Posted on 03/16/2012 7:53:04 PM PDT by marshmallow
Should Catholics sing hymns at Mass? Given the state of Catholic liturgical music, it’s a fair question. In the last century, Catholics exchanged their musical solid food for milk—usually skim and on the edge of going sour. Hymns at Mass are a recent addition to the liturgy. Hymns were used in the daily office, rotating by day or by season, but the Tridentine Mass had chants for particular days—the propers of the Mass—not hymns. Protestant congregations who were departing from medieval practice in other ways introduced hymns into the liturgy itself, and, as many Christians of all kinds acknowledge, Catholic attempts to appropriate and improve on this Protestant modification have not turned out well.
It should not surprise us, therefore, that some Catholics who want to fix church music focus on Gregorian chant and move away from hymns altogether. Others lean more favorably toward hymns, but seek to make sure that they are Catholic hymns. But there are good reasons for Catholics to sing hymns—and Protestant hymns, at that. Even as they strive for excellence in Gregorian chant and other areas of musical renewal, Catholics would do well to remember what good hymns can do and why excellence in hymn-singing should be part of the Catholic liturgical renewal.
First, good hymns offer an excellent opportunity for catechesis, which is one of the purposes of liturgy. Like the proper chants, they can help us digest the truths of God we have just received in Scripture and offer an exegesis of particular feasts themselves. Consider the Lutheran Easter hymn, “Awake, My Heart, with Gladness”:
Now I will cling forever
To Christ, my Savior true;
My Lord will leave me never,
Whate’er He passeth through.
He rends Death’s iron chain,
(Excerpt) Read more at firstthings.com ...
Oh, I love the Great Hymns. We have a new organist, Catholic Church, who plays them. They are glorious — the music, the words, the theology.
Just watchout that someone doesn’t introduce Hermns to supplement or replace the Hymns.
We have a new “band” that volunteers at the noon Mass. I can’t stand them with their drums and keyboard and guitar and ugh, tamborine. They sing non Catholic hymns, even did “He’s MY Brother” one Sunday.
During the Agnus Dei, they encourage the congregation to clap and/or wave their arms and sway back and forth. It grates on me that I was gritting my teeth by the end of Mass.
I had to quit going to that Mass for my own sake.
I know that there are many who enjoy that kind of music at Mass and as long as it is approved, I would never ask that it be stopped, but I cannot and will not go to Mass when they are playing.
I agree that some Protestant hymns are lovely and holy and as long as they do not contradict Catholic doctrine, I see no problem with them.
I also encourage my Confirmation students to sing along and pay attention to the hymns sung at Mass as the words are Scripture.
In the Methodist church, we sing some Catholic hymns such as “Beim Frühen Morgenlicht” (When Morning Gilds the Skies) and the familiar Christmas songs, “Veni, Emmanuel” (Oh Come, Emmanuel) “Adeste Fidelis” (Oh Come, All Ye Faithful), “In Dulci Jubilo” (Good Christian Men Rejoice) and “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht” (Silent Night, Holy Night).
During the Agnus Dei, they encourage the congregation to clap and/or wave their arms and sway back and forth. It grates on me that I was gritting my teeth by the end of Mass.
It seems as though the music wars in churches are being fought in most denominations, and the fans of traditional music are losing. a few years ago, a teenage girl told me about the evangelical "mega-church" that she attended. I asked her if it had an organ, and she gave me a blank stare. It turned out that she had no idea what an organ was. The music at her church consisted entirely of a guitar-driven "praise" repertoire.
marshmallow:
I think it depends, there are some great Hyms that were written by those from Protestant traditions that are no problem for Catholic Liturgy. Many of the hyms from the Anglican tradition [including those written by Wesley] are theologically in line with Catholic Doctrine and are appropriate for Litugry. Some of the hyms from the Lutheran Tradition would also be appropriate.
Modern Protestant music from the non-Liturgical Protestant traditions should not be used in Catholic Liturgy, in my view.
marshmallow:
I think it depends, there are some great Hyms that were written by those from Protestant traditions that are no problem for Catholic Liturgy. Many of the hyms from the Anglican tradition [including those written by Wesley] are theologically in line with Catholic Doctrine and are appropriate for Litugry. Some of the hyms from the Lutheran Tradition would also be appropriate.
Modern Protestant music from the non-Liturgical Protestant traditions should not be used in Catholic Liturgy, in my view.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.
Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!
**theologically in line with Catholic Doctrine and are appropriate for Litugry**
Hitting the nail on the head. There are some hymns that I absolutely will NOT sing, because they do not reflect Catholic doctrine. For example, “Amazing Grace”
Just curious, where does Amazing Grace divert from Catholic doctrine?
This article was pretty thoroughly savaged today on the ChantCafe blog because of this line. The author evidently does not know that the Mass of Paul VI has "chants for particular days - the propers of the Mass," too. In fact (if you want to sing them in Latin), they are some of the same chants as in the Tridentine Mass (but not always on the same day). There are also some nice English chant settings of the propers.
Really, we should not be singing hymns -- Catholic, Protestant, or Buddhist -- in the Mass unless we're singing them in addition to the propers. The propers are part of the Missal and are prescribed for that particular liturgical day. The Paul VI GIRM unfortunately made the mistake of permitting alius cantus aptus ("other appropriate song") with the result that 98% of parishes never hear the propers anymore.
You forgot the period after 'used'. Ever. By anyone.
I'm not Catholic, but I'm all or retaining the traditional music and losing the rock music.
I don't go to services to hear rock music. I don't find much reverence there.
/johnny
In trying to be with it, the Church adopted folk music in the wake of Vatican II in the 60’s.
Now, nearly 40 years after folk music left the popular music charts, the Church is the last bastian for that horrible guitar and tambourine cacaphony that is folk music.
Hard to believe that the hierarchy thinks that noise helps lift the spirit and bring one closer to God.
I’ll take classic Protestant hymns (Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art) over the raw noise that pollutes the Mass today.
Wherever it is, it's a lot less heretical than some supposedly "Catholic hymns" that appear in Catholic hymnals.
The argument that I saw objecting to "Amazing Grace" seemed to mostly object to the line "How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed", assuming that it left no place for grace to be received through the sacraments, but only "the hour I first believed". But it doesn't say "I received the full plenitude of grace, the hour I first believed," but only "how precious did that grace appear".
I thought the argument was rather specious. As I say, there are far worse "hymns" foisted on the Catholic faithful.
**Really, we should not be singing hymns — Catholic, Protestant, or Buddhist — in the Mass unless we’re singing them in addition to the propers.**
Bumping that!
I can’t wait until our present choir director/music director retires and we get this. One of the three choirs is already singing chants but the current director dominates the other two choirs.
The youth choir does pretty well, but their are youth and just learning.
Thank you.
For instance we do not say God's grace is dependent upon belief, but dependent upon God alone. Others could interpret differently
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