Come, Holy Spirit

Today I enjoyed the unusual delight of hearing an enthusiastic young congregation powerfully sing a hymn that I wrote, at an important historical moment, in the wonderful acoustic environment of the Crypt Church of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception--the place of many of my best liturgical memories. Catholic University, my MA alma mater, held their annual Mass of the Holy Spirit at lunchtime today. The Archbishop of Washington, Donald Wuerl, said the Mass, invoking the Holy Spirit's blessing on the new school year. But, darned if the congregation didn't call upon the Holy Spirit long before the Archbishop even had a chance to say a word, in the opening hymn Come Holy Spirit, written by, well, me.

Although I'm of course delighted about this and was tickled to here the strength and clarity of the singing, there is actually very little room for boasting. First of all, it isn't high poetry. One day I say down and said, "I think it would be good for a congregation to have a hymn that combines the invocation of the Holy Spirit, the biblical symbols of the Holy Spirit, and the sacramental actions of the Church." So I wrote it, in a meter that I now realize was too short. (Longer metrical lines have more space to write in, so they are better for theologically heavier subjects.) 'Twas a beast. The rhymes are forced, the diction stunted. There's a line in verse 3 that says "Grace them with sanctifying speech." Ironically, that line is extremely ungraceful in sound, and it is not natural. Flaws like that, and failures in meter and rhythm, run throughout the text.

And then, an old good teacher of mine is on the faculty, and while he congratulated me very heartily, he also (as is his honest style) pointed out a number of serious flaws in the text. He's almost totally right. So again, that's a very helpful strike against boasting!

On the other hand, Jesus very pointedly said in the Gospel, several times, that God will not fail to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks. And today there did seem to be a real request made. There was a certain readiness on the part of the congregation to sing the hymn, and again, an unusual vigor. And there seemed to be a tone set, there, at the very beginning of the year, that involves the light of the Holy Spirit fulfilling God's will, as we each work on our own limited part of the whole mission of the Church.

Come, Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of Your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love!