The Heart of Our Music: Underpinning Our Thinking: Reflections on Music and Liturgy by Members of the Liturgical Composers Forum

In The Heart of Our Music, master practitioners of the art of liturgical music come together to offer enriching insights, a stirring vision, and practical new ideas that will change the way you think about liturgy and liturgical ministry. These reflections are written with the needs of parish liturgists and liturgical musicians in mind.

This volume includes reflections on the role of composition, the role of music, the kind of language we use, the missionary dimension of our texts and music, whether esthetic beauty is the only quality needed, and how we think about and name God in the songs we sing.

Contributors and their articles include: “A Sacrifice of Praise: Musical Composition as Kenosis” by Alan J. Hommerding; “’The Word Is Near You, in Your Mouth and in Your Heart’: Music as Servant of the Word” by Bob Hurd; “The Songs We Sing: The Two Languages of Worship” by Tony Barr; “Moving to Metamelos: A New Heart, a New Church, a New Song” by Rory Cooney; “Beauty and Suitability in Music in the Liturgy” by Paul Inwood; and “From ‘God Beyond All Names’ to ‘O Agape’: Images of God in Liturgical Music” by Jan Michael Joncas.

John B. Foley, SJ, is the Distinguished Liturgical Theologian and composer of liturgical music at Saint Louis University. He is the founder and director of the Stroble Center for Liturgy, which enlivens, enriches, and deepens the celebration of the Eucharist by enabling Catholics to participate more fully in the Mass, by advancing the composition of liturgical music, and by teaching students about the riches of Catholic liturgy.