John Wihl watched in horror with the rest of America at incomprehensible images aired on television Sept. 11 as airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93 became scorched wreckage near Pittsburgh.

But within five hours Wihl, who is music director at Holy Family Parish in Citrus Heights, found himself at church singing at a Mass where 500 people came together to pray.

Less than three weeks later while preparing for a Sunday liturgy, Wihl was struck by an incredible idea. Prayer, which had almost been a taboo subject for some before the terrorist strikes, was becoming commonplace conversation for people of all faiths.

“All of a sudden it was OK to talk about praying on Wednesday afternoon, not just Sunday morning,” Wihl said. “There was a spiritual rebirth touching people across the country.”

Wihl is a musician whose skills include singing, arranging and producing as part of his ministry as Holy Family’s music director and as a member of the parish’s adult choir “Joyful Noize.” So his next thought, to write a song to help people deal with the terrorist attacks, was not surprising.

“The idea for the song,” he said, “was that terrorism was to bring us to our knees in submission and instead what it did was bring us to our knees in prayer.”

On Sept. 30 Wihl placed the finishing touches on a song he titled “Pray” and dashed off to rehearse it with the Joyful Noize choir to sing at 6 p.m. Mass. Jennifer Yearwood, youth minister at Holy Family, is a member the choir. She said hearing the lyrics of “Pray” the first time put “a whole new twist” on the events of Sept. 11.

“I had been having a hard time processing what had happened and had been feeling pretty sad,” she said. “The song was about how (the tragedy) didn’t break us but made us stronger through prayer.”

Wihl said that while he knew “Pray” was a song with a message that begged to be written and was liturgically correct, the reaction from parishioners amazed him.

“The church was silent during the song,” he said. “What followed was a spirit-filled reaction and a standing applause.”

One of those applauding loudest was Father Troy Powers, pastor of Holy Family Parish.

“I knew this song would be something special,” said Father Powers, who found himself wanting to join in on the song.

But it was a line from the song’s refrain describing various ways to pray that touched him most.

“This song tells me we need to pray for one another…moving people toward faith to action,” he said.

For Wihl, whose musical credits range from membership in local choral groups and jazz ensembles to playing as a bassist in the Sacramento Symphony and Camellia Symphony Orchestras, music has always been a family affair. He credits his sister, Linda Wihl, a liturgical musician, with encouraging him to sing at the age of five for Mass in the chapel at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento. By the time he was 16, Wihl was directing the McClellan choir.

His wife Corinne is a member of Holy Family’s adult choir and his son Matthew, 9, and daughter Nikki, 6, sing in the children’s choir.

Holy Family Parish, where Wihl has worked in music ministry for 10 years, is family too. At the urging of Father Powers and scores of parishioners, Wihl decided to make a CD for his song “Pray.” The CD also includes six other songs composed by Wihl featuring members of “Joyful Noize” and the Holy Family children’s choir.

“People have told me how this song has touched them, so I want to make it available to other churches,” said Wihl, who plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from CD sales to Catholic Charities USA for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

“Pray” is being sold at Easter’s Catholic Books and Gifts and Berean Christian Stores in Sacramento and at Family Christian Store and Heavenly Hearts Bookstore in Roseville.

For more information, call John Wihl at (916) 722-7956. Web site: www.bigphredmusic.com.

Pray

Early in the morning on a bright September day,
A sudden wretched darkness came pouring down like rain.
Thousands are dead and thousands hurting,
Millions are sharing in their pain.
At times the evil of this world can overwhelm;
The terror and destruction are more than we can bear.
How can we live with all this hatred?
How can we handle such despair?
Those who would hurt us sought to bring us to our knees,
And that’s just exactly what they’ve done…
And on our knees we:

Refrain:
PRAY- Put your sorrows at the foot of the cross;
PRAY- Ask for strength that you’ll need to bear the loss;
PRAY- Put your hand out to the ailing and the lost;
PRAY-Ask for justice, just not at any cost.
Live your life with new conviction,
Live compassion, live in love-
And take the time to PRAY.

Never underestimate the depth of our resolve;
Just when you think that we’ll be weak, we are strong.
We’re not hiding in our sorrow,
We’re on the streets where we belong.
We come to serve, we come to let our voice be heard.
We come to offer comfort and to help erase the fears.
There are children who need healing,
And when they cry, we’ll dry their tears.
Those who would hurt us sought to bring us to our knees,
And that’s just exactly what they’ve done…
And on our knees we…PRAY!

Where can we go for retribution?
Vengeance has a luring sound.
Should we drown there in our anger?
Or should we seek a higher ground?

How can we get there, if we do not know the way, Lord.
“Take my hand, and I will lead you there.”
Now it’s time to PRAY!

(Music and lyrics by John Wihl)

Copyright © 2001 Diocese of Sacramento - All Rights Reserved

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