Mass at St. Peter's Basilica or Westminster Cathedral London

ryand

We tried the minimum repertoire idea before.

http://www.adoremus.org/JubilateDeo.html

In April 1974 Pope Paul VI sent to every bishop in the world a booklet of some of the simplest selections of Gregorian Chant, much of it drawn from the Graduale Romanum. This booklet, called Jubilate Deo, was intended as a “minimum repertoire of Gregorian chant”. It is, in other words, an official Latin “core repertoire” for the Roman Rite. It was prepared, the Pope said, in order “to make it easier for Christians to achieve unity and spiritual harmony with their brothers and with the living tradition of the past. Hence it is that those who are trying to improve the quality of congregational singing cannot refuse Gregorian chant the place which is due to it” (Voluntati Obsequens).

To every bishop in the world.

Look at how well that turned out.

Liam

No.108 of Liturgicam Authenticam offers another example of something that over a period of a few years became a dead letter in practical terms:

108. Sung texts and liturgical hymns have a particular importance and efficacy. Especially on Sunday, the “Day of the Lord”, the singing of the faithful gathered for the celebration of Holy Mass, no less than the prayers, the readings and the homily, express in an authentic way the message of the Liturgy while fostering a sense of common faith and communion in charity. If they are used widely by the faithful, they should remain relatively fixed so that confusion among the people may be avoided. Within five years from the publication of this Instruction, the Conferences of Bishops, necessarily in collaboration with the national and diocesan Commissions and with other experts, shall provide for the publication of a directory or repertory of texts intended for liturgical singing. This document shall be transmitted for the necessary recognitio to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

* * *

I had fun periodically corresponding with the USCCB staff on that one. You could hear the crickets. The bishops did end up producing a vague directory - of guidelines for texts and essentially confirming their longstanding practice on relying on the ordinary of the jurisdiction of publication to determine how to put things into effect (or, of course, not...often what's most important in Roman culture is what's *not* said). By the time it got to Rome, Rome had moved on. And, if memory serves, the USA may have been one of the few conferences that even bothered to go through the motions on this. When they went through the motions of establishing a music section at the CDW a few years ago, I had little expectation it would actually mean anything despite breathless anticipation in some quarters, given this most recent experience. Liturgical music not a field in which bishops or curial officials as a group will bother to stake their careers.

MatthewRoth

Adam, even though Sarum and Nidaros, to choose two places, had local variants of the Roman Rite, the solemn/sung liturgy was something of a norm. The Low Mass as normative would have been foreign to the late medieval Christian. Sure, there were ferial Masses, votive Masses, etc. but the cathedral and monastic houses had capitular Masses, and there were clerks in smaller churches to assist the parish priest. That's the kind of unity we're looking for, I think, in the CMAA. Even Trent, if you follow Fr. Hunwicke's line, didn't look for unity in a "everyone must be exactly the same" kind of way.

Abbot Jonathan Coel

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Adam Wood

You don't have to convince me of the need for a sung liturgy. Too, I am aware of the substantial unity of liturgical expression across the Western Church prior to the Reformation --- I doubt any non-specialist would be able to spot the practical difference between a Roman, Sarum, or Ambrosian celebration of the Mass at their respective Cathedrals.

Where I think a non-specialist would spot a difference is between liturgies (say) at a major urban Cathedral, a remote monastery, and a rural parish.

There are a lot of things to commend about St. Peter's and Westminster, and a lot of other places. There are certainly a lot of problems at the vast majority of parishes.

I just think the OP's original statement is silly, and that the thinking behind it is naive.

a_f_hawkins

The Low Mass as normative would have been foreign to the late medieval Christian

I doubt that, larger medieval churches had several chapels, in which I think simultaneous Low Masses would take place. And if it is true that congregations attached great importance to seeing the elevation, they would not have bothered with High Mass at Salisbury, where the High altar cannot be seen from the nave. I am, however, open to instruction on this.

MatthewRoth

I meant by that the Low Mass as normative as a liturgy generally devoid of the sung propers and the choral ordinary and the use of assisting ministers. Perhaps in rural areas this was the case, but out of necessity, not by choice.

tomjaw

Research by Christopher Hogkinson has shown that even small towns in England had Solemn High Mass... With all the chantry chapels it was easy to find all the Sacred Ministers you would need, as well as a choir.

Low Mass would have of course been common with all these priests, and also in Monastic communities, but the main Mass would have been a Solemn High Mass.

So the normative Mass would have been a Solemn High Mass. Of course general / daily or weekly communion is a modern restoration of an ancient practice, so for those few times a year that the people had to receive the Blessed Sacrament would perhaps have been at a low Mass, or outside Mass.

amindthatsuits

I read a lot of these posts, but not all, and it is as some have indicated: it really depends on the diocese. Masses in the Archdiocese of Washington have been well ordered for a very long time; the infamous clown Mass at Holy Trinity was long ago, now. I am sure there are some parishes that scamper free (I know of one, actually), and some people here would not be comfortable with styles, but they are all properly celebrated so far as I know. The Masses I go to in North Carolina are respectful and reverential, if the music is a little home grown. Then I had to go on business to some Midwestern dioceses a couple of years ago and my jaw dropped. "THIS is what people are complaining about." Cathedrals stripped bare; horrendous, self-congratulatory music which everyone sang with that dopey "uplifting" expression. But I went to a Vigil Mass at the Basilica of St. Louis that was certainly minimal but it was very reverential. So I learned to be grateful any time I went to a properly celebrated Mass.

Kenneth

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