Yah, well, Ben--when that EMP bomb hits and cuts off electricity, you will be in deep doo-doo. Have hard-copy and candles ready.

Yah, well, Ben--when that EMP bomb hits and cuts off electricity, you will be in deep doo-doo. Have hard-copy and candles ready.

Nah, I prefer the "spare tablet and memory card in Faraday cage" method.

Has anyone ever been scolded for singing from an electronic device?
I ask, because I forgot my paper copy of the propers a few weeks back for the Sunday EF Mass I cantor for. I was able to quickly download the propers from CCWatershed onto my android phone and was able to get through Mass without a hitch.

To my surprise, the following Sunday, a woman made a point of waiting for me before Mass in the vestibule, stopped me, and proceeded to tell me how it was wrong "to be using a machine in front of the Blessed Sacrament." To be fair, I am a bit more conspicuous than I would like, as our EF Mass is in the basement (old social hall converted into a chapel, no choir loft/area), so our small schola is stationed off to the side near the front. Yet I wasn't expecting to cause scandal by using my relatively small phone for the obvious purpose of displaying the music I was singing from.

She proceeded to relate how she finds it so distracting when others use electronic devices to pray from (e.g. in adoration) even though she knows they are using it for prayer. I admitted there are certain cases where certain devices might be distracting (her example, a full size laptop in a darkened adoration chapel - maybe?), but I maintained that there is nothing inherently irreverent or inappropriate per se about using technology even in front of the presence of our Lord. I suggested (hopefully charitably) that we should be trying to focus on our own disposition at Mass rather than worrying about what others are doing.

According to the woman in question, she said that she routinely attends Mass at several different parishes, at which one supposedly specifically prohibits any electronic devices, even for use in prayer. She admitted that our priest (being more technologically minded) probably has no issue with it, but still said that my use of my phone to sing from was horribly distracting to her and by its nature inappropriate.

I usually prefer to sing from paper at Mass anyway (I only do otherwise in a pinch), so the argument is probably moot in my particular case. But in general, is using such a device at Mass scandalous at this point in history? Does it depend on the context and specific situation? Is it just a matter of time before there is no concern of scandal?

To my surprise, the following Sunday, a woman made a point of waiting for me before Mass in the vestibule, stopped me, and proceeded to tell me how it was wrong "to be using a machine in front of the Blessed Sacrament."

Glad you noted this was at an EF mass, where all walk on water amid clouds of incense. One good thing about the EF, it gives the rest of us a place to get rid of our fruits and nuts. ROFL. I wish, although it does seem that rite attracts the oddballs, here in my place as well.

download the propers from CCWatershed onto my android phone and was able to get through Mass without a hitch.

Wish I could do that. As my eyes have aged, I can no longer read those small screens. I would need a large display, not a small tablet.

she said that she routinely attends Mass at several different parishes,

How many parishes has she been run out of?

You didn't cause scandal, you just attracted the attention of a da*n nut, who was probably looking for something different she could bitch about. There is nothing scandalous about using a tablet, if as I noted, you can still read them. Put a triangle on your back and tell her it is an Amish tablet.

You could try the old high school trick. Keep in mind that when I was in high school there were no tablets, Indians were riding around the building yelling insults, and the noise from cavalry bugles was deafening. Put the tablet inside a book and enjoy.

We're not talking about whether a record should have first been recorded on CD or Vynal or wax, but rather should shay recording be played during Mass.

The scandal is not using the device at Mass even. Scandal is caused by how others Perceive what you are doing with your device.
The woman in the above story was scandalized by the use of an electric device in the sanctuary. It doesn't matter that there was no scandalous intent, scandal happened.

It will take time, scandal will occur and then it will fade. I e vision IPads mounted on every pew some day.

Melo wrote:

Richard, does it occur to you that your priest relating that story was the first time you, and now us, have heard of this circumstance? The conclusion of a "clash of symbols" is one of perspective.

But your assumption is not correct: I first saw mention of Pope John Paul II's wristwatch decades ago. Here's an example:

@bonniebede, I like the putting the Pad in a old book or attached to a binder. And I somewhat agree that scandal is not doing something that offends someone's sensibilities. However, when you are at Mass or at Adoration and you see a teenager with a Pod are you thinking "I wonder if he is reading a religious book on thing or playing Mine Craft until his parents are done with this crazy service". If you have thought that instead of the action taking place it scandal. And it potentially causes others to sin, because other teenagers see someone using one and thinks, Cool I could pretend I'm reading the "book of John but I'm actually texting my friend John". Temptations abound with these devices.
Most people love these devices so much that they loose their jobs over them. How many people use social media at work, stealing time from their employers? A ton of us do it.

The old lady was scandalized because she was thinking of the Pod rather than thinking of God.

Have we forgotten that Socrates bewailed the advent of writing so much so that men "would grow to be fools" by relying on the written word and no longer engaging in memorization? And I have to be bold here and say that I'm sincerely tired of the technoclasts and their constant criticism of anything that does not conform to their nostalgically entrenched ideology of what is and is not tradition.

She proceeded to relate how she finds it so distracting when others use electronic devices to pray from (e.g. in adoration) even though she knows they are using it for prayer.

The problem is most definitely hers and nobody else's. If she's that distracted by other people praying during adoration, she needs to either get a life or just go home and pray by herself in a dark closet where no one else will "scandalize" her.

I see a few people at Mass sometimes who follow the readings on their phone. Our deacon made an announcement a while ago that if we see anyone using their phones or tablets during Mass or adoration, they are probably just reading their prayers from it and we shouldn't be judgmental towards them.

Does anyone use a tablet for their music as they play the organ? I don't own a tablet, but I'm curious as to how well that would work. On one hand, it would be really handy to not have to dig through a bunch of papers and have them fly off the music stand if the fans are on (that happened one time in the middle of a hymn--disaster!!). But how do you "flip" pages, exactly? I mean, is it easier than flipping a physical page?

I prefer paper myself. One can easily find a lot of older organ music on ISMLP but I prefer to purchase the books when I can. There's something satisfying about actually owning something. In regard to DropBox, it is a handy tool, but I wouldn't rely on it. The past couple of weeks, DropBox has lost connection on me several times. While I could probably reboot and fix it (didn't need it at the time) that would certainly be awkward if I needed the music NOW.

I use my laptop to play from when I find something on IMSLP etc. that looked like it might sound good (or had a nice fancy title; I'm still far away from hearing the notes I read on paper) and wanted to try it out at home on a spinet organ before printing it and taking it to church for practicing.

I've had some success with GIA's 'Hymnals' app for iPad. I purchased the keyboard accompaniment for Worship IV, and 'Hymnals' also allows you to scan-in your own music and/or use already existing PDFs (from IMSLP, for example) and import via Dropbox to the app.

I could definitely see myself using this more often with a larger tablet. The iPad is decent in size, but still a little small for me to switch over completely. I will agree with @ryand - turning pages while playing organ is significantly easier by just swiping. GIA also has Bluetooth foot pedals for turning pages within the app, which I have not experimented with yet.

Until you go to flip a page off the tablet and send it off into oblivion too. Working with kids I am glad the worst that can happen was the nice little girl who helpfully drew lots of angels on my LOTH.

I am not opposed to electronics iN church during Liturgy or Adoration. My problem is the possible Scandal it could cause. All I'm asking is that we be careful in the beginning. Just like the RTR, slow and steady wins the race.

On another note. My wife doesn't like to change pages at all so she tapes all 5 or 6 pages together. I wonder how that would work with Ithingies and my budget!!

Schola NOT reading PDF on ONE 98" 4K Ultra HD TV?

IS OUTRAGE.

Yeah I am a luddite.

Yeah, well, I lived in Richmond for a long time as well. In St. David's parish bounderies to boot.

I don't understand why the wristwatch photo of JPII is a big deal. I never would have given it a second thought if someone didn't point it out to me. I guess it's a good thing he didn't wear glasses, because that definitely would have been too distracting...