Sunday Mass without music / singing

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It is an unfortunate fact that nearly every parish celebrates the Saturday evening / Sunday Mass with an ample accompaniment of ‘liturgical music’. I am aware of all the arguments put forward to support this practice (i.e. Vatican II encouraging active participation of the congregation, St. Paul’s personal view about singing praise to the Lord, etc.), however, I do not believe that equal representation has been given to the opposing viewpoint - namely, the value of providing an option for the celebration of a silent, contemplative and prayerful Mass during the Sabbath. Certainly, one is told, there is typically at least one ‘low Mass’ without music during the weekday that one may attend, but attending this does not absolve an individual from having to also attend Mass on the Sabbath. Such a one-sided obligation is, I believe, unfair to the person (like myself) who cringes at the prospect of having to tolerate yet another obnoxiously loud and repetitively hymn-inundated Sunday Mass.

Musical tastes are a very personal matter. Not everyone appreciates the same style of music, and it is unconscionable to subject another individual to what can only be described as noise pollution (‘noise pollution’ being aptly defined as unnecessary unwelcome sound). In our Parish, I have long been asking for the option of a low Mass on the Sabbath day for those who feel as I do - that Sunday worship could be achieved without all of the external embellishments (such as loud and oppressive choirs, hugging, hand-holding, etc.).

I believe that it’s time for those of us in the silent minority to be heard, and toward this goal, I would ask for like-minded individuals to lend their support to this cause by commenting positively to this commentary.

Thank you, and God Bless!

CK
 
bonifacy said:
I believe that it’s time for those of us in the silent minority to be heard,
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I fully agree. Only very occasionally have I had the privilege of being present at a Mass entirely free from musical instruments of any kind, and with no singing unless you count those passages in the liturgy itself which are intoned rather than spoken. I would willingly attend a Mass of that kind every week, instead of just once every few years.
 
I like the idea and would on occasion avail myself of such a mass. Alas, in our rural parish, it will be highly unlikely. There is usually only one Sunday Mass per parish, or at most two where two language groups need to be accommodated. The priests are busy racking up the miles on their cars church-hopping. If there’s only going to be one Mass, it’s pretty much a given that there will be some sort of music.

I am fortunate to be within easy driving distance of a Benedictine abbey, so that’s where I go to Mass. At least I know that there will be consistently good music there (Gregorian chant).

The abbey used to have an early-morning spoken Mass at 6 am just after Vigils, for the benefit of the monks engaged in farm work, until fairly recently. However the advancing age of the community means increased reliance on hired employees, and there is now just the one daily conventual Mass which is sung every day of the week.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
The very early morning Mass at many churches does not have music.
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At ours as well.
bonifacy said:
I believe that it’s time for those of us in the silent minority to be heard, and toward this goal, I would ask for like-minded individuals to lend their support to this cause by commenting positively to this commentary.
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I’m with you.

As I’ve said before, if I don’t go on Saturday night I try to me the early morning “no frills” Mass with no music.

Not having music gives me a chance to think and to concentrate without being distracted. I’d rather think about my relationship with God and worship my own way than sing a hymn with others.
 
I had a pastor for many years, a monsignor, who was nearing retirement and had been a priest for a long time. He was a great priest pastorally and gave great sermons. One I remember started with the statement, “I hardly remember any of the homilies I heard at Mass growing up, but I remember every one of the hymns.” Then he repeated that sentence for effect. He used that thought as a central point to talk about the tremendous power of Church music, all kinds of Church music.

I feel bad for people who don’t like Church music. They are missing out. More importantly though, they are making the Mass all about them. Music draws a lot of the congregation in and deepens their experience. The haters should at least tolerate it for the sake of their fellow Catholics. It’s not like any of us don’t have a problem with something at any given Mass. But it is the Mass! It’s what we do. You get the Eucharist there, no matter what the choir is singing.
 
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jfz178 said:
I feel bad for people who don’t like Church music. They are missing out. More importantly though, they are making the Mass all about them.
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:roll_eyes:

First of all, a person expressing a preference with which you don’t agree isn’t “making it all about them”. They’re expressing a preference with which you don’t agree. Quit making it into some terrible thing. It’s this sort of attitude, “my way is the right way and your way is wrong” that I see all through CAF and it is not productive either for the forum or the Church.

Second of all, I had music lessons and band for 12 years and I played in the high school Mass guitar group and I like many different styles of Church music.
I also sometimes like a “silent” Mass. Especially at 7 am when I am barely awake and am just trying to pray and receive Communion before I have to rush off to work or other responsibilities. I am not ready to start belting out hymns at that hour, and I may not even be ready to listen to a piece of music.

Plus it is one valid way to experience the Mass, same as having a wonderful choir singing hymns and doing solos is a different and still valid experience, and having a guitar group playing with people singing along and clapping is yet another and still valid experience, and having monks doing Gregorian chant is still another experience. We do not need to have Mass the exact same way all the time. And having a wonderful choir or very well trained chanters means that the people in the pews usually can’t sing along, which would likely make some people feel excluded; other people might feel happy just listening or relieved that they weren’t expected to try to sing.

If the Vatican felt that music was essential for the Mass to not be “all about someone” in the pew, then the Vatican would require music at every Mass. It does not. Bishops do not. A silent Mass is fine. They obviously are not all going to be silent; why not give people an option who want this? I have found some of the silent Masses I’ve attended to be very moving experiences.
 
That the Church herself allows for differing degrees of solemnity validates what you are saying. I love Gregorian chant, sing in a schola in fact. But there are times when quiet is very welcomed. I remember when I worked in the big city, I would leave home at 5 am in order to be certain to make the 7 am Mass at St. Joseph’s Oratory.

In winter, I would walk into the crypt church in darkness around 6:30 am. I’d quietly read the Office of Readings from my breviary, and if I had time, pray over the tomb of St. André Bessette.

Then I’d participate in the spoken Mass where only the Alleluia was sung. Then I’d walk out into the crisp, cold air, the sun would be coming up, and a waking city was at my feet (the Oratory is near the summit of Mount Royal, in Montreal). I felt recharged by a quiet communion with God. The same folks there every time, the “regulars”. I truly miss the experience.

I don’t think anyone here is saying all Masses should be without music. Some people are simply expressing a preference to have quiet Masses at least some of the time. Personally, I’ll take a quiet Mass over one with a rock/pop style band making the music.
 
Thank you for your comments. I wish to point out to you, however, that merely because I prefer a Mass without the musical accompaniment does not mean that I am a ‘music hater’ (as you put it). In fact, I love music! I delight in all kinds of good music - from Bach and Handel to Chopin and Rachmaninov, and from Ella Fitzgerald to Jethro Tull. I also enjoy many kinds of indigenous folk music that you have probably never even heard of. What I do not delight in, though, is being forced to tolerate a the same hymns over and over week after week being blasted into my ears at twice the required volume when I am trying to participate in a joyful celebration of the Lord’s Last Supper. Moreover, I wonder if you yourself would be so eager to ‘tolerate’ the music if it happened to resemble high opera, or perhaps disco or heavy metal or rap?? Please think about that before calling someone a ‘music hater’. CK
 
I’d like to mention that Sunday is not the Sabbath, but the Lord’s Day.
We do not celebrate the Sabbath, but observe a similar thing in the Lord’s Day, a celebration of the Resurrection of our God.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
First of all, a person expressing a preference with which you don’t agree isn’t “making it all about them”.
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Yes, he is. I was not pushing back because he has different musical preferences. I was pushing back because he is saying that the Mass should be customized for a very few at the expense of the many. A Mass is still a Mass. And “cringing” at good, spiritual, music is unnatural. Now if the music is not good, that’s something else.
 
OK, I thought about it. You are still a “liturgical music hater,” because you hate liturgical music, which is music at Mass.

And “cringing” at good, spiritual, music is unnatural. Now if the music is not good, that’s something else.
 
The word “hater” is so inappropriate here. Also, the word “unnatural.”

The music is very often not good. That’s the OP’s point.

So, think of something helpful to say to the poster.
 
I doubt if you truly know how many or how few people actually feel as I do about having music forced upon them during Mass - I certainly don’t as I haven’t had the benefit of conducting a survey. I suppose that this is as close as I’ve come to doing so. And as for cringing at having to listen to the same hymns over and over again each Sunday being ‘unnatural’ - well, I would beg to disagree with you. I think it unnatural if someone actually did enjoy the endless repetition … especially if he/she didn’t particularly like them to begin with. Does it make someone a ‘worse Christian’ if he/she prefers to hear Gregorian Chant rather than these hymns? Or, for that matter, if someone prefers to pray in silence? Incidentally - the quality of music performed in our Church is NOT good.
 
In our parish we have weekday mass (usually) and Sunday mass. No Saturday mass. My preference is for the weekday mass with no music, except the 2 or 3 things we do without accompaniment. I bet money the domination of Sunday mass by the organist (music director) would be broken,

if her and all her little helpers would be required to be in back of the church or behind a screen or curtain.
 
Thank you for having brought the meaning of ‘Sabbath’ to my attention. According to most contemporary dictionaries, the definition includes not only the Jewish observance of the Day of the Lord, but also the Christian observance of the same - which is, of course, Sunday, and has been extended to begin at sunset on Saturdays as well.
 
jfz178 said:
OK, I thought about it. You are still a “liturgical music hater,” because you hate liturgical music, which is music at Mass.
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No, you are wrong. The “hate” is entirely in your imagination.
 
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