Laudate Dominum - On Liturgical Music

Since I was up really early with a cold, I switched on EWTN & found an interesting program on sacred music hosted by Fr. George W. Rutler.  His specific topic was on origins & uses of the ancient hymn we know as Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, but perhaps his larger point was to make us consider what qualities a piece of music must have for inclusion into the liturgy.

He rightly denigrates pop-based music, noting that Arius spread his heresy that Jesus was not of the same substance as the Father, but a lesser, created substance by way of hymns set to the pop tunes of the day - catchy & easy to remember.  Spread as it was throughout the world via the trade routes, it took centuries for the Arian controversy to resolve itself.  As to pop music, it is always dangerous to import the world into the sacred liturgy on theological grounds, but frequently the music just stinks.  I fully agree with him when he says there hasn't been a hymn worthy of singing at Mass in recent memory, & I'm sure he's holding back a little.

"I am prejudiced.  I am prejudiced toward the true, the good, & the beautiful." - Fr. Rutler

Consider the context: pop music comes from the world of entertainment.  Does anyone really listen ever so carefully to pop music so as to glean the deepest truths of the human soul?  Do we not rather just enjoy a passing feel-good moment?  So, to hear worldly music in the liturgy is to set the expectation that if we are not swelled up into a superficial, emotional high by the end of Mass, the liturgy isn't very good.  Mass is boring.  I don't get anything out of it.  Etc.  So frequently more & more experimentation & banality are applied to elicit the desired response.

"The less we understand what worship is, the more we will turn it into entertainment." - Fr. Rutler

He also points out that a choir should be in the loft behind the faithful, to push them forward in a musical swell toward God.  I always knew this, but could never quite express it.  It would help if the priest was also there to pull them ad orientem.  The term "Mass celebrated versus populum" makes me crack a smile.  Against the people?  Sure feels that way some times.  Fr. McJokey, you're not that funny; in fact, it really annoys & saddens me how lightly you take these sacred things.  Do you have no fear of what God will say to you in the end about having made Mass all about you instead of Christ Jesus?  Why don't you just stick to the printed text, say Mass well, & try not draw attention to yourself?  Same for you Mr. Plucky Strumalong songleader - you're not Eric Clapton & this isn't Madison Square Garden.  There really is no reason I should ever have to hear or see you, yet you pop up to the microphone every other minute with some unneeded direction or clever comment.  Let the choir sing the chants & we'll listen when we're supposed to & sing when we're supposed to as best we can.  And can you just save your personal musical interpretative project for MSG - I'm sure your invitation is in the mail.

"Music is the very atmosphere of worship." - Me

Naturally, this is a question answered long ago by the Church, but an answer to which no one seems to want to listen - bishop, priest, conductor, & people alike.  Gregorian chant is to be given primary place in the Roman liturgy.  Can anyone please let me know the last time they heard the honest-to-goodness Gregorian chant propers sung straight out of the Graduale Romanum instead of folksy hymns out of a hymnal at an Ordinary Form Mass?  Seriously, I'd like to know if the Church's directive (option #1 in the GIRM) is being obeyed anywhere.  These chants grew up with & within the Roman liturgy; they are inherently part of it.  Not singing them - or at least the propers in some form or another - is simply leaving part of the Mass out in favor of something that is not part of the Mass, but simply brought in from the outside: hymns.  Chant fosters an atmosphere of prayer & contemplation of the divine like no other music, though the best of polyphonic music comes close.

In a strange hiccup in the history of liturgical musical, the music from the period of the operatic aria now sounds quite formal & high-church, but was called out especially by St. Pope Pius X for being the bombastic & attention-seeking pop music of his times.  We have to give Mozart's music some leeway, though.  I once heard a priest say about sacred music that Bach was the greatest church musician, but only because Mozart's music was not of men but of the angels.  Is Mozart for every musical movement of every Mass?  Absolutely not.  But for a special occasion, such as the wedding video above, I can not think of anything more appropriate.  I hope you enjoy Ericka's first public offering of Mozart's Laudate Dominum.
.

Jospeh Cardinal Ratzinger - In the Beginning

A big question for me as a young person was how to understand & reconcile the Bible's account of the creation of man with the scientific account.  Over the years, I have come to peace with this issue & now cherish the profound truths found in the words of Scripture & the teaching of the Church on this matter.  But clear, concise, & orthodox writing on this subject can be scarce.  It was a great joy, then, to discover a small book by then-Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger called In The Beginning, a collection of homilies he gave in Munich some years ago, in addition to a forward & an epilogue.

I posted a series of summaries of this important work & have collected them together in this post, but you really should just read the book.

Homily 1 - Part 1 & Part 2

Homily 2 - Part 1 & Part 2

Homily 3 - Part 1 & Part 2

Homily 4 - Part 1 & Part 2

Epilogue - Part 1 & Part 2

On this question of origins, one should note the different starting points of the Church & the modern scientific culture.  The latter starts from a presupposition of skepticism, that God does not exist & that man is nothing more than a particularly bright animal with no particular meaning to his existence.  Here man demands that God be proven, that he be picked apart like a frog on a high school biology lab table.  For the Church, however, God is already known, because he has revealed to himself to man & has shown man the tremendous dignity of his being & the glory for which he is destined.  It is a presupposition of faith based on a knowledge much deeper than facts.

While the skeptical methods of science have great merit when studying the natural world, they have little application in the supernatural realm (Obviously Sts. Thomas, Bonaventure, Duns Scotus, etc. applied profound principles of reasoning to theological matters; so here I mean specifically the presupposition of skepticism, not scientific reasoning in general).  To do so is to apply the wrong tool the problem - a bad, even dangerous, result is virtually guaranteed.

So if two men approach you and one says, "Your existence is meaningless; freedom is an illusion, as everything you are or do is predetermined by molecular interaction; there is no such thing as love; there is nothing beyond this life; your destiny is darkness & silence," and the other says, "you are a beloved child of the most high Father; you are made for an eternity of unimaginable glory, if only you would choose it," to whom are you going to lend your ear?

Catholic Youth & Vocations, Part 1

.

.
Yay!  I found a work-around that seems to get troublesome videos uploaded.

So, here is Part 1 of my discussion with Diocese of Knoxville seminarian & all-around good guy, Joseph Chait.  Here he tells us about how he discerned his vocation & what life is like at seminary.

The recording volume is a little low - sorry 'bout that.
.

Catholic Youth & Vocations, Parts 2 & 3

During Thanksgiving break, I had an opportunity to talk with Joseph Chait, seminarian for the Diocese of Knoxville, about young Catholics and discerning one's vocation.  So far, Blogger refuses to upload Part 1 of the talk - will keep working on it.

.

.

.

Joseph gives some important advice: we all have a vocation to holiness, regardless of our particular calling.  Holiness is not just a special gift given to people like Mother Teresa or Pope John Paul II; it is something that every baptized & confirmed Catholic should long for, fight for, & manifest in word & deed through their love for Jesus, his Church, & therefore for all mankind.  Perhaps this focus is what we've been missing over the past several decades.

Seriously, "become a saint!"
.

Sunday Vespers

,

Here's a bit of fun!  After E.F. Mass yesterday, I asked some of the schola members to stay & sing Sunday Vespers with me.  We just sort of threw it together on the spot, but it's not too bad, hopefully, even prayerful!

Please have a listen to the other evening prayer recordings at rcvespers.blogspot.com.
.

New Vespers Project

Alright, I did something I may regret - I started a new blog site to post my evening prayer recordings:

Roman Catholic Vespers found at http://rcvespers.blogspot.com/

My intention is to post the complete 4-week Psalter as we move through it, then adapt as the liturgical seasons change.  Please go have a listen & let me know what you think & if it will be of any use.

"Become a saint!"
.

Vespers - Tuesday, Week IV

One of the reoccurring reasons I hear from people of why they don't pray/participate in the Liturgy of the Hours is that it is confusing.  Maybe, but it is a liturgy, you know.  You wouldn't expect someone who's never been to Mass before to just walk right in & know exactly what's going on & what to do.  One has to become familiar with it slowly, learning its different parts & their meanings gradually.

So, I propose an experiment: in hopes that folks will become more familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours, I will attempt to record & post a full, 4-week cycle of Evening Prayer, or Vespers.  I hope more people will  come to love this ancient form of Christian prayer as much as I do.  Even the bishops are also interested in breathing some new life into the Hours [click here].

I will try to post them on the sidebar as I get them recorded.  This is quite complicated, however, because of the various saints' days & other feasts.  Plus we're heading into the season of Advent soon, so there will be far more variations upcoming.  Ideally, I would have each day's recording posted that evening, but this will be extremely difficult, especially to add the subtexts.  Please keep in mind that there is a lot of improvisation required to sing the Hours, so my apologies for the miscues.

Let me know - either in the combox or via email - if this is useful to you or if you would like to see something different, say, just an audio recording.  Thanks & God bless.

"Become a saint!"