The Rev. Michael Joncas is a Christian musical composer best known for writing "On Eagle's Wings," a beloved song performed at churches across the globe.
The St. Paul priest has penned another piece this spring, this time sparked by the coronavirus. Called "Shelter Me," it already is being performed across the nation in virtual masses and posted on YouTube videos from Minnesota to Manila.
"I've been amazed at how it's exploded," said Joncas, artist in residence at the University of St. Thomas, where he has taught for years. "It's not just in the U.S. It's Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, Canada. …"
"People seek comfort during difficult times," he noted. "Music soothes the soul."
Joncas, who has written hundreds of compositions over the past four decades, is widely known in the Catholic liturgical world. One of his compositions, "Exultate Justi," was selected for Pope Francis' outdoor mass in Philadelphia in 2015.
"Shelter Me" came about a little differently from most of his music. The inspiration came about 3 a.m. one night in March, as Joncas contemplated the frightening times so many people face. He knew that Psalm 23, starting with "The Lord is My Shepherd," is particularly poignant during such times. So he decided to write a "prayer song" paraphrasing that message for the moment.
By 10 a.m. that day, the basic composition for "Shelter Me" had been completed. One of his music publishers, GIA Publications, immediately agreed to publish the piece. Joncas swiftly prepared the score, and the composition became available within days on the One License website, a distributor of liturgical music.
The musical score can be downloaded for free for the next year, said Joncas, who wanted to make it easy for church worship directors and others to record and use the piece.