Projecting the words for songs at mass

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Digitonomy said:
That is what the Church said about it, but the document is more than 50 years old, and other regulations since then have not included this restriction. I think the status of De Musica Sacra is doubtful. Even if it is still in force, which I think doubtful, it only restricts projectors, not screens that glow by themselves rather than reflecting projected light - i.e., LCD screens are permitted by a strict reading of De Musica Sacra.
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I fail to see why the status is doubtful. It has not been changed by any other documents, as far as I know. Please show me if there is.

I would say that the spirit of DMS would say no LCDs or other TVs either. Anyways, why would you want to have projectors or TVs in church?
 
My wife and I were out of town last week and we attended Mass at a local parish that used a projector screen. The screen actually blocked the view of the tabernacle and the hanging altar lamp. If I lived in that parish I would probably go to Mass somewhere else.
 
cradlecatholic5 said:
cothrige - what? ? 🤷
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You don’t have those out wherever you are? They are de rigueur out here where we live. It’s the standard replacement for the very frowned upon crucifix (so morbid, you know) in which the Lord is depicted as having just jumped off a high dive. Very dated and colorless affairs, but they are absolutely everywhere.
 
cothrige said:
You don’t have those out wherever you are? They are de rigueur out here where we live. It’s the standard replacement for the very frowned upon crucifix (so morbid, you know) in which the Lord is depicted as having just jumped off a high dive. Very dated and colorless affairs, but they are absolutely everywhere.
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Could you supply a picture?
 
Thanks for all the comments. They have given me some things to think about and will help me prepare comments to send in to the parish priest.

I am still interested to hear other experiences or thoughts about this too.

God Bless,
Lauralee
 
  1. The use of automatic instruments and machines, such as the automatic organ, phonograph, radio, tape or wire recorders, and other similar machines, is absolutely forbidden in liturgical functions and private devotions, whether they are held inside or outside the church, even if these machines be used only to transmit sermons or sacred music, or to substitute for the singing of the choir or faithful, or even just to support it.
    However, such machines may be used, even inside the church, but not during services of any kind, whether liturgical or private, in order to give the people a chance to listen to the voice of the Supreme Pontiff or the local Ordinary, or the sermons of others. These mechanical devices may be also be used to instruct the faithful in Christian doctrine or in the sacred chant or hymn singing; finally they may be used in processions which take place outside the church, as a means of directing, and supporting the singing of the people.
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Our Archbishop regularly orders to read his admonitions during homily. Apparently the Musica Sacra is obsoleted.

As the bishop about the projection. The majority of the people are visual, and the projection promotes the participation in singing. As for distraction, the projected text can help to focus on the Eucharist.

God wanted us to rule the world, the electronics is part of it. Give the last world to the Ordinary.
 
TheMc said:
Or perhaps just that part?
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Certainly anything is possible, but I’m not aware of any document that would strike down paragraph 71 of De Musica Sacra while leaving paragraph 73 intact.
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TheMc:
I fail to see why the status is doubtful. It has not been changed by any other documents, as far as I know. Please show me if there is.
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We’ve discussed De Musica Sacra a number of times before [just do a search of my name and the word “musica”], and my doubt about this document started with exactly the sort of issues that laszlo pointed out where multiple ordinaries are routinely ignoring DMS, especially the section we are discussing in this thread.

Canon 20 states:
A later law abrogates, or derogates from, an earlier law if it states so expressly, is directly contrary to it, or completely reorders the entire matter of the earlier law.
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I would suggest that the GIRM reorders liturgical laws such as this; in addition there has been Musicam Sacram and perhaps another document or two on liturgical music which have omitted the restrictions of DMS.

This is not a slam dunk, since ideally later laws are harmonized with earlier ones. The question is whether our contentious part D of section 4 of Chapter III of De Musica Sacra, which contains paragraphs 70 to 73, was purposely omitted and thus it lost the force of law (my argument). The alternative is that the Vatican intended for part D to continue to have the force of law, but felt that while other issues related to liturgical music needed to be updated, the rules on phonographs and wire recorders remained as fresh as the day they were published, and needed no further clarification.

Is there a way to tell if DMS, and specifically III-4-D retains the force of law or is in abeyance? My approach is to use this old chestnut:
Can. 27 Custom is the best interpreter of laws.
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As I said a couple months ago, I would argue that the widespread and active, not passive, defiance of De Musica Sacra by the very ordinaries entrusted to interpret and apply liturgical law is evidence that the document no longer carries the force of law.
 
TheMc said:
Could you supply a picture?
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I can’t find anything online which is exactly what I see out here, but the pic on this page is similar.

examiner.com/catholicism-in-fort-lauderdale/third-sunday-of-easter-may-8-2011

However, this one seems more colorful than the ones that I see here locally, and the arms in this pic seem lower than those around here. That may be partly due to an optical illusion though because those around here are all hung on a wire so that the feet touch the wall and the head and arms hang forward a bit. This adds to the effect of looking like he is jumping off the wall. I suppose there is nothing particularly wrong with these images, but I am not crazy about them. They seem bland, the artwork is uninspiring, and of course they make the Lord look like he is about to stage dive into the nave. :rolleyes:
 
agapewolf said:
other issues aside, I don’t think the reasoning about communion time makes sense. Its no different than having a hymnal in front of you, using your reasoning. Music is called for at communion in the liturgy. “Focusing on the music” is not mutually exclusive to “focusing on receiving the Eucharist”.
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But nobody I know uses a hymnal when they’re going to Communion.
 
Do royalty fees cover music outside the Missalette or songbooks? Doesn’t this projector set-up require the permission of the composer of the song or the publisher? Seems as if this falls into the same category as xeroxing or scanning. Just saying.
 
ProVobis said:
Do royalty fees cover music outside the Missalette or songbooks? Doesn’t this projector set-up require the permission of the composer of the song or the publisher? Just asking.
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You pay a flat license fee per year to print worship aids or project words.
 
Phemie said:
But nobody I know uses a hymnal when they’re going to Communion.
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Back when I was in grade school, we used to carry our books and sing on our way up to receive Communion. But that was back in the day of COTT only.(I’m old) It wouldn’t work wel in a parish that has CITH.
 
agapewolf said:
I’ve seen it before, its not common, but its done.

That does NOT change the argument though.
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Indeed it doesn’t. One thing that we frequently do in my area is sing a psalm or responsorial piece, so people don’t need a hymnal, and if they want to sing, they just sing a short refrain, then the cantor or choir sing the verse. Here’s some examples of good ones with this format I’m talking about:
These kind of things tend to work very well, especially if your goal is getting people singing.
 
TheMc said:
Indeed it doesn’t. One thing that we frequently do in my area is sing a psalm or responsorial piece, so people don’t need a hymnal, and if they want to sing, they just sing a short refrain, then the cantor or choir sing the verse. Here’s some examples of good ones with this format I’m talking about:
These kind of things tend to work very well, especially if your goal is getting people singing.
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But this also has nothing to do with my point made to the OP.
 
agapewolf said:
But this also has nothing to do with my point made to the OP.
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The point was that a projector is never really “needed”. They say they need one at communion because people can’t bring hymnals, but even that is not true.
 
I can’t say I much like these screens, especially because once they are in use, people want to project the liturgical text, which I am not crazy about. And most churches do not have a design suited to use of a screen.

But I don’t really get the objection to hymn books? Are they really that much more inconvenient? Then people can pay attention to them or not as they choose. (Or an electronic reader, but they would require maintenance and such which might be a pain.)
 
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