Mortal sin not to sing at Mass?

[LindaS]

If God has given you a good voice, sing to praise Him! If He has given you a less melodious voice, sing to get even!
Seriously, I believe it was St. Agustine who said,“He who sings, prays twice,” Go ahead and praise God!

Peace,
Linda

 

[DrCat]

OK, I admit that I exaggerated when I said people call the SPCA when I sing. I actually do sing (although not very loudly due to my accent), and enjoy singing.

In fact, I used to direct the choir on special occasions (it was a special choir with members from each of the other choirs in the parish (At the time, there were something over 10 choirs - one for each major chapel and one for each Mass celebrated in the parish church.) When people ask how I could direct, I tell them “Well, I can’t play an instrument, and I can’t sing, so they made me direct.”

But people who know me still say I sound like I’m torturing a dog.

John

 

[robertaf]

Greetings Church

My Irish Grandmother told me many times what she was taught as a child.

If you have a bad singing voice, you should sing very loudly and often. If you sing loud enough and often enough, you will hurt Gods ears and he will fix your voice.

That is why Irishmen/Irishwomen sing loud, often and usually have nice voices.

smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_9_10.gif

 

[S_Corda]

dizzy_dave:

Is it a Mortal sin to not sing the songs during Mass? I don’t feel comfortable singing, I am a terrible singer, I don’t like singing. But is it a Mortal sin, or even Venile?

Based on your question I have to wonder, do you know what a mortal sin is / how to determine if something is a mortal sin?
(see vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P6C.HTM )
Catechism:

…three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”
… “Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments …” (etc., see the Catechism for the rest.)

Or did you ask the question just to start a discussion about singing versus not singing?

 

[Antonio_B]

porthos11:

But hey, many here did quote the Psalmist’s command to make a joyful NOISE. Now isn’t "noise: defined as a series of disorganized sound waves? Organized sound waves are considered “music”

To to be truly technical about it, making a joyful noise to the Lord is to pelt out disorganized sound waves eh? http://forum.catholic.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

So if you have absolutely no singing talent, then I’d say that if you still open your mouth, you are doing it BIBLICALLY! http://forum.catholic.com/images/smilies/ani/rotfl.gifheh heh heh.

(Man, talk of convoluted logic. Reminds me of the “Judas went out and hanged himself…Go thou and do likewise” argument.) http://forum.catholic.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Perhaps Catholics in this country are taking the Bible too literally and indeed think the noise we hear at Mass is “music” but I live in the past, when we had beautiful hymns that praised God, not man. A time when we didn’t have some “conductor” out there in the sanctuary waving his hands at us while 80% of the congregation is silent due to the unspiring noise they call “music.”

Do I ever sing? Sometimes, when all of a sudden I hear Tantum Ergum, or Panis Angelicus, or Amazing Grace or some hymn that brings incredible memories when we, Catholics, had taste!

But of course, I’m not bitter!

Antonio :crying:

 

[dream_wanderer]

robertaf:

Greetings Church

My Irish Grandmother told me many times what she was taught as a child.

If you have a bad singing voice, you should sing very loudly and often. If you sing loud enough and often enough, you will hurt Gods ears and he will fix your voice.

That is why Irishmen/Irishwomen sing loud, often and usually have nice voices.

smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/8/8_9_10.gif

There might be something to that. The Irish singer Bono was awful when his band first started out. Listen to some of their earlier records. His own brother told him to give it up, that he couldn’t sing and would never be able to sing.

He just kept plugging away until one day it clicked…and that was when his band had their first US number 1 ‘With or Without You’. Whether you like his particular style of singing or not (and of course there are people here who will not)…no one would dispute he was MUCH improved from the band’s earlier years.

My daughter picked up on that…and spent hours in her room singing. She didn’t do all that well when she started out but by the time she was in high school she was always a lock for the high school musicals. She now has wonderful pipes…but she worked hard to get them.

dream wanderer

 

[stellina]

Antonio B:

Given that most of the music in church today is so bad and mediocre, I would think it would be a mortal sin to sing!

Antonio

Yes! I’ve taken to remaining silent out of the sheer pain of hearing “on Eagle’s Wings” or “Sing A New Song” for the five-thousandth time… God forgive me - while they were probably written with good intentions, I can’t stand them! It’s hard to believe that we belong to the Church that actually gave birth to Western music and fostered the greatest composers that ever lived, and yet that’s what our liturgical music has devolved into.

That being said, it’s a different matter to refrain because you lack confidence. I seriously doubt that it’s a sin not to sing (in which case I’m stoking a nice bonfire for myself in purgatory), but why be so self-conscious?

 

[Antonio_B]

stellina:

Yes! I’ve taken to remaining silent out of the sheer pain of hearing “on Eagle’s Wings” or “Sing A New Song” for the five-thousandth time… God forgive me - while they were probably written with good intentions, I can’t stand them! It’s hard to believe that we belong to the Church that actually gave birth to Western music and fostered the greatest composers that ever lived, and yet that’s what our liturgical music has devolved into.

That being said, it’s a different matter to refrain because you lack confidence. I seriously doubt that it’s a sin not to sing (in which case I’m stoking a nice bonfire for myself in purgatory), but why be so self-conscious?

We had the Mercedes Benz of music, now we have a Pinto, and most Catholics act as if our liturgical music is inspiring. There is nothing inspiring about those “songs” for they are not really “hymns” that go on in church today. Some of that music is so bad, I call it “elevator church music!”

I remain a Catholic because of the Eucharist and the authority of the Bishop of Rome. If my faith depended on church music, I would have become a member of the Orthodox churches long ago.

Antonio