I haven’t posted on this thread for a few days, but wow! Things seem to have gotten a little heated. Let’s remember that regardless of where we stand, we are all called to charity and humility.
I have a lot of thoughts right now, not all of which I will share due to relevance and in the interest of time. First of all, it seems that both sides of this debate are putting words in each others’ mouths. Just for the record, I have no problem with the phrase “spirit of Vatican II,” when it is properly understood. In other words, when people actually read the documents and actually do what they say to do. The “spirit of Vatican II” is, this is really a shocker, actually doing what the documents say to do! So with that in mind…
Sactosanctum Concilium #112
Therefore sacred music is to be considered the more holy in proportion as it is more closely connected with the liturgical action, whether it adds delight to prayer, fosters unity of minds, or confers greater solemnity upon the sacred rites. But the Church approves of all forms of true art having the needed qualities, and admits them into divine worship.
I bolded the past that I did because I think it is completely relevant to the debate at hand. The questions then becomes, “What constitutes true art?” and “What are the needed qualities?” I don’t think that anyone would not suggest that certain art, be it sculpture, paint, or, in this case, music, is objectivelly “better” than something else. For example, I personally can’t even draw stick people. I am possibly the least artistic person on the planet. I could, however, take a bucket of green paint and throw it on a piece of canvas and call it art. My “art,” however, would objectively be worse than Leonardo’s
The Last Supper. Likewise in music, a piece requiring true musical genius to compose, a classical piece by Bach or Mozart for example, is objectively better than a guy who strums three chords on a guitar.
This, however, raises yet another question. I have learned and sung a Mass written by Bach, and as much of a musical genius as Bach was, and as awesome as his piece was, it did not move me to prayer because it was so hard to sing. The movements and ranges required to sing this piece were simply too much for me to handle effectively, and all glory to God, I’m a good singer. However, I am simply not qualified to sing Bach. Sometimes, I think some of these old pieces are to “done up” for lack of a better term. In an effort to promote a deeper sense of wonder and thus a deeper sense of worship, the result is a performance, which most, if not all of us, can agree is undesirable.
In my humble opinion, the best music for Mass is simple Gregorian chant. Something that most everyone can learn in a relatively short time, preferably in Latin, but that can sung in English as well. When Gregorian chant is not possible, traditional hymns are preferable, so long as they are doctrinally correct. Some examples would be
Holy God We Praise Thy Name, Oh God Beyond All Praising, All Glory, Laud, and Honor, and Crown Him With Many Crowns, just to name a few. Finally, it seems to me that contemporary praise and worship music is also appropriate for Mass, especially a Mass with an anticipated congregation made up mostly of young people, again assuming that the songs are doctrinally correct.
I don’t, however, think that doctrine is the only criteria to be considered. Some songs can be perfectly correct in terms of doctrine, but because of their rhythm and or melody, render themselves unfit for Mass because they do not foster an environment of prayer. For example, Fr. Stan Fortuna is well-known for his Catholic rap music, but I do not believe that he uses his rap music at Masses that he celebrates, even with youth. I suspect that this is because he recognizes that rap music, like rock, heavy metal, alternative, and others tends to excite the soul, not calm the soul in preparation for worship.
I also do not think that it really matters if a song is “Protestant” in nature. This may sound crazy at first, but please read on and hear me out. Obviously, we must be Catholic and closely guard the Catholic identity of the Mass. However, that which is true, good, and beautiful in Protesant music, is by definition Catholic since Catholicism encompasses the fullness of truth. So, if a Protestant writes, “Holy, holy, holy, are you Lord God Almighty. Worthy is the Lamb, worthy is the Lamb,” there is no reason why that song can’t be used in Catholic worship. Those two lines, by the way, are taken from a popular P&W song. Oh, and they’re also taken straight from the Book of Revelation as well. This meets the Church’s desire that, when possible, lyrics of hymns be taken from the Scriptures.
(Who didn’t have “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” at their H.S. graduation?!") By the way, nobody’s doing that anymore, or advocating that it should be done, MYSELF INCLUDED!
(Of course, I still maintain that the ideal behavior is not to use these adjectives at all and thereby not insult the composers who are using their God-given talents and creativity to render praise unto Him.)
. This does not include MULTIPLE occasions of Fr. Celebrants’ glaring up at the choir loft. (Of course, most choir members don’t realize how their talking resonates throughout the entire church… but then again, most of them are old enough to be half-deaf… as is the organist… which is probably why he plays at full blast… which is proabably why the choir is half-deaf since most members have been in the choir since around the time God made dirt.)
