I have been helping with music for a youth group for the past three years. What we have been doing is playing music for the kids during eucharistic adoration. The kids (and I) seem to enjoy songs by Matt Maher and Chris Tomlin, etc. We also use hymns and of course Tantum Ergo and Holy God. But I wanted to ask your opinions of this combination of music. Is it appropriate? We have examined the lyrics of the more contemporary songs and have judged them to be in line with Church teachings and we would never use them within a Mass. Although I enjoy these songs, I would stop using them if it is deemed inappropriate to continue to do so. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I would not use such Christian pop music during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As you mention, the texts are not heretical, nor do they attack the Church, but my primary argument is one of style. Certainly, Maher and Tomlin write "emotional" music and perform these songs "with feeling", but expressive performance is not necessarily a quality of sacred music. How much does this music resemble strictly secular music? What sort of emotions does it evoke? Then-Cardinal Ratzinger expressed the idea very powerfully in "The Spirit of the Liturgy"; that sacred music has a different character, and rock music is fundamentally inappropriate for Christian worship. Not because of guitars or hairstyles or even the bad vocal technique, but because of its intrinsic qualities----those which evoke paganism.
I would probably get rid of Spirit and Song (both volumes). They are not at all appropriate for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Even though the text may be scriptural (in some cases), the musicality is not suitable for the Mass. Most, if not all, of the settings are more along the lines of soft pop, blues and jazz.
Start with simple, traditional hymns. It's a shame that GIA pretty much ruined a perfectly good Worship hymnal when it "updated' the lyrics. The old Worship III had a really good mix of music that was (with some notable exceptions) ideal for the Mass. Explain to the kids that at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the veil between time and space and heaven and earth is lifted and we are in the very presence of the Divine Majesty of God. What we do at the Mass is something extraordinary. Thus, the music that we use needs to be out of the ordinary.
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