St Patrick and his multiple psalms I should probably start with an apology.  I didn’t realise until this year that the feast of St Patrick had a different Psalm during Mass depending on whether you were in England, Wales or Scotland, or Ireland. This is actually quite unusual, and I thnk it’s because the Saint’s … The post A (new) psalm for St Patrick appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

Carol, carol gaily Each year I rummage through my (large and still growing) collection of carol books, to check everything will be ready in time, and I get distracted by the Oxford Book of Carols‘ insistence on definitions and distinctions, as it goes into detail which most people presumably just skip over; but it is … The post Carols in church : a partial guide appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

The bread of angels :  Honey, that ain’t no scone Last Sunday’s First Reading is from the First Book of Kings, part of Elijah’s story. He has just fled for his life from the wicked queen Jezebel and her husband Ahab,  and has gone to hide from retribution (after slaughtering all the priests of Baal) … The post Bread of heaven, cake, muffin, scone, or hearth cake? appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

I know that face How do we recognise people? By their voice, by their touch, but above all by their face. Where does that leave our relationship with God? Every now and again, there is great internet excitement about someone finding ‘the face of God’ in the inside of a fruit or vegetable, or a … The post Seeking God’s face as a theme in the psalms appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

I usually know before I start a blog whether it’s for The Tablet or for this website, but I was in two minds about this one. I wanted to write about choosing the hymns for Sundays, which meant it was about Church music, but it wasn’t specifically psalm-based. But after all, I have written about … The post Choosing hymns for Sunday Mass appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

Longing and belonging O God, you are my God, for you I long, sings the psalmist in Psalm 62/63, most beautiful of the yearning psalms.   ‘My Lord’ or ‘my God’ is  a very frequent way for him to address the Almighty.   It is a distinct and deliberate declaration : ‘I say, ‘You are my … The post My God : owning and being owned in the Psalms appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

Big in Lent, but available all year Although most of our churches have the Stations of the Cross on their walls all the year round, the devotional exercise ‘doing (or praying) the Stations’ tends to receive more emphasis in Lent.  This is because it is a way to organise our meditations around ‘the way of … The post Stations of the Cross : #WomenWereThere appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

War and peace, and everything else too There is no human situation not covered by the Book of Psalms. Whatever is going on in your life, there is a psalm which will reflect it, as well as multiple psalms which help you to deal with it.  This is partly because the Psalms are so old, … The post Psalms in time of war appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

Multiple voices, many Psalms The Book of Psalms has been described as the Church’s first hymn book, and of course it’s much older than the Church itself.  One of the outstanding features of the Psalms, in any translation, is how direct and personal they are, written mostly in the first person (even though we don’t … The post Singing in God’s voice appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more

Psalms come in different shapes as well as sizes If you want your congregation to join in, it’s very important that they feel comfortable with what’s going on.  If they don’t, they will keep quiet and just watch everyone else.  We long for the days when we can encourage a congregation to join in the … The post The shapes of psalms: songs, litanies, shanties, lullabies appeared first on Music for Mass by Kate Keefe ..read more