Zacchaeus story sung for children



The album "Joy is Like the Rain" was released by the Medical Mission Sisters in 1966. My father bought a copy to play to children at primary school in the hall during wet playtimes: I think he considered that it was at least a healthy alternative to the Beatles or the Rolling Stones.

Looking at the texts for today's Masses (I have to double-up on this since we have both forms of the Roman Rite in my parish) I started humming the song in the above video when reading the gospel of Zacchaeus in the modern rite.

There is a charming innocence and simplicity in the Sisters' songs which disappeared in the monstrous offerings of the seventies (covered in the Bad Hymns series by Eccles and Bosco is saved.) Perhaps they were trained in Gregorian chant and brought this timbre to jaunty guitar songs.

I think that this and one or two other tracks might even still be useful for an infant class learning stories from the gospels. But, just to be clear, not at Mass. For Mass, you can teach the children Gregorian chant.

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