John Francis O’Mara—known to friends as JF—is a walking study in beautiful contradictions. An ordained Episcopalian priest with a Master of Divinity from Princeton, O’Mara has spent the better part of a decade sitting on a collection of songs that feel more like prophetic calls to action than standard Sunday worship. His latest release, Forbidden Hymns, marks a bold return to the spotlight after a twelve-year recording hiatus, proving that some messages only grow more urgent with time.

O’Mara rejects the idea that music must be labeled "religious" to be holy. Influenced by his upbringing as a "priest’s kid" and his immersion in the Philadelphia and Nashville music scenes, he views the stage and the pulpit as one and the same. "I’m interested in breaking down this false dichotomy between what people think is sacred and what is secular," he notes, arguing that the communal spirit of a Bruce Springsteen concert is just as spiritual as a traditional service. For O’Mara, a hymn is any song that connects us, whether it’s sung in a cathedral, a bar, or on the street during a protest.

Many of the tracks on Forbidden Hymns were recorded a decade ago but feel eerily relevant to today’s social climate. O’Mara uses his Americana and folk roots to address "heavy-handed cruelty," militarism, and racism, specifically through a lens of empathy. In the song "Walking in Babylon," he uses biblical metaphor to confront modern authoritarianism and systemic violence. Despite the heavy subject matter, O’Mara finds more hope now than when he first wrote the lyrics, stating, "I think the beginning is near, not the end".

One of the album’s most poignant moments is "No One Gets Outta Here Alive," a co-write with John Carter Cash. Written in a Tennessee cabin, the song was inspired by the final words Johnny Cash spoke to his son: "Let love be your only song". While the title suggests finality, O’Mara insists the track is actually about the intentionality of living. Now in his second year of sobriety, O’Mara approaches his craft with a "nervy" transparency, seeking to tell true stories that bridge the gap between human struggle and divine compassion.