Hi, Haruo - I can't find a Daniel Lord hymn titled "Holy God We Praise Thy Name." The song of that title that I know is the one you speak of - an English translation of the "Te Deum," set to a German tune. It's an oldie, but I like it. I think that Fred Moleck may have been wrong about that one being by Daniel Lord, S.J. I have to admit that I'm not familiar with the "Te Deum" in Gregorian Chant. It's often talked about, but seldom heard.

Moleck does have some interesting stuff about Catholic hymns and church music - you can find an archive of his articles at the GIA Publications Website here (click). Last year, Moleck did a lecture at Notre Dame titled Response to the Michael Mathis Award: Music and Liturgy Before and After the Second Vatican Council. It's a good lecture. The lecture text has the lyrics to "Army of Youth," and another truly corny song, "I Am a Little Catholic."

Here's the part I remember from "Army of Youth":

An army of youth
Flying the standards of truth,
We're fighting for Christ, the Lord.
Heads lifted high,
Catholic Action our cry,
And the Cross our only sword.

If you want "Little Catholic" and the rest of "Army," take a look at the text of Molek's speech (click).

In the late 1960's, while I was in the seminary there, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee banned a number of truly tacky traditional hymns from worship - mostly the really sentimental Mary hymns, and a few others that had strange theology. There was an uproar in some of the parishes for a while, but the people eventually got over it. I'm sure that "Little Catholic" and "Army of Youth" were candidates for being Banned in Milwaukee. "Long Live the Pope" probably made the list, too.

Sinsull, did you actually like that song?

-Joe Offer-