Guitar Mass ?

[KnightforChrist]

The young people want the reverence because to them it seems more adult than the touchie-feelie “Happy Catholic” stuff. At least that’s what I hear from the kids at my parish.

This is great to hear and is what I am hearing in area parishes.

Reading this thread made me have a flashback to the “feel good” happy days around 1976-78 when I had just started Catholic School…

I can still see the record/sleeve and hear the scratchy turntable blaring " Hi God how do you feel today !!!" Oh my gosh, does anyone else remember those days !!!

Oh and now I’m seeing more of these images in my mind , FELT BANNERS !!!

Whew, I’m back and will try to keep those thoughts suppressed !!! LOL!!!

 

[Kevin42]

I played and sang John Michael Talbot’s, “Holy Is His Name,” at communion. If you don’t find that song reverent, you should probably seek counseling for you have problems that go beyond what type of music played at mass.

John Michael Talbot has several wonderful songs on some of his CDs. I also like Gift of Finest Wheat, One Bread One Body, and I secretly love to listen to Table of Plenty in the car on my way to mass .

 

[Elzee]

Oh and now I’m seeing more of these images in my mind , FELT BANNERS !!!

Thank the good Lord they’re only in your mind…some of us still have to endure them up close and personal.

 

[netmilsmom]

Oh and now I’m seeing more of these images in my mind , FELT BANNERS !!!

Whew, I’m back and will try to keep those thoughts suppressed !!! LOL!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Here is a nightmare for you.
The parish I grew up in was built in 1867. It was a beautiful church with a high altar, side altars and a huge choir loft with a pipe organ.

Now stick some felt banners into it, Yipes!

I NEVER want to back to the 70’s.

 

[maternus]

Be glad that the guitarist himself isn’t the music director. Some of us aren’t so lucky.

Are you in my parish? At my church EVERY mass is a guitar mass. We don’t even have a piano or organ.

 

[Kevin42]

Lucky for me, it wouldn’t appear so. Our ‘lead singer’ is the music director, and he plays the guitar at all the masses. It also appears he has recruited someone else, so now we have two guitars. Thank God though, we do still use a piano, and the choir is decent. We are playing some music that is too modern for me lately, but they also keep some good oldies, so I am ok. The guitar is more quiet sometimes, and even fits in sometimes…but in the “Glory to God” and a bunch of other songs…it definately is just overpowering and annoying. (My parish hasn’t always had a guitar…just since this new music director after we got our new pastor.)

I have debated whether or not to make an issue of this, but I have decided that this isn’t the battle to fight.

I feel bad for you though. Maybe things will change ?

 

[Sarabande]

That song goes back to the fifties. I like the song. I liked the guitar Masses and it’s easier to transport guitars than pianos.
Also, it got younger people back to Mass.

I’m a younger person and I never liked guitar masses - more because of the inane strum-strum. But I understand the use for it for some retreats, etc. I grew to dislike it more as I got into my teens and early 20s. Unfortunately, at the Newman Center in college (which I loved and have many fond memories of) that was all we had and I had to make do with that. I helped run the Music Liturgy program there, and would never put that on my resume now, but like I said, it was all we had. My friends who were in the program there were either classical percussion, brass majors or singers. They could play the guitar though… we didn’t have a piano or organ there. So, we did our best and tried to make it as good as possible.

That said, I LOVE classical guitar playing and in proper settings can be appropriate even for mass. But organ, plain-song, chant and polyphony are my faves for mass.

All of that talk of Kumbayah, felt banners and that wonderful Brady bunch theme in the refrain: “Here I Am Lord”, brings back memories of Catholic grade school in the 80s and 90s. As much as I enjoyed my childhood, I would never go back to that.