"Well I can mash potato (I can mash potato)
Well I can do the twist (and I can do the twist)
Woh tell me baby (tell me baby)
Do you like it like this (do you like it like this)..."
Posted on 06/26/2006 11:48:53 AM PDT by FJ290
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 husstle 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."
When our church jettisoned its hymnals, we bought a copy, so we could at least keep the older hymns alive in our own family.
I have a few old hymnals, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal - I like to find a hymn in all of them and play the different versions.
Yum. < ack >
Small world, spent a few months at Maxwell AFB for SOS back in '88. We go to St. Patrick's in California. Close to March AFB.
-ccm
Good analogy...But were the Hell's Angels providing security for Mozart that day too?
Catholic, as in religion, is capitalized...Catholic.
That too! Does your church's screen at least show music? My sister's didn't. For all I knew, we could be singing to the tune of "99 Red Balloons."
And bring a covered dish to the potluck, you betcha.
Geez, I've been listening too much to that old fool Garrison Keillor.
-ccm
I went to a Lutheran wedding once and it was very much like a Catholic Mass.
For the most part minor denominational theological differences. If they follow the precepts I outlined above about what a church is, then your church is no different than mine. We may disagree about denominational issues but that's not going to stop either one of us from getting into Heaven
When it comes to someone who has no regard for Church authority, it's a shake the dust off your sandals thing.
I have 100 percent regard for a church's authority. The current Pope is sort of like Billy Graham, or Charles Spurgeon, or John Wesley, or Charles Stanley, or fill in the blank of your favorite pastor. Just another minister of God. He tells the church he leads what to do or how to act, others tell the churches they lead what to do or how to act.
No complaints here :~)
Interestingly, we've heard of a "revival" of sorts of the older hymns. One church we know of has separate worship gatherings at the same time on Sunday, with the main auditorium engaged in "contemporary" worship, and the fellowship hall engaged in traditional worship with hymns, and then the sermon is piped into the fellowship hall via TV monitors. What the church is finding is that many younger members are gravitating to the traditional worship. They may have to swap locations soon -- the traditional service in the main auditorium.
Traditional Catholic liturgy is God-centered. Deriving personal enjoyment is not part of the equation. The Mass is not about you.
Once the "feel good" factor enters in, and the liturgy is stripped of the sacred, the battle is already lost. As history has shown. Every dipsy, frivolous gimmick has been tried with the liturgy. Still, they won't come. On the contrary. They've left in droves.
Christopher Walker
I think this is the one (of many Christopher Walkers):
"Well I can mash potato (I can mash potato)
Well I can do the twist (and I can do the twist)
Woh tell me baby (tell me baby)
Do you like it like this (do you like it like this)..."
At my workplace we have a First Christian (Disciples of Christ) church across the street from us. Unfortunately, I think that denomination is a little bit on the lib side, but they do play traditional hymns over their steeple's sound system where I can hear it in my office. It's quite nice.
I remember that I was nearly distraught when my church (Southern Baptist) quit using the hymnal and less traditional music. There is some contemporary I like, but some music is just timeless.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.