The Latin phrase Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, meaning the law of prayer is the law of belief has been central to a Catholic understanding of worship since the very beginning. How you worship is meant to convey what you believe. For example, as Catholics, we believe that Jesus Christ the Son of God is really and truly present in the Eucharist. We express our belief in this reality through our posture at mass, especially our posture immediately before and after receiving the Eucharist. Some Catholics kneel to receive the Eucharist on the tongue as a sign of humility and receptivity to Christ who is coming into their souls. Taking some time after receiving the Eucharist to kneel before God and offer thanksgiving for the great gift we have just received is another way to express our belief in the Real Presence. These are just a couple examples of how the way we worship is meant to express our beliefs. What happens when the way we worship does not convey what we believe?
I do not have a complete answer to this question because it is a very large question, but what I would like to do is focus on how liturgical music can change affect our experience of the liturgy. We all know that music has a powerful way of touching our souls. Movies and plays use music to make the audience experience a specific emotion or to convey, in a deeper and more moving way, what is happening, to get the audience to feel what the characters are feeling. The same applies to liturgical music. The music at Mass is meant to help people to worship God, to step away from the world and focus our minds and hearts on worshiping God. Liturgical music should never be a distraction because then it loses its purpose. It is important to realize that certain types of music and instruments are more prone to be distracting and are not appropriate for Mass because they take away from the worship of God.
I recently attended a mass where the music was a huge distraction and almost an insult to what we as Catholics believe. At this particular mass there was a children’s choir filled with the beautiful voices of young children. However, these voices were drown out by the instrumental section of the choir who felt the need to use electric guitars, drums and amplifiers to lead the children’s choir. The electric guitar player was probably the most distracting and disrespectful because of his need to insert a solo into nearly every song thus making himself the center of attention instead of God. It felt to me like I was at a really bad rock concert put on by people who thought they were rock stars in their youth, but it never amounted to anything and now the only audience they have is at weekly Mass so they try and put on a show for everyone who comes to mass. Its like Sunday mass is nothing more then a gig to them, a way for them to relive their youth.
Musicians at Mass have a very special role as they are responsible for helping the congregation to turn their minds and hearts towards God. This role needs to be taken seriously and if musicians do not use their instruments and voices in a respectful and appropriate manner then they should not be allowed to play and sing at Mass. Musicians must realize that certain instruments and types of music are not appropriate at Mass. Electric guitars, for example, are not appropriate at mass. Popular genres of music like rock n’ roll, rap and hip hop are not appropriate at mass. Adding a rock n‘ roll tone to worship music is profane and sacrilegious. The Mass is a Holy Sacrifice and a reminder to all of us that the Son of God died for our sins and is really present in the Eucharist and the music at Mass should reflect the sacred nature of what is occurring.
Music has the power to inspire people, to touch their very souls. Music can bring people to Mass if it is done right and can turn people away when it is done wrong. I attended a Mass in Northern Ontario where the music was so beautiful that it moved your mind and heart to God. This particular church was packed with people for Sunday mass and I have no doubt in my mind that the music at that mass was drawing people in because it was traditional and included some Latin. However, I also attended a mass that has modern music with drums and guitars and it drew people to mass also because the music was respectful and the focus was on God, not on being a rockstar. The debate between modern and traditional music at Mass is not an issue I want to discuss here, the point I am trying to make is that any music played at mass, whether its traditional or modern, needs to be respectful, and recognize the sacredness and solemnity of the Mass.
Deacon Keith Fournier from CatholicOnline reminds us that “worship is not an “add on” for a Catholic Christian. It is the foundation of Catholic identity; expressing our highest purpose. Worship reveals what we truly believe and how we view ourselves in relationship to God, one another and the world into which we are sent to carry forward the redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. How the Church worships is a prophetic witness to the truth of what it professes.” If it is true that how we worship says something about what we believe then we should ask ourselves; what do electric guitar solos and all the other musical atrocities at mass say about what we believe?
Remember, Lex Orandi, Lex Credenti!
To add credibility to my claims what follows are several quotes from Church documents regarding liturgical music. I have included links to the full documents.
From Musicam Sacram - Instruction on Music in the Liturgy:
“In permitting and using musical instruments, the culture and traditions of individual peoples must be taken into account. However, those instruments which are, by common opinion and use, suitable for secular music only, are to be altogether prohibited from every liturgical celebration and from popular devotions. [44]
Any musical instrument permitted in divine worship should be used in such a way that it meets the needs of the liturgical celebration, and is in the interests both of the beauty of worship and the edification of the faithful.” (Musicam Sacram 63)
From Sacred Music at the Service of Truth:
“The purpose of sacred music is always praise of God. The active participation of the assembly must be ordered to this end, so that the dignity of the liturgy is not compromised”
From General Audience of John Paul II Wed Feb 26, 2003
“The Christian community must make an examination of conscience so that the beauty of music and hymnody will return once again to the liturgy. They should purify worship from ugliness of style, from distasteful forms of expression, from uninspired musical texts which are not worthy of the great act that is being celebrated”
From Chirograph of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II For the Centenary of the Motu Proprio “Tra Le Sollecitudini on Sacred Music”:
“In continuity with the teachings of St. Pius X and the Second Vatican Council, it is necessary first of all to emphasize that music destined for sacred rites must have holiness as its reference point...For this very reason, ‘not all without distinction that is outside the temple (profanum) is fit to cross its threshold’, my venerable Predecessor Paul VI wisely said, commenting on a Decree of the Council of Trent. And he explained that ‘if music - instrumental and vocal - does not possess at the same time the sense of prayer, dignity and beauty, it precludes the entry into the sphere of the sacred and the religious’.
Other Key Documents Include:
- Sacrosactum Concilium - http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html
- Tra le Sollecitudini -
- http://www.adoremus.org/MotuProprio.html
I'm having a hard time separating your dislike of particular musical genre with intent of the musicians. It sounds like you didn't like one church for the musicians trying to give a rock concert experience, primarily for their own glory. Would your view of their music change if they were not trying to live out youthful fantasies, but had actually given up lucrative recording contracts in order to glorify God, not lose themselves to mainstream success?
ReplyDeleteAnother issue I have is that God is all things to all people and in every way that is good. Therefore worship of this God should take every form God inspires His children, not limited by some people's perceptions of what music should or shouldn't sound like in every church they enter. Like you said, music is very powerful in evoking certain emotions in movies,and often these soundtracks are very loud, use electronic instruments, and don't retract the audience from the movie, but add to it. Likewise, powerful instruments and modern music genre can add to a worshiper's experience of God in the right context.
Really I think the boundaries of music should be the concerns of the individual parish, not dictated by leaders of the Catholic Church. It's hard to know from the outside how music affects the smaller faith community within a given church, so to tell them they are worshiping God wrong violates their freedom to express their religion within their church.
Side note: Somehow this reminded me of an unusual Nativity scene performed somewhere in the States. It was Beach Boys-themed! Mary was a surfer-girl, and she sang "God Only Knows," and the 3 Magi were surf-bums (if I remember correctly). The minister of the church strongly supported this production, saying it made the event more personable and relevant to our times. Where do you think the line should be drawn?
My view of the musicians would change if they were legitimately trying to glorify God. Even if they gave up recording contracts to play at Mass, that type of music would not be appropriate. The nature of the Mass is such that the music, setting, postures, conversation, and everything else in the worship space needs to reflect the sacred nature of what is occurring. God, the creator of all the universe is really and truly present and so we should sing hymns of praise to Him, not play guitar solos. There is a huge difference between hymns and guitar solos.
ReplyDeleteSome forms of modern music are not good and do not give glory to God and as such are not appropriate for Mass. For example, Rock n' Roll. Rock n' Roll has a history of "sticking it to the man" or challenging all forms of authority and social convention. It has always been an expression of freedom from responsibility. This is not to say that Rock n' Roll is necessarily evil, but it is not worship music, it does not promote a sense of reverence. Even the genre of Christian Rock is not appropriate for Mass and neither are Rap and Hip Hop for the same reason, they interrupt the sacredness of what is occurring.
There will be cultural differences in the music played at Mass around the world, but I still think the Church transcends culture and can decide that certain types of music, regardless of cultural traditions, are not acceptable for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as they do not allow for the reverence and sacredness of the Mass to be maintained and they take away from the worship of God by drawing attention to the music talent of the musicians.
I guess what it comes down to is; do you think there are any types of music that are not appropriate for Mass? Should there be guidelines to which music is played at Mass? Or should it just be an anything goes type of thing?