In the current issue of Liturgical Tiger Beat, soulful theofablulator J Michael Joncas revealed that he would have preferred that his mega-hit, "On Eagles' Wings," had been titled "On Eagle's Wings."
Fr. Joncas explained that his preference would have made it plainer that the single eagle "is metaphorically related to God." However, Joncas hastened to add that he "could make an argument for "On Eagles' Wings," indicating that "the latter title has the advantage of being more consistent with the truths of modern physics, as opposed to the improbable conception of a single eagle with strength sufficient to 'lift up' multiple pews full of worshippers engorged with vibrance."
Then he added, ruefully, that "the plural also has the unfortunate symbolic connotation of polytheism . . . ."
When asked whether his ambivalence regarding the title indicated doctrinal confusions, Fr Joncas shot the questioner a long smoldering look, and began to whistle "Oh I wish I was in the land of cotton . . . ."
When asked about purgatory as interrupting the metaphorical eagle's deceptively somnolent metaphorical upward journey and thus providing a jarring note to the theo-ditty's "metaphorical relation" -- and about hell as torpedoing it altogether -- Joncas retorted that the questioner should "consider as a metaphorical relation the proximity of my fist to your big flapping mouth."
Later, in a separate statement, Joncas said that he was "engaging in a bit of fraternal hi-jinks," and that concepts of hell and purgatory were excluded from the congregation-pleaser because they were inappropriate to the "artistic vision" of the composer.
[Hat tip to R. R.-D., playing with Wiki article on Joncas]
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