Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was a great push in some Catholic worshiping communities to “make the liturgy relevant.” Usually that meant the homilist was supposed to address an issue of burning concern to civic life, such as the war in Vietnam or concern for civil rights. Musicians, in turn, were asked to import into the liturgy songs from the surrounding aural culture, such as “Prepare Ye” from “Godspell” as a chant for Advent, or the Edwin Hawkins Singers’ “O Happy Day” as an anthem for Easter.
