OMETIMES PROTESTANTS unequivocally declare: “One must sing a hymn in its entirety or not at all. Hymns tell a story, and those who omit verses commit an unforgivable sin.” If one has studied hymnology only in a shallow or superficial way, such an argument might seem convincing. In reality, however, such an assertion is dashing, but supremely witless (as Monsignor Robert Skeris would say). That’s because many excellent hymns are only fragments borrowed from lengthy compositions. Indeed, the enormous length of certain hymns is beyond belief; e.g. THE HYMN OF SAINT CASIMIR. The legendary Father Adrian Knottesford Fortescue (d. 1923) reminded us more than a century ago:
“Many breviary hymns are really only fragments of very long compositions. It would become tiring to sing ten or twenty verses; nor does there seem any object in filling up pages with verses which we should never use.”
Apropos of that, the following video explains why some hymnals are arranged in alphabetical order:
Readers Please Weigh In • Although the video is quite succinct, the arguments put forward strike me as incontrovertible. I’d be interested to know whether you agree. (By the way, I’m not just addressing readers; I’m also curious vis-à-vis what my fellow contributors think.)
Addendum • One final thought, if I may. Many excellent hymns are actually paraphrases of psalms. Anyone with even the slightest acquaintance with the sacred liturgy knows it’s mainly composed of little bits and pieces (“snippets”) from the PSALTER. This is yet another argument against the Protestant condemnation of omitting verses.
