Musicianship at Mass

Building a Musical Foundation on Rock

Over the summer I had the fortunate opportunity to work on an ongoing research project concerning sacred and liturgical music and the Roman Rite of the Mass under the mentorship of Father Michael Joncas, professor of Catholic Studies and Theology at the University of Saint Thomas. The summer afforded me the chance to look at Church documents and the Mass and music in a way I could not in the classroom yet had wanted to explore for a long time.

For the first phase of my research, I read numerous documents from Pope Pius X’s Tra le Sollecitudini through Sing to the Lord! Music in Divine Worship written by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2007. I quickly realized sacred music and liturgy do not have the clear cut explanations I thought they might. In fact, I just became more and more confused as the research progressed. I began a second phase of the research which involved “participant observation”, that is, attending a Mass while observing reactions from the congregation, music style and performance, attention to rubrics, and other elements of the experience of Mass at any given parish.

These observations are not immune to my own personal reactions. In fact, my reactions are key. I was raised in a fairly “traditional” parish; many of the more “progressive” parishes stretched my sensibilities and made me ask serious questions about my own faith and prayer life, areas of critical importance when planning a career as a Church musician. Through all the subjective and varied opinions, I had to take a step back and search for the objective, some grounded truth on which I could be as one “who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock [which] could not [be shaken]…because it had been well built” (Lk 6: 48). Music at Mass is not just a service to the Mass. It is meant to become the liturgy itself. Hymns are secondary. The true music at Mass are elements like a chanted Eucharistic Prayer, the Great Amen, or a sung Responsorial Psalm. If music is liturgy, then how is musical artistry appropriately used?

Benedict XVI, then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, wrote Spirit of the Liturgy in 1999. As a theologian from the Second Vatican Council, as one deeply devoted to music and liturgy, and as one elected to the Apostolic See of Saint Peter, I figured he would be a good place to start. He writes in his chapter, “Music and the Liturgy” that “Artistic freedom increasingly asserts its rights, even in the liturgy. … It is clear that these opportunities for artistic creativity and the adoption of secular tunes brought danger with them. Music was no longer developing out of prayer, but, with the new demand for artistic autonomy, was now heading away from the liturgy; it was becoming an end in itself…[and] alienating the liturgy from its true nature” (145-146). It is prudent to note, he was talking about the “Great Tradition” of Catholic music, that of the Middle Ages!

In our transitions as a culture from one age to the next, we find trends in the any era but especially the modern one, to see “music as pure subjectivity, music as the expression of mere will” (155). The Catholic musician must ground himself in the doctrine and devotions of the Church, using it as the inexhaustible source for further artistry and expressions of faith. Benedict reminds musicians that “Humble submission to what goes before us releases authentic freedom” (156) in the life of service to the Church.

As a musician, it is easy to fall into the “musician’s ego”, to worry about each last detail and be so consumed by the music you forget about the Mass and Who you glorify in the work. As Catholics, musicians need special devotion away from making music. Daily Mass and reception of Holy Communion, Eucharistic Adoration, devotion to the Blessed Mother, and contemplative silence are just a few concrete ways to build a steady relationship with the Divine. Many of the problems in maintaining a sense of orthodoxy to the Church and making the Mass accessible to all is a loss of the foundational devotion that has fed the Church for centuries. My purpose here is not to condemn or lift up one musical style over another. All genres must be analyzed with an orthodox heart and conscience.

The music before the Second Vatican Council was not broken; it worked and fed thousands of saints on the way to holiness! The test of time proves what works and what does not. Contemporary musicians ought to draw on the success of the Catholic Church’s store of musical treasures and once the house has been built on rock, then move forward to develop the Church in the new millennium, in the call of Pope John Paul II, “The New Evangelization”!

Trust Mother Church in all things. She has never steered a saint wrong yet!

This article was written for The Signature, the student-run newsletter of the Department of Catholic Studies at the University of Saint Thomas, Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Lessons of Solitude and Silence

Summer has arrived in the minds of most people if not astrologically. This constitutes my first summer not being entirely at home. Along with continuing to move into the world, there are many changed going on around me.

My mind is a blur...my brother graduated high school...I have made two trips home in the past month and will possibly make another in the next few weeks...my whole life pattern has flipped for the summer from class, homework, and more homework to work and research...the landscape of my campus is changing with the demolition of two buildings and construction of new athletic and student centres...

I have been on my own more than usual. I have no roommate right now and I am slowly adjusting and learning to enjoy the solitude and silence. In fact, it seems exactly what I need. I get back to my dorm room...I don't have a TV...I don't have a radio or CD player that works...my laptop was sent in to get its harddrive replaced...what am I supposed to do with all this silence?

Pray. Contemplate. Be in God's Presence. Read a book. Go for a walk. Liesure. This is exactly what I have been dreaming about in class during the semester. It is finally here and I don't know what to do with myself. Society is too fast-paced; it's too filled with constant distraction.

SILENCE and SOLITUDE

And so I am learning to just sit and be. I'm learning to waste time with others. I'm learning to take advantage of the moment and live in it. I am learning to constantly put my heart in the Presence of the Sacred Heart. These summer lessons are the most important and best ones I will ever learn.

Feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas

Today is a special day here at the University of Saint Thomas. We're celebrating the feast of our patron saint, Thomas Aquinas.

For information him, go to EWTN's biography page filled with an article and other media resources on this spiritual giant of our Faith.



SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS









Prayer of Saint Thomas Aquinas

THANKSGIVING AFTER MASS


Lord, Father all-powerful and ever-living God, I thank You, for
even though I am a sinner, your unprofitable servant, not
because of my worth but in the kindness of your mercy,
You have fed me with the Precious Body & Blood of Your Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.
I pray that this Holy Communion may not bring me
condemnation and punishment but forgiveness and salvation.
May it be a helmet of faith and a shield of good will.
May it purify me from evil ways and put an end to my evil passions.
May it bring me charity and patience, humility and obedience,
and growth in the power to do good.
May it be my strong defense against all my enemies, visible and invisible, and the perfect calming of all my evil impulses,
bodily and spiritual.
May it unite me more closely to you, the One true God, and lead me
safely through death to everlasting happiness with You.
And I pray that You will lead me, a sinner, to the banquet where you,
with Your Son and holy Spirit, are true and perfect light, total fulfillment, everlasting joy, gladness without end, and perfect
happiness to your saints. grant this through Christ our Lord,
AMEN.

Source: http://www.ewtn.com/

The Conversion of Saint Paul

On the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, let us rededicate ourselves for the second half of the Pauline Year declared by Pope Benedict XVI.

The Papal Basilica: Saint Paul Outside-The-Walls

Prayer for the Year of Saint Paul

Glorious Saint Paul,
Most zealous apostle,
Martyr for the love of Christ,
Give us a deep faith,
A steadfast hope,
A burning love for our Lord,
So that we can proclaim with you,
“It is no longer I who live,
But Christ who lives in me.”

Help us to become apostles,
Serving the Church with a pure heart,
Witnesses to her truth and beauty
Amidst the darkness of our days.
With you we praise God our Father:
“To him be the glory, in the Church
And in Christ,
Now and forever.”

Amen.

Source: http://www.ewtn.com/

IN MEMORIAM

IN MEMORY OF THE OVER FIFTY MILLION CHILDREN WHO HAVE DIED SINCE JANUARY 22, 1973.

ETERNAL REST, GRANT UNTO THEM, O LORD,

AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
MAY THEIR SOULS AND THE SOULS OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED,

THROUGH THE MERCY OF GOD, REST IN PEACE. AMEN.

Let us pray for an end to the holocaust!

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cause of Our Joy and Queen of Peace, PRAY FOR US!

A New President

As the Presidential Administrations transfer power, may we pray for President Barack Obama that he may serve our nation well over the next four years.

God our Father,
All earthly powers must serve you.
Help our president Barack Obama
To fulfill his responsibilities worthily and well.
By honouring and striving to
Please you at all times,
May he secure peace and freedom
For all people entrusted to him.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who lives and reigns with you
And the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. Amen.


Thank you, George W. Bush, for your eight years of service to our nation. We are forever grateful.

Persistence

Back at school, J-Term is unlike any other time during the school year. I only have one class to worry about for three hours four days a week. I'm working in Campus Ministry and finding time to just relax…read a book, watch a movie…or write.

I'm still trying to clear out all the clutter from my life. My problem usually consists of getting too busy and unfocused. Then the responsibilities pile up and I cannot focus on the most important time of my day, prayer. It is the center of everything! Why doesn't that idea stick with me? As Mother Theresa said, Everything starts with a prayer.

I visited the Missionaries of Charity in Minneapolis on Tuesday for the first time since last May. Sister Justus was very happy to see me. After working with the children in the after-school program, she invited me to stay for their Holy Hour of Adoration. It was one of the most beautiful experiences I have had in a long time. It was the simple idea of praying quietly before Our Lord's Sacred Presence. How beautiful!! Satiate His Thirst! His for me and mine for Him!

In the stillness of winter, as we prepare to settle into Ordinary Time, may we stay focused on the miracle of Christmas and strive to satiate His thirst. May we persist through our emotions and feelings and be able to hear Christ in the silence.

We are United in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!