Using a Catholic church as a venue for a Christmas concert

[FrDavid96]

I appreciate all of the personal anecdotes, but does anyone know if there is any formal Church legislation or authoritative precedent on this matter (i.e., from the Vatican)?

Using a Catholic church for anything other than liturgy, worship, or something similar (like catechesis) strikes me as illicit or at least as a sign of poor judgment.

A concert, even if it is authentic to the Christmas message, is ultimately just that – a concert, a performance.

Lepanto,
Here’s my take on it. Since you qualified the concert as specifically religious Christmas music, there’s realy nothing wrong with it. The documents we’ve had quoted here all say that the use of the Church must be in keeping with the dignity of the place, and must be to promote the Christian message (my own paraphrase of course). Singing hymns/songs about the birth of Christ certainly meets that criteria. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it would be a very good thing because in the secular world, we hear so much “Christmas music” that has nothing to do with the birth of Christ, that having a concert about the true meaning of Christmas serves to reinforce the idea that we need to get away from the secular meaning and back to the spiritual.

Perhaps it is “just a performance.” But consider also what is the purpose of that performance? If the music truly brings people closer to Christ, is this not a good thing indeed? I’m not talking about merely getting people in the door, but about music which genuinely speaks the message of Christmas.

 

[Clairdelune_89]

I keep seeing people post things like “if the Blessed Sacrament is removed, it would be okay to have a concert in the Church”

Why would a concert take more importance than the Body and Blood of Christ? Can we really just shove the Blessed Sacrament out of It’s place in the Church in order to have a Concert?
I’m just wondering, since I’ve only been Catholic for a year and a half.

God Bless,

Hilary

 

[Sarabande]

We have concerts at our Cathedral, but they have been concerts of religious and sacred music. Some Catholic churches in the area have rules to only permit concerts using sacred and religious music. They also sometimes do not permit charging admission, although some will allow donations. Other parishes in my city permit the use of the church for early music and baroque music concerts which is fairly popular in my area as there are a number of ensembles around here. They all charge admission. I’m not sure how it works out, but I believe the ensembles pay the churches a sum of money for the use of the building.

That said, I will say at every concert I have ever attended in a church, Catholic or not - and I’ve attended and performed for a lot since most concerts in these churches are classical music concerts - the audience is always respectful. For the sacred and religious concerts in these churches, the atmosphere is even more reverent. Many times you’ll see the “performers” genuflect before the Blessed Sacrament or reverence the altar. The audience members are usually coming to be spiritually inspired and many will come early to pray before the concert.

And as Agapewolf mentioned, I’ve found they are much more respectful and reverent than what I’ve seen at wedding masses.

 

[Apryl]

I keep seeing people post things like “if the Blessed Sacrament is removed, it would be okay to have a concert in the Church”

Why would a concert take more importance than the Body and Blood of Christ? Can we really just shove the Blessed Sacrament out of It’s place in the Church in order to have a Concert?
I’m just wondering, since I’ve only been Catholic for a year and a half.

Respectfully removing the Blessed Sacrament is no way a show of greater importance to the concert. It’s a sign of reverence for Christ’s Body and Blood.

But if we want to use the building for things other than mass, we should properly store the Sacrament.

 

[Cat]

I don’t understand.

If it is disrepectful or irreverent to present a concert (presumably a concert of sacred music) in the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, then isn’t it also disrespectful and irreverent to present a concert in the Presence of Jesus Omnipresent (i.e., Jesus not in the Blessed Sacrament, but simply present as He is in our homes, workplaces, nature, etc.)?

Why must we remove Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament during a concert? Does this mean that Jesus is not present at all during the concert? Of course not, since God is omnipresent. I don’t get this. He will hear the concert whether or not He is Present in the Blessed Sacrament.

A few weeks ago, I accompanied the parish school (about 365 students, from K-8th grade, performing about 18 Christmas songs, all sacred) in the Church, and I LOVED knowing that Jesus was Truly Present! In the past, when I was Protestant, I would often sit a chair out and tell my children’s choirs that JESUS was in that chair watching them at the concert. Now I don’t have to do that–He’s REALLY there! It was humbling.

It seems to me that if Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament must be removed for the actual concert, then He should certainly be removed during the rehearsals, including rehearsals between the instrumentalist and musicians/choir/cantor. But I’ve never seen Him removed. In fact, I love practicing piano (sacred music) in the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

And does Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament have to be removed if a repairman is in the Church fixing (e.g.) the sound system, or if the cleaning crew is vacuuming? Or if someone is in the Church searching for missing hat or glove? Are there specified guidelines?

We have a 24-hour Adoration Chapel at our church, and it is right next to the playground which is open from dawn until dusk, and open to the neighborhood children as well. Also, a lot of kids from the neighborhood use the church parking lot for biking, skating, and just running around. This means that while we are adoring the Lord in the Adoration Chapel, we almost always hear the noise of the children outside. Is this wrong? Should the Adoration Chapel have been built elsewhere in a “silent” area of the campus? (There really isn’t one, since the church is on one of the busiest streets in our city.) Or should the playground be closed?

??

Please explain. It seems that the document that Phemie posted is pretty liberal about use of the Church and that Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is much more tolerant of us humans and our human activities than we are.

 

[Clairdelune_89]

Respectfully removing the Blessed Sacrament is no way a show of greater importance to the concert. It’s a sign of reverence for Christ’s Body and Blood.

But if we want to use the building for things other than mass, we should properly store the Sacrament.

Thanks for the answer
I’m still learning all the time

 

[Lepanto]

I don’t understand.

If it is disrepectful or irreverent to present a concert (presumably a concert of sacred music) in the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, then isn’t it also disrespectful and irreverent to present a concert in the Presence of Jesus Omnipresent (i.e., Jesus not in the Blessed Sacrament, but simply present as He is in our homes, workplaces, nature, etc.)?

Yes. Jesus is certainly omnipresent in me, in you, in nature, in scripture, everywhere. But from metaphysics and Catholic doctrine, we know that Jesus is substantially (i.e., “in substance”) present only in the Eucharist. That’s the big difference.

 

[benedictgal]

Yes. Jesus is certainly omnipresent in me, in you, in nature, in scripture, everywhere. But from metaphysics and Catholic doctrine, we know that Jesus is substantially (i.e., “in substance”) present only in the Eucharist. That’s the big difference.

That is quite true. When my friend and PV served as rector of the Cathedral, we had about two or three concerts. The Philharmonic Chorale and orchestra performed Handel’s Messiah. They were very respectful of the Cathedral, in fact, several of them were Catholic and wound up singing for the dedication of the Cathedral and the Red and White Masses. I believe that if there had been a fee, it was used to defray the expenses of using the Cathedral. It was also rather modest. In hindsight, we probably should not have done that. By the way, my PV is a huge stickler for obeying the Holy See. I suppose this was one small slip.

We then hosted a chamber orchestra from Mexico which performed sacred pieces and a couple of secular (classical) compositions. No money was charged for this event.

In both instances, the rector made sure that the Blessed Sacrament was removed from the Tabernacle and placed in the Blessed Sacrament chapel in the back of the Cathedral (this is where we would place the Blessed Sacrament in repose for Holy Thursday). My PV would wear his cassock, surplice, stole and humeral veil during the translation.

We also hosted a Protestant wedding (as the Cathedral is the largest church in town). The bishop gave a dispensation for it (the groom’s uncle owns the Dallas Cowboys). The rector, however, was on vacation, but knew what was going to happen. The Methodist minister was made very aware and the wedding coordinator, deacon and I stayed for the whole ceremony to make sure that everything was okay.

The deacon removed the Blessed Sacrament from the sanctuary and placed Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. After the wedding was over, the deacon (dressed in alb, stole and humeral veil–for both occasions–replaced the Blessed Sacrament back in the Tabernacle).

 

[Cat]

Yes. Jesus is certainly omnipresent in me, in you, in nature, in scripture, everywhere. But from metaphysics and Catholic doctrine, we know that Jesus is substantially (i.e., “in substance”) present only in the Eucharist. That’s the big difference.

So let me get this straight here. You are saying that we should show greater respect for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament than we should for Jesus Omnipresent?

I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. With that logic, it’s no wonder people sin and deny the Lord and have no respect for human life. We should show respect and honor for Jesus constantly, not just when we are in his Physical Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. When I leave the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament after a time of Adoration, I am even more aware of the Presence of Jesus everywhere.

 

[Phemie]

So let me get this straight here. You are saying that we should show greater respect for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament than we should for Jesus Omnipresent?

I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. With that logic, it’s no wonder people sin and deny the Lord and have no respect for human life. We should show respect and honor for Jesus constantly, not just when we are in his Physical Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. When I leave the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament after a time of Adoration, I am even more aware of the Presence of Jesus everywhere.

Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament needs a specific type of respect which he may not get due to the fact that the audience at a concert may not believe in the True Presence or even be aware of why that light is burning by the tabernacle – if they even know what the tabernacle is. Rather than have people not genuflect as they walk by or in other ways not show proper respect, I would prefer to see the Blessed Sacrament placed in another beautifully prepared space during the concert.

 

[Apryl]

I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense to me. With that logic, it’s no wonder people sin and deny the Lord and have no respect for human life. We should show respect and honor for Jesus constantly, not just when we are in his Physical Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. When I leave the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament after a time of Adoration, I am even more aware of the Presence of Jesus everywhere.

Um… Ok.

But if you asked what was the correct thing to do, it is to remove the Blessed Sacrament before holding a concert.

No one is saying that a concert is disrespectful, by the way, or is it sinful.

 

[Lepanto]

So let me get this straight here. You are saying that we should show greater respect for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament than we should for Jesus Omnipresent?

Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. To argue that the substantial Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is not meaningfully any different then the omnipresent Jesus is the ancient heresy of Pantheism.

From the Catechism, paragraph 1374:

"The mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as “the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend.” In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.” “This presence is called ‘real’ - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be ‘real’ too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present.”

 

[m134e5]

There is something very special about performing music in a church- especially sacred music. Aside from the fact that in many places, the only places with decent acoustics are old churches. Now, I’d find it scandalous if someone were singing “Santa Baby” or something like that in a church, but I don’t really have a problem with concerts in church. They are good ways to strengthen church music programs, connect the parish with the community (a good evangelization tool), and there’s also the possibility of them securing some donations for the church.

Having people in the presence of God who might not know Him can be a good thing- it can present opportunities for grace that may eventually lead to conversion. That doesn’t sound bad to me.

 

[liberalcatholic]

As long as all of the parish is aware of what is going on, and the priest has prepared the appropriate place for the orchestra and choir to play, not doing anything that would be inappropriate in a place of worship. I think music is as much of a ministry as speaking or preaching. Now, I would also assume that the music was soley focused on the holieness of Christmas and not the secular festival side, not that there is anything wrong with jingle bells, it is just usually not a song that is used in church. :harp:

 

[mizznicole]

Interesting. Our old Cathedral has a Celtic Christmas concert every year, and the admission is used for building restoration costs. This isn’t exactly licit, huh?

 

[JosieElaine]

In St. Peter’s Basilica?

With the violence , the crimes, the poverty, the wars, the abandonment of religious ethics, abortion on demand, homosexuality, stem-cell research, selling of children for sexual purposes, it seems to me that receiving Communion in the hand is a very minor issue. The Apostles , the Jews, even His ennemy touched Jesus when He was on earth, so how is this different ?
JosieElaine