“On the one hand, there is the music that Plato ascribes, in line with mythology, to Apollo, the god of light and reason. This is the music that draws senses into spirit and so brings man to wholeness. It does not abolish the senses, but inserts them into the unity of this creature that is man. It elevates the spirit precisely by wedding it to the senses, and it el*evates the senses by uniting them with the spirit. Thus this kind of music is an expression of man’s special place in the general structure of being.”
Excerpted from The Spirit of the Liturgy.
If your music produces a false sense of catharsis, exuberance, is high strung, highly emotional, etc., then it probably is not the kind of music you want for the liturgy. Liturgical music is temperate and serves to lift our senses, but not in a highly emotional (i.e. inebriated) manner.
This is far too subjective to be used as a guideline for liturgical music. Everyone will have a different reaction to various styles of music because of their background, culture, and upbringing.
I was raised in a Baptist church. I find Gospel music “temperate” and it definitely “lifts my senses.” I realize that many Catholics find Gospel “highly strung, highly emotional” because they were not raised the way I was.
And what exactly is “highly emotional?” I find myself emotional when Bach or Vierne or other great masters’ works are played on the organ, and I find myself in tears when certain traditional hymns are sung. Does this mean that these pieces/composers are inappropriate for Catholic liturgy?
And what exactly is a “false sense of catharsis?” If music makes you feel good, does that mean it is not appropriate for Catholic liturgy? I fear that many beautiful traditional pieces would be excluded from the Mass with this criteria.
My husband finds Bach “high strung” and “frantic.” Does this mean that Bach is inappropriate for Catholic liturgy?
These criteria are not measurable and therefore they are not appropriate guidelines for the appropriateness of Catholic liturgical music.
And pronouncing that “everyone recognizes
good music” or some variation of this is simply too simplistic in this global day and age. (This is from another post.)
If one man (or woman) were given the absolute authority by the Church to judge “yay” or “nay” on each piece of music, then the measuring stick would be the man or the woman. Perhaps this is what some Catholics wish.
But this is not the case. Even the Holy Father does not have the time or expertise to judge each and every piece of music in the world. He gives guidelines to appropriate liturgical music, but that’s all he can do. He does not “ban” specific styles, pieces, or composers, but rather, leaves that task in the hands of the territorial authorities. We should do the same–allow our leaders to do their job and select our Mass music and pray that God will give them wisdom.
And IMO, rather than cringing and groaning in our souls when music is played that is not our personal preference, we should strive our utmost to understand each piece of music that we are given at Mass, and try to figure out why the music director or priest included this piece in the Mass liturgy. Ask, “What is God trying to tell me in this piece of music?” Also, we should strive to make each piece of music, even pieces that we personally don’t like, a personal act of worship to God and work to make sure that the music glorifies Him.
I am just me whether the Priest is there or not as I have nothing to change for as he knows what really going off for me, so I don’t have to ‘hide’ anything how I am etc. What he gets is what he sees… but that going off topic somewhat.
