It's a particularly difficult issue because part of it is how one communes most effectively with God, and attempting not to assume that all people do so. It's really easy to find justification for any statement of the form "They'll learn to love it, just as I have," whether that refers to chant or Matt Maher. (And I do mean that...you can cherry-pick paragraphs from any number of liturgical documents of importance ranging from local bishops' statements to the Second Vatican Council.) I'm increasingly convinced that what music is appropriate at Mass is jointly a pastoral issue (relative to a particular parish) with respect for the tradition of the liturgy. When it becomes primarily a pastoral issue or primarily about respect for tradition, people turn the Mass into what they want it to be, rather than what God wants it to be.
Personally, I find music to be impoverished wherever only one thing is done, be that chant, hymns, or modern worship music. I find it offensive when anything is done for convenience or for the sake of "what the people want", or worse "what I think the people need (solely from my perspective)". When a parish gets a guitarist and a drum kit "because it's the modern thing and people like it", it's a completely horizontal perspective, and it will lead people *away* from Jesus, because it becomes about the musicians and part of the congregation rather than God. Similarly, when a parish choir director refuses to sing anything more modern than 1974, and that only with an organ (perhaps a piano), "because it's beautiful and ancient and edifying", it again becomes about the musicians and part of the congregation and tends not to lead people to Jesus.
Some people can commune best with the modern, some people with the traditional. The new thing will bring different people into communion with God in ways they didn't think possible, and the traditional thing will do exactly the same with different people in different ways. Belt out a Latin chant and people will feel the connection to a 2000 year tradition in a way that neither other style can typically do, and in fact the Second Vatican Council advises the retention of chant for just that reason. So for heaven's sake, do it all, do it all out of love of Jesus and respect for the liturgy rather than out of love of the liturgy and respect for Jesus.
I agree. I seem to have had several conversations with people lately on this, and I'm still trying to put things coherently into words. One thing I do know is that when liturgy is done for show, it is empty... regardless of what music is chosen.
And btw, I think it is very cool that you got to meet Matt Maher. :)
I am going to pass this on to the person with whom I was talking. I admit, I was quite pleased that the bishops liked my idea of making sure people can sing or say the Mass parts (Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) in Latin. They didn't credit me as the source of this idea, but I'm too humble to point that out. (Yeah, right.)
Personally, I find music to be impoverished wherever only one thing is done, be that chant, hymns, or modern worship music. I find it offensive when anything is done for convenience or for the sake of "what the people want", or worse "what I think the people need (solely from my perspective)". When a parish gets a guitarist and a drum kit "because it's the modern thing and people like it", it's a completely horizontal perspective, and it will lead people *away* from Jesus, because it becomes about the musicians and part of the congregation rather than God. Similarly, when a parish choir director refuses to sing anything more modern than 1974, and that only with an organ (perhaps a piano), "because it's beautiful and ancient and edifying", it again becomes about the musicians and part of the congregation and tends not to lead people to Jesus.
Some people can commune best with the modern, some people with the traditional. The new thing will bring different people into communion with God in ways they didn't think possible, and the traditional thing will do exactly the same with different people in different ways. Belt out a Latin chant and people will feel the connection to a 2000 year tradition in a way that neither other style can typically do, and in fact the Second Vatican Council advises the retention of chant for just that reason. So for heaven's sake, do it all, do it all out of love of Jesus and respect for the liturgy rather than out of love of the liturgy and respect for Jesus.
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And btw, I think it is very cool that you got to meet Matt Maher. :)
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