We Pray in Song

The product of a more than 10-year process of selection and translation, this fully English–Spanish bilingual hymnal is intended for the growing number of multicultural, bilingual parishes and communities in the United States, and is comprehensive enough to satisfy the liturgical needs of such communities, whether they are worshipping in Spanish, in English, or bilingually. The hymnal is organized to reflect the liturgical life of the Church, and includes songs appropriate for morning, evening, and night prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours as well as those for the sacramental rites of Christian initiation of adults, baptism of children, holy communion outside of Mass, anointing of the sick, marriage, funerals, and more. The broad and stylistically diverse collection of nearly 550 hymns, psalms, and inspired songs contains the best and most beloved traditional and contemporary music of Latino and Anglo communities, with more than 300 items newly translated according to guidelines for preserving meaning, rhyme, and meter. The book also features music from around the world, encompassing plainsong chants, classical hymnody, contemporary scripture-based songs, Taize chants, and world music from Asia and Africa. Eleven indexes—including those devoted to liturgy, psalms and canticles, scripture references in hymns, and musical settings using languages other than English and Spanish—round out this volume. This hymnal not only addresses the liturgical experience of today, but also opens the door to new possibilities in the future.

Ronald F. Krisman is a priest of the Diocese of Orlando, Florida. A former associate and executive director of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Liturgy Secretariat, he serves as a canonist and in parish ministry in his diocese, and is also the editor for bilingual resources for GIA Publications. He lives in Orlando, Florida.