Al Carmines - Another Composer To Be Avoided By Catholics

Yesterday I attended the 9:30 Mass at St. John Neumann in Gaitherburg, MD.  I received an email later from a friend who attended the 11:30.  He advised me of a Communion meditation hymn that was sung then: "Many Gifts, One Spirit", written by Al Carmines.  He voiced concerns about the composer: concerns that I share.

Like Ruth Duck, Carmines was not Catholic, so one cannot say he was a heretic from the One True Faith.  However, he was a flaming gay.  This wikipedia write-up is quite telling.  He was an "ordained Methodist minister" who also had an interest in theater.  One of the themes of his "works" was something called "The Faggot".  One can only imagine what that was about!  The article says that when Carmines died, he was survived by his accomplice in sodomy.

Carmines was hired by Howard Moody to be associate pastor at Judson Memorial Church.  He was there quite a while, from the sound of the articles.  A look at Moody is quite revelatory, most notably his rather strident support for legalized baby-murder.  This write-up of Moody's life (done after his death) is most telling.  In addition to his advocacy of baby-murder, we read of the "flag arrests" involving both Carmines and Moody.  They were arrested for making "political statements" with the flag.  And what, pray tell, was the nature of the "political statements"?  The flag was folded/bunched to resemble male genitalia.  What a bunch of swell guys!  And this is the type of lemming whose music should be sung in a Catholic church?  I don't think so!  My friend opined that this hymn's selection was particularly irksome, given that the gay juggernaut just ran roughshod all over Ireland.  I agree and also would add that in light of Carmines' disrespect of the flag, a double-insult was offered over Memorial Day weekend.

What other anti-God folks are being validated with the performance of their music in Catholic churches?  I'm sure this is a wide-scale problem, perhaps even across national boundaries.

More On Duck Blurb In My Parish Bulletin

Yesterday I took issue with a blurb in my parish bulletin regarding Ruth Duck.  In looking into Duck's biography, I found this on the GIA website.  Have both of them open at the same time.  The language is identical.  Whoever put the bulletin blurb in my parish bulletin just lifted it from GIA.

On one level I am pleased that such nonsense was not originated from someone in my parish.  It's still distressing on another level since it implies agreement with the ideas behind the language.  As I mentioned yesterday, my singing voice (such as it is) will be ready.

Saint John Neumann Bulletin Praises Feminist Song-Writer

In its bulletin for this coming weekend, St John Nuemann Catholic Church has a rather laudatory blurb about Ruth Duck (scroll to page 4 of this link and look in the right-hand column).  Two years ago I posted my own blurb about her; let's just say it helped reveal her true progressive colors.

Let's unpack this bulletin blurb, shall we?  We read  "The issue of language that is fair and just is still a crucial
concern for those who worship in the vernacular."  Doesn't it make you wonder what the writer considers "fair and just" and what they consider its opposite to be?  If you read my link, you can see all the new-age tinged language with which Duck insults God.

Then we read "people passionately are committed to developing a language whose style and tone is as reverent as it is relevant. One of the leaders in this movement is Ruth Duck."  Well, no one can doubt that Duck is "passionately committed to developing a language."  Again, you can see what kind of language she's "developing" in my earlier blog post.  And now, it is NOT reverent!

I would say this woman veers close to heresy, but she isn't Catholic.  That's all the more reason why she is completely unqualified to tinker with the language and worship of Catholics.  I for one will not let that happen.  If As A Fire Is Meant For Burning is sung this weekend, I will substitute the lyrics, "We will preach our creeds and customs, for immortal souls we care" in place of the indifferentism-spawned slop that is embedded in that song.  I invite my fellow parishioners to do the same.

UPDATE!  I just heard from a good source that the above-mentioned Ode to Indifferentism is indeed in this weekend's repertoire!  Who will sing my improved lyrics??

Ruth Duck - Hymnist To Be Avoided

Today at Mass we sang a song by the above author entitled "As A Fire Is Meant For Burning".  We sang a very sanitized version as the original version is heretical.  The line many might remember from Mass is "not to preach our country's customs".  What it replaced is "not to preach our creeds or customs", which is nothing more than the heresy of religious indifferentism.  However, several years ago we did sing the original heresy - well not me!  I did a little of my own substitution and would loudly sing "we will preach our creeds and customs" over the offending phrase.  I did so again today.

So who is this lady?  In short, she's a feminist.  At least she wasn't born Catholic so apostasy is not a factor in her case.  Here's a blurb on her life.  Look at page 3 for the various titles she gives to God.  "Sister Wisdom??"   How about "Spirit Guide"?  I believe that one has relevance in New Age and/or Wiccan circles.   We also have "God the loving gardener" and "Great spirit of the cosmic whole".  How does she dream up this barf?  Missing of course are any traditional titles that smack of masculinity, such as "Father" or "Lord".  The footnotes on page 4 are quite telling.  More so is the section on page 5 under "That did it!"  As we read through that section we see that "new names (for God) awaited discovery".

And I thought "not to preach our creeds and customs" was bad enough!!  This woman appears to be monkeying around with so many "names" for God that she has no clue as to Who He is.

If I'm at a Mass again when this song is sung, I will be singing my lyrics very loudly!