First, about Al and June Kattar. When Ruthie and I were in diaconal formation, we had Deacon Al and June Kattar teaching my class spiritual formation. They were two very dedicated servants of Christ and wonderful people. There were two songs that were overly used during my three years of diaconal formation: 1) Here I Am Lord (Dan Schutte and the St Louis Jesuits), and, 2) what I called, “the Oscar Meyer Wiener blessing”. I sang “Here I Am Lord” so many times, that I felt the desire to run and hide. As to the Oscar Meyer Wiener blessing (The Oscar Meyer wiener jingle went, “I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Wiener, that is all I really want to be. For if I were an Oscar Meyer Wiener, everyone would be in love with me.”), the melody from the Oscar Meyer jingle was applied to these words, “May the blessing of the Lord be upon you. We bless you in the name of the Lord. May the blessing of the Lord be upon you. We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
As my diaconal formation class finished our time with Al and June, they wanted to give them a blessing. I suggested a different blessing, one that I had composed back in 1980 for the church folk group I was directing at St Wenceslaus when I was music director at the parish. This blessing was called, “God’s Love Be With You.” Over the years I rearranged from a simple two part harmony peace, to a full four-part choral piece. I taught my class the refrain, and we sang that as a blessing for Al and June.
About the song: The text came from blessings found in Psalms 85 and 122 and in Numbers. Here is the text of the song.
REFRAIN
God’s love be with you.
God’s peace be with you.
God’s love and peace be with you.
VERSE ONE
Our God proclaims peace to all people,
And to those who put in God all their hope.
Near indeed is God’s salvation
To those who hear God,
Glory dwelling in their land. (Psalm 85)
VERSE TWO
May peace be within your walls.
Prosperity in your buildings.
With all my relatives and my friends,
I say, “Peace be with you.” (Psalm 122)
VERSE THREE
May our God bless you and keep you.
May the face of our God shine upon you.
May our God be gracious to you,
And look upon you kindly and give you peace. (Numbers)
Over last night and through today (April 7) I recomposed the song for just piano. I thought it an appropriate way to end the music of Opus 12. I think this is especially needed during this time when so many are filled with anxiety over Covid-19 and all the devastation it has caused to human life. I hope that in the listening to this song, you will find a little peace in your life.
