Sunday, July 8, 2012

Liturgical Music

Great article HERE.

Where the proper texts sung?
Did the form of the Ordinary texts conform to rubrics?
Did Latin make any appearance?
Did the musicians perform as if on a stage and elicit applause?
Where the people or God the focus of the liturgy?
Did the style draw mainly from secular culture or sacred forms?


Additionally, there's plenty of music that is theologically weak, questionable and even erroneous.

One Bread. One Body. Gentile or Jew.

Oh wait... what am I singing??!!

I can't take the three-ring circus around the Sacred Liturgy. For those of us who know what is happening and quite literally transport ourselves to the moments in the praetorium to the Resurrection, some of the antics going on are downright asinine.

Thankfully, the next generation of priests are being trained differently. Eventually, the jesters who are desperate for attention and place themselves in the Sanctuary to hijack the Liturgy will fade into oblivion.

9 comments:

Maria said...

There is a reason I get up so early and drive 45 minutes to hear Mass said by the Dominicans. What a crucible!

Anonymous said...

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28, NASB)


Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread. (1 Cor 10:17 NASB)

Okay, okay - just bustin' on ya' Carol. ;)

Weak, sure. Questionable or erroneous because they can be taken out of proper context.

Catechist Kevin

TTC said...

Kevie,

I freely admit that I am an evangelist and not a catechist, so please correct me if I'm wrong, or clarify...

It would seem to me that the former relates to the human race. There isn't a human being ever born that is not a child of Our Triune God. For those outside of the Mystical Body of Christ, the idea is to make them disciples. Conversion.

The latter is about the Mystical Body Itself. The Catholic Church. Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. The Jews are not part of THE Body.

The song is a theological dud!

Caroline said...

Carol, I agree the song is a dud..The liturgical music at Mass combined with the weak preaching- for a while- had this x protestant eyeing the door and remembering why I left. But I can't- nor will I ever- because I love the Eucharist, the Mass and the fullness of our Catholic faith.
I'm halfway to catechist : ) and I did it because I couldn't stand the twisted nonsense that was being taught in RCIA and CCD classes.

The new generation of priests can't take the helm of the Barque of Christ fast enough..
Longing for that day. +

Anonymous said...

"The song is a theological dud!"

Agree 100%! ;)

Carol, you and Caroline's comments are spot on, I surmise.

Think of the words from "One Bread, One Body" (uh, sorry about this!):

One bread, one body,
one Lord of all,
one cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many,
throughout the earth,
we are one body in this one Lord.

1. Gentile or Jew,
servant or free,
woman or man, no more.

2. Many the gifts,
many the works,
one in the Lord of all.

3. Grain for the fields,
scattered and grown,
gathered to one, for all.

Thoughts:

To me this tune does two things (now, this is just *my* opinion - so for your readers here is where I go from catechist to armchair "theologian" and "liturgist" LOL! [dangerous thought, I know]).

1). It fosters a sort of religious indifferentism. Meaning it does not matter which "church" or "religion" you belong to - we are "one in the Lord of all" afterall.

2). From this line: "one cup of blessing which we bless." To me this focuses on the priesthood of the faithful (the royal priesthood, us) - not the ministerial priesthood (the ordained).

Sure, we offer with the priest (um, that is to say, our Divine Savior) our prayers, supplications, thanksgivings, etc..., but it is Jesus who is blessing the *chalice* (not cup! the Latin is word is "calix") not, you or me or anybody else *but* Father So-and-so who is acting In Persona Christi Capitis (In the Person of Christ, see 2 Cor 2:10, *older* versions of Sacred Scripture).

Was this your thinking, Carol?

God love you dear.

Catechist Kev (most of the time, anyway)

breathnach said...

This Sunday I was tortured by the inane homily of a visiting Columban Father at my parish. He used the 4th of July as a catapult to talk about:

1)the Citizens United SCOTUS opinion, which has polluted our politics with corporate $$$$;

2) those who are prodding us into a war with Iran;

3)unnamed "extremists" who are destroying our political discourse, (unamed, but definitely right of center types, definitely not those enlightened Occupy folks).

He also somehow worked in that Pope John XXIII was a big help during the Cuban Missal Crisis. This wonderful Pope was also friendly toward Khrushchev and admitted the Communists had a few "good ideas".

Not mentioned by this chirping sectary were: abortion, the destruction of marriage and the family, nor the threat by the current Khrushchev friendly administration towards the free exercise of religion.

He did however mention that kids had fouler mouths than sailors he had dealt with as a chaplain in the Navy many years ago. A very fine example of a 60s era cleric who has replaced Faith with "socialist justice".

breathnach said...

Cuban. missal crisis?

I meant missile...though 1962 was the beginning of a. Very grave missal crisis...

TTC said...

Freudian slip there breathnatch! It gives me the willies to think about the suffering you went through with that homily. How can you stand it?

Kev, you said it beautifully. As usual! I never even knew what the heck "the cup of blessings that we bless" was trying to convey.

My daughter had it on her list for the wedding. I didn't dissect it but simply said it's theologically limp and we needed to pick something else out or slip me a mickey before the Canon.

TTC said...

Not on your life baby!