor
They always send the poor

Songwriters: Daron V. Malakian / Serj Tankian
B.Y.O.B. lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

The songwriters were correct. Though over 7000 Americans died in that war, over 30,150 combat veterans from that war have died by suicide. How has that war affected the lives of the liars bush, cheney, and rumsfeld? Their lives have not been affected one bit by their lies. They have not suffered at all. They continue their fat cat lives unaffected by the horror they caused so many others.

This is a time when our leaders, political, religious, and business must stand up to the obese Jabba the Hut sitting in the oval office and say, “NO!”

Democratic senators and congressional representatives, the time has come to play hardball. You all look like a bunch of wimps! The time has come to do business the republican way … dirty. If you continue to play Mr Nice Guy you will be steamrolled by trump and all the dirty players in the MAGA Nazi camp.

Business leaders, you are capitalists. Your world revolves around greed and acquiring more and more wealth. You’re not stupid. trump and the MAGA Nazis will destroy this economy and destroy your profits. The time has come to hold these people accountable for their stupidity and protect your businesses.

American bishops, here I am speaking to the Catholic bishops, you look like a bunch of cross dressing eunuchs compared to the lone female Episcopal bishop who stood up to trump. Did ordination to the Episcopacy turn you into a bunch of castrati? Man up! Witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and oppose the evil of trump. Because of your inaction on criminal sexual abuse for centuries, your rejection of the Catholic Social Justice teachings of the Catholic Church, especially those of Pope Francis I, you have LOST any teaching authority you think you have. Again I repeat, the time has come for you Man Up! Witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and oppose the evil of trump.

Together we can defeat the evil and the stupidity of donnie trump.

In a Washington Post article, “Trump Swiftly Deals ‘Death Blow’ to DEI, written by Julian Mark, Taylor Telford, and Susan Svrluga, we read how trump is swiftly destroying all affirmative action policies the United States has had for at least 50 years. The following is the post I wrote in Facebook this morning (Jan 24, 2025).

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

One of the three temptations that Jesus faces in the Gospels, is that of world power and domination. Jesus quickly dismisses that temptation. In the person of donald trump, who sold his soul to the devil as a young man, we find a person totally incapable of understanding these words of Jesus, and, if he actually had the intelligence to understand what Jesus said, would reject Jesus as quickly as he rejects all the goodness that is part of the United States.

Fr. Henri Nouwen, in the introduction to his final book, “Our Greatest Treasure”, a book about human death, writes about celebrating his 60th birthday with the men and women of L’Arche Daybreak Community (L’Arche Daybreak Community, Canada, is an interfaith community of men and women of varying physical and intellectual disabilities founded by Jean Vanier). Nouwen, pastor of the community, was being told by many that he looked much younger than 60 years old, that is, except by one resident, Bill, who said, “Henri, you’re an old man.” Henri realized the truth in Bill’s statement. He wrote that it dawned upon him that the number of years ahead of him were far fewer than the years behind him. Nouwen would die from a major coronary at the age of 64 years old.

trump is a little man who foolishly thinks he has all sorts of power. trump is 78 years old. He is an “old man.” He fails to realize that he is at an age in which his lifetime of poor choices, especially his fast food diet and choice of beverage, can end his life instantly by a heart attack or stroke. He also fails to realize that the choices he is making right now can prompt a desperate, angry man or woman, or for that matter, world leader, to end his life in a violent manner. Short of being locked in a sealed room in the bowels of the White House and never stepping out into public, trump is vulnerable to violent attack. All the Secret Service in the world cannot protect him.

At the end of his miserable life, God will scrutinize his life’s choices. God will ask him the the very questions by which we, as human beings, will by judged by God. He will be asked by God, “Have you clothed the naked? Have you given drink to those who are thirsting? Have you provided shelter to the homeless? Have you welcomed the stranger and the immigrant? Have you given aid and medical care to the sick? Have you visited those in prison?”

Notice that cheating business partners, cheating those who did work for him, sexually molesting and raping women, stealing, committing adultery, stealing government secrets, trying to overthrow our government, denying care to those most in need, and licking the soles of wealthy donors, in other words, the only things that trump has done in life, are not included in God’s assessment of trump.

For those familiar with the Last Judgment scene from Matthew’s Gospel, those who have not cared for others but have been sinfully self-absorbed and selfish in life are cast into Hell for eternity.

This brings us back to the quote that began this brief essay, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” (Mark 8:36)

trump, as Fr. Henri Nouwen wisely realized with the help of his developmentally disabled friend, Bill, the number of years ahead for you are far, far, far fewer than those behind you. You only have a few years at most, or perhaps, only a few precious moments left to live. What you do now, and how you will use the time that God has allotted you to live, will determine how you will spend eternity. If you continue to use your position of power to make life Hell on earth for the poor, the elderly, the immigrant, and vulnerable, God will give you for eternity, the Hell you created for all people in this life.

I will readily admit that the inauguration of this rapist, racist, felon to the highest office in the nation is very difficult for me. He is the antithesis of that which our nation’s Founders wanted for our democracy, and, yet, thanks to the Roberts’ Supreme Court, Judge Cannon, and others in our judicial system, has escaped justice once more.

Of all the crimes that trump has committed in his lifetime, none has been so evil as his treatment of immigrants to our nation.

I have spent 30 of my 47 years of church ministry ministering to and with Latinos. Never have I found a more devoted group of people religiously, so much so, I am envious of the faith in God they possess. Never have I found such hard working people, willing to do any task or any job that would make most white people reject as too demeaning. Never have I found such devoted people to their families and to their communities. Many of the Latinos I know, documented and undocumented, work very hard and keep only the money they needed to survive, sending the rest to their families suffering poverty in their country of origin.

The one thing trump and his fascist sidekick, Stephen Miller, did during the first term was the evil internment/prison camps that trump, miller, and ICE set up to separate and imprison little Latino immigrant children from their parents. This policy that mimicked the early genocidal policies of Hitler and Himmler and the Nazis was the most sinful of all the foul things trump did in his first term. For that, I have never forgiven him, and a crime against humanity for which he will be held accountable before almighty God.

During the first term of trump, I composed a lot of music in defiance of his evil policies and those of his MAGA fascists in Congress. 21 songs in all found on my albums, Songs for the Refugee Christ at Christmas, Psalm Offerings Opus 7, for a Broken World, and Psalm Offerings Opus 10 (all available on Amazon and iTunes, and streaming on multiple sources).

As trump begins another four years of evil, I present once more two songs I composed as musical prayer for the innocent victims of his racist policies toward Latino immigrants.

A Migrant Mother’s Lullaby to Her Imprisoned Baby, Psalm Offering 2 Opus 10, (c) 2018 by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

A Lament for Imprisoned Immigrant Children, Psalm Offering 3 Opus 11, (c) 2018 by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

Lest one think that I think I deny that there is a criminal element within the Latino community. I do not. However, proportionally, it is no greater than there are among the many white European communities of Irish, Italian, British, German, Polish, French, Nordic, Asian, and African nationalities that are part of the melting pot of the United States. Trump is, by and large, one of the greatest criminals, of his immigrant set, as was his father before him.

May God bless and protect our immigrant population from the evil policies of trump and MAGA. And may God bless our nation so that our nation and our democracy can survive the next four years of evil.

A QUICK JOURNEY THROUGH 50 YEARS OF MARRIAGE

LEARNING HOW TO WALK

I learned to walk
in earnest down
the aisle of
St. Bridget of Sweden,
into a new wedded
life filled with
wonder and love,
the many walks of
pregnancies, Pitocin
drip walks down
hospital corridors,
during nights with
restless infants, and
sick children, to
parks and baseball
diamonds, plays
and musicals, concerts
and gymnasiums,
graduations, weddings,
funerals, grandchildren,
all of them walks
along the spherical
path of life.
To walk with you is
to learn how to love,
each measured step,
a grace-filled journey
to something greater,
far beyond and far better
than the stumbling steps
that I could have
made on my own.

To walk with you,
is to see the
world with different
eyes, colors bursting
through the greys,
warmth on the
coldest of days, your
voice floating, playing
delightfully in the air
alongside until the
sound settles gently,
gracefully in my ears.

We have walked many
steps together in life,
my gait now not as steady,
these days of uncertain
limbs, joints and cane.
In walking with you,
new discoveries never
end, new beginnings
abound, and that
with you, the first
and the finest of
all teachers, learning
to walk is never
fully learned.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins. This is comprised of Preparation of the Gifts, the Holy, Holy, the Eucharistic Prayer, the Memorial Acclamation, and concludes with the Doxology and Great Amen. Then the liturgy enters into the Communion Rite, with the communal praying of the Lord’s Prayer, Sign of Peace, Lamb of God, and the reception of Communion. Following Communion, we enter into the concluding prayers of the Mass and dismissal.

The Holy, Holy

The Holy, Holy is never meant to be recited by the congregation, but is meant to be sung. This setting borrows a motif from the Glory to God in the Hosanna refrain. It is scored for 3 part handbell choir, 2 flutes, 2 violins, brass quartet, SATB choir/cong, and piano.

Holy, Holy

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Holy, Holy (c) 2024, music by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

The Memorial Acclamation

The Memorial Acclamation follows the Words of Institution at the Consecration of Mass. There are a number of different texts for the Memorial Acclamation. I have chosen the most biblical text taken from 1 Corinthians 11.

Memorial Acclamation
When we eat this bread and we drink this cup, we proclaim your death O Lord, until you come again.

Memorial Acclamation (c) 2024 music by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Doxology and Great Amen

The Doxology sung by the priest, and the Great Amen sung by the congregation concludes the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This is scored for 3 part handbell choir, 2 flutes, 2 violins, brass quartet, presider, SATB choir/cong, and piano.

Doxology and Great Amen
Priest: Through him, and with him, and in him,
O God, almighty Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours,
for ever and ever.

SATB choir/cong: Amen!

Doxology and Great Amen (c) music by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Lamb of God

The Lamb of God is sung during the Fraction Rite of the Mass, when hosts and consecrated wine are distributed among different chalices and ciboriums to be given the congregation during Holy Communion.

Lamb of God

Cantor: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
Choir/cong: have mercy on us.

Cantor: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
Choir/cong: have mercy on us.

Cantor, choir/cong: Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,
grant us peace.

Lamb of God (c) 2024 music by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Mass of God’s Wholeness and Joy

Gospel Acclamation

The Gospel Acclamation (normally a sung alleluia, with a different acclamation during the season of Lent) is mandated to be sung, NOT recited. There are many, many different setting of the Gospel Acclamation from chant to heavily ornamented versions.

I composed this acclamation as a dialogue between the cantor and the congregation/choir. It is in the call and response sung form found in many work songs as often heard in Spirituals and Sea Chanteys. This is composed for 3 part handbell choir, 2 flutes, 2 violins, brass quartet, cantor, SATB choir and piano.

Gospel Acclamation

Cantor: Alle, Alelluia. Choir/Cong: Alle, Alleluia.
Cantor: Alle, Alleluia. Choir/Cong: Alle Alleluia.
Cantor: Alle, Alleluia. Choir/Cong: Alle, Alleluia.
Cantor: Alle, Alleluia. Choir/Cong: Alle, Alleluia.

Cantor: Speak, O Lord, your servant is listening.
You have the words of everlasting life.

Cantor: Alle, Alelluia. Choir/Cong: Alle, Alleluia.
Cantor: Alle, Alleluia. Choir/Cong: Alle Alleluia.
Cantor: Alle, Alleluia. Choir/Cong: Alle, Alleluia.
Cantor: Alle, Alleluia. Choir/Cong: Alle, Alleluia.

Gospel Acclamation (c) 2024 music by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

Intercessory Prayer

This ending to the Liturgy of the Word is also called the “prayer of the faithful” or “intercessions”. Ordinarily, this is spoken as opposed to sung, as it is here. However, on formal occasions, the intercessions are sung.

To be included among the intercessions are prayers for the Church, for the world, for those who are sick, for those who are dying, and other needs that are pertinent to the community of faith. Here is the text I composed for these sung intercessions.

Intercessory Prayers

Let us bring our prayer to God most High;
Refrain: O loving God, hear our prayer.

For all who proclaim the Good News of God, who serve the needs of the poor and welcome the stranger, we pray to our God. Refrain

For all disciples of Christ, may they profess the word in faith and action, we pray to our God. Refrain

For those in public office to be servant leaders, and to serve the common good of all, we pray to our God. Refrain

For all peoples fleeing from violence and war, crime, and poverty, hunger, and domestic abuse to be welcome into our midst and supported in love, we pray to our God. Refrain

For all who bear the cross of pain in mind and body, to never feel  abandoned or forsaken by God, we pray to our God. Refrain

For our earth’s climate destroyed by pollutants, our water, land and air, poisoned by chemicals, and all God creatures rendered extinct by human greed, we pray to our God. Refrain

For all of us assembled in prayer, and for our family and friends, may we always feel God’s love and compassion in our lives, we pray to our God. Refrain

For our deceased family and friends, and all who have died, may we be united with them in the community of the saints, we pray to our God, Refrain

Intercessory Prayers (c) 2024 music and text composed by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

When I started to direct church music in the late 1970’s, there was not much of a choice in the sung Ordinary parts of the Mass. These sung parts most people know as the “Lord Have Mercy” (Penitential Rite), The Glory to God, the Gospel Acclamation (Alleluia and verse preceding the proclamation of the Gospel), the Holy, Holy, the Memorial Acclamation following the words of consecration, the Doxology and Great Amen at the end of the Eucharistic prayer, and, the Lamb of God sung during the fraction rite.

In the 1980’s, there was a great flurry of activity in composing musical and singable Ordinary parts of the Mass. Marty Haugen’s Mass of Creation and Mass of Remembrance; David Haas’ Mass of Glory and Mass of Joy; mass settings composed by Mike Joncas and the St Louis Jesuits are notable settings of the Ordinary of the Mass that people enjoyed singing. However, in the past 20 years, I have noticed that many newly composed settings of the Ordinary of the Mass have become trite, boring, and very unmusical. Equally as boring are those attempts to quote motifs from old Latin chants and impose the Ordinary Mass texts on them. They just don’t work, are unsingable, and are tedious to sing. They just don’t work.

So, as I was convalescing from my broken wrist, my music program, Finale, and I were busy composing a brand new setting of the Ordinary Mass parts. I chose to compose them not only for SATB choir, cantor (at times), and piano, but added instrumentation such as 3 octave handbells, flutes, violins, trumpets, horn in F, and trombone to the compositions. This blog and the two following will be featuring these new Mass settings that are not only singable but musical.

Because the choir parts all sound like just sung “Ahhhhhs”, I have included the sung Mass texts along with the MP3 of the music.

The Lord Have Mercy

This is composed for a cantor, with the congregation parts doubled by the SATB choir.

Lord Have Mercy

Lord Jesus, you came into the world
For our salvation. Lord have mercy. (repeated by choir and congregation)

Lord Jesus, you continue to be with us
By the grace of your Spirit, Christ have mercy. (repeated by choir and congregation)

Lord Jesus, you will come again in glory,
Lord have mercy. (repeated by choir and congregation)

Lord Have Mercy (c) 2024, music by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

The Glory to God

The Glory to God is composed for SATB choir, piano, 3 octave handbell choir, 2 flutes, 2 violins, 2 trumpets, horn in F, and trombone. There is a common refrain that all can sing immediately, with the verses initially sung by the choir, but easily learnable by the congregation over time.

Glory to God in the Highest

 Refrain:
Glory to God, Glory to God,
Glory to God in the highest!
Glory to God, Glory to God,
Glory to God in the highest!

Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to people of good will
We praise you,
we bless you,
we adore you,
we glorify you,
we give you thanks for your great glory,
Lord God, heavenly King,
O God, almighty Father.

Refrain

Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son,
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father,
you take away the sins of the world,
     have mercy on us;
you take away the sins of the world,
     receive our prayer;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
     have mercy on us.

Refrain

For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Amen.

Refrain

Glory to God (c) music by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved. Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

In a week’s time, December 27th, Ruthie and I will be married 50 years. We started dating in May of 1969. The best “awful” thing that happened to me was when my dad’s company transferred him from Chicago to St Paul, Mn during the summer before my junior year in high school. As a junior in a whole new high school, St Bernard’s on Rice Street, I felt very isolated until I went to band practice. There playing first French Horn was this vision of beauty, Ruth Ahmann. She smiled that fantastic smile at me, kindly welcomed me (she was the first person who talked to me that first day of school), and I was smitten.

She graduated in May of 1969 from high school, worked a year, and then studied to be a Registered Nurse. I graduate from high school, in May 1970, majored in music at the College of St Thomas, and graduated in December 1974 (I did my student teaching the Fall quarter of 1984).

Two weeks following my graduation, we got married at St Bridget of Sweden Catholic Church in Lindstrom, MN. on a very cold, December 27th evening. Fortunately, there were not blizzards that day (that happened one week later). Ruthie recently asked me why we got married on that day in December. It was because the church would be brightly filled with Christmas decorations, and besides, what more festive a time can one get married than on Christmas. Am I correct? I did compose a song for our wedding. Got an good friend, a music major from St Kate’s, to sing at our wedding. Arranged some music for trumpet and organ etc. The only music we could not have in our wedding was “our song”, “Midnight at the Oasis”. As a liturgist, later on, yeah, that would not have been appropriate for a wedding … perhaps better sung and enacted on the honeymoon night. But I digress …

Needless to say, the best day of my life was when Ruthie and I got married December 27th of 1974 and married to her every day following continues to be the best day of my life.

God’s Love Be With You

God’s Love Be With You is a choir hymn composed as a blessing. The text I adapted from some blessings in the Book of Psalms, and, from the Book of Numbers. I composed the music and adapted the text during the summer of 1984. Here is the text:

GOD’S LOVE BE WITH YOU

Refrain
God’s love be with you.
God’s peace be with you.
God’s love and peace be with you.

Our God proclaims peace to all people.
And to those who put in God all their hope.
Near indeed is God’s salvation to those who hear God,
Glory dwelling in their land.

Refrain

May peace be in your walls,
Prosperity in your buildings.
With all my relatives and friends, I say,
“Peace be within you.”

Refrain

May our God bless you and keep you.
May the face of our God shine upon you.
May our God be gracious to you and look upon you,
Kindly and give you peace.

Refrain

The music:

God’s Love Be With You (c) 1984 music and text by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place

My favorite psalm is Psalm 84. I love this psalm so much, that I composed a musical setting of the psalm, and then presented the psalm to the person I love so much, Ruthie, and gave it to her as a Christmas present in 1989. I worked on this song throughout most of the Fall of that year. Here is the text:

PS 84 – HOW LOVELY IS YOUR DWELLING PLACE

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O God of Heav’n and earth. (repeat)

My very essence longs with deepest desire
For the courts of our God.
My heart, my soul sing out with joy to our God,
The living God.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O God of Heav’n and earth. (repeat)

For even the sparrow you provide a home.
The swallow nest her young at your altar, O God.
My God, my all. My God, my all.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O God of Heav’n and earth. (repeat)

To spend one day in your courts,
Is all I desire.
To rest upon your doorstep,
I prefer to all dwellings.
For you, my God, are a sun and a shield,
You bestow your grace on those
Who walk with you.

How happy are they who trust
in you, O God of hosts.
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O God of Heav’n and earth.

Here is the music:

How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place (c) 1989, music and text by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

In this post are several choir songs and the responsorial psalm for Christmas.

As with the Advent music posted earlier, much of this music was composed for the choirs of St Hubert in a period of time from the mid-eighties to the early nineties.

Look, God Is Among Us

Look God Is Among Us, was composed as a Christmas present for my son, Luke, when he was 10 years old. I adapted the text from Isaiah 12, one of the readings on Christmas Eve. Here is the text of the song:

Look! God Is Among Us

Refrain
Look! God is among us,
The Holy One of Israel.
Come in greatness,
Shout for joy!

O God, you are our salvation,
You are our strength, our comfort.
In you we place our trust,
We have no fear.

Refrain

Come, O Zion draw water,
From the springs of our God.
Drink deeply from the font
Of our salvation.

Refrain

All who live in Zion,
Proclaim God’s name to all people.
Declare God’s mighty works,
Invoke God’s name.

Refrain

Look God Is Among Us (c) 1987 music and text by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

How Beautiful the Mountains

How Beautiful the Mountains was composed for my choirs in 1986. The text is adapted from Isaiah 52, one of the readings for Christmas Eve Masses. Many of these songs I began to compose in the month of June. I would pour through the readings of Advent and Christmas, choose texts, start to adapt those texts for music, and then do the composing and arranging. The Fall of 1986, the local association for liturgical musicians in the Archdiocese had a “contest” for original music composed by the directors of music in the Archdiocese. I entered this song, and won second or third place. Winning was not necessarily important. Performing the song for a wider audience was exhilarating. Here is the text:

HOW BEAUTIFUL THE MOUNTAINS

How beautiful the mountains that ring with the news that our God is king,
The voices of our watchmen excitedly shout for joy! (repeat

Refrain:
Rise out of your ruins Jerusalem,
God’s consolation has come to you.
For all the ends of the earth have seen
Have seen the salvation of our God.

How blessed are the messengers announcing the good news
Break into song O Zion proclaiming God’s peace to all. (repeat)

Refrain

How blessed are the eyes that behold our Lord God, our Comforter,
Returning to his people, redeeming them, bringing them peace. (repeat)

Refrain

The music:

How Beautiful the Mountains (c) 1986, music and text by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

Our Savior Is Born To Us

Our Savior Is Born to Us was composed as a Christmas present for a music colleague of mine, Joann Klinglehutz, at St Hubert. Joann was an educator and incredible soloist at St Hubert, and we played many a wedding over the years at St Hubert. She later got married and moved to Omaha.

I adapted the text from Isaiah 62, another reading proclaimed at one of the Masses on Christmas Eve. The refrain was composed to be sung as a round. As you listen to the recording you will hear the refrain sung in unison when it is introduced. After the first verse, it is sung as a two part round. After the second verse, it is sung as a three part round. And, following the third verse it is sung as a four part round. I have updated the arrangement to include a three octave bell choir, 2 violins, 2 flutes, a brass quartet, SATB choir, and piano. Here is the text:

OUR SAVIOR IS BORN TO US

(soprano solo)
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
Our Savior is born to us.
True peace descends upon us from Heaven.

(full choir)
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
Our Savior is born to us.
True peace descends upon us from Heaven.

Blazing forth from the East,
God comes from the dawn.
Filling the earth with a new light ne’er before seen.
Overcoming the darkness in our land.

(2 part round)
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
Our Savior is born to us.
True peace descends upon us from Heaven.

Desolate, forsaken we shall be no more.
As a crown of glory held aloft in God’s hand,
For all the nations to see.

(3 part round)
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
Our Savior is born to us.
True peace descends upon us from Heaven.

We have become delightful, espoused to God.
No one can silence the joy alive in our hearts.
Our Savior is born to us!

(4 part round)
Let us rejoice in the Lord,
Our Savior is born to us.
True peace descends upon us from Heaven.

The music:

Our Savior Is Born to Us (c) 1992, music and text by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

All the Ends of the Earth

All the Ends of the Earth, Psalm 98, is the responsorial psalm for Christmas Day. There are many, many musical versions for choir and cantors composed over the years. The music was composed by me for SATB choir and piano in 1985. I used the text that was provided in the Lectionary for Mass at that time (when the Catholic Church in the United States still had a decent translation of the scriptures.

In 1983, I was still the full-time music educator at St Wenceslaus, but worked nights and weekends at St Hubert 25 miles away. Ruthie was pregnant with our fourth child, and the baby was due at Christmas. Needless to say, I was a bit trepidatious about that, not wanting to be stuck directing music at all the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day Masses, and not being able to be with Ruth if she should go into labor (Note: our daughter was born two weeks later). When I composed this musical setting of this psalm, I had been working at both St Wenceslaus and St Hubert for two years. My family and I were living on my meager church salary and were officially living under the poverty level. My choirs got to know my family, and after one rehearsal in Advent 1984, the pastor, Father Barry Schneider, OFM, called me into his office and gave me an envelope with $1000. He said it was a gift from an anonymous donor to my family. What was looking to be a very meager Christmas at my home, turned into something far more special for my kids. I composed this setting of Psalm 98 as a thank you to the anonymous donor. About 20 years later, I finally discovered who the donor was. They are one of those special families that touch the lives of many so positively.

The music is based on a repetitive chord pattern, known as a “ground” in music theory. There are many popular songs that do this. Think Louie, Louie by the Kingsman, or any 12 part blues chord pattern. David Haas had composed a psalm setting of Psalm 100, “We Are Your People”, using this technique. I decided to base this psalm setting on the same principle. While the chord pattern remains the same, I composed two separate melodies to be sung over that chord pattern, one for the refrain, and one for the verse. At one point, in this psalm setting, you can hear both melodies being done simultaneously. Here is the text:

PS 98 ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH

Refrain:
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

Sing to the Lord a new song,
For he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won vict’ry for him,
His holy arm.

Refrain

(women)
The LORD has made his salvation known
In the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
(men)
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness,
Toward the House of Israel, the House of Israel.

Refrain

(super imposed over the verse is the melody of the refrain)
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Song  joyfully to the LORD,
All you lands break into song,
Sing praise.

Refrain

Sing praise to the Lord with the harp,
With the harp and melodious song.
With the sound of the trumpet and horn
Sing joyfully before the King, the Lord.

Refrain

Here is the music:

All the Ends of the Earth (c) music by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

My now 22 year old grandson, Owen, on Christmas 2003, at the age of 1 year.

Since Labor Day weekend, on which I broke my left wrist, I have been occupying some of my time in composing a musical setting of the Ordinary of the Mass, and rearranging some old choir/piano psalms, hymns, songs, for SATB choir, strings, 3 octave handbell choir, woodwinds, and brass quartet (2 trumpets, a horn in F, and trombone).

I dug out my old orchestration books from over 50 years ago, and started arranging, keeping in mind that these new arrangements had to be playable by musicians of all ages and abilities from high school level up and still sound musical.

Since we are in the Advent Season on the cusp of Christmas and the Christmas season (going by the liturgical calendar and NOT the retail business calendar which has the Christmas season starting have the fourth of July), I will start first with some Advent music.

About what you will hear …

I did these new arrangements using the music program, Finale. Finale does a wonderful job reproducing authentic instrument sounds from keyboards all through the instruments of an orchestra. However, the only instrument it cannot reproduce well is the human voice. Voice parts sound like someone is singing a very long “Ahhhhh.” With the advancement of AI, I am sure that in the future, the human voice, complete with sung text, will be reproduced to sound more authentic. However, lacking a choir to direct, and hands that are nearly crippled by arthritis, I can only give you this facsimile, based on the playback feature of the program. It still works. To assist the listener, I have also included the texts of the songs to match the music. Most of the music is written in either three part form (think refrain, verse, refrain) or two part form (think verse, refrain).

Here is the first of the songs based on the Responsorial Psalm for Advent, Psalm 85, entitled, “God Let Us See Your Kindness.” This was composed for my choirs at St Hubert in Chanhassen during the mid-eighties, when our music budget really didn’t exist and our music resources in the pew were quite awful if not, perhaps, illegal (violating copyright laws, something I rectified as quickly as possible). I composed a lot of choir music at that time in my life.

PS 85 GOD LET US SEE YOUR KINDNESS

Refrain:
God let us see your kindness.
God let us see your kindness.

I will hear what God proclaims:
Our God proclaims peace to all people.
Near indeed is God’s salvation for the humble of heart,
Glory dwelling in our land.

Refrain

Kindness and truth shall meet,
Justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out from the earth,
And justice shall look down from heaven.

Refrain

God, you give us your benefits,
Our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before you, and salvation
Along the way of your steps.

Refrain

God Let Us See Your Kindness (c) 1985, music and text (adapted from Psalm 85) by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

The next choir hymn is based on the Baruch reading for the Advent season, entitled, Remembered By God. This was composed for my St Hubert Choirs in 1992.

Remembered By God

Refrain:
Let us prepare a way for the Lord.
Let us put on the splendor of God forever.
Let us gather with all people and rejoice,
For we are remembered by God.

May we give birth to God’s tidings of joy to the lowly,
And heal the brokenhearted,
And announce this time of favor from our God.
Refrain

Upon the heights, let us look to the East and the West,
And see all of God’s children,
Whom God brings into our midst with mercy and justice.
Refrain

May we be clothed with God’s mantle of salvation,
Wrap around us God’s mantle of justice,
And go forth led in joy by God’s light that grows within us.

Refrain

© 1992 text adapted from scripture (Is 40:3, Is 61:1-2a, Bar 5:1-9) by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.

The music:

Remembered By God (c) 1992 music and text by Robert Charles Wagner. All rights reserved.