Vatican Directive on the Name of God (Yahweh)
On August 8, 2008, Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, announced a new Vatican directive regarding the use of the name of God in the sacred liturgy. Specifically, the word “Yahweh” may no longer be “used or pronounced” in songs and prayers during liturgical celebrations. This directive affects a few songs currently included in OCP’s various missals and hymnals.
The new 2010 missals include revised versions of these songs with updated texts. The 2010 missal accompaniments have also been updated.
For OCP hymnal purchasers, we are providing downloadable editions of the revised songs (use the links below) along with free reprint permissions—for these revised songs only—for the life of their books. This permission is limited to private, non-commercial reprints (e.g. parish songsheets or worship programs).
Thinking of a new hymnal? Consider subscribing to an OCP missal, which already includes revised song versions and updated texts regarding the use of the word "Yahweh." Updated annually and seasonally, OCP missals will also ensure that you are prepared for the upcoming English translation of the Roman Missal.
Download Songs (PDF)
OCP grants reprint permission for these songs to hymnal customers for the life of their books.
- And the Father Will Dance (Carey Landry)
- Como Busca la Cierva (Xavier Gonzales Tescuano)
- Como Por Las Fuentes de Agua (Perla Moré)
- El Rey De La Gloria (Aldo Blanco Dávalos)
- I Lift Up my Soul (Tim Manion)
- I Love You, Lord/Te Amo, Señor (Julie and Tim Smith)
- In Praise of His Name (Roc O’Connor)
- Let the King of Glory Come (Michael Joncas)
- Like a Seal on Your Heart (Carey Landry)
- Me Alegré (Carlos Rosas)
- ¿Quién Eres Tú, Peregrino? (P. Luis Larrea and Mauricio Centeno)
- Sing a New Song (Dan Schutte)
- The Lord is King (Rory Cooney)
- Tu Eres Mi Hijo (Patricio Gómez Junco)
- You are Near (Dan Schutte)
- Yahweh (now titled "God of My Salvation") (Gregory Norbet)
- Yahweh Is My Shepherd (now titled "Shepherd of My Soul") (Millie Rieth)
- Yahweh, The Faithful One (now titled "The Faithful One") (Dan Schutte)
Note for Sunday Bulletins
Use the text below in your Sunday bulletin to help communicate the change to your parishioners. Simply copy and paste the text in your bulletin.
Vatican Directive on Using the Name of God
On August 8, 2008, the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship announced a new directive from the Vatican regarding the use of the name of God in the sacred liturgy. Specifically, the word "Yahweh" may no longer be "used or pronounced" in songs and prayers during liturgical celebrations. The decision was based on long-standing Jewish and Christian traditions of not pronouncing the divine name wherever it occurs in the biblical text. You may notice some small changes to several songs that are sung during Mass as a result of this directive.
See also
Dan Schutte's reflection on the directive
September 2008 BCDW Newsletter (Committee on Divine Worship of the US Catholic Conference of Bishops. Used with permission.)
Changes to Accompaniment Books
This PDF document contains instructions on how to implement all the changes in songs from the OCP Missals to conform to this directive.
This post was last updated on Thursday, December 10, 2009.