Cover photo: Sofia watching the baptism of a neophyte at Easter Vigil in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, at the conclusion of her internship with Notre Dame Campus Ministry's OCIA program.
FALLS LIKE RAIN
ft. Dan Forkey
Drenched in Your love
Claimed by the King
You’re the only One who could ever save
Bathed in Your light
Called by Your name
You’re the only One worthy of our praise
Our praise
Cleansed and collected
Let the rain fall
I’m overcome by Your downpour
Let the rain fall
Find me, find me
Let the rain fall
Find me, find me
You heal my pride
You make me new
You’re the only One who could ever save
Now I’m all Yours
I’ll be Your child
You’re the only One worthy of our praise
Our praise
Cleansed and collected
Let the rain fall
I’m overcome by Your downpour
Let the rain fall
Fill me, fill me
Let the rain fall
Fill me, fill me
Heaven's ripping open
The dove's descending
Heaven's ripping open
The fountain's here
You pour and You pour and Your grace falls like rain
I’m filled with a Love that I cannot contain
Let the rain fall
Flood me, flood me
Let the rain fall
Flood me, flood me
Baptism is the first sacrament of Christian initiation. Through water, God cleanses humans from the stain of sin and incorporates them by name into the love of the Trinity and the community and life of the Church.
"Falls Like Rain" is our first ever song, written in two hours at the chapel piano. It is a fast-paced contemporary Christian song reminiscent of early 2000's soft rock, written in the key of E Major, representing new life.
“Falls Like Rain” is musically characterized by considerable text painting, most obviously in the chorus, where ‘let the rain fall’ is a four-note descending melody, mimicking rainfall from the sky. Language like ‘drenched,’ ‘bathed,’ and ‘immersed’ all describe the all-encompassing action of living water as it relates to our physical and spiritual bodies; ‘pour’ refers to the action of God as living water, a gratuitous outpouring of his own self.
- A threefold framework of baptismal grace permeates throughout the song. We are claimed, cleansed, and collected by grace; we are found, filled, and flooded by water.
- Verses 1-2 describe the physical ‘before’ and spiritual ‘during’ of baptism—water poured over the head and the purpose of this living water. Verses 3-4 describe the physical and spiritual ‘after’ of baptism: God’s salvific action in and through water actualizes our death and rebirth into new life in him, prefiguring our spiritual rise with Jesus Christ in the Resurrection.
- The second chorus ("heaven's ripping open") was a late addition in the revision process. Inspired directly by the depiction of Jesus’ baptism in Matthew 3:16–17, here we portray the heavens opening for each and every baptism. Musically, sound swells from above ("the dove's descending") and below ("the fountain's here") to to evoke an all-encompassing feel of grace pouring in. This is our favorite part of the song!
How did the song make you think about baptism differently than you have before?
