Award season came early to the diocese this year thanks to the musical talents of Father James Waalkes, the singing and guitar-playing parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Falls Church. Out of 125 entries for the inaugural Catholic Song Contest, his two songs “Mother” and “Shout” won in genre subcategories for folk and pop-rock, respectively. The awards were announced Jan. 6.
“ ‘Mother’ is about the natural human need for a mother and the need to be received,” said Father Waalkes. “There is something strengthening and comforting about that.
“ ‘Shout’ is about the process in which God heals us. It’s kind of painful and hopeful. It’s a raw hope that takes into account the bruises.”
Father Waalkes has been playing and writing music since he was 15, when he got his first guitar. Music has found a natural place in his vocation. He has performed at a number of parish and diocesan events such as the ARISE! Diocesan Family Celebration in 2021. During the 2020 pandemic lockdown, as a transitional deacon assigned to St. Philip Church in Falls Church, he kept in touch with his elementary school audience by recording videos of himself playing classic nursery rhymes, including “Old MacDonald,” with his own unique twist. Most recently, he played during an Advent concert at St. Peter Church in Washington.
At the suggestion of a parishioner, he entered the song contest last August.
Father Waalkes can be heard practicing at the parish almost every day and said he is always working on a new song.
“Life inspires me,” he said. “My music puts an experience out there that everyone can relate to. It taps into that connection music provides.”
His prize is a three-month subscription to MasterWriter, a software program for songwriters.
Kassock is a freelance writer in Fredericksburg.
