Good priests are ignoring the requests of the Holy Father

I know of quite a few priests who do this routinely. In this equation the Bishops must also stand up to be counted although, in this instance, the power to obey the Pope lies firmly within the hands of the Parish Priest.

Back in 2006 the Holy Father made a statement concerning the secular music forms being presented at Masses around the world today.

He asked that full attention be given to abiding by the strictures of Vatican II that strongly stated that traditional plainchant and the organ should be the main base of church music.

Why, then is Pope Benedict's more than reasonable request being ignored?

I can only make a guess as to why and that is, the power of the parish council or, if there is a nun in charge of church liturgy, then, almost certainly, she will be the root cause.

The issue of church music is a touchy one. Some years ago when I attended the NO Mass I was asked to write a short piece for the parish mag.
I thoughtfully wrote a few hundred words that carried the heading "Heavy Metal or Choirs of Angels?"

It was a sensitive piece in my usual style (?) but it was promptly consigned to the round file never to appear again.

Parishioners want to be the arbiter as to what takes place musically at Mass and all too often the PP is afraid to stick his head over the parapet and say "No."

You may write your own caption to this one!

Yet the Holy Father has quite clearly said that he wants an end to guitar Masses and to modern 'unliturgical' music, while being fully in favour of modern music in church provided that it reflects the purpose of its use.




Here is the report from 2006 as it appeared in The Daily Telegraph..........

Silence modern music in church, says Pope

By Malcolm Moore in Rome

12:01AM BST 27 Jun 2006

The Pope has demanded an end to electric guitars and modern music in church and a return to traditional choirs.

The Catholic Church has been experimenting with new ways of holding Mass to try to attract more people. The recital of Mass set to guitars has grown in popularity in Italy; in Spain it has been set to flamenco music; and in the United States the Electric Prunes produced a "psychedelic" album called Mass in F Minor.

However, the use of guitars and tambourines has irritated the Pope, who loves classical music. "It is possible to modernise holy music," the Pope said, at a concert conducted by Domenico Bartolucci the director of music at the Sistine Chapel. "But it should not happen outside the traditional path of Gregorian chants or sacred polyphonic choral music."

His comments prompted the newspaper La Stampa to compare him with Pope Pius X, who denounced faddish classical and baroque compositions and reinstated Gregorian chants in 1903.

The Pope's supporters argue that the music played during Mass is a vital part of the communion between worshippers and God, and that medieval church music, with the liturgy, creates the correct ambience for perceiving God's mystery.

ends/.................

So just what part of "Don't do it" do parish priests not understand?

Guitar or Plainchant?....Guitar or Plainchant?......

Ummm.....Guitar?................



......or.......Plainchant?..............



                      Guitar or Plainchant?......Plainchant of course!

Dedicated to some good friends in Newcastle Emlyn - in the absence of a Sunday Mass today - chiz!

It's a definite 'No' to guitars, Tibetan nose flutes and tambourines

I have touched a few times recently on the abomination of folk Masses, the use of guitars and extraneous musical instruments that have crawled into our liturgy over the past 50 years. It has drawn a few comments, some in support of "the music of the street".

The guitar - in its right environment!

My first point has to be; why, oh why, when we have the plaintive Gregorian chant that is so hauntingly beautiful and reverent with its roots in the sung prayer of  Jewish priests at the time of Christ and long before - why do we need guitars, electric or otherwise?

Fans of folk music will say "But it is all a question of taste and we are just as within our rights to choose as you are"
Not so.

What folk (and folk musicians) tend to ignore are the various comments from Rome on the matter.
Here are a few extracts from the Fisheaters site:-

Folk music and pop music are not appropriate for the liturgy, as the Vat. II document on Divine Service makes clear:

The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action, as laid down in Art. 30. (Sacrosanctum Concilium, nr. 116)

Before you strummers get too excited by the words "...other kinds of sacred music....are by no means excluded" - let me pour some cold water over your electric guitars.
The music that is produced from guitars, recorders, tambourines and so on is definitely not classified as holy and sacred - read on -

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: indeed, “sacred music increases in holiness to the degree that it is intimately linked with liturgical action.” 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.” Today, moreover, the meaning of the category “sacred music” has been broadened to include repertoires that cannot be part of the celebration without violating the spirit and norms of the Liturgy itself. (Chirograph of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II for the Centenary of the Motu Propio, 4)

Do guitar recitals and modern, happy clappy hymns possess a sense of prayer, dignity and beauty?

'Fraid not - it's back to the Gregorian from now on - you see,
 The times they are a changing!

.....and even more on the subject.....

Posted on 26 June 2006
Vatican City, 26 June (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI has called for traditional sacred music to be played during mass, condemning the ongoing custom of contemporary music at religious celebrations. "Updating sacred music is possible, but this cannot happen unless it follows the tradition of Gregorian chants or sacred polyphony," the pontiff said on Sunday on the sidelines of a concert in the Sistine Chapel. A skilled pianist with a predilection for Bach and Mozart, Benedict XVI spoke against a custom reportedly appreciated by his more informal predecessor John Paul II, who worked very hard throughout his papacy to make the Church more appealing to the younger generations.
In an interview published in Turin-daily La Stampa on Monday, the former Archbishop of Ravenna, veteran Cardinal Ersilio Tonini also condemned the practice saying that "Benedict XVI is right, mass is a meeting with God and to meet God sacred music is better than the turmoil of electric guitars, hand clapping and the hustle and bustle of disorderly sounds."
Tonini said that 40 years ago after the Second Vatican Council "making Mass more popular and inviting could be understood." However, the cardinal added, "we exaggerated and now I believe it is legitimate to consider as over this season of breaks with tradition."

Need I say More?