Is this Appropriate (Choir Questions)?

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JButky said:
I’ve been trying to get our Knights to sing as a choir once a month at a Mass. They just don’t want to do it. You have a bunch that want to sing! Count your blessings!!!
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If you don’t mind me asking…

What is your reason for wanting the Knights to sing at mass regularly?
 
CatholicSooner said:
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JanetF:
In fact one might think it would be a positive distraction as people will see all the knights together, participating and it might up their membership which is never a bad thing!
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This is toxic thinking imo, no offense meant.
That in itself kind of points to my issues. It is a distraction. People shouldn’t be thinking about the Knights during mass. Their focus should be on Jesus and the sacrifice.
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What is the Mass?
What is “the liturgy”?
 
TheLittleLady said:
The rubrics do not specify the level of vocal or musical training for choirs.
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So do you think it is a good idea to have people that do not sing well in the choir?
This is a little off topic but I’m interested in your answer
 
goout said:
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CatholicSooner:
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JanetF:
In fact one might think it would be a positive distraction as people will see all the knights together, participating and it might up their membership which is never a bad thing!
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This is toxic thinking imo, no offense meant.
That in itself kind of points to my issues. It is a distraction. People shouldn’t be thinking about the Knights during mass. Their focus should be on Jesus and the sacrifice.
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What is the Mass?
What is “the liturgy”?
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Again, I’m not sure what you are getting at here
 
DeniseNY said:
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CatholicSooner:
the visual distraction as well
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Standing there singing will be a visual distraction? How? If you’re focused on the Liturgy how would they distract you?
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Yes it will be. People will know that they are not the normal choir and will be watching them.
 
They are there for the same reason as the rest of us, to participate at mass. Now, music has a proper place in liturgy, and as such it should be done as beautifully as possible. So it makes since that there is a group of people who are talented, take time to practise, and focus on leading the congregation’s music. But they are, from a liturgical standpoint, not like priests, deacons, lectors, altar servers, EMHC, etc, they are simply part of the congregation. So having the knights join them is now wrong from a rubric standpoint.
Now, the designs of many modern Churches get this all wrong. Choir space is laid out facing the people, for example, as opposed to being oriented with the people towards the altar. It leads to the misunderstanding of the choirs role and the idea of them putting on a “performance”. I think that is where much of the confusion originated. Back in the days where every church had a choir loft, this confusion never occurred. Now the intent of not having choir lofts was not bad, per se. The intent was to stress even more that they were part of the congregation. Unfortunately, the execution of that intent was often flawed.
 
JanetF said:
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CatholicSooner:
This is toxic thinking imo, no offense meant.
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Seriously? As if the distraction is going to last more than 1 second? Wow, just wow.
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Any distraction, no matter how long, is wasted time in sacrifice.

However, I think it would be more than 1 second. Just think how distracting it would be to have 30+ guys off key or off pitch while trying to pray

Maybe you guys are a lot more focused during mass. I need all the help I can get.
 
You conflate a lot of issues with a general sense of irritation. Your sense of irritation does not validate your various tastes, it’s just irritation.
My suggestion would be to turn your irritation into outreach. Get involved in helping with the liturgy. You are the person we need to educate Catholics and devote resources to excellent liturgy.

Be that man (if you are a man…) that Paul talks about in Ephesians 5.
 
goout said:
You conflate a lot of issues with a general sense of irritation. Your sense of irritation does not validate your various tastes, it’s just irritation.
My suggestion would be to turn your irritation into outreach. Get involved in helping with the liturgy. You are the person we need to educate Catholics and devote resources to excellent liturgy.

Be that man (if you are a man…) that Paul talks about in Ephesians 5.
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As I’m sure you know, there is only so much that laity can do when it comes to the mass.
 
I understand that it might very well be a distraction. As I said above, I see nothing in it wrong with regards to the rubrics of the mass, but that does not mean it is wise. It is really the type of thing that should only happen with the approval of the pastor. Since they want it to be a surprise, that won’t happen. So I actually come down on your side, it’s a bad idea if it’s a surprise and the pastor does not give his prior approval.
 
tafan2 said:
I understand that it might very well be a distraction. As I said above, I see nothing in it wrong with regards to the rubrics of the mass, but that does not mean it is wise. It is really the type of thing that should only happen with the approval of the pastor. Since they want it to be a surprise, that won’t happen. So I actually come down on your side, it’s a bad idea if it’s a surprise and the pastor does not give his prior approval.
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That was my opinion too. It’s the “surprise” which could be a problem, for both the priest and the choir. Check with the priest first and attend a choir practice beforehand. Then it could be a good idea.
 
CatholicSooner said:
Not true at all. I am concerned that this goes against the rubrics of the mass and distracts from the sacrifice of the mass.
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How does this violate the rubrics of the Mass? Essentially, it’s that the Knights are choosing to sit together. They just happen to be sitting in the choir loft, which is not the same as sitting in the sanctuary — it’s just pews up high.
And no one in the pews must have specific training to sing the parts of the Mass where the laity is supposed to sing/respond. So I’m still not clear how this is a problem.
 
JulianN said:
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CatholicSooner:
Not true at all. I am concerned that this goes against the rubrics of the mass and distracts from the sacrifice of the mass.
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How does this violate the rubrics of the Mass? Essentially, it’s that the Knights are choosing to sit together. They just happen to be sitting in the choir loft, which is not the same as sitting in the sanctuary — it’s just pews up high.
And no one in the pews must have specific training to sing the parts of the Mass where the laity is supposed to sing/respond. So I’m still not clear how this is a problem.
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We don’t have a choir loft. Not sure if that changes your opinion.
 
I don’t know, I think people would get used to it fairly quickly.
 
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