50 Years of Effete and Infertile Liturgical Culture Is Enough

[OraLabora]

Here’s a news flash. There was bad, indifferent, average and great liturgy 50, 100, 200, 2000 years ago. There is bad, indifferent, average and great liturgy today in both forms of the Mass. And there will be bad, indifferent, average, and great liturgy 50, 100, 200, 2000 years from now (if we make it that far), regardless of whatever form of the Mass is used then.

We are human, and grossly imperfect. A 15 minute mumbled low Mass of 50+ years ago was certainly no better than what the author of the article (uncharitably) described. The only thing that is “perfect” in any Mass, is He who is made truly present on the altar. And He is why we are there. It’s a grace-filled miracle that we should be grateful for, in this age of priest shortages.

So yeah, sometimes the music stinks, or is not of our tastes. But that’s not why we are there.

 

[JimG]

He was criticizing the way it was played as more of a performance rather than worship.

“performance rather than worship.”

I think that may be the key phrase which summarizes Prof. Esolen’s criticism.

His writing was of course over the top. It was intended to be over the top and satirical. He writes in a variety of styles and this is but one of them. Judging by the reaction here, satirical writing may be doomed to extinction, Jonathan Swift notwithstanding, since it can always be deemed uncharitable.

But back to “performance rather than worship.” I have attended parishes where the OF Mass is celebrated as reverently as any EF Mass. At my prior parish, the liturgy is dignified, reverent, and without undue ostentation. The altar servers are well trained and serious. The church is quiet and prayerful before Mass. The priest greets people after Mass. EMHC’s are held to a bare minimum.

I grew up with the Tridentine Rite. Usually it was celebrated accurately and reverently, sometimes too hurriedly. We had a magnificent choir, located up in the choir loft with the organ, where they could be heard and not seen. As a kid I was sometimes so overwhelmed by their singing that it made want to leap for joy. But nobody applauded. Not for the choir, not for the priest, not for anyone. It was worship, not performance, not about us, but about God.

Lately I have been at perfectly reverent Masses where, at the end, the priest takes time to thank the choir, the musicians, the altar servers, the EMHC’s, and anyone else involved. That seems to make it all about us, not about God. About performance, not worship.

 

[Erikaspirit16]

“performance rather than worship.”

Exactly. To all those above who are involved in music at Mass I offer this challenge, which I have stated on several threads. One of the main emphases of Vatican II liturgy was “active participation” of the people. For many years I have taken an informal poll during singing at Mass–I check the 10 people closest to me and see how many are actually singing. The number (despite the parish, state, country, etc.) is consistent: 0-4. This is in no way “active participation.” I invite any of you music people to conduct your own poll next time you’re at Mass.

Now there is one exception to my little survey. For several years I went to a Mass where the music director used Gregorian Chant for all the main songs. It was also a very international place with Filipinos, Africans, Indians, Chinese, you name it. How many were singing? 10 of 10. Consistently. Poof: active participation.

I would also propose another challenge to my musical friends. After Mass, talk to 10 random people. Ask them to either give the title of one of the songs they just “sang” (a little humor here) or hum a few bars. I suspect that none of them will be able to give one title or sing one bar. If this is what you are aiming for, you have succeeded beyond your wildest dreams.

And yes, quite often the person leading the singing is simply putting on a performance. That’s not what it’s supposed to be. I would make an exception for some invited group or professional singer. In that case, it’s clearly a performance, and that’s fine with me. What’s NOT fine is to talk about “active participation” in one breath and then have some parishioner give a performance that is not called a performance.

 

[Erikaspirit16]

A 15 minute mumbled low Mass of 50+ years ago was certainly no better than what the author of the article (uncharitably) described.

I think I detect a little satire here–15 minutes! Wow!–but I would argue “a mumbled low Mass of 50+ years ago” was infinitely superior. Why? Because you weren’t jarred every few minutes by someone shaking hands or being asked to sing some song you never heard of. You could actually pray without interruption. In silence. And as Pope Benedict pointed out, “active participation” doesn’t mean you have to be doing or saying something–you can also actively participate by meditating or praying.