The light went on for another Catholic
  • alrtree
    Posts: 26
    I had to share this. A good friend of mine has been Catholic all her life (post Vatican II), has a music degree and has been faithfully attending Mass with her husband and children, living a fully Catholic lifestyle. She has been sympathetic to my "passion" for better music in our Liturgy, while seeing all forms of music in Mass as acceptable. Yesterday I gave her the article "The Furious Power of Music" from the Spring 2008 edition of Sacred Music Mag. She quietly read it, then looked up at me and cried, "Now I get it! Music in the Mass should sound DIFFERENT from any other music found outside the Mass!" The light went on. Thank you for publishing this article, along with the one that followed it, "The Problem of Catholic Musical Illiteracy" by Jeffrey Tucker. They have both been very useful in explaining what I am talking about. In fact, I am very grateful for all the contributors to Sacred Music Magazine. Good stuff!
  • Jeffrey TuckerJeffrey Tucker
    Posts: 3,624
    that's really great to hear!
  • alrtree
    Posts: 26
    After her response, I made copies of both articles, and gave them to several people at Mass today, including most choir members (I ran out of copies) and one to our priest. I joked with them that I was handing out more of my "sacred music propaganda". But seriously, everyone is becoming more open, and it emboldens me.

    Our priest announced that in our diocese we are beginning a new program: "Catholics Come Home". On the way home from Mass, my husband and I were talking about this and how the reform of the reform can't come quickly enough for us. I said that I am CERTAIN if we do the right music, and well, the people will be drawn to the beauty and the Truth; they will come. He said, "Yes, there needs to be a home to come home to. Why would people come home when home has been torn down and the furniture sold?"
  • alrtree
    Posts: 26
    Correction: He said, "HOW can people come home, when home has been torn down and all the furniture sold?"
  • tdunbar
    Posts: 120
    Speaking of that article "The Furious Power of Music" - I very much appreciate that PDF's of Musica Sacra magazine are online. However, it would be useful if at least some of the articles were independently online in html format. For example, i've got the text of "The Furious Power of Music" (without footnotes) online, but private, which i copy to fellow parishioners when I think it useful. It would be nice to be able to post link on, say, facebook.
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