I read a tagline in a previous poster’s message that said " Joy is not the absence of Sorrow, but the Presence of God." I like that, and it’s fitting here.
There is great sorrow to be felt at the passion of Jesus. However, even more so, and not in contrast with that sorrow, there is great joy! What He did for me on that cross brought about my ability to reconnect with God Himself. His sacrifice is our salvation. Is that not the ultimate cause for joy? Should not the music with which we choose to celebrate His passion reflect the joy that we ought to each feel at this superlative expression of the creator’s love for us?
I think a lot of the music these days is the result of a perceptual thing.
Back in the day, music at Mass tended to be slow, dignified, and, some would say, heavy; in large part this was a reflection of the overwhelming sense of majesty, awe, and yes, even fear at approaching the steps of the throne, upon which sat a Being too hugely vast to contemplate, Who had the power to cast our everlasting souls into hell forever. We loved Him, yes; but we feared and respected Him, too.
After Vatican II, as Pope Benedict and others have observed, “reverence” in Catholic liturgical celebrations pretty much went out the window, as evidenced by parishioners jabbering throughout Mass, the rock band on the stage up front practices hot licks on their electric guitars before Mass (which used to be a time to pray and contemplate on the awe and majesty of the Sacrifice), and things like “polka” Masses and “clown” Masses and whatever novelty happens to be written up in the latest issue of
Liturgy Today this month.
There is little fear or awe in these celebrations, and the music reflects this. Why is this?
A lot of it goes back to the godawful lack of catechesis most of us grew up with, when the fundamentals of the Faith were replaced with pop-psychological balderdash like “God is your buddy, and as long as you feel good about yourself, that’s all that matters. Let’s all make a banner!” Instead of reminding kids that there really is a hell that they need to be concerned about, the slant was on sheltering their precious little fragile “self-esteem”, and everything was all supposed to be sweetness and light. Love and grooviness was in, responsibilty and judgement were out.
And are still out. Does anyone think for the slightest instant that if Catholics who support abortion, homosexual marriage, female priests, and all the rest of the current “progressive” agenda, were worried about the very real possibility of facing judegment for these views and ending up in hell, they’d be holding those views?
Of course not. “Hell” was done away with, remember? You even have priests who dismiss the idea. There is no hell, there are no mortal sins, the devil is just an abstraction, and God will never judge you, because after all, He’s your “buddy”.
And this is why we walk into Mass laughing and calling out to our pals halfway across the church, dressed in sleeveless t-shirts and flip-flops, getting ready to sing drivel like “Sing to the Mountains, Sing to the Sea” or “Lord of the Dance” instead of slowly progressing into the church in silence, out of dread and awe and respect for the Being Who dwells there and holds our very existance in His hand, our dress and manner likewise showing that same respect, and preparing ourselves to sing worship songs such as “Praise to the Holy Trinity” or “To God Almighty We Confess”.
Such songs today are sniffed at and haughtily dismissed as “triumphalism”. After all, in the spirit of ecumenism, even the King of the Universe must be dumbed down enough to where He doesn’t “offend” anybody, isn’t that right?
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What would you do if Jesus appeared before you? After Communion He is even closer to us than that. And sorry, but what is “administering the liturgy”? I think the problem may be what kind of “workshops” and instruction are being provided for lay people.