What is Sacred Music?

Four "hymns" and we are thus eternally consigned to attending Low Mass, which was never intended to be the typical Mass.

Last Sunday I attended the principal Sunday Mass at my territorial country-club parish, and after the congregation and organist did a fairly decent job at the opening bowdlerized Episcopalian hymn, the celebrant bothered to lift one of his hands to make the sign of the Cross and SAY in what seemed to me a bored way, "In the namova Father, ..." I got to sing the Kyrie (Willan's Missa Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae, continuing the Episcopalian theme, I suppose) as a solo "out front of" the choir in a church packed with hundreds of people, who I now realize had, along with the celebrant, listened to this congregational Kyrie patiently and very silently every Sunday for over three years.

There it was in a nutshell: singing non-Catholic poetry AT the Mass rather than singing the Mass. And if this is just fine, then I am not sure I see the problem with making up my own words with my own Theme and singing them -- or not -- whenever I want. (Maybe during the homily? At least that way the celebrant would want to keep the altar rail between us instead of pacing the central aisle.)

There are Catholic liturgical hymns; they are in the Liber_Hymnarius. They are highly sophisticated, of course orthodox, and set to simple singable melodies. They are still not part of the Mass.

I don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand, I think if Gregorian chant and the beautiful orchestral masses are part of our heritage, we should embrace them. But I also think some of the more contemporary pieces, like the music at the Franciscan University gatherings can also be very moving. Can't we have both?

BTW, what makes a piano or a drum or a guitar "secular?"

Never having heard the music at FUS, I cannot comment on it. On the other hand, I will comment on your second question, regarding instrumentation. In simple terms, the determination of the suitability of an instrument for sacred music is based on its primary use in a particular culture. Even subconscious association of a particular instrument with a particular style of music draws your mind down to earth, rather than freeing you to rise up to God. The same goes for liturgical dance, since dance has always been associated with secular entertainment in the West.

Melodies and chord progressions can also have the same effect. How many times have we heard a hymn that reminds us of some pop tune or folk tune? When this happens, your mind is drawn away from God and stuck in the music as an end to itself.

Further, parishioners are not to be subject to musical experimentation as in a liturgical test tube. Only after a substantial period of discernment by qualified experts should new music be admitted to the liturgy.

Someone should correct me if I am wrong, but I'm pretty certain the Council Fathers never intended that the creation of contemporary vernacular music for the liturgy would be an ongoing exercise. The cycle of styles in liturgical music should be measured, not in weeks, but centuries. Liturgical music, as with liturgy in general, was always intended to be stable. Novelty is the enemy of stability. And without stability, the liturgy becomes an endless stream of distractions from the Mysteries at hand.

Paul, is it really the instrument that is the problem or the way that it is played? I have found the organ in many places I have visited to be just dreadful!! Slow, plodding, too loud - awful! I agree when it's played well it is awesome but that isn't always the rule.

Also I have found the piano and the guitar, especially played in a classical style to be very beneficial and prayerful.

I do know what you mean about chord progressions. Do you know that song, "Here I am Lord?" That line "I have heard you calling in the night" is exactly the same as the theme from the Brady Bunch, "living with three boys of his own." and I admit, it cracks me up whenever I hear it.

I might have posted that all ready if I did please excuse me - early Alzheimers setting in I guess.

Of course all the Church documents, that refer to the dignity of the organ, assume it is played with adequate proficiency. I'll admit that the piano and guitar can be played in a manner that is both moving and inspirational, but that's not the same as suitability for the sacred.

The popes of the 20th century have spoken about cleansing the liturgy from instruments and styles that are inappropriate. They rarely point out particulars, but rather general principles to follow. The piano, however, has been specifically singled out. You will always find some who enjoy that music which is proscribed, so there must be objective criteria.

The bulk of modern liturgical music has not come about as an organic outgrowth from the past. It has been the result of a radical departure that tries to substitute secular "spiritual" or "spiritualized" music for historically "sacred" music. That's the criteria.

Not to mention the departure from Mass settings into the realm of "hymnography". This is another clear sign that a wrong turn has been taken. Because most who grew up after the Council more readily recognize the latter as being "normal", we need to make a diligent effort to immerse ourselves in traditional sacred music, to make up for that which we missed. That's the only way we can appreciate what the popes are talking about, and truly think and understand with the mind of the Church.

Be patient with me on this Paul - I am after all the poster child for the badly catechized post-Vatican II era!! So I am reading your blog slowly and trying to understand what you are saying.

For the record, I'm all for reclaiming the beautiful Catholic Culture that got tossed out sometime during the 1960s. And I want all of it - the reverence the devotionals, the music, the prayers, the customs!

Also as a flutist that plays with our church's music ministry - I fully recognize that much of what we play is - crap! It bores me as a musician as well. (Did you go to Jeff Miller's site? You can blow the Gather Missals out of the sky ! - very therapeutic!!)

But I can't say that all of the contemporary music, and all of the instrumentation has been bad or wrong or not helping me move towards God - in fact I have been to festivals of praise where nothing but contemporary music was played, played well, with a variety of instruments, that just moved me to tears, praise and repentence.

Does it have to be either/or? Or can there be a place for both?

I appreciate your questions, Elena. I'm sure many people of our generation are thinking the same thing. I've been there myself. I've been to those types of events you're talking about. Of course, the musical experiences that tug on our heart strings, and move us closer to God, are an important part of conversion. But they are not for the Mass.

We need to remember that the Mass is not the property of any one person, group, or community. It is universal. A given class of music that, as you say, moves one person to repentance, may repulse another in disgust. Liturgy should not be like a mini-mall, where we window shop until we see something we like.

Yes, the Church is universal, but we need to remember a few things: (1) music for the liturgy must be true art, that has lasting value; (2) in cultures where they use drums, other instruments, or dancing in their liturgy, they have a long historical association with sacred meaning; and (3) in the Holy Father's recent chirograph, he reminds us that "nobody of any nation may receive an impression other than good on hearing [it]." Liturgy is not to be customized to suit a particular group, to the detriment of established norms. That's what concerts and para-liturgical services are for.

So, go to those charismatic prayer services, conferences and concerts, and enjoy all the music that is custom-fit for people of particular musical tastes, and be moved to repentance. But, at the same time, remember that the Mass demands a style of music that is sacred. It is the communal worship of Our Lord, and as such requires that we, individually, make an effort to enter into that form of music the Church has determined is best suited for such a sublime task. I hope that helps.

I promise to be a good reader - start back at the beginning of your blog and see if I can figure this out! Thanks for the resources!