‘Defend Us’ — in Song

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For more than 80 years, priests and people recited the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel after Mass. William Conroy would like to see the prayer make a comeback — as a hymn. BY JOSEPH PRONECHENREGISTER STAFF WRITER MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — For more than 80 years, priests and people recited the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel after Mass. But when the Mass was reformed in the 1960s, it was omitted. William Conroy would like to see the prayer make a comeback. Though many Catholics still pray the verse in their Rosaries, Conroy hopes people will once again be praying it after Mass — as a hymn. As founder of the new non-profit Gift of Faith Foundation in Middletown, N.Y., Conroy is sponsoring a competition for composers to set the prayer to music. The top entry selected by a panel of judges will receive a $5,000 prize. Conroy decided on this particular form for two reasons. One goal is to call regularly upon St. Michael again to combat the wiles of the devil. "But I didn’t want to buck the tradition of closing hymns," he explained. The second goal ties in with the mission of the foundation — to encourage artists to help return the culture to its Christian roots. As a former lawyer for New York State and 2005 Right to Life Party candidate for justice of the state’s Supreme Court, 9th district, Conroy established Gift of Life because he "wanted to offer a purpose for artists who wanted to treat God-oriented subjects. This would put more God-oriented arts into the public square." The goals are already generating favorable reactions. "Setting the St. Michael Prayer to music is certainly a way to use it in a liturgy setting in a good, creative and appropriate way," said Father Joseph Linck, director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn. He explained that with the liturgy’s revision came the decision there wouldn’t be any formal public prayer recited after the conclusion of Mass. But, he added, "certainly people are encouraged to remain and pray privately." An appropriate hymn would open a new option. It was in 1886 when Pope Leo XIII directed the Prayer to St. Michael to be recited publicly after Mass. He composed the prayer after experiencing a profound, frightening vision of present and future struggles of the Church against the devil. Leo envisioned St. Michael driving Satan and his minions back into hell. Pope John Paul II spoke of the prayer’s importance when he said in 1994, "Although this prayer is no longer recited at the end of Mass, I ask everyone not to forget it and to recite it to obtain help in the battle against forces of darkness and against the spirit of this world." Some pastors, like Father Bailey Clemens at St. Mary Church in Pendleton, Ore., have restored the prayer for that reason, and now see the idea of a hymn setting as good. "It would be a beautiful addition to letting this prayer blossom more in the Church," he said. "Singing it can bring it to a new level." "Even if not prayed weekly," said Father Linck, "it would become a part of more people’s consciousness than now because a whole generation has not even encountered it. "Unfortunately a lot of people have lost a sense of sin, and there’s a loss [a sense of] of the presence of evil in the world," he continued. "Praying for God’s protection against evil and the devil is not something we did away with." Father Clemens agreed. "The Prayer of St. Michael is reminding you that there is a hell and that we should constantly pray so that we’re not falling into the temptations of the evil one." Encouraging and promoting the sacred arts and talent is the competition’s other plus. Father Richard Baker, pastor of St. Malachy’s in New York City’s theater district, finds this a wonderful means. "If people were encouraged to write sacred compositions, that certainly would help promote the idea this is an important thing," said Father Baker, who holds a degree in sacred music and is director of sacred music in the Archdiocese of New York. "There’s certainly a need to promote a high quality and standard here." Father Linck, an award-winning hymn writer himself, notes this hymn must be singable, memorable and something that becomes part of people’s consciousness the first time they hear it. "The most successful hymns are the ones with the most memorable melodies, those that fit the text the best," he says. According to composer Peter Krauss, prayer provides a perfect text. He calls it beautiful, elegant poetry besides being a good prayer. "Anything elegant sets itself well to music," he said. "This would be an easy task." Krauss was excited about the competition and plans to enter it. "You could do anything with this. This is all governed by the text," Krauss said, considering different musical styles, from the 17th century to Rachmaninoff. Composers have until May 8 to enter the contest (see giftoffaithfoundation.org). The best five entries will be premiered at a concert being arranged for St. Michael’s feast day on Sept. 29 at a church in Manhattan. "It’s my hope pastors would accept the [winning hymn] and sing it after Mass," Conroy concluded. "As to who hears it and what influence it might have on people and in the greater world, that’s up to God." Staff writer Joseph Pronechen writes from Trumbull, Connecticut. http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/tv_picks_march_2_6_2008/