Catholics and Music

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Revelation21.3-4

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I’m sure there are a million discussions on what types of music Catholics should be listening to, but I couldn’t find an exact answer to my question.

We are called to not be attached to worldly things and rather turn our eyes to eternal things, so, how should that affect our music choices? I know that we must not listen to certain types of music (ex. music that profanes God or speaks against his morals), but how much of this good secular music should we take in? Is there a limit to this?

Some other questions, is there any reason why a Catholic shouldn’t listen to classical music? Is there any reason a Catholic shouldn’t listen to instrumental music? What types of music did the saints listen to and what did they have to say on the matter?

Any answers will be much appreciated!
 
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Being a catholic does not mean that you must be doing something explicitly religious every waking moment. You don’t only have to listen to Gregorian chanting.

Listen to whatever you like, outside of extremes like Satanic death metal or something. I’m sure the saints listened to plenty of whatever music was contemporaneous in their lifetimes.
 
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Revelation21.3-4 said:
We are called to not be attached to worldly things and rather turn our eyes to eternal things, so, how should that affect our music choices?
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It’s one thing to be “attached to” worldly things that you can’t take with you. It’s quite another, and perfectly acceptable, to enjoy them while we’re living here. 🙂 For me that means baseball, knitting, camping, taking my kids to the zoo, going to the symphony . . . all fun and usually secular, (exceptions abound, e.g. when I knit a prayer shawl or listen to Handel’s Messiah). Unless any of these things go out of their way to be evil, I can partake in them and enjoy them. Music is the same way.
 
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While I find your inquiry worthwhile, in my experience here on CAF your question will likely be suspected of being scrupulous.

That said… I personally try to stick to Gregorian and vernacular hymms. Classical and opera… although some of it does push the envelope a bit. Orchestral is nice. Handel, Mozart, Bach… all the greats. Sometimes I do get tempted to tune into the contemporary secular stuff, but I have little tolerance for the profane… regardless of how subtle. Most of it I find not so subtle.
 
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Thank you! I tend to be a bit more traditional in my beliefs, so I was nervous my question could come across as being scrupulous. I just don’t think you can be too scrupulous when eternity is on the line. Oh well, thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

I’ve been reevaluating my music choices and have had to cut a lot of my music out, so I’ve been trying to get some direction on where to go after cutting it out. As one can imagine, I’m a little lost after parting with my favorite music that I’ve loved for a while. I’ve found some very good Gregorian chants and hymns, though I struggle to find more than the current collection I have due to a lack of direction, but I’ve also been attracted to some classical music, which prompted the question.

If you don’t mind, do you happen to have any music recommendations?

Thank you again!
 
Thank you so much! I think that is a very beautiful way of putting things. It definitely gives me something to think about and I’ll definitely take that into consideration! Thanks again!
 
It is usually said: songs must not contain blasphemies or anything like that.

Right, but it is rarely said: songs must be beautiful.

In my part there are too many Catholic songwriters, but the music is horrifying.

My ideal song is ‘Michelle’ from the Beatles. The words are of absolute simplicity, but the music is wonderful.

I’m talking about the songs to listen to at any time, it is clear that I would not play the Beatles songs in church (even if sometimes … 😉 )
 
Revelation21.3-4 said:
I just don’t think you can be too scrupulous when eternity is on the line.
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You definitely can, for what it’s worth.

“Scrupulous” does not mean “extra traditional” or “really devout,” it means “overanalyzing everything to death to the point that it paralyzes you and you start seeing things that aren’t there.” It’s not spiritually healthy.

Turning off any music that isn’t explicitly religious strikes me as scrupulous, or at least odd. If you think you’re morally obligated to listen to Gregorian chanting, I think you’re confused about some stuff personally. (Of course, there’s nothing wrong with listening to Gregorian chanting…it’s the part where someone thinks that’s all they’re allowed to listen that goes a little too far in my opinion.)
 
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Revelation21.3-4 said:
We are called to not be attached to worldly things and rather turn our eyes to eternal things, so, how should that affect our music choices?
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Same as everything else. If you’re putting your music choices or stuff associated with them ahead of God and your relationship with him, or if the music is leading you into sin, then stop listening to it.
I know that we must not listen to certain types of music (ex. music that profanes God or speaks against his morals), but how much of this good secular music should we take in? Is there a limit to this?
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See what I wrote above.
Some other questions, is there any reason why a Catholic shouldn’t listen to classical music?
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No.
Is there any reason a Catholic shouldn’t listen to instrumental music?
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No.
What types of music did the saints listen to
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“The saints” are a group of 10,000+ people covering 2 millennia. Presumably, some liked to listen to music and some didn’t. Of those who liked to listen to music, they probably listened to what was approved and available in their era and given their station in life; for example, a parish priest in Mexico in 1900 would have been listening to the Mexican guitar bands that played in his village, a monk in a medieval monastery would have been listening to a lot of chant because there wouldn’t have been any other music in or around the monastery, those saints who were from wealthy and educated backgrounds in the last few centuries might enjoy hearing some classical music.
and what did they have to say on the matter?
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Regarding what, your specific questions or music in general?

I think you are overthinking this. Catholicism doesn’t come with a rule book that says a Catholic will only listen to X type of music for Y hours per day. It’s prudential judgment. Some Catholics like music and listen a lot, other Catholics might not enjoy music and don’t listen a lot.
 
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Revelation21.3-4 said:
As one can imagine, I’m a little lost after parting with my favorite music that I’ve loved for a while.
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I don’t know what you were listening to before, but unless it was Cardi B type obscene rap, or some black metal song blaspheming Jesus all the way through, there’s no need to cut out all your music.

We have fans of classical, rock, punk, metal, you name it on this forum. It’s okay to listen to music.

You sound like you’re being a bit scrupulous or that you got some strange idea that Catholics aren’t allowed to listen to anything but hymns, which is wrong.
 
I dont think that the OP is questioning whether or not we are allowed to listen to music besides hymms. Rather, he/she is asking what kind of music is preferable to avoid. Why must anyone that inquires about aspirations towards holiness be patronized and dismissed as scrupulous, in this forum? Music doesnt have to be downright satanic to be less than ideal.
 
Plenty of the great composers were Catholic, with varying levels of devoutness.
Vivaldi was a priest, Liszt became very devout in her later life, and became some kind of cleric, and plenty of other composers would have been culturally Catholic just by dint of their ethnicity.

My personal favorite composers are Ravel, Bach, Bartok, and Brahms.
 
The person indicated they had given up almost all the music they used to listen to, and is asking unusual questions about whether it’s okay to listen to classical music, or instrumental music. These aren’t normal “is my favorite heavy metal album sinful?” type questions.

I’ve never met anyone from our current era who worries about classical music being sinful, although centuries ago when it was written there were sometimes concerns about it because the composer lived a bad life, was allegedly expressing paganism musically, the music was associated with some sort of morally questionable performance etc. Likewise, the only people I’ve met who worry about the morality of instrumental music are the type who think some particular dissonant chord might call up a demon, or are concerned about the moral behavior of some groups of listeners (example: some jazz fans used to have illicit sex, drink, use drugs, dance in a manner that was indecent for their era etc).

If a person isn’t scrupulous, all they have to do is say they aren’t. But about 80 percent of these type posts have the person responding with, well I did have a little OCD/ scrupulosity. And if their post sounds like they’re abnormally concerned with some minor matter, they need to be told that because a lot of posters on here don’t seem to have a good idea of how Catholics approach popular media and they seem to think we’re all like fundamentalists or the Amish.
 
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I know. I don’t claim to be devout or even super traditional (I just find some of the traditional ways to be more helpful to my spirituality). Being too scrupulous can lead to heresy too like Donatism or Sedevacantism. It can lead to pride and other related sins. I’m not trying to be that scrupulous, I’m just trying something out I suppose. Not with ill-will, just to see the alternatives. I don’t feel morally obligated to listen only to chanting, it’s just something I was attracted to, so I thought I’d give it a chance, mixed in with some other music though. I had always had some moral problems with my music, so I thought I’d find something that doesn’t have those problems, I figured this was a place to start.

Thank you for your concern though. I think I may be conveying things in a way that’s had unintended consequences, but I enjoy hearing responses, it gives me something to think about.
 
I should start by saying that I’m an unusual person, so therefor I ask unusual questions. I ask a million questions, and usually it’s hard to find answers to all of them. I’m not trying to be too scrupulous, trust me (at least not intentionally). I had moral problems with the industry of my favorite genre, so I left it so I would not be supporting such an industry. I’m just trying to find a good place that gives me good music, but also increases my faith in God, so I’m doing this because I choose to and want to. I did not mean to imply anything negative about the Catholic faith, I’m just trying an alternative to how I used to live.

Thank you for your responses though!
 
Revelations, it’s fine if you make a conscientious personal moral choice to limit your music listening. For all we know, some music might be a temptation for you personally when it isn’t for others. I’m aware of people who had some sinful hangup about absolutely G-rated stuff to the point where they had to meet with a priest and then get rid of all the stuff they had related to whatever was the problem, even though the stuff itself was not sinful at all.

The reason some of us make these points about music (or other popular media) is that many who post and read here aren’t very familiar with Catholicism and have gotten some impression that we can’t do a lot of normal, non-sinful activities without worrying about going to Hell or endangering our relationship with God. Sometimes these folks have mainly had contact with other Christian religions that consider many things sinful that Catholics would think were okay. Sometimes these folks read an extreme blog by a Catholic who is going overboard with what they personally consider a sin. One can enjoy most normal pleasures of life, such as most music, and still be a good Catholic.
 
ThomasMT said:
I dont think that the OP is questioning whether or not we are allowed to listen to music besides hymms. Rather, he/she is asking what kind of music is preferable to avoid.
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This is what I’m getting at. I admit my question was super weird, but I went into it sort of knowing some of the responses I would get. I just want to make God the center of my life. Music is powerful, it changes our ways of thinking, Plato said that you could change an entire society just by controlling its music. So, I figured it’s ok to listen to some of the finer points of music (like classical music, I enjoy certain instruments for example), but I also wanted music that would turn me to God. I spend so much time with my music, so I figured it’d be a good way to insert God into my life a little more.

I don’t know, maybe I should think a little harder on how I ask my questions. Thank you for your responses!
 
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