Some of the greatest music in history has been written for the Mass and we settle for campfire music poorly played, with little composition or musical scholarship.
Amazed to learn this. Why on earth were his hymns cycled on repeat every Sunday morning in my childhood then?? What were the bishops and priests thinking??
That would be a fun deep dive into how OCP and GIA may have cornered the market for Catholic Hymnals. Were these the only composers who could provide steady work? Were others shut out? What other factors were at play?
He worked as a music director for a parish in Minnesota, and began composing contemporary songs. He went to graduate school to get an MA in pastoral studies, and followed closely the liturgical requirements of the Mass. His music is also in hymnals for the Lutheran and Methodist churches.
Some is juvenile, but so much is simply great music of biblical verses. I don’t like opera or heavy metal rock. Variety is “the spice of life”. Using the old Methodist Hymnal or dry Chant as only music venue to me would be a mistake. But that’s my opinion from forty years in music ministry
What is so “dry” about chant? What is so boring about traditional hymnody? Why are we so obsessed with making the liturgy interesting, as if it isn’t compelling enough to begin with?? Why is the liturgy thought to be incomplete without a few folk-pop-rock-70’s songs thrown in???? We are just fine without these songs. We are better off.
I have been involved with a myriad of music types. I was 17 before first VII Mass arrived. I was First Tenor in Choir before VII. Then I continued and moved around nine different States for business. The quality of music is directly related to the skills of the music director and folks in that ministry. What I meant by dry chant is single voice. I have been involved in excellent multi part Chant and superb four part harmony hymns created over the years. Our methods in my parish of last twenty five years is best defined as eclectic. The key is to have the music support the particular Liturgy of the day and done in a quality manner to enhance the same Liturgy. I disagree that the music available today shouldn’t involve multiple types. Your opinion is we are better off without it and my opinion is that we are better with multiple music types and engagement levels of the people. So I guess our two opinions can coexist. Peace.
Chant can be quite lovely when sung single voice. That is the way the ordinary and propers are traditionally done, along with many old favorites. But I agree that having that be the only kind of music would not be as great as mixing in some polyphony and hymns.
I do disagree partly about the quality of music being related to the skills, mainly because the history of the choir I'm in. They taught themselves chant and polyphony, without any professional musicians involved. Anyone can develop those skills, with youtube and the willingness to take the time and make an effort. Most people don't.
Of course a dedicated and talented person can learn music. No question about it. But accompaniment is still important. I have never attended the main weekend Masses where there wasn’t accompaniment. Weekday or in the pre VII days of “low Mass” of course.
In my parish, that's what we did for a good chunk of Covid, since only 2 people were allowed in the choir loft. No instruments, and generally no harmony, for the main Sunday Mass (which was Low Mass, due to other restrictions). I've heard of NO parishes in the diocese that wound up with the same sort of thing. I can't imagine doing *that* without pretty dedicated singers.
It was far better than nothing. I don't know how the congregation felt when we finally came back in force, but a good chunk of the choir mentioned a substantial mood lift just from practicing again.
See, you jump right from Chant and Polyphony to rock and roll or similar. My experience being in music ministry for forty years is that there are fantastic four part harmony hymns that merge directly into the readings of the week. There are wonderful Cantor Psalm music for single voice as well. My point is that a variety is better when appropriate. I would disagree on the issue regarding Liturgy not being interesting. The entire Mass is constructed for a viewable purpose. To uplift our five senses and souls. We are reminded as an example how this week’s Easter Vigil Liturgy is specially holy, uplifting, inspiring and more. I contend it’s a balance of appropriate variety that makes most sense.
So, I have probably written this exact comment a couple of times myself, lol. I entirely agree with you. I’d even take away your qualifier and say that the great mass settings simply *are* the greatest music in history, full stop.
Howeverrrrrrr, given the contours of the current conversation I think it’s reasonable to point out that it’s not *actually* a choice between the greatest music in western history and campfire music. For most parishes, it’s more of a choice between Gregorian chant — say, the monophonic masses from the Kyriale — and campfire music. I shall explain, at far too great a length, since I am
passionate about this.
All of the truly great mass settings in the classical canon (Bach’s B Minor, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Nelson mass and mass in a time of war, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, etc) would be *well* beyond the capabilities of most parishes, as they require full orchestras and a great number of highly skilled musicians.
St. John Cantius is the only parish in the nation (of which I am aware!) which is able to use this music liturgically, and their music budget is 150k/year. It is worth every penny twice over, but this is obviously well out of reach for most parishes.
Stepping down in complexity and “greatness,” a solid, experienced choir (or small group of professionals) can handle the classic choral mass settings like Byrd, Lasso, or Palestrina. I live in a small city with a disproportionately large Catholic population and exactly once have encountered Byrd being used liturgically. It was sung by professionals at the first mass of a new priest. Our cathedral choir is probably solid enough to sing a three or four-part motet for a weekly mass (they don’t, though — sigh) but I am not aware of any local parish choir that could manage this music for a weekly mass. It would probably be possible in a major city.
Stepping down yet again in ‘greatness,’ you get to masses for two voices. Oreste Ravanello wrote several of these (there are others; he’s just the one I know best). I love Ravanello, but to be clear here, we are now well out of “the greatest music in history” range. My own parish choir sings a Ravanello mass setting during Christmas and Easter, which is why he’s so familiar to me lol. I think Ravanello would probably be within reach of most — but still not all — parish choirs to sing on a weekly basis.
And stepping down once more in complexity (though not in greatness because this is its own thing), you get to monophonic Gregorian chant. With effort I imagine that any parish with any choir at all would be able to sing everything in the Kyriale. At my parish we sing mass XIII for Sundays in Ordinary Time and mass XVII (iirc) for Sundays in Advent and Lent. Very manageable with an enthusiastic music director and choir.
So that was a novel, but all of that was to make the point that, to be fair here, we should really note that parish choirs aren’t *actually* picking between the literal greatest music ever written and campfire songs. They’re picking between the Kyriale and campfire songs.
The choice, to me, still remains clear, but it does become more comprehensible why someone else — especially someone who just really loves campfire songs — might choose differently.
I get that there are people willing to get upset over the banning of a few hymns.
Why is the bishop willing to back down over a few hymns?
It's not like this will have a huge effect on the Sacraments or the spiritual life. If a bishop must embark on a synodal process over that minor of a thing, I question his ability to make any decision at all without a lengthy synodal process. Want to assign a new priest? Definitely need a synodal process for that, he'll be preaching! Regularly! Want to apportion money from the annual appeal? Definitely need a synodal process for that, every decision will affect everyone in the diocese! Want to give teens the Sacrament of Confirmation? Definitely need a synodal process before we decide on a curriculum. Could take years to go through the material and make sure everyone likes it.
I kinda hope the bishop intends to use the synodal process to waste as much time as possible of the people who decided to object to this. So many writing assignments could be given. So many small group discussions, interspersed with Holy Hours.
The Pillar readers put him on a list of candidates for the Archbishop of Washington, DC. The rubbery spine yields to a potential promotion and clericalism.
I will admit my immediate response was one of mild consternation, tinged with dismay; why would the bishop seem to backpedal, especially when he is well within his canonical rights to promulgate such a policy? Upon reflection, I think something deeper is going on here.
Something I read in a previous The Pillar interview (about synodality, no less) has been sticking with me for a while now: the Church doesn't follow a political logic, but an ecclesial logic and a spiritual logic. According to a political logic, what the hierarchical head says goes, and we are all expected to follow that policy even as we might agitate against it. But an ecclesial logic says the bishop is the shepherd of his flock, and a spiritual logic says he is the father of his children; no shepherd or father wants discord among his flock or family. It is clear the policy has generated a significant amount of uproar, not limited to the Jefferson City diocese. Even if the louder voices (or younger, as the case may be) might seem to be "on his side", and though he does have the appropriate juridical authority to impose his will, I suspect Bp. McKnight may have decided to take a different, more winsome approach.
If you will permit a self-insert - I have very strong opinions on the appropriateness, or otherwise, of a great deal of hymns and composition styles with respect to the liturgy. I have held these opinions since I was but a brash youth, and I could not understand why a new priest wouldn't simply overhaul the entire soundscape and rip out all the awful [insert hymnal of choice] songs. As I have become possibly less brash (and certainly less youthful), I've come to understand the mundane realities of the situation - the choir director's taste, the availability of the members for practise, the difficulty in learning more complex songs - but more importantly, I've begun to appreciate a very important fact: the liturgy is not for me; or at least, not for me alone. Obviously I am meant to participate in the liturgy, and good music is meant to aid in that worship, but there is a significant proportion of folks in every parish - often the backbone of the day-to-day keeping the doors open - for whom different styles of liturgical celebration, and yes, even the songs from the [your choice of] hymnal[s], hold a profound meaning.
So why synodality? Aside from the cultural currency that phrase may (or may not) hold, the only way I came to be, frankly, less of a boor about my liturgical and hymnodal preferences was through listening to others talk about the music they liked, or the songs that brought them peace and consoled them through times of sorrow, or even simply seeing those folks (old and young) singing their heart out at Mass; worshipping with their flesh, as Cardinal Tagle said this past July. "Synodality", in the sense that people on both sides of the discourse over the Jefferson City policy are invited to walk, talk, and worship together, might just be a shorthand (or even a shortcut) for that process of charity and empathy that took me so many years to internalise. And who knows, by this time next year, maybe hearts will have softened in Bp. McKnight's diocese, as folks on all sides of the liturgical debate come together to love and serve the Lord.
No father wants discord, but a father who is willing to carry on with heterodox material because a bunch of his kids are raising a ruckus has probably lost track of who is in charge and why.
It's not like the guy was banning songs arbitrarily. He didn't ban a style of music either. It's not going to cause some huge logistical problem for any parish. He banned songs that cannot have profound meaning, because they have profound problems. As determined by the USCCB, which is hardly a traditionalist organization. He also hasn't prevented anyone from listening to them or singing them outside of Mass - he's only ensuring that people fulfilling their Sunday obligation will not be subjected to heterodox whims according to the choir director's taste. Making an uproar about it is a childish temper tantrum.
I'm not generally in favor of bishops being authoritarian. I argue in favor of a gradual, organic improvement to the liturgy and against sudden, large changes because of how harmful that can be. This isn't a big change. This sort of nonsense is exactly why the younger crowd often assumes that the only way to get good liturgy is for the older crowd to die off. And why they leave rather than wait 20-30 years for that to happen. These people will not give up even a few hymns, a few times a year, to compromise.
This is a beautiful sentiment, in principle. But as someone who has attended many different Masses at many different parishes in my diocese, I do not see people "singing their hearts out" over these mouldy oldies of the Age of Aquarius. In large part because the lyrics aren't the only problematic part -- the music itself is often too odd for meaningful congregational singing, with key shifts, odd steps, weird dotting and eliding, and sundry other sins against harmony.
The fact that someone finds a theologically deficient hymn to be personally meaningful shouldn't suggest that we maintain the hymn. It suggests, rather, we should engage in more robust catechesis, including about sacred music.
"Let's be synodal" (and therefore carve out "pastoral" exceptions) about matters of cut-and-dried orthodoxy is the same poison that's infected the German episcopacy. If we end up with +McKnight coming around to a watered-down version of his original decree, a win for synodality will serve as a loss for the Truth.
Since it may now take the bishops 7+ years to decide if “All Are Welcome”, I hope they decide within 20 years. I’d like to use that hymn as the entrance hymn at my funeral liturgy. It will nicely complement Revelation 4:2 (2nd reading) on the loveless orthodoxy of the Church at Ephesus (first of 7 letters to the churches). Hopefully a dead guy will still be able to get what he wants from the USCCB 🙏
This is wonderful news. At my rural parish, we like to sing John Denver's "Country Road" as our gathering song. It gets the congregation warmed up and Father always ends it with the line "And now we are at the end of the road and so we begin in the name of the Father and of the Son..." I would be sad if this mean bishop tried to take away our joy.
As National Vocations Week wraps up, is your parish promoting vocations to the priesthood with "Thank God I'm a Catholic Boy"? (Someone more clever than I am needs to come up with the lyrics for this, please.)
I'm surprised the Gabarain ban didn't get walked back. Removing "Pescador de hombres", a favorite hymn of St Pope JPII, from the Spanish Masses around here would be like if the English-speaking Masses cancelled "Immaculate Mary". Maybe Jeff City doesn't have many Spanish-speaking Catholics.
Glad to see the bishop maintain his stand against composers credibly accused of abuse. We don't need Rupnik's art on the missalettes and we don't need to be singing David Haas.
It's too bad that the bishop bent on this issue. I would have revised the decree to say, that the ban is on for one year and during this year, we will have the synodal process of the deep listening. After a year, the diocese could come up with a very comprehensive list of approved hymns. With the depth and breadth of music, those doctrinal deficient hymns wouldn't be missed. I remember a few years ago, our bishop mandated that "Holy God We Praise Thy Name," be sung as the closing hymn at all Confirmation Masses. He didn't want to hear "Let's go make a difference" and others. Churches got used to it and it is now the norm.
Weird framing. Essentially nothing was "walked back". Using the hymns that are not banned by explicit decree of the local ordinary is still defying the clear and explicit instructions of the bishops conference. The bishop just gets to eat his mass music cake and have his synodal jargon cake, too.
The bishops' conference does not have legislative authority in dioceses unless it is specifically called out in canon law. I really doubt that music is, which would make what they said a recommendation for bishops in the US, not a binding instruction for anyone.
The original decree seemed to be destined for failure since it was inevitable that loud voices in the national Church media were bound to go crazy. They must be heard and obeyed as is synodally sound.
Why do bishops in the U.S. so easily walk back any decision which upsets the liberals, but are almost always so firm when it comes to decisions which upset conservative (i.e. orthodox) Catholics. It is amazing how public opinion sways them instead of just doing what is right. It is like they never read the letters of St. Paul and the Gospels in which opposing the heterodox status quo is the way to have the faith thrive. Like when the bishops shut down Masses during COVID before even the governments shut down businesses, depriving the faithful of the Sacraments, Easter, and Pentecost without saving even one life in the process (but losing many to possible perdition as priests did not even attend to and anoint the dying in the hospitals).
I had not made that connection, but considering the bulk of the opera and symphony (and other "high culture") offerings in my region over recent years...yes, that makes a lot of sense, actually.
I was thinking more along the lines of the connection between wealth and age in this country, along with the connection between age and having plenty of free time to write, make phone calls, and raise a ruckus. But yeah, the "high culture" in this country definitely has some interesting tendencies. Wasn't there a theater attached to a girls' middle school that shut down recently after the bishop said they couldn't air shows that were contrary to Church teaching? Apparently that restriction is too hard.
Just to be pedantic for a moment- this article & the list from Jefferson City imply that the hymns on the list came directly from the list in Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church, which is presumably the USCCB Committee on Doctrine source they mention. But this lists are surprisingly dissimilar. The USCCB document mentions by name:
God is Here! As We His People
Now in This Banquet
All Are Welcome
Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees
The Play of the Godhead
Led by the Spirit
God Beyond All Names
Sing a New Church
As a Fire is Meant for Burning
The Lord of the Dance
O Crucified Messiah
Canticle of the Sun
The only 2 songs from that list that are on the Jefferson City list are All Are Welcome and Led By the Spirit.
That's not to say the hymns on the Jefferson City list aren't deficient in the categories of Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church defines, it's just odd to me that the other songs explicitly mentioned in the document aren't on their list. In the grand scheme of things, it's not important, but it had popped out to me since I first heard about it.
The late great Cardinal Francis George (my Bishop in Yakima when I came back to the seminary in 1995) was fairly vocal in commenting, sometimes irritably, that the song "Amazing Grace" wasn't theologically precise (can you imagine any diocese banning it?). He moved to Portland, then Chicago, before I was far enough along in the program to have a conversation with him about it. What I have done on 2-3 occasions is to ask eloquent church leaders who complain about church hymns they find problematic whether they have ever engaged in a dialogue with liturgical composers about their concerns. The answer invariably has been "no." If ever there were an issue that begged for synodality, this one would be it.
If only we'd implement Vatican II: "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."
Some of the greatest music in history has been written for the Mass and we settle for campfire music poorly played, with little composition or musical scholarship.
Honesty, they're really Haugen all of the music
Haugen got tired of the stupidity and left the church for the UCC.
He was never a Roman Catholic. He was Lutheran before joining the UCC
Amazed to learn this. Why on earth were his hymns cycled on repeat every Sunday morning in my childhood then?? What were the bishops and priests thinking??
That would be a fun deep dive into how OCP and GIA may have cornered the market for Catholic Hymnals. Were these the only composers who could provide steady work? Were others shut out? What other factors were at play?
He worked as a music director for a parish in Minnesota, and began composing contemporary songs. He went to graduate school to get an MA in pastoral studies, and followed closely the liturgical requirements of the Mass. His music is also in hymnals for the Lutheran and Methodist churches.
He Schutte anticipated all the pushback this would generate
Some is juvenile, but so much is simply great music of biblical verses. I don’t like opera or heavy metal rock. Variety is “the spice of life”. Using the old Methodist Hymnal or dry Chant as only music venue to me would be a mistake. But that’s my opinion from forty years in music ministry
What is so “dry” about chant? What is so boring about traditional hymnody? Why are we so obsessed with making the liturgy interesting, as if it isn’t compelling enough to begin with?? Why is the liturgy thought to be incomplete without a few folk-pop-rock-70’s songs thrown in???? We are just fine without these songs. We are better off.
I have been involved with a myriad of music types. I was 17 before first VII Mass arrived. I was First Tenor in Choir before VII. Then I continued and moved around nine different States for business. The quality of music is directly related to the skills of the music director and folks in that ministry. What I meant by dry chant is single voice. I have been involved in excellent multi part Chant and superb four part harmony hymns created over the years. Our methods in my parish of last twenty five years is best defined as eclectic. The key is to have the music support the particular Liturgy of the day and done in a quality manner to enhance the same Liturgy. I disagree that the music available today shouldn’t involve multiple types. Your opinion is we are better off without it and my opinion is that we are better with multiple music types and engagement levels of the people. So I guess our two opinions can coexist. Peace.
Chant can be quite lovely when sung single voice. That is the way the ordinary and propers are traditionally done, along with many old favorites. But I agree that having that be the only kind of music would not be as great as mixing in some polyphony and hymns.
I do disagree partly about the quality of music being related to the skills, mainly because the history of the choir I'm in. They taught themselves chant and polyphony, without any professional musicians involved. Anyone can develop those skills, with youtube and the willingness to take the time and make an effort. Most people don't.
Of course a dedicated and talented person can learn music. No question about it. But accompaniment is still important. I have never attended the main weekend Masses where there wasn’t accompaniment. Weekday or in the pre VII days of “low Mass” of course.
In my parish, that's what we did for a good chunk of Covid, since only 2 people were allowed in the choir loft. No instruments, and generally no harmony, for the main Sunday Mass (which was Low Mass, due to other restrictions). I've heard of NO parishes in the diocese that wound up with the same sort of thing. I can't imagine doing *that* without pretty dedicated singers.
It was far better than nothing. I don't know how the congregation felt when we finally came back in force, but a good chunk of the choir mentioned a substantial mood lift just from practicing again.
See, you jump right from Chant and Polyphony to rock and roll or similar. My experience being in music ministry for forty years is that there are fantastic four part harmony hymns that merge directly into the readings of the week. There are wonderful Cantor Psalm music for single voice as well. My point is that a variety is better when appropriate. I would disagree on the issue regarding Liturgy not being interesting. The entire Mass is constructed for a viewable purpose. To uplift our five senses and souls. We are reminded as an example how this week’s Easter Vigil Liturgy is specially holy, uplifting, inspiring and more. I contend it’s a balance of appropriate variety that makes most sense.
So, I have probably written this exact comment a couple of times myself, lol. I entirely agree with you. I’d even take away your qualifier and say that the great mass settings simply *are* the greatest music in history, full stop.
Howeverrrrrrr, given the contours of the current conversation I think it’s reasonable to point out that it’s not *actually* a choice between the greatest music in western history and campfire music. For most parishes, it’s more of a choice between Gregorian chant — say, the monophonic masses from the Kyriale — and campfire music. I shall explain, at far too great a length, since I am
passionate about this.
All of the truly great mass settings in the classical canon (Bach’s B Minor, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Nelson mass and mass in a time of war, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, etc) would be *well* beyond the capabilities of most parishes, as they require full orchestras and a great number of highly skilled musicians.
St. John Cantius is the only parish in the nation (of which I am aware!) which is able to use this music liturgically, and their music budget is 150k/year. It is worth every penny twice over, but this is obviously well out of reach for most parishes.
Stepping down in complexity and “greatness,” a solid, experienced choir (or small group of professionals) can handle the classic choral mass settings like Byrd, Lasso, or Palestrina. I live in a small city with a disproportionately large Catholic population and exactly once have encountered Byrd being used liturgically. It was sung by professionals at the first mass of a new priest. Our cathedral choir is probably solid enough to sing a three or four-part motet for a weekly mass (they don’t, though — sigh) but I am not aware of any local parish choir that could manage this music for a weekly mass. It would probably be possible in a major city.
Stepping down yet again in ‘greatness,’ you get to masses for two voices. Oreste Ravanello wrote several of these (there are others; he’s just the one I know best). I love Ravanello, but to be clear here, we are now well out of “the greatest music in history” range. My own parish choir sings a Ravanello mass setting during Christmas and Easter, which is why he’s so familiar to me lol. I think Ravanello would probably be within reach of most — but still not all — parish choirs to sing on a weekly basis.
And stepping down once more in complexity (though not in greatness because this is its own thing), you get to monophonic Gregorian chant. With effort I imagine that any parish with any choir at all would be able to sing everything in the Kyriale. At my parish we sing mass XIII for Sundays in Ordinary Time and mass XVII (iirc) for Sundays in Advent and Lent. Very manageable with an enthusiastic music director and choir.
So that was a novel, but all of that was to make the point that, to be fair here, we should really note that parish choirs aren’t *actually* picking between the literal greatest music ever written and campfire songs. They’re picking between the Kyriale and campfire songs.
The choice, to me, still remains clear, but it does become more comprehensible why someone else — especially someone who just really loves campfire songs — might choose differently.
The synodal genie is out of the bottle.
I get that there are people willing to get upset over the banning of a few hymns.
Why is the bishop willing to back down over a few hymns?
It's not like this will have a huge effect on the Sacraments or the spiritual life. If a bishop must embark on a synodal process over that minor of a thing, I question his ability to make any decision at all without a lengthy synodal process. Want to assign a new priest? Definitely need a synodal process for that, he'll be preaching! Regularly! Want to apportion money from the annual appeal? Definitely need a synodal process for that, every decision will affect everyone in the diocese! Want to give teens the Sacrament of Confirmation? Definitely need a synodal process before we decide on a curriculum. Could take years to go through the material and make sure everyone likes it.
I kinda hope the bishop intends to use the synodal process to waste as much time as possible of the people who decided to object to this. So many writing assignments could be given. So many small group discussions, interspersed with Holy Hours.
The Pillar readers put him on a list of candidates for the Archbishop of Washington, DC. The rubbery spine yields to a potential promotion and clericalism.
I will admit my immediate response was one of mild consternation, tinged with dismay; why would the bishop seem to backpedal, especially when he is well within his canonical rights to promulgate such a policy? Upon reflection, I think something deeper is going on here.
Something I read in a previous The Pillar interview (about synodality, no less) has been sticking with me for a while now: the Church doesn't follow a political logic, but an ecclesial logic and a spiritual logic. According to a political logic, what the hierarchical head says goes, and we are all expected to follow that policy even as we might agitate against it. But an ecclesial logic says the bishop is the shepherd of his flock, and a spiritual logic says he is the father of his children; no shepherd or father wants discord among his flock or family. It is clear the policy has generated a significant amount of uproar, not limited to the Jefferson City diocese. Even if the louder voices (or younger, as the case may be) might seem to be "on his side", and though he does have the appropriate juridical authority to impose his will, I suspect Bp. McKnight may have decided to take a different, more winsome approach.
If you will permit a self-insert - I have very strong opinions on the appropriateness, or otherwise, of a great deal of hymns and composition styles with respect to the liturgy. I have held these opinions since I was but a brash youth, and I could not understand why a new priest wouldn't simply overhaul the entire soundscape and rip out all the awful [insert hymnal of choice] songs. As I have become possibly less brash (and certainly less youthful), I've come to understand the mundane realities of the situation - the choir director's taste, the availability of the members for practise, the difficulty in learning more complex songs - but more importantly, I've begun to appreciate a very important fact: the liturgy is not for me; or at least, not for me alone. Obviously I am meant to participate in the liturgy, and good music is meant to aid in that worship, but there is a significant proportion of folks in every parish - often the backbone of the day-to-day keeping the doors open - for whom different styles of liturgical celebration, and yes, even the songs from the [your choice of] hymnal[s], hold a profound meaning.
So why synodality? Aside from the cultural currency that phrase may (or may not) hold, the only way I came to be, frankly, less of a boor about my liturgical and hymnodal preferences was through listening to others talk about the music they liked, or the songs that brought them peace and consoled them through times of sorrow, or even simply seeing those folks (old and young) singing their heart out at Mass; worshipping with their flesh, as Cardinal Tagle said this past July. "Synodality", in the sense that people on both sides of the discourse over the Jefferson City policy are invited to walk, talk, and worship together, might just be a shorthand (or even a shortcut) for that process of charity and empathy that took me so many years to internalise. And who knows, by this time next year, maybe hearts will have softened in Bp. McKnight's diocese, as folks on all sides of the liturgical debate come together to love and serve the Lord.
No father wants discord, but a father who is willing to carry on with heterodox material because a bunch of his kids are raising a ruckus has probably lost track of who is in charge and why.
It's not like the guy was banning songs arbitrarily. He didn't ban a style of music either. It's not going to cause some huge logistical problem for any parish. He banned songs that cannot have profound meaning, because they have profound problems. As determined by the USCCB, which is hardly a traditionalist organization. He also hasn't prevented anyone from listening to them or singing them outside of Mass - he's only ensuring that people fulfilling their Sunday obligation will not be subjected to heterodox whims according to the choir director's taste. Making an uproar about it is a childish temper tantrum.
I'm not generally in favor of bishops being authoritarian. I argue in favor of a gradual, organic improvement to the liturgy and against sudden, large changes because of how harmful that can be. This isn't a big change. This sort of nonsense is exactly why the younger crowd often assumes that the only way to get good liturgy is for the older crowd to die off. And why they leave rather than wait 20-30 years for that to happen. These people will not give up even a few hymns, a few times a year, to compromise.
This is a beautiful sentiment, in principle. But as someone who has attended many different Masses at many different parishes in my diocese, I do not see people "singing their hearts out" over these mouldy oldies of the Age of Aquarius. In large part because the lyrics aren't the only problematic part -- the music itself is often too odd for meaningful congregational singing, with key shifts, odd steps, weird dotting and eliding, and sundry other sins against harmony.
The fact that someone finds a theologically deficient hymn to be personally meaningful shouldn't suggest that we maintain the hymn. It suggests, rather, we should engage in more robust catechesis, including about sacred music.
"Let's be synodal" (and therefore carve out "pastoral" exceptions) about matters of cut-and-dried orthodoxy is the same poison that's infected the German episcopacy. If we end up with +McKnight coming around to a watered-down version of his original decree, a win for synodality will serve as a loss for the Truth.
Since it may now take the bishops 7+ years to decide if “All Are Welcome”, I hope they decide within 20 years. I’d like to use that hymn as the entrance hymn at my funeral liturgy. It will nicely complement Revelation 4:2 (2nd reading) on the loveless orthodoxy of the Church at Ephesus (first of 7 letters to the churches). Hopefully a dead guy will still be able to get what he wants from the USCCB 🙏
This is wonderful news. At my rural parish, we like to sing John Denver's "Country Road" as our gathering song. It gets the congregation warmed up and Father always ends it with the line "And now we are at the end of the road and so we begin in the name of the Father and of the Son..." I would be sad if this mean bishop tried to take away our joy.
Good to hear that John Denver is still working with the Muppets.
I genuinely can’t tell if this comment is parody.
If it is, it's good.
As National Vocations Week wraps up, is your parish promoting vocations to the priesthood with "Thank God I'm a Catholic Boy"? (Someone more clever than I am needs to come up with the lyrics for this, please.)
*step clap, step clap, step clap, step clap*
Well, life in the Church is kinda off track
There's much an old Cath'lic Mass like this can lack
Most late to arrive, and sitting in the back
Thank God you're a Cath'lic boy
Well, a new kinda call wouldn't do you no harm
A-takin' you to seminary, prayin' all the psalms
Homilies all filled with a kerygmatic charm
Thank God you're a Cath'lic boy
Well, you'd give up a fine wife, you'd still have your Bible
When Sundays Mass starts, you'll pray from the Missal
Saturday evenings will be filling up with vigils
Thank God you're a Cath'lic boy
Thank you for rising to Katie FWSB's challenge! Huzzah!
HILLBILLY THOMISTS, RECORD THIS. (Please.)
Oh, this is wonderful, and I'm going to be smiling for the rest of the day. THANK YOU.
Absolutely well-done, this just made my day :) Lord save us from sullen-faced saints.......
Does your parish also use John Lennon's "Imagine" as a post-communion reflection?
My parish did, in the 70’s
How about “I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane” for Ascension Thursday?
"Spirit in the Sky" for Pentecost, etc.
I'm surprised the Gabarain ban didn't get walked back. Removing "Pescador de hombres", a favorite hymn of St Pope JPII, from the Spanish Masses around here would be like if the English-speaking Masses cancelled "Immaculate Mary". Maybe Jeff City doesn't have many Spanish-speaking Catholics.
Can you imagine the outrage if "On Eagles Wings" were cancelled.
Bummer
Glad to see the bishop maintain his stand against composers credibly accused of abuse. We don't need Rupnik's art on the missalettes and we don't need to be singing David Haas.
It's too bad that the bishop bent on this issue. I would have revised the decree to say, that the ban is on for one year and during this year, we will have the synodal process of the deep listening. After a year, the diocese could come up with a very comprehensive list of approved hymns. With the depth and breadth of music, those doctrinal deficient hymns wouldn't be missed. I remember a few years ago, our bishop mandated that "Holy God We Praise Thy Name," be sung as the closing hymn at all Confirmation Masses. He didn't want to hear "Let's go make a difference" and others. Churches got used to it and it is now the norm.
An off-key response from someone who sings in A-Flat minor.
Weird framing. Essentially nothing was "walked back". Using the hymns that are not banned by explicit decree of the local ordinary is still defying the clear and explicit instructions of the bishops conference. The bishop just gets to eat his mass music cake and have his synodal jargon cake, too.
The bishops' conference does not have legislative authority in dioceses unless it is specifically called out in canon law. I really doubt that music is, which would make what they said a recommendation for bishops in the US, not a binding instruction for anyone.
The original decree seemed to be destined for failure since it was inevitable that loud voices in the national Church media were bound to go crazy. They must be heard and obeyed as is synodally sound.
No one wants to be disliked.
Why do bishops in the U.S. so easily walk back any decision which upsets the liberals, but are almost always so firm when it comes to decisions which upset conservative (i.e. orthodox) Catholics. It is amazing how public opinion sways them instead of just doing what is right. It is like they never read the letters of St. Paul and the Gospels in which opposing the heterodox status quo is the way to have the faith thrive. Like when the bishops shut down Masses during COVID before even the governments shut down businesses, depriving the faithful of the Sacraments, Easter, and Pentecost without saving even one life in the process (but losing many to possible perdition as priests did not even attend to and anoint the dying in the hospitals).
My cynical take is that it matters who's got the deep pockets and who's willing to withhold donations.
You really think the rich fat cats who sit on the opera and symphony boards are the ones imposing music you don't like?
I had not made that connection, but considering the bulk of the opera and symphony (and other "high culture") offerings in my region over recent years...yes, that makes a lot of sense, actually.
I was thinking more along the lines of the connection between wealth and age in this country, along with the connection between age and having plenty of free time to write, make phone calls, and raise a ruckus. But yeah, the "high culture" in this country definitely has some interesting tendencies. Wasn't there a theater attached to a girls' middle school that shut down recently after the bishop said they couldn't air shows that were contrary to Church teaching? Apparently that restriction is too hard.
Just to be pedantic for a moment- this article & the list from Jefferson City imply that the hymns on the list came directly from the list in Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church, which is presumably the USCCB Committee on Doctrine source they mention. But this lists are surprisingly dissimilar. The USCCB document mentions by name:
God is Here! As We His People
Now in This Banquet
All Are Welcome
Let Us Break Bread Together on Our Knees
The Play of the Godhead
Led by the Spirit
God Beyond All Names
Sing a New Church
As a Fire is Meant for Burning
The Lord of the Dance
O Crucified Messiah
Canticle of the Sun
The only 2 songs from that list that are on the Jefferson City list are All Are Welcome and Led By the Spirit.
That's not to say the hymns on the Jefferson City list aren't deficient in the categories of Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church defines, it's just odd to me that the other songs explicitly mentioned in the document aren't on their list. In the grand scheme of things, it's not important, but it had popped out to me since I first heard about it.
The late great Cardinal Francis George (my Bishop in Yakima when I came back to the seminary in 1995) was fairly vocal in commenting, sometimes irritably, that the song "Amazing Grace" wasn't theologically precise (can you imagine any diocese banning it?). He moved to Portland, then Chicago, before I was far enough along in the program to have a conversation with him about it. What I have done on 2-3 occasions is to ask eloquent church leaders who complain about church hymns they find problematic whether they have ever engaged in a dialogue with liturgical composers about their concerns. The answer invariably has been "no." If ever there were an issue that begged for synodality, this one would be it.
"In my initiative to promote the active participation of the faithful, I forgot to actually talk with the faithful. "
That a bishop couldn't see that until after the fact tells you everything you need to know about today's clergy.
If only we'd implement Vatican II: "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."
This.