Amy Welborn posted this last night from Crisis Magazine.
We were complaining about this over at Care and Feeding of a Catholic Choir some time ago but didn’t suggest a course of action as this author does.
The truth is that no one is happy with the state of Catholic liturgical music — least of all musicians — and the OCP is a big part of the problem. So, what can you do? Step 1 is to get rid of the liturgical planning guides and use an old Scripture index to select good hymns that have stood the test of time (if you absolutely must continue to use the OCP’s materials). Step 2 is to rein in the liturgical managers and explain to them that the Eucharist, and not music, is the reason people show up to Mass Sunday after Sunday. Step 3 is to get rid of the OCP hymnals and replace them with Adoremus or Collegeville or something from GIA (no, none of these is perfect, but they are all an oasis by comparison).
Finally, reconsider those innocuous little missalettes. These harmless-looking booklets may be the source of the trouble. Parishes can unsubscribe — accept no OCP handouts or volume discounts. There are plenty of passable missalettes and hymnals out there, and all the choral music you’ll ever need is now public domain and easily downloadable for free (www.cpdl.org).
In his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press, 2000), Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger states clearly that popular music does not belong at Mass. Indeed, it’s part of “a cult of the banal,” and “rock” plainly stands “in opposition to Christian worship.”
This is very strong language from the cardinal. And yet we know that many liturgy teams in American parishes will continue to do what they’ve been doing for decades — systematically reconstructing the liturgy to accommodate pop aesthetic sensibilities. The liturgy is treated not as something sublimely different but as a well-organized social hour revolving around religious themes.
It’s up to you to decide the future course of your parish’s liturgy: reverent worship or hootenanny. Despite what the OCP might tell you, you can’t have both.
The emphasis above is mine, of course. Where did we fall away from the Truth that the Mass is the celebration of the perpetual sacrifice of our Lord? It is His prayer to the Father. It is the perpetual sacrifice that redeems us and makes us holy. I have always thought that calls for reverance and not hootenanny. Oh, and I’m not sure if any of you noticed but the short intro to the OCP “Celtic Alleluia” sounds like someone falling down a short flight of stairs.
Haven’t been able to find it!