Is a drum kit a Suitable instrument for Mass?

[joshrp]

Our parish has Billy Joel as a music minister. My favorite part of the Mass is “Sing us a Sanctus, you’re the piano man. Sing us a Sanctus tonight! Well, we’re all in the mood to eat Jesus as food, and you’ve got us feeling alright!”

 

[joshrp]

There’s also one of the greatest hits of liturgical Mass music where the cantor sings “You’ve got a Friend in me” from Toy Story as Jesus. “And you’re miles and miles from your warm warm bed / I make my Body out of flat wheat bread / Honey, you’ve got a friend in me”

And the kids all bring their Woody Dolls, and they receive Communion too! They pull the drawstring on the back and they say “Amen” And Buzz Lightyear has his action packed Karate Chop Sign of the Cross kung fu grip!

 

[NewsTheMan]

Our parish has Billy Joel as a music minister. My favorite part of the Mass is “Sing us a Sanctus, you’re the piano man. Sing us a Sanctus tonight! Well, we’re all in the mood to eat Jesus as food, and you’ve got us feeling alright!”

Sounds fun man! Hey, if ya don’t like it, don’t ruin the fun for everybody! I certainly wouldn’t be solemn at the foot of the Cross. Blegh - overdramatic much? Mass is about my personal preferences, Rome just gives guidelines and everybody knows the Vatican doesn’t actually care what we do. Going to Mass isn’t fun when all they do is sing that Latin stuff. Our Introi… I mean, “opening celebratory tune” is “Fun Fun Fun” by The Beach Boys in fact. It gets me in the perfect mood.

 

[joshrp]

You can usually tell whether a culture is fit to survive for eternity or preparing itself for total extinction and self-annihilation by the kind of music it enjoys and produces.

 

[joshrp]

We should be focus more on solid catechesis in all aspects of parish life instead of titillating bells and whistles.

Pop tart music ain’t gonna change the world. If someone isn’t going to Mass to learn the truths of the faith and apply them when they leave the Church, but rather is going because it’s a feel good, riproaring, Hell of a fun time! then when they go somewhere they don’t have that twinkling glitter, they just gonna stop going.

I don’t see this stuff attracting anyone. If the Catholic Church had someone like Bach composing our liturgical music today (too bad he was a Lutheran), we would see a Renaissance in Church culture. We need music with some theological depth. There are no quality poets living today that I know of. We are almost functionally illiterate. We don’t know how to communicate ideas anymore. Our composers and poets don’t know how to communicate actual universal ideas and principles of the faith, we just sort of stroke each other into feeling good about our nominal social club … err. ummm, I mean Church, affiliation. We rattle on about how we love and praise and worship Jesus, Jesus, JESUS, but we don’t have a clue who He is. “Oh, He is just this Person who makes me feel good about myself because I am saved or whatnot”

 

[YoungTradCath]

We should be focus more on solid catechesis in all aspects of parish life instead of titillating bells and whistles.

Pop tart music ain’t gonna change the world. If someone isn’t going to Mass to learn the truths of the faith and apply them when they leave the Church, but rather is going because it’s a feel good, riproaring, Hell of a fun time! then when they go somewhere they don’t have that twinkling glitter, they just gonna stop going.

I don’t see this stuff attracting anyone. If the Catholic Church had someone like Bach composing our liturgical music today (too bad he was a Lutheran), we would see a Renaissance in Church culture. We need music with some theological depth. There are no quality poets living today that I know of. We are almost functionally illiterate. We don’t know how to communicate ideas anymore. Our composers and poets don’t know how to communicate actual universal ideas and principles of the faith, we just sort of stroke each other into feeling good about our nominal social club … err. ummm, I mean Church, affiliation. We rattle on about how we love and praise and worship Jesus, Jesus, JESUS, but we don’t have a clue who He is. “Oh, He is just this Person who makes me feel good about myself because I am saved or whatnot”

This is great insight.

 

[Te_Deum]

Look, ask your self… if the entire scene of Calvary was suddenly before your eyes as you knelt and witnessed the Holy Sacrifice offered for your salvation… and you looked to the right and saw Our Lady knelt in sorrow, with a heart pierced by the swords of our sins against her son… and then you looked left… and saw Bobby, with an AC/DC shirt that doesn’t quite fit, sitting slouched over with his drum set… would you think that’s entirely appropriate?

 

[MartyrForJesus]

Sounds fun man! Hey, if ya don’t like it, don’t ruin the fun for everybody! I certainly wouldn’t be solemn at the foot of the Cross. Blegh - overdramatic much? Mass is about my personal preferences, Rome just gives guidelines and everybody knows the Vatican doesn’t actually care what we do. Going to Mass isn’t fun when all they do is sing that Latin stuff. Our Introi… I mean, “opening celebratory tune” is “Fun Fun Fun” by The Beach Boys in fact. It gets me in the perfect mood.

 

[Etamin]

Sounds fun man! Hey, if ya don’t like it, don’t ruin the fun for everybody! I certainly wouldn’t be solemn at the foot of the Cross. Blegh - overdramatic much? Mass is about my personal preferences, Rome just gives guidelines and everybody knows the Vatican doesn’t actually care what we do. Going to Mass isn’t fun when all they do is sing that Latin stuff. Our Introi… I mean, “opening celebratory tune” is “Fun Fun Fun” by The Beach Boys in fact. It gets me in the perfect mood.

In our corner of Africa many like to stand up, sway, dance, clap and do udilating shrieks at all the ordinary sung parts/responses of the Mass .Drums often provide a background for this.

Most of the people present unfortunately do not understand what is happening at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, His greatest gift to us. God help us learn. We cannot truly love someone we do not know.

 

[Rascalking]

Wow. I never thought something like drum kits would cause so much controversy.

Good news is the that I can still go to mass on Sunday and hear a folk band. They’re not going away any time soon.

Keep rocking people.

(and check your blood pressure too!)

 

[Te_Deum]

Quite honestly, no instrument should be used in Mass, not even a good traditional Pipe organ. The human voice and Gregorian Chant is sufficient enough.

 

[purplesunshine]

What instrument could possibly be suited for secular music only?

How can instruments of music be divided up that way?

Even an organ or a harp or whatever instrument that could be categorized as “non-secular” can be distracting and annoying if played too loudly or crassly, or with bad intentions.

Even an electric guitar or drums can sound beautiful and soothing and can work well in a church.

Inanimate instruments, now, are either “good” or “bad”, on their own?

[shaking my head…]

I knowwww.

When I was a kid I had deeply imbued that organ was FOR CHURCH ONLY. Then, one day, my grandfather pulled out an old record of a radio show. I was mortified and stared at him and his “horrible” raidio show. Why was I mortified? Becuase they used the organ. Infact, for several decades, an organ was considered a regular instument for secular shows. The first movie theateres had organs and EVERY playhouse and theaterehouse worth it’s snuff had one, too.

To say that a guitar, drum, saxaphone, flute…whatever…isn’t as holy is quite ridiculous. God Himself lists those intruments as pleasing in the Bible (well lyre insted of guitar but they’re much the same). No where in the bible does God say “heaven is filled with pipe organs”

Look, ask your self… if the entire scene of Calvary was suddenly before your eyes as you knelt and witnessed the Holy Sacrifice offered for your salvation… and you looked to the right and saw Our Lady knelt in sorrow, with a heart pierced by the swords of our sins against her son… and then you looked left… and saw Bobby, with an AC/DC shirt that doesn’t quite fit, sitting slouched over with his drum set… would you think that’s entirely appropriate?

And a big bellowing organ is somehow more appropriate? Or even pholophony…which sounds an awful lot like aboriginal chant? What can get more secular than a sound that godless natives make?

 

[ProVobis]

To say that a guitar, drum, saxaphone, flute…whatever…isn’t as holy is quite ridiculous. God Himself lists those intruments as pleasing in the Bible (well lyre insted of guitar but they’re much the same). No where in the bible does God say “heaven is filled with pipe organs”

This seems to me to be a mockery of Vatican II documents. I can’t say I’m too comfortable with that.

 

[TheMc]

Good news is the that I can still go to mass on Sunday and hear a folk band. They’re not going away any time soon.

You might be surprised.

 

[TheMc]

When I was a kid I had deeply imbued that organ was FOR CHURCH ONLY. Then, one day, my grandfather pulled out an old record of a radio show. I was mortified and stared at him and his “horrible” raidio show. Why was I mortified? Becuase they used the organ. Infact, for several decades, an organ was considered a regular instument for secular shows. The first movie theateres had organs and EVERY playhouse and theaterehouse worth it’s snuff had one, too.

Yes, but there’s a difference between a theater organ and a church organ. A very big difference.

To say that a guitar, drum, saxaphone, flute…whatever…isn’t as holy is quite ridiculous. God Himself lists those intruments as pleasing in the Bible (well lyre insted of guitar but they’re much the same). No where in the bible does God say “heaven is filled with pipe organs”

SOLA SCRIPTURA?!?!?! No where in the church documents to they say that all instruments are equal either. It says that the pipe organ has the pride of place in the liturgy.

And a big bellowing organ is somehow more appropriate?

Obviously the church thinks so, and has thought so for years.
?

 

[PatriceA]

You might be surprised.

Nope, not going away anytime soon. The new music minister at our church is forming a folk group as we discuss this issue. This thread and its debate has only made me want to check it out even more than I did two days ago.

 

[centurionguard]

This seems to me to be a mockery of Vatican II documents. I can’t say I’m too comfortable with that.

I’m in full agreement with you. There should be a set restriction of what instruments can and cannot be used in any Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Musical Instruments in Church Services
newadvent.org/cathen/10657a.htm

Before the 1970’s I never even heard of a Folk Music Mass

 

[PatriceA]

Because that kind of attitude is the root of division of our Church.

Actually I think its just the opposite. I think having a variety of music genres opens our Church up to more members. If anything, its the people that only want the traditional organ as the only suitable instrument for Mass that causes division amongst the faithful.

 

[TheMc]

Before the 1970’s I never even heard of a Folk Music Mass

Yes! Exactly my point! What changed after VII? People lost respect for the liturgy. So now we have youth Masses and folk Masses and polka Masses and jazz Masses and children’s Masses and maybe once and a while, a reverent Mass.

 

[PatriceA]

This seems to me to be a mockery of Vatican II documents. I can’t say I’m too comfortable with that.

How so? I don’t understand how its a mockery, but is just a different interpretation than the one you might come to understand.