I’m pretty traditional, Lucybeebee, grew up with the TLM but can’t go to it now in my diocese because the bishop won’t allow it. But he’s retirement age, so we’ll see. Anyway, I don’t have a problem with Mass hymns that are well done and reverent, almost no matter what they are. When you think about it Lucybeebee (and I respect your opinion, I really do) the TLM is Roman to the core, as the Eastern Catholic rites are Greek, Arab, Ukrainian, etc. As a western man, I appreciate my Roman/Western European heritage greatly. As a Catholic, I appreciate my Catholic heritage even more so. But again, as long as the music is beautiful and reverent, I am not terribly upset if some of it has other origins. In my parish, a lady plays a hammered dulcimer during Communion at one Mass. That’s upper South Scots-Irish all the way. But she does it exceptionally well, and it’s beautiful. Lots of what we think of as Protestant hymns had Catholic origins, and we ought not to forget that either. Even those that were written by Protestants to start with are a combination of melodic and harmonic approaches that predated Protestantism. And if, indeed, African influences have combined with European melodies and harmonies to give us what we now think of as “Black Protestant” hymns, well I, for one, am not willing to surrender anything beautiful to the exclusive use of Protestantism. To me, those hymns are no more “Protestant” than choir robes are “Protestant”. When I grew up, mountain spiritual music was on the radio all the time. Some of it really is beautiful and reverent. Protestant though it was, I claim it for my heritage, too. I’m not willing to write it off and give it to the Protestants forever. That mountain music is so close to what my Irish ancestors played and sang, I claim it too, and just refuse to give it up.
As an African American, Lucybeebee, you might not like what I am going to say next. I hope it is not offensive, and it isn’t meant to be. I’m white, but I claim African American music as part of my American heritage. It’s a blend of African and European music and, as such, all-American. I don’t think it is the least bit patronizing on my part to listen to it and appreciate it. You might hate my white-as-white-gets mountain music and you might love it, but it’s also part of your American heritage, and you have every right to claim it as your own if you want.
Having said all that, Lucybeebee, I am still with you on wanting the TLM to be frequent, and to have the permanent place of primacy in the West. My only difference with you (if we do differ, and I’m not totally sure we do) is that I also like vernacular Masses and the use of cultural heritage music. But I don’t like bogus folk songs invented as an ersatz cultural expression which, unfortunately, is mostly what we’re hearing in Church today.
After all, the toga is certainly about as ancient a garment as was ever worn at Mass.
Though I have much plain old Anglo/Scots/Irish white boy, my Catholic side’s roots are Sicilian and a Creole mass would be very foreign to me indeed…