Music minister’s powerful song published by global press

A longtime music director of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Scotch Plains recently had an original composition recognized by a global publishing organization. Katie Wills, who has led the music program at the parish since 1996, had her Communion hymn “Behold the Lamb of God” published by Oregon Catholic Press (OCP), one of the world’s largest and most prestigious Catholic music publishers.

The song’s publication was a dream-come-true for Wills, who started submitting compositions to publishers more than 10 years ago. A recording and sheet music of “Behold the Lamb of God” was delivered to parishes throughout the U.S. as part of the Contemporary Songs of Faith series within OCP’s Choral Review Service, through which church musicians can order copies. An MP3 digital audio file and sheet music of the song are also being sold through the OCP website.

“It’s exciting — it almost doesn’t feel real to think that this song is going out to the whole United States, and people in other churches who I don’t even know will be able to use it for their worship,” said Wills, who wrote the hymn on a bank envelope in nearly one sitting. “I’d love to see it bring about renewed faith. For people who may be questioning their faith, I’d love to see the song challenge them and encourage their belief. And for people who do believe but have become indifferent about it, I’d love to see it inspire them to put more fervor in their belief.”

Wills felt compelled to produce “Behold the Lamb of God” after hearing about security dogs that started barking at a tabernacle while Pope John Paul II visited a church. She wished everyone could easily recognize Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist like those dogs did, so she wrote the hymn to encourage people to adopt a humble and childlike faith that will let them fully appreciate the miracle of transubstantiation. Wills believes such faith is especially needed today after learning about a 2019 Pew survey that found only one-third of American Catholics believe the Communion bread and wine actually become Christ’s body and blood during Mass.

Now that “Behold the Lamb of God” has been published, Wills is considering which of her songs to submit for publication next. She also continues to lead the music ministry at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, where she occasionally performs her hymn during Masses.

“We really like the song,” said Fr. Michael Ward, the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church. “It’s a pleasure to listen to and sing along with, and it’s got a good message behind it. This song helps us open our minds and our hearts to those small, sometimes unrecognized-at-the-time moments in which we encounter Christ’s presence.”

To learn more about Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, visit https://ihmparish.net/.