Apparently there was a situation in a community of ours (not our local community) in which they are seeking guidance. Someone stated that there is a church document which states you cannot have a hymn to Mary as a recessional at mass. Does anyone know if this is actually true or if there is even a document which offers guidance on appropriateness of hymns? Thanks so much.
What a curious statement. I’ve never heard of such a thing. To wit, we end every mass with the seasonal Marian antiphon. And what would make the recessional the peculiar focus in this case? The Catholic Church has, well, to put it mildly, quite the collection of Marian hymnody, both ancient and modern.
Yeah to me it sounds like someone complaining who just doesnt like changes. Ive looked all over and I cant find a single so called "church document" that says anything like that.
"someone" may be confusing this with a ban on hymns o Mary at or after Communion. I don't have a reference for that ban, and if it exists it is not uniformly enforced. I have heard "As I kneel before you, ..." during communion, which did not please me.
Also with reaction to the relatively novel (as in, last several decades) practice of tacking on the Ave to the General Intercessions when liturgical prayer would customarily be addressed to God the Father though the Son in the Holy Spirit, amply or concisely.
Thats pretty funny "as I kneel before you"... its almost like, on the reverse, I once heard a postulant chose the hymn "Ave Verum Corpus" as a hymn to Mary- not knowing latin she thought it was a Marian Hymn "ex Mariae Virgine..."
Recessional hymns are not part of mass, or so I have been told by competent liturgists. You can have them or not. Some organists play a postlude instead, depending on the will of the pastor.
Not that I'm recommending this practice, but it seems to fit the current discussion.... Some years ago, I was on my way to a Colloquium and had located a TLM which conveniently fit my itinerary.
I don't recall anything unusual except for when the choir sang what I call "Verse Zero" of the recessional hymn while the celebrant quietly recited the Last Gospel.
The priest and choir having finished, the choir and congregation continued on with "Verse 1" etc. as printed in the hymnal or worship aid.
Verse Zero sounds like a fitting name for a sci-fi film where many post-Vatican II hymns, with older Arthur Sullivan and Victorian tunes thrown in for good measure, suddenly vanish into a void.
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