Liturgical Cogitations

Details: 04 February 2011

Pope on Music

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has discussed in his writings the interesting link between being rescued from water and subsequent triumphant and victorious singing, applying this to our Christian situation in the sacred liturgy. Foreshadowed by a water event, the rescue of Moses as an infant from the River Nile, which saved his life, so the Chosen People of the Old Testament, led by Moses were later, in another water event, enabled by "an overwhelming experience of God’s saving power" to pass safely through the Red Sea, a passage that "definitively delivered them from slavery" and that drowned their enemies. It is after the account of that deliverance, the Pope notes, that we see the first mention of singing in the Bible: "Then Moses and the People of Israel sang this song to the Lord" (Exodus 15:1).

Each year during the Great Easter Vigil, "Christians join in the singing of this song. They sing it in a new way as their song, because they know that they have been taken out of the water (Baptism) by God’s power and set free by God for authentic life." This song of Moses, the servant of God, and of God’s People, will become, in the future of eternity as the Book of Revelation states (15:3), the song also of the Lamb. "It is the sacrificed Lamb Who conquers. And so, once again definitively, there resounds the song of God’s servants which has become now the song of the Lamb." The Supreme Pontiff remarks, "Liturgical singing is established in the midst of this great historical tension."

"For Israel the event of salvation in the Red Sea will always be the main reason for praising God, the basic theme of the songs it sings before God. For Christians, the resurrection of Christ is the true Exodus. He has striven through the Red Sea of death itself, descended into the world of shadows, and smashed open the prison door. In Baptism the Exodus is made ever present. To be baptized is to be made a partaker, a contemporary of Christ’s descent into hell and of His rising up from there, in which He takes us up into the fellowship of new life. Here then is the theological basis for liturgical singing."

U.S. Bishops

In 2007 (published in 2008) the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued a document entitled "Sing to the Lord, Music in Divine Worship". They compiled this document from the the works of the Second Vatican Council, from the writings of the Popes and from previous documents of the Bishops’ Conference, as well as from a large number of instructions from history and from various official sources, that is, from the Holy See and from Conferences of Bishops in other countries. The Bishops note how Saint Paul and Saint Silas sang together while they were in prison for the faith "while the other prisoners listened" (Acts of the Apostles 16:25). They also cite the Epistle of Saint James (5:13) where he says, "Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise."

The Bishops say, "Obedient to Christ and to the Church, we gather in a liturgical assembly week after week. As our predecessors did, we find ourselves singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts to God (Ephesians 5:18-19). This common sung expression of faith within liturgical celebrations strengthens our faith when it grows weak and draws us into the divinely inspired voice of the Church at prayer. Faith grows when it is well expressed in celebration. They go on to say, "Our participation in the liturgy is challenging. Sometimes our voices do not correspond to the convictions of our hearts. At other times, we are distracted or preoccupied by the cares of the world. Christ always invites us, however, to enter into song, to rise above our own preoccupations, and to give our entire selves to the hymn of His paschal sacrifice for the honor and glory of the Most Blessed Trinity."

Questions

In a chapter of their document entitled "Judging the Qualities of Music for the Liturgy", the American Bishops speak about three judgments forming one evaluation, with each of the judgments associated with a specific question. They say, "In judging the appropriateness of music for the liturgy, one will examine its liturgical, pastoral, and musical qualities. Ultimately, however, these three judgments are but aspects on one evaluation, which answers the question: Is this particular piece of music appropriate for the use in this particular liturgy? All three judgments must be considered together and no individual judgment can be applied in isolation from the other two. This evaluation requires cooperation, consultation, collaboration and mutual respect among those who are skilled in any of the three judgments, be they pastors, musicians, liturgists, or planners.

The question from liturgical judgment that must be answered is: Is this composition capable of meeting the structural and textual requirements set forth by the liturgical books for this particular rite? The pastoral judgment must answer: Does a musical composition promote the sanctification of the members of the liturgical assembly by drawing them closer to the holy mysteries being celebrated? Does it strengthen their formation in faith by opening their hearts to the mystery being celebrated on this occasion or in this season? Is it capable of expressing the faith that God has planted in their hearts and summoned them to celebrate? Musical judgment must ask whether the composition has the necessary aesthetic qualities that can bear the weight of the mysteries celebrated in the liturgy. It asks: Is this composition technically, aesthetically, and expressively worthy?

Of course, the strict orthodoxy of the composition has to be a paramount consideration, an orthodoxy which must be accompanied by a spirit of meditation and contemplation. In all Catholic Church music, it also should be noted that the text must predominate over the melody, so that the words are always assumed to be more important than the music that carries them. In addition, it is an important principle of Catholic liturgical music that during Mass or other liturgical actions attention is never to be drawn to the singers and musicians themselves, who, in the liturgy are expected to be self-effacing and humble, never giving an impression of "a performance" or a theatrical show detracting from the attention that is due to God alone in the sacred liturgy. This is one of the reasons why, in traditional Catholic Church architecture, choirs and musicians were customarily situated in a loft in the rear of the church.

Other Thoughts

The Bishops assert, "God has bestowed upon His People the gift of song. God Himself dwells in each human person in the place where music takes its source. Indeed, God, the Giver of song, is present whenever His People sing His praises. As a cry from deep within our being, music is a way for God to lead us to the realm of higher things. By its very nature song has both an individual and a communal dimension. Thus it is no wonder that singing together in church expresses so well the sacramental presence of God to His People. Music is a sign of God’s love for us and of our love for Him. In this sense it is very personal. But unless music sounds, it is not music, and whenever it sounds, it is accessible to others.