More Music at Mass

[CAROLOFTHEBELLS]

I have had this question in my mind for years. In the early 70’s when I was around 18, I belonged to my church’s “folk choir” which was headed by my boyfriend and his brother who loved Simon and Garfunkel. For some reason, we often sang the song “Sounds of Silence” during the Processional (Gathering Song). I guess at that time the parishes where allowing the folk choirs to choose anything that they saw fit that was folksy. For instance, I remember singing John Denver’s Annie’s Song (“Sunshine on my shoulders…”) during Communion at another church a couple of years later. Anyway, while singing Sounds of Silence I always got a twinge of a weird feeling singing the words, “And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made.”

Here is my question. I feel like that was something telling me singing those words were wrong, but I didn’t know why or what to do. Now sometimes if I remember, I feel guilty. Should I confess that I sang this song almost weekly? When I look back on it, I feel that it was a very wrong thing to do to God and His people.

Along the same lines, I used to have a recording of JC Superstar and listen and sang to it at home a lot. I gave it away when I began to feel funny about it. Do you think this is something I should confess? I don’t really know what to confess, except that I after awhile I realized it seemed to be making light of the gospel.

 

[benedictgal]

I have had this question in my mind for years. In the early 70’s when I was around 18, I belonged to my church’s “folk choir” which was headed by my boyfriend and his brother who loved Simon and Garfunkel. For some reason, we often sang the song “Sounds of Silence” during the Processional (Gathering Song). I guess at that time the parishes where allowing the folk choirs to choose anything that they saw fit that was folksy. For instance, I remember singing John Denver’s Annie’s Song (“Sunshine on my shoulders…”) during Communion at another church a couple of years later. Anyway, while singing Sounds of Silence I always got a twinge of a weird feeling singing the words, “And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made.”

Here is my question. I feel like that was something telling me singing those words were wrong, but I didn’t know why or what to do. Now sometimes if I remember, I feel guilty. Should I confess that I sang this song almost weekly? When I look back on it, I feel that it was a very wrong thing to do to God and His people.

Along the same lines, I used to have a recording of JC Superstar and listen and sang to it at home a lot. I gave it away when I began to feel funny about it. Do you think this is something I should confess? I don’t really know what to confess, except that I after awhile I realized it seemed to be making light of the gospel.

All of these songs that you listed are forbidden from use in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are secular in nature. The lyrics are also questionable.

This is how the Church defines Sacred Music, according to Musicam Sacram:

1. It is to be hoped that pastors of souls, musicians and the faithful will gladly accept these norms and put them into practice, uniting their efforts to attain the true purpose of sacred music, "which is the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful."1

(a) By sacred music is understood that which, being created for the celebration of divine worship, is endowed with a certain holy sincerity of form.2

(b) The following come under the title of sacred music here: Gregorian chant, sacred polyphony in its various forms both ancient and modern, sacred music for the organ and other approved instruments, and sacred popular music, be it liturgical or simply religious.3

None of these songs that you noted fall under that catergory. Unfortunately, that was the problem with many choir groups that sprang up immediately after the Council. They followed the alleged spirit of Vatican II without actually reading what the documents had to say.

 

[Digitonomy]

For some reason, we often sang the song “Sounds of Silence” during the Processional (Gathering Song)… Anyway, while singing Sounds of Silence I always got a twinge of a weird feeling singing the words, “And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made.”

Here is my question. I feel like that was something telling me singing those words were wrong, but I didn’t know why or what to do. Now sometimes if I remember, I feel guilty. Should I confess that I sang this song almost weekly? When I look back on it, I feel that it was a very wrong thing to do to God and His people.

To answer your question, you are free to confess whatever you think may be a sin, and the priest can then counsel you if he thinks you’re being scrupulous in counting your sins. However, it is also best to carefully consider the issue yourself.

I don’t think these songs are appropriate for mass, but at the same time I doubt your role in singing them constituted a sin. If you’re going to be a choir member, you defer to the leader rather than not participating based on whether you dislike a song or feel it’s a poor expression of what’s called for at that moment. Only if you have strong moral reservations about a song should you take a stand, and it doesn’t sound like in your situation at 18 that was the case.

As to the specific lyrics, it sounds to me like Paul Simon is criticizing a society that worships television and movies. We might prefer to state more clearly what people should worship, but this message of criticism is hardly in opposition to our view.

 

[SMHW]

As Digitonomy noted you can confess anything you think might be a sin and then listen to the priest’s advice as to whether or not it truly is a sin. It would no doubt put both your soul and your mind at ease to bring it up.

But I think it’s unlikely you actually committed any kind of sin at the time. In some dioceses and parishes ‘experimentation’ was encouraged. In both secular and religious societies rules for the sake of having rules was viewed as possibly evil. “The Church” as an institution was viewed with some skepticism, some of it valid, some of it not.

I don’t remember hearing “The Sounds of Silence” at Mass but we had one priest who managed to work in “Bridge Over Troubled Water” into nearly every sermon. Simon and Garfunkel songs seemed more spiritual to many people than the traditional music they heard at Mass.

Another priest would join our folk group when he wasn’t saying Mass. (He was an excellent guitarist.)

Yes, you broke some rules because those songs were not appropriate for Mass. But (at the risk of running afoul of the “If everyone was jumping off a bridge…” lesson) many people were pushing the limits of rules. But they were doing so in hopes of better following the will of God.

I don’t know what you call the generation of people that were slightly younger than “the Greatest Generation” but were still older than the Baby Boomers. I think a majority of them would tell you that they never understood the reason for most of their Faith’s rules or practices; they just followed along or left the Church. (That’s probably still the case for many Catholics today.) Baby Boomers tended to ask, “But why not this other way? Maybe it’s better,” and then tried things the different way. GenXers and younger generations (who pay attention) get to say, “I can see why ‘the other way’ doesn’t usually work and why things ought to be done the traditional way.”

Each of the groups I’ve mentioned has looked at the Catholic Faith in a different way but each group was/is trying to follow the will of God. I think God generally honors the attempt while gently leading us back to conformance with His way.