News

St. Louis Jesuits reunite to make more music

By Jaye Alderson
Compass Correspondent

OSHKOSH -- In the 1970s, the St. Louis Jesuits made a dramatic impact on liturgical music with six recordings of a new kind of Scripture-based contemporary music. Their music included "Blest Be the Lord," "Lift Up Your Hearts" and "Sing a New Song."

But more than 20 years ago the five men who made up the St. Louis Jesuits, including Dan Schutte, Tim Manion and Jesuit Frs. Bob Dufford, John Foley and Roc O'Connor, moved on to other missions in life and stopped recording together.

But their influence and popularity never waned. Two of their songs, "Here I Am, Lord" and "Be Not Afraid," ranked second and third in a 2005 on-line poll by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians asking respondents which liturgical song had most fostered and nourished their life.

Late last year the group reunited for a new recording, Morning Light, that was released just before Christmas. And the retrospective book, The St. Louis Jesuits Thirty Years, has just been released to celebrate "the work of five gifted composers and the contribution they've made to the prayer and worship of Christians."

One of the St. Louis Jesuits, Fr. Bob Dufford, is on staff at the Jesuit Retreat House in Oshkosh. He said life has taken the members of the group on different paths around the country, but they continue to see each other a few times a year. In 2001, at the 25th anniversary convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians in Washington, D.C., the three priests and Schutte were asked to go on stage and perform a song.

"Nobody knew we were there - we hadn't been seen together for a long time," Fr. Dufford said. "There was a gasp from people."

It was the first time they had performed live together in 17 years.

Fr. Dufford said they considered then doing another recording, but wanted to make sure they had more to say than what they had in their previous recordings.

"I was pushing for a theme of hope," Fr. Dufford said. "People seem to need hope these days with the state of the world."

When Schutte and Frs. Dufford, Foley and O'Connor got together to record the new album, they were joined at the last moment by Manion, whom Fr. Dufford hadn't seen in 21 years. The recording was released by Oregon Catholic Press and includes 12 songs - some contributed by each member. Fr. Dufford said Morning Light has been well-received, and the group is giving a short series of live performances around the country this spring.

Because the four continued to see each other regularly, in addition to having successful solo recordings, "the only new thing is the fact we were in the studio together again," Fr. Dufford said. "It felt good. One of the nice things was changes in technology made a lot of things possible. It's astounding what you can do now."

Music has great power, Fr. Dufford said, but it has to be considered carefully for use in the liturgy.

"It can do tremendous things for people's prayer life," he said. "It can greatly help the liturgy itself or distract from the liturgy. It depends on how it's done. If it becomes its own thing, if the purpose is on listening to this group, then you've missed the point. The focus isn't on the music. It's on the Lord."

He said he hopes the music on Morning Light will help people support their prayer life and grow in their intimacy with God.

"I want to bring people some hope," he said, "help people to be before God just as they are and know they are beloved of God."