Christian music artist Matt Maher performed before a sold-out crowd at Pius X High School in Lincoln Aug. 13.
The concert included a Eucharistic procession through the crowd and onto the stage led by Bishop James Conley. The concert was held as part of the 60th anniversary year celebration for the Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Waverly.
Maher has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards. Hs songs include “Lord, I Need You,” “Because He Lives (Amen)” and “Your Grace Is Enough.” He has written or co-written six No. 1 radio singles.
Before his concert, Maher sat down with Catholic Diocese of Lincoln Director of Communications Dennis Kellogg for an interview about his Catholic faith and music for the Southern Nebraska Register. What follows is an edited transcript of that interview.
Dennis Kellogg, Southern Nebraska Register: How does your Catholic faith influence the music you write and perform?
Matt Maher, Christian music artist: I would probably answer by saying, I’m not sure there’s an area of my life that isn’t formed or shaped by the worldview that comes out of my faith as a Catholic. You know, 2,000 years of Church history, the Church pretty much has perspective on everything, every facet of human existence. From art to economics, to policy, to life, to family, to friendship, to the internet, to agriculture, you name it. There’s a legacy of people whose faith has compelled them to live out their faith, not just in the area of devotion and belief, but in the way that you live... I would say the gift that it feels like that I’ve helped contribute is to encourage people specific in that faith journey. And so it’s a big part of my songwriting, for sure.
Register: Christian music is a genre that has a lot of evangelical singers and maybe not as many Catholic singers. Does that influence you at all?
Maher: So much of Christian radio started as an outreach of evangelical Christian America…. The notion of music being something that’s specifically a way to engage people wasn’t necessarily something that was a big part of the how the Church did outreach to the world.... For me, I felt specifically called to do what I’ve been doing as a way to kind of bridge the gap between evangelicals and Catholics... sort of seeing the possibility of writing songs that bring the body of Christ together that reflect, I think, a lot of the language that you see in the Psalms of declaring who God is, worshiping who He is, reflecting on the things that He’s done, and sort of creating common ground. I think you might see more of it in the next couple of years to come. I think it’s just taken a while for this to emerge or to be seen as something that has good value and significance in the life of the Church.
Register: You sing a lot of these songs night after night, time and time again. Is there one, or two songs that still, after all these years, moves you and you still relate to when you’re on stage?
Maher: For sure. Hopefully, most, if not all of them. I think especially because of the subject matter. I would feel like a fraud if I was sitting up there, singing some song about needing God and then going, “Did I leave the garage door open?” … if I’m thinking about what are we going to eat after we get done playing tonight, there is an element of accountability. Once again, the best art and the best music, the best moments happen when everyone is willing to fully show up to the present moment.
I think two songs in particular: probably “Lord, I Need You” would definitely be one. And there’s a song off my last album called “Alive and Breathing.” That one, to me, the past couple of weeks, every time I’ve done it, it’s felt like a little shot in the arm, like a healthy reminder for me as well.
Register: Through your music, you get to stand on stage and tell people how you feel about Jesus Christ and about the Church. What advice would you have overall for someone to be the best Christian and the best Catholic they can be?
Maher: Oh, gosh, I’m not an expert on that... In my life, if I’ve tried to be an example of anything, it’s a couple things. One would be radical hospitality. I think it was Henri Nouwen who said the greatest sign of a Christian is their sense of hospitality. The first rule of the Benedictine Order is greet everyone as if you’re greeting Christ. I think with that hospitality comes radical humility, in the sense because it’s deferring to others rather than yourself. And I just surrender, surrender, surrender, surrender. Every day, life is full of moments where we’re invited into a life of surrender. Nothing is ours; this is all transitory. We’re just passing through. So, use the gifts and talents you have wisely for the greater good, for the betterment of people, the world around you, the people you love, society.
For me, particularly as a Catholic, being surrendered to the will of Jesus in my life, and to the role that the Church plays as a guide, as a 2,000-year-old witness, and the legacy of all those people who live that way. There’s plenty of advice for pretty much every situation you’re walking through. So the willingness to listen to that and consider that deposit of faith and wisdom. That’s what I mean when I say surrender.
I think radical hospitality, radical humility, radical surrender. Those would be the three things that I would say, because out of that flows everything else. A life lived in surrender, with it usually ends up coming peace and joy and love. Even just surrender to the love of God. Be loved today. Allow yourself to be loved. My wife and I tell (our kids) all the time, there’s nothing you could ever do that would make us love you any more, and love you any less. And the reason we say that is because we know that’s how God feels about us. We just want them to know that.
Register: What’s ahead for you and your music?
Maher: I’m really excited about touring for this record “The Stories I Tell Myself.” There’s a project coming out this fall that I got to be part of called “Sanctuary Songs” that’s a collective of artists that did it in partnership with a ministry called “Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries” and Sanctuary was created by Christians. And there’s actually a Catholic component of it that’s on the USCCB Formed app. It’s basically helping bring the conversation around mental health to the forefront, particularly in a church context. To help break down some of the stigma, and also help people see the integration that actually exists, see that faith plays a vital role in mental health and well being, but also seeing how faith can help facilitate dialogue. Someone’s help towards mental health and well-being could be outside church. So there’s a collection of songs kind of inspired by that that I’m really, really excited about coming out. And I’m always writing, I’m always making music. I’m finishing a new Christmas song that should be out later on this year. And plenty more music music to come next year.
You can watch our full interview with Matt Maher on our Catholic Diocese of Lincoln YouTube channel. Be sure to subscribe to our channel for more Catholic videos.
