"" (Sometimes we celebrate in the middle of the day) is a Christian

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

written in 1974 with German text by Alois Albrecht and a melody by

Peter Janssens Peter Janssens (17 June 1934 – 24 December 1998) was a German musician and composer who wrote and performed incidental music for several theatres, and songs and musicals of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, a pioneer of . He worked at a Germa ...

. The song, of the genre

Neues Geistliches Lied ''Neues Geistliches Lied'' (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach youn ...

(NGL), is part of German hymnals, including ''

Gotteslob ''Gotteslob'' ("Praise of God") is the title of the hymnbook authorized by the Catholic dioceses in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, Luxembourg and Liège, Belgium. First published in Advent 2013, it is the current official hymnal for German-speaki ...

'', and songbooks including ecumenical collections and books for young people. It begins: "" (Sometimes we celebrate in the middle of the day a feast of resurrection).

History

The

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

and the composer

wrote "" in collaboration in 1974, in an effort to express faith in contemporary texts and music in a genre later known as

(NGL). The hymn is in four

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...

s of four lines, with the last two lines always repeated, in the first stanza: "" (Sometimes we celebrate in the middle of the day a feast of resurrection)." In a broadcast about the hymn, the theologian Thomas Weißer noted that while the text refers prominently to resurrection, in every stanza, it is not focused on the

Resurrection of Jesus The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...

, but on the thought that changes can happen in everyday life, that a song can begin where words are rephrased (second stanza), that peace can begin when weapons are transformed to better usage (third stanza), and that a new spirit is there when borders and limitations are conquered (forth stanza). Due to this general interpretation, it has been used for many occasions besides

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. In 1975, the song was included in the first German Catholic hymnal ''

'' in regional sections, such as GL 896 in the

Diocese of Münster In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. The song was included in the 2013 edition as GL 472, in the section "Gesänge – Gerechtigkeit und Friede" (Chants – Justice and Peace). The song is part of several songbooks, including collections for young people, such as ''God for You(th)'', and

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

songbooks, including ''rise up plus''.

References

External links

Resilienz und Auferweckung? Steh auf, bewege dich! Mitten im Tag ...
(in German) In: ''Musik und Theologie'' * {{Authority control 1974 songs Neues Geistliches Lied 20th-century hymns in German