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Subject: Liturgical Music
Easter at St. Mary’s Choir – Tribute and 1991 Recordings
April 9, 2026 - 10:41am — Don9of11
A simple email from my sister — searching for the Terra Tremuit we once sang at Easter — led me back to an old 1991 cassette from St. Mary’s Choir. Digitizing it opened a door into memories, voices, and a beauty we may never hear again in quite the same way.
I’ve written the story and shared the restored recordings. If you’d like to read the story and hear the restored recordings, you can find them here:
https://www.motherofmercycatholichymns.com/easter-at-st-marys-choir/
For some, these sounds will be familiar. For others, they’ll be a first encounter. Either way, I hope they carry a bit of the grace we knew.
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Catholic Hymnody, Authority, and Modern Hymnals
March 21, 2026 - 1:01pm — Don9of11
Why are Catholic hymnals no longer approved by bishops, and how is Catholic hymnody evaluated today? In this article, I examine the historical role of episcopal approval, the gradual disappearance of imprimaturs after the Second Vatican Council, and how responsibility for hymn selection now functions within the Church.
Drawing on Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church (USCCB, 2020), the Church’s liturgical and doctrinal documents, and What Is a Catholic Hymn?, this study seeks not to be polemical, but ecclesial: to clarify what the Church means by Catholic hymnody and how modern hymnals measure up to those standards.
This article is intended for pastors, musicians, and all who care about the Church’s sung prayer.
Please visit Mother of Mercy Catholic Hymns and read Catholic Hymnody, Authority, and Modern Hymnals
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Why I Set Out to Understand Catholic Hymnody
February 27, 2026 - 1:44pm — Don9of11
After decades singing at St. Mary’s Parish in Akron, Ohio I found myself asking a question I had somehow never needed to ask before: What makes a hymn truly Catholic? That question became the spark for two projects I never expected to write.
The first, What Is a Catholic Hymn?, is a short pastoral guide — available as a downloadable PDF — that helps parish musicians recognize the doctrinal, liturgical, and devotional qualities that give Catholic hymnody its identity.
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Music planning links by publisher
June 12, 2017 - 2:17pm — Richard SchlettyI found this helpful summary of music planning guides at the Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana. I updated some outdated links. Also see our TCS resources page here: topcatholicsongs.com/Resources
Music planning links by publisher
| Publisher | Link | Fee |
| Liturgical Press |
Free Downloadable Music Planner – updated quarterly |
free |
| GIA |
GIAplanner.net - weekly suggestions |
$129/yr $39/yr free |
| Quarterly Planning Pages | free | |
| Choral music weekly suggestions | free | |
| GIA Quarterly - planning magazine | see site for details | |
| Liturgy Help | Liturgyhelp.com - comprehensive liturgical planning site | see site for details |
| OCP | Support materials for your missal program Accompaniment books, resources for music and prayer, quarterly planning tools and more |
see site for details |
| Today's Liturgy - planning magazine (paper and electronic) | see site for details | |
| Liturgy.com - comprehensive liturgical planning site Free online planning guide: Liturgy.com Planner |
$129/year free |
