doesn't any hymn/song/ditty which is sung in praise of Our Lord have a value, albeit an irritating one?The Church has often spoken of "sacred music" as having a particular character. It is difficult to define this precisely, but Pope Benedict (following many of his predecessors) has specified that Gregorian chant and polyphony are particularly worthy for the liturgy. The problem today is that the Church has said that a "suitable hymn" can replace the introit, the offertory antiphon and the communion antiphon. The result is that we have Mass interspersed with hymns that have nothing to do with the liturgical texts. It is relatively rare for the texts of the Mass to be sung either in English or in Latin. The bishops are supposed to approve a list of "suitable hymns" but well over 30 years on, there is no sign of such a list.
Popular devotional hymns were sometimes sung at Low Mass during the Offertory and after Communion. There was always some dispute about the suitability of doing so; Martin Mosebach criticised the practice in his book "The Heresy of Formlessness". The popular hymns (such as those of Faber, for example) were written for devotional services, not Mass.
One of the things that helped to kill off these devotional services was Evening Mass. If a parish had all its Masses in the morning, it was quite reasonable to have a devotional service, or Benediction, or Vespers (or Compline) in the evening. Now it is Mass with everything and everything with Mass.
If people really like "I watch the sunrise", perhaps we should arrange 1970s devotions. We could sing "Colours of Day" and "Walk with me O my Lord" as well, wear U-necked tank tops, long hair and flared trousers. The advantage would be that nobody would have to go in order to fulfil the precept of attending Sunday Mass.
It is also important to say that not every hymn "in praise of Our Lord" has value. "I watch the sunrise" is not heretical but some hymns written in recent years are. ("I am with you in this bread and wine", "he comes to me in sharing bread and wine" etc.) It is worth remembering that the arch heretic Arius spread his false doctrine by popular hymns.
43 comments:
It is worth remembering that the arch heretic Arius spread his false doctrine by popular hymns
...and was aided and abetted by trendy "nuns"!
i see what you mean now. Ma Beck gave a list of 'hertical' modern 70s 80s 'hymns?'. i didn't know some of them were written by gay or ex priests or those living with their boyfriends etc etc...
the 'i watch the sunrise' is a bit of an 'emotional' ditty really going well with guitars etc.
At the Low Sunday Mass i attend with my family..we have a bit of organ playing prior to Mass & at the end. It very clearly prevents a lot of talking before & after! We have NO hymns in the Mass or music/singing at all..so that rules out any problems. i find it a prayerful, quieter Mass than the previous High Mass.
With devotions every evening in May we had 2 carefully chosen hymns, & the same for Friday Benediction in June.
Vespers of course is in a class of its own & whilst i'm not competent to join in with the plainchant i do love to sit & pray.
In the Primary school there's an occasional use of the hymns mentioned..i don't think i've seen Fr Guy join in yet..but i do.
It's all very confusing isn't it?
There are many songs that praise the Lord which should NEVER be used in Church - many U2 songs fit this category. "40" is a beautiful song, whose lyrics are Psalm 40, but it certainly doesn't belong in church.
Nor does "My Sweet Lord", "Morning Has Broken", or "You Light Up My Life", all songs about God or His creation.
P.S.
I can think of a place for 1970s hymns.
To be fair, your anonymous poster continued:
"I have no axe to grind, I don't actually know the hymn"
It's only by knowing it that you can really summon up the forces of righteous wrath. And just in case your blood pressure is too low: "Colours of Day"!
Steady on there!
In any parish I've been in, saying you don't like "Colours of Day" gets the sort of reaction you'd probably also get if you said you preferred eating children to seeing them at Mass. I get horrified looks and pathetic "but it's for the children" argument. I think it is an insult to the very real devotion children can and do have for Our Lord in the Mass.
"Walk with me oh my Lord" does have a place in my heart. Driving up and down the M6 to visit very sick relatives, singing it at top volume whilst husband accompanies with the "N-cha-cha, N-cha-chas" and "Ooompa, ooompa, ooompas", it's just fantastic for relieving the tension!
You're right though, there is no place for it in the Mass. I'm taken with the retro hymn singing evenings, I think we'd get a full church hall, but I'm not wearing flares for anyone!
I'm a bit confused by the article and responses. Can we clarify?
Are we saying that ALL hymns (modern and old) are inappropriate for Mass? The former because of heretical tendencies, the latter because they were originally written for devotional services and have been appropriated for the liturgy?
Colours of Day..oh my..& what about 'Shine Jesus Shine?' anyone remeber that?
We grew up inner city kids singing 'Soul of my Saviour' 'Praise to the Holiest' all the wonderful hymns to Our Lady & the Sacred Heart...perhaps that's why i never lapsed & feel a deep love of our faith.
But i am truly repentant as a former Head of RE at some of the 'shenanigans!' God forgive me..i should have known better.
I remark that the traditional hymns are full of praise to God and the newer centre on ourselves.
It makes me smile that when a hymn/song like "Here I am Lord" is sung and subsequently those very same people are approached for help, the answer is invariably "no" !!
SV - no, we probably couldn't put it as simply as that (hence the various points in the post.)
To summarise a little:
Old High Mass - liturgical texts were sung, not hymns.
Old Low Mass - hymns sometimes sung but dispute over whether this is a good thing
New Mass - Theory: texts of the Mass should be sung but "suitable hymns" can be substituted. Reality: any old hymns are plonked in at various points, sometimes attempting to fit in with a supposed "theme" of the Mass.
Fr Tim
would it not be unreasonable to conclude that hymns should be abandoned completely for Sunday Mass?
Where the modern Mass is at its most absurd is when you go on vacation to the Canaries and some confused Spanish priest attempts to say the Mass and translate simultaneously "bits" in English and even in appalling German. I have even heard the words of consecration translated simultaneously in a manner that was an insult to everyone. Why Latin is not used on these occassions is baffling.
Talking of insults. I would like to mention a Mass recently by our Bishop for the deaf community. I'm all for the motu proprio but Mass sung in Latin for deaf people struck me as totally absurd.
Ah yes... "the haunting melodies of Arius' folk hymns": hoti poti ouk ain - there was when He was not! At least even the heretical ditties of those days had some theological content!
I've been worried about this. The new General Instruction states that during the introit, offertory, and communion the text must be sung from the Graduale, Graduale Simplex, or a collection of psalms or canticles authorised by the bishops' conference. To date the Bishops’ Conference has not issued a collection of psalms and canticles - ie they have not approved ANY hymns for liturgical use.
This seems an odd situation. What are we to do? Unless we break the rubrics we may only sing the texts provided in the Graduale or Graduale Simplex.
Another problem with the current practice is that it creates a sort of parallel liturgy. The hymns used often bare little relation to the liturgical action taking place. At best they mirror the “theme” of the day’s Mass (although to suppose that the Church’s sacred liturgy can be understood in terms of a “theme” seems rather naive). If we are to take the Holy Father’s call to enter into the spirit of the liturgy seriously, we need to address this crucial issue.
I always think that the best way to explain this to people is to point out that, following the rule of St. Pius X, Gregorian chant and polyphony are the supreme models of sacred music. The more a new composition takes its inspiration from these, the more fitting it is for worship, and the less it takes its inspiration from these, the less fitting it is for worship.
Pope John Paul II reiterated this rule in his chirograph on sacred music, which marked the centenary of St. Pius X's motu proprio on the same subject.
Meanwhile our diocesan liturgical committee promotes 'Haagen-Daz Ice Cream' music, and a 'Training Day for Priests' encourages all the nonsense spouted by Cardinal Mahony.
Much more encouraging is the course being promoted by the Latin Mass Society this autumn in Oxford.
Rita you are so right, lol! But I don't know why 'folk' Masses are supposed to be popular with kids, ours don't like them and rigidly stand to attention or put their hands in their pockets at the merest suggestion of clapping along(I hate clapping too).
Shine jesus Shine brings me out in a rash, and it was sung *shudder* a couple of weeks ago at my daughter's Confirmation, then last weekend at a wedding (but that was C of E!). There's no escaping the beeping thing.
I have to confess to being allergic to most hymns, even the dirgy 19th C ones, although God of Mercy and Compassion has a certain je ne sais quoi, so go to the Saturday 6 pm Mass where there are none. It's bliss.
Oh, and I know this is really controversial, but couldn't there be an edict from on high about people in choirs actually being able to sing, or at least carry a tune? I know it's a bit reactionary and elitist, and may offend some, but there's not much worse than being forced to listen to a dreadful choir, especially at major feasts where there is no escape...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arian_Catholicism
seems the Arians are trying to make a comeback
Hi Fr Tim
I couldn't agree with you more! The hymns as you say have little if anything to do with the Liturgy and quite frankly they seem to me to be a kind of 'fill in' just to somehow keep the folks in the pews busy with something to do while the Priest mumbles away at the altar. I find the hymns are actually a real distraction to following the Mass.
Generally the hymns are also banal in their content and to make matters worse the 'tunes' are awful.
Ah!!! Gregorian chant. My wife and I were away in Ramsgate for the weekend of Ascension 'Sunday' (now there's another rant, but I'll keep to the point). We attended Holy Mass at St Augustine's Abbey.
Just to say that the brothers sang with such great reverence you could almost 'taste' heaven.
We were at a wonderful Mass (not that every Mass isn't wonderful) in Ramsgate at St Augustines Abbey where the monks embarked on the Gregorian Chant and it was very spritually uplifting.
However I have found that some of the hymns sung during Mass are more suited to a funeral than the celebration of Mass on a Sunday. In these cases I wish we didn't have to sing during Mass. In fact I often join in these hymns as a penance.
I agree that if the hymn is heretical it should not be sung in our Catholic churches but personally I think that 'I see the sunrise' is a great hymn.
SV - on Mass for the deaf, I once suggested to our diocesan co-ordinator for people with disabilities that the traditional Roman Rite was actually less discriminatory since the Canon and other parts of the Mass are said quietly so that nobody can hear them. People can all participate in whichever way is most appropriate for them.
Hey that's a good idea Fr Tim,
re the Masses for the deaf! One of my daughters is partially deaf & hates signing during Mass & finds it most distracting. i mean we all have disabilities of one kind or another..can't we just have a 'proper' Mass & not keep trying to 'include' people. We're all included anyway.
So many are getting caught up in we must provide masses for the deaf, blind..what about the mentally ill? can i insist the Priest makes necessary adjustments...ie doesn't send me depressed or worse manic!
It's just political correctness gone mad. Don't make special arrangements for my deaf child....thankyou very much!
I am a convert from Anglicanism and must confess to an attachment to the old English hymns. Imagine my disappointment when I converted and was subjected to what passes for 'liturgical' music in the modern day Roman Catholic Church! I prefer Masses on weekdays and the early Mass on Sundays as they have little or no music, but sometimes it cannot be avoided.
Here in the States, you can hardly escape Haugen and Haas and their dreadfully poppish/folky Mass settings, and it makes me very sad. I would love to hear Gregorian chant and polyphony in the Mass and see the final demise of insipid modern hymns.
The best comment I ever heard of Colours Of Day was an ex seminarian who asked - "was the writer on an acid trip?"
Or his comment on God's Spirit Is In My Heart - "It sounds like Down At The Old Bull and Bush"
I also liked the guy who said in The Universe that he couldn't stand Go The Mass Is Ended with its line "the Lord is good, the Lord is kind and He loves everyone"
the guy said made God sound like the man from the AA.
These 'modern'IN THIS BREAD AND WINE etc are heretical full stop and must be BANNED. Is it any wonder I hear one young person asking her friend, 'are you going up for the bread'........Confirmation candidates no less and they up for the 'bread' and havn'nt been to Mass since Christmas and hav'nt been to Confession since they made their First Holy Communion.....WE.....ALL OF US fail our children..........God has great patience.
Can you recommend a suitable set of books for Confirmation....thanks.
Fr Tim
"Mass for the deaf" - yes, this is a fair point that the 1962 is at one level less discriminatory.
The example I was citing was a N.O. Mass said for the most part in English but with the Mass settings (including Credo III) sung in Latin.
I can assure you the result was comical as the sign language translator at the front of the Church was left baffled. The offertory was particularly stupid: the chosen choral piece inevitably lasted longer than the actions by the celebrants. Thus deaf people were treated to 2 minutes of baffling silence whilst the rest of us revelled in the beauty of the music.
It gave me an insight into the mindset of the Council Fathers and why they made the changes. It also brought home to me that we have totally missed the point of Vatican II. Absurd situations where deaf people are treated to a sung Latin Mass is surely the pastoral aggiornamento that P12 & J23 were seeking to address.
Instead, most of the changes were motivated by ideology and not pastoral realities of the one that I have just witnessed. In other words the pastoral anomalies are still with us.
The haste to restore the 1962 liturgy risks becoming another ideologically motivated initiative. The "conservatives" want pay back for all the abuse they endured as "liberals" took control of the Church. What better way to hit back at flared trouser theologians than by a young graduate from Wonersh celebrating Mass in Latin as a middle-aged parish priest, looking on, shakes his head in disapproval. The scenario is irresistable! Admit it!
Those of us with ex Anglicans as Priests have the best of both worlds - the fervour of the convert in terms of embracing traditional Catholic Hymns now hardly sung in most Catholic parishes (no modern nonsense) mixed in with the wonderful hymns now associated more with Anglican worship - "Jerusalem the Golden", "Love Divine, all loves excelling", "Ye choirs of new Jerusalem" etc
To see how "the theory" should work in practice - for the most glorious traditional hymns always appropriate to the season or feast-day mixed in with a fully sung mass (the mass ad-orientem sung in English but with the Gloria, Credo, Kyrie, Sanctus & Agnus Dei sung in Latin) I would recommend anyone vistiting the North West of England to try the 11.00am Mass at the Holy Name Church in Manchester www.holyname.co.uk Superb!
SV - I have sometimes wondered whether anyone is training to "sign" in Latin.
You are right that there is a danger of 1962 liturgy being a "payback" but I sincerely hope that it can do more than that. We need the spirit of St Francis de Sales and genuine charity, especially where the Liturgy is concerned.
Absolutely spot on, Fr Tim! The point and purpose of the liturgy is for us to conform ourselves to it's re-living of the life of Christ throughout the year. It is NOT to conform the liturgy to our own particular favourite hymns, still less if they are doctrine- and content-free ditties like "Colours of Day"! Plainchant is not all that difficult to sing, is very beautiful and there is simply no excuse for not singing it in most parishes. Chant has its origins in the Jewish Temple worship and is ancient. It is also hallowed by the Church, by popes and Councils and therefore by the Holy Spirit. Despite repeated calls by popes and Councils over the centuries (including recent popes) to preserve and extend the use of chant and polyphony we are doing the very opposite and largely ignoring both, save among more traditionally minded Catholics. It is nothing short of a disgrace and - frankly - a deliberate snub to the Holy Spirit. Hymns - vernacular and Latin - have a place but not to supplant the Latin Propers of the liturgy. Trite and fatuous ditties like "Colours of Day" have no place at all, except perhaps in a pre-school nursery.
Jamie Bogle.
Don't forget "Bind us Together" also known as The Hard-Boiled Egg hymn. Penance.
And then there's the wonderful "Walk in the Light", which we had inflicted on us at a recent confirmation - and of course everything had to be "relevant" for the kids so we got a lot of that sort of gunk, not to mention clapping every 5 minutes or so to celebrate what wonderful people we all are. The person beside me thought they were singing something about the "The Israelites" - that's how bad the kids' choir was, you couldn't actually make out what they were singing (which, come to think of it, was probably a mercy).
I cannot stand this modern "pleb" worship like In Bread we bring you and Here I am Lord. They do nothing to raise the mind and soul to heavenly things.
Fr - you are ecrtainly right about Faber's hymns. The Brothers of the Little Oratory in London use his hymns for our exercises and meditations.
Jamie has hit the nail squarely on the head! These dreadful hymns and ditties are infantile and do absolutely nothing to enhance the Sacred Liturgy. At best they are a distraction, at worst I guess you could call them 'mildly irritating'. Someone has said they will sing them as a 'penance', perhaps there's an indulgence or two attached!
The sad fact as I see it though, is that most 'catholics' these days have the equivalent religious formation of a pre-school nursery infant and hence see nothing wrong with 'colours of day, here I am, la-la-la-la-la, row your boat, kum-ba-ya', or indeed clapping hands, shaking hands, holding hands, hugging or pew-jumping.
What do you do???
Bah; I think everyone should just quieten down, or else I'll be reminded of how embarassing my Parish's songs are!
Whilst agreeing with James Bogle that Plainchant should be sung in most Parishes I do not see why this is regularly emphasised above all else. High Masses that used to keep the churches full were not simply Plainchant. Although the purity and beauty of Plainchant appeals to some, most people would hope to have regular doses of Polyphony - Palestrina etc or of popular arrangements such as Terry's Mass in C, or those of Mozart, Tallis, Victoria, Byrd, Durufle etc. There is no reason why Catholics thoughout the country should not expect a good balance of our heritage of "classical" arrangements in addition to Plainchant - not just have them confined to a few Oratories. The sad reality is that many Catholics in England & Wales who appreciate Plainchant have been driven away following the introduction of the less than satisfactory 1975 ICEL Mass Translation as well as the 1970s hymns. One of the main challenges of the Church today is how to reach and attract back those large numbers of Catholics who voted with their feet and left following the 1970s changes – how can we reach them and win them back?
Jamie - interesting post - and agreed, bar one point. If anyone makes my son sing Colours of Day at his pre-school nursery, I'll have him out of there before you can say Graham Kendrick.
(Fr T - your comboxes seem to be reaching a size Akin to those of the blogospherical great and good...)
Fr Tim,
You Brits should count yourselves lucky when it comes to church music.
In North America, not only do we have to put up with all the insipid and semi-heretical garbage from Haugen & Haas and their ilk (the Blessed Sacrament as “finest wheat and choicest wine” etc.), but also the rampant feminist wrecking of traditional hymns, which undermines their status as a safe refuge from heterodoxy, irreverence and banality. I don’t think the situation with respect to the manipulation of older hymns is quite so bad in the UK.
The unkindest cut of all, for me, is the politically correct version of the entrance hymn at my wedding, “Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven,” now universally imposed in all revised versions of North American Catholic hymnals. To give you a little flavour, here are the old and new versions of verse three:
ORIGINAL
Father-like he tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame he knows;
In his hand he gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Praise him, praise him! (x2) Widely as his mercy flows.
TRENDY NUN RESCRIPT
Father-like, God tends and spares us,
Well our feeble frame he knows;
Mother-like, God gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia! (x2) Widely as God's mercy flows.
It was a serious oversight on the part of Sister What’s-her-name and the inclusive language in the liturgy committee that “he knows” in line two survived the censor’s pen and wasn’t turned into “God knows”!
BTW, if you think this is bad, the Canadian version of “Faith of our fathers” has been similarly castrated and has a second verse which begins “Faith of our mothers…” and goes downhill thereafter…
Francis - we have trad hymns bowlderised as well. My favourite is "When wicked ones blaspheme thee" which insists on the equal right of women to be thought blasphemers. Your examples are much worse though.
I get the impression that things are more polarised in the States. Your liturgical abuses and femspeak silliness are worse than ours - but you have more places with good liturgy - even whole dioceses that push it as a matter of policy. And you have convents full of dozens of young nuns: something we don't have yet.
Fr. Tim,
Thank you for commenting on what I said about the imposition of “inclusive language” on our older hymns. I agree with you say about the polarization of the American Catholic Church.
Here in Canada – where people who mistake us for Americans can get themselves into big trouble! – Catholics are in an unfortunate position in this respect. We are exposed to the bad aspects of US Catholicism (via such influences as imported hymnbooks), but we don’t really benefit from, or emulate, the vibrant side of the American Church (as represented by things like EWTN, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Steubenville, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, etc. etc).
Canada is much more like Europe from a spiritual point of view – religion is private and people are easily embarrassed by it. American Catholics are fortunate in that, despite the liberal/conservative divide and the huge reputational damage of recent years, they live in a country where people don’t think you’re a weirdo if you’re a believer. Not that this excuses their awful hymns…
Even modern hymns haven't escaped bowdlerisation - "I am the bread of life", for instance, with some of its tortured attempts to get rid of references to "he" and "him", makes me want to go out and throttle a feminist whenever I hear it.
One of the problems with hymns during Mass is that I would bet in most parishes the person who chooses the hymns hasn't been taught how to do it - it's left to people (like me) who are willing to volunteer just to muddle along and do their best. Very occasionally I would get comments after a particular Mass like, "Actually, it's liturgically incorrect to sing that particular hymn at this time of year", but when I gave the proposed hymn numbers to the parish priest a month in advance, he never made any changes or suggestions. And from experience, I think I was unusually careful to try to ensure that hymns were appropriate to the time of year, the theme of the readings and the stage of the Mass at which they were sung. Members of the congregation, on the other hand, regularly berated me for not selecting their favourites, however inappropriate they were to the season.
Incidentally, I heard from one priest that the particular reason he hated 'Colours of day' was because a bereaved family had insisted on having it sung at a cremation - singing "So light up the fire and let the flame burn"
as the body was taken behind the curtain.
Sorry, Francis - you said North America and I though USA. Common mistake: the Scots get annoyed at being called English as well.
I can see the point about the problems in the Canadian Church.
If we don't sing hymns in Church, where will our children ever learn to sing them. The Catholic Schools full of non catholic teachers won't teach them.
I remember wonderful hymns from school days, but I have never heard them since, neither have my children, except on CDs.
Let's not lose our hymns!!!
Anon - I sympathise with your desire that children should learn our Catholic hymns. They also need to learn the joy of taking part in processions, Benediction and other devotions where hymns really come into their own.
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