I've had several conversations with folks lately about music in the liturgy. It is amazing how this topic see can rouse the passions of normally intelligent & level-headed people like no other. I want to make a few observations about my gleanings.
First, I have to make clear that almost everyone I've ever talked to about this was utterly sincere in their conviction. They really believe that their vision was the one that would bring people to a deeper relation with God. Just as universal, however, was their ignorance about the Roman Church's practice going back to time immemorial, how that tradition developed & why, & what the Magisterium currently teaches about music in the liturgy. To bring any of that up, however, immediately makes one a meanie-pants & the conversation quickly shuts down.
Most people begin with the reference point that a) what their current parish practice is is correct & normative, & b) that there really are no norms anyway; you can do whatever you want. You can hardly blame them - it's been an utter free-for-all for 3 generations now. So, within this background are a couple of thought streams that frequently cross; but remember, you're not supposed to cross streams! That's bad.
There is a group whose viewpoints on liturgical music combine preference ("I love electric rodeo techno-funk!") & emotion ("That song makes me feel all gwishy inside!"). Both of these are largely superficial & inadequate to the worship of God & unconnected in any meaningful way to the liturgy itself. They are imports from pop culture, & largely seek the manipulation of emotional states & rarely dive deeper than the surface. The "quality" of a person's subjective emotional response is not any sort of measure of what is appropriate or required. Many think we will bring the people in, especially the youth, if we just make the music at Mass, indeed the Church itself, more like the world. The Church, however, exists to convert the world to Jesus Christ. She needs to speak to the world in ways it can grasp to preach the Gospel, but her worship can never be of the world, because she is inherently other-worldly.
Music appropriate for worship should not at all have its origins in "what's hot now," or "what people like" or "it has a great beat & it's easy to dance to," but rather who is it we worship, who are we, & what demand does this relationship make on us. It should raise our whole being up to prayerful contemplation of the divine Mystery unfolding before us. It must prepare us for a direct encounter with God. Confusing this issue is that some of the new music is just fine outside of Mass, say at a parish dinner or at a youth concert. It should be not only obvious that secular music styles should not be admitted to the liturgy, but quite offensive to our religious sensibilities. However, you can't really have a meaningful discussion with people who want to argue at the level of preferences or subjective emotional response. As for the Church, she has stated her part as to what music is appropriate to the Holy Sacrifice (Sancrosanctum Concilium 116).
Another group are the "Do-ers," who present the real reason for this post. The maxim for these people is, "Everybody must sing everything all the time." If you're not doing something or singing something, you must not be worshiping I've talked about this before, but the short of it is, our actions at Mass are only a feeble echo of the one who truly acts in the liturgy: Jesus Christ. He is the one who is both priest & victim. He is the one who offers us union with himself & presents us to the Father. You got anything to top that? Didn't think so. Our main job is to focus on this incredible mystery long enough to receive the gift God has for us. Silence & contemplation is required. A mere multiplication of words, words, words, words, words are not helpful here. The Word is enough; what is required is music that proclaims, upholds, & sustains that Word in solemnity, beauty, & prayerful contemplation.
Our culture abhors silence. People today seem uneasy to be with their own thoughts in solitude. Perhaps that's because a quiet soul is fertile ground for God to work. Something might be asked of us in the silence of contemplation, and change is so very hard. What this means for liturgical music is that people feel hurt or cheated if the choir or cantor sings something & they are obliged to merely listen. This is often the argument against some forms of sacred music like polyphony or the more melismatic chants: that regular folks in the pews can't "participate." And since external participation has been thrust forward as the standard of liturgy, this just won't do.
However, genuine liturgical music is not just any song expressing religious sentiments that anyone can sing. It is most properly the actual texts of the liturgy that the Church gives us proclaimed in a way that ennobles it. The people's job is to be attentive to this word proclaimed, because, in reality, it is Christ himself proclaiming his Word to his people. You can say that about Incline Domine. Lord of the Dance, not so much. This goes for the readings at the Mass, too. Do people feel cheated because the don't get to recite the readings together with the reader? Our job is prayerful, expectant attentiveness. That goes for the prayers that the priest prays, and even the periods of silence in the liturgy. These are not mere pauses in the action - they are moments of contact with the divine. If we're not listening, we're not worshiping.
So the "Do-ers" have it backwards. It is the interior attunement to the divine that is true "actuosa participatio." It is receptive listening that is the most fruitful action of the faithful at Mass. Of course there is a place for singing (notably, the Ordinary of Mass, as well as appropriate hymns & chants at their respective times), but if one isn't listening - both in the the word proclaimed & in the silence, then one can't hear Christ. We wonder why we go to Mass week after week & nothing ever seems to change.
How to break through? Uh, not sure. I've had precious little success in my own efforts. It seems that much of the resistance comes from fear of the unknown, fear of rejecting the status quo, as if doing something wrong for 40 years makes it right. So, perhaps the genuine beauty of the Church's liturgical song simply has to be heard more. Maybe before Mass. Maybe at extra-Mass liturgical events. Maybe at weddings. Maybe at funerals. I do know that prayerful chant & beautiful polyphony are their own evangelists. No one has to sell you on transcendental beauty; it sells itself. But if it's never heard, then no one will know and the status quo will never change. Once known & loved, it will be ready to serve. And, I suspect, all the arguments about musical preferences, emotional highs, "what about the youth!?!," and always being busy at Mass will just melt away. The people will be busy praying & worshiping.
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