Hymns for Mass
  • monasteryliturgistmonasteryliturgist
    Posts: 314
    Dear All,

    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.
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,912
    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.
    Thanked by 1LauraKaz
  • Bri
    Posts: 116
    I was under the impression that there isn't much official guidance regarding recessional hymns because this is technically after Mass had ended.
    Thanked by 2LauraKaz CharlesW
  • Chrism
    Posts: 873
    I once heard there was some (stupid) rule like that in Canada.

    I think the better rule is "De Maria numquam satis"
    Thanked by 3OMagnumMysterium LauraKaz mmeladirectress
  • monasteryliturgistmonasteryliturgist
    Posts: 314
    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.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,478
    "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.
    Thanked by 1monasteryliturgist
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,116
    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.
    Thanked by 5ServiamScores CHGiffen LauraKaz monasteryliturgist M. Jackson Osborn
  • monasteryliturgistmonasteryliturgist
    Posts: 314
    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..."
    Thanked by 4tomjaw LauraKaz ServiamScores CHGiffen
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,985
    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.
    Thanked by 2monasteryliturgist LauraKaz
  • JonathanLCJonathanLC
    Posts: 75
    How about a recessional hymn based on the Last Gospel instead? Might raise a few eyebrows.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,848
    Lol
  • WGS
    Posts: 301
    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.

    No objection! - just a surprise for me.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,848
    @WGS

    ...we would all love to know the content of 'verse 0'... do you remember what it was?
  • WGS
    Posts: 301
    No recollection!
    Surely, it was in the vernacular English set to the same meter and tune of the subsequent verses 1-x.
  • Diapason84
    Posts: 81
    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.
    Thanked by 1tomjaw
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