Cosmos-Liturgy-Sex

One of the interesting experiences in traveling about the U.S. is the opportunity to experience the Liturgy in various parts of the country. However, I have to admit that I am often on guard as to what I will experience because it is not very often that one runs across a Mass done according to the GIRM’s rubrics. Thankfully, the deviations/innovations seem to be subsiding in my experience but they still can be a challenge to deal with for some of us. The Mass at my brother’s parish was thankfully fairly devoid of deviations but I suppose by my reaction to the liturgical music some might accuse me of being something of a curmudgeon.

Except for the 70’s schooled “liturgists” who impose it upon us, very few would argue that the choice of liturgical music over the last several decades has been anything but generally dismal. It seems that my brother’s parish may have been trying to deal with the music problem but I fear that the direction they have taken is seriously flawed. It seems that many parishes, especially those who want to make the Mass more “relevant” for teens, have taken on the practice of incorporating Protestant worship songs into the Mass. This was what my brother’s parish has done. Apart from the theological problems associated with the lyrics in many of these hymns, I think that my aversion to this is along the lines of aesthetics but I do not believe it is purely personal preference. Here is why:

I happen to like much in the way of Protestant worship music and I did find the music selected aesthetically pleasing (I mean I liked it). However, good liturgical music is not a matter of personal preference. Nor is the desire to make the Mass “relevant” a valid criteria for selecting music. The GIRM provides some guidelines for music with the Mass which need to be taken into account, among these are the need for music to be sacred. While I am certainly not a music or liturgical expert, I do have a fairly good understanding the guidelines and the theology of the Mass. Here are my concerns with this type of music:

The Mass is the Sacrifice of the Cross made present in which its grace is temporally applied on the Church and all of creation. In the Mass, heaven touches earth and all present are joined together in one ineffable act of praise and thanksgiving to the Father. Since we are composites of body and soul it is necessary that our sensory experience help to reinforce the transcendence of the Mass. When the GIRM mentions the requirement that the music be sacred, this theology is what it presupposes. The music must not only allow us to experience the transcendence of the Mass it must also allow us to be actively silent and composed (for a very helpful discussion of this I would strongly recommend Romano Guardini’s, Meditations Before Mass). The ’70s type of music lacks the capacity to manifest the transcendence of the Mass, in my opinion. Protestant worship music is much the same. Even more so, the latter can be so energizing that one cannot bring oneself to silence, be composed, or be fully focused on what is happening and on our complete agreement with and submission to our active part in this re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Calvary.

If we really want to make the Mass relevant to Catholics, I believe that the movement must be more on the part of the faithful toward an understanding and appreciation of the Mass and their participation in it than an ill advised adoption of otherwise, pleasant, but liturgically inappropriate music in service to the Mass. I agree with the desire of those who recognize the need for changes in the music but I believe that the direction needs to be more cognizant of the authentic theology of the liturgy.