Music for WYD on October 23-24, 2010
  • papalgal
    Posts: 35
    I sit on my parish's liturgical committee. During our last meeting, the diocesan director of youth ministry showed up and quickly told us about an initiative from the USCCB that moved the WYD observance from Palm Sunday to the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. He said that the World Youth Day was getting lost in the Palm Sunday observance. My eyes got as big as saucers when he mentioned this. He then told us that the bishops moved it to the 30th Sunday and one of their offices had some ideas to make the Mass more "youth-oriented". Among the ideas was having the youth serve as lectors, ushers, EMHCs, cantors and choir members. The other scary part was that the music needed to focus on the youth and it was suggested that contemporary music, like the stuff in that horrid Spirit and Song book, be used.

    Luckily, it was decided that, at least in our parish, only one of the Masses would feature this kind of stuff (with the exception of having teen EMHCs). My dad's home parish will be having it all weekend. I told my dad that maybe he should avoid going to his parish for that weekend.

    My main concern revolves around the music. I believe that we are cheating the youth out of their rightful heritage of Sacred Music from the Church's vast treasury. The youth should be oriented to Sacred Music, not the other way around. The sad fact is that it's as though I am making my pitch to tone-deaf ears. "Contemporary" music used in the Mass should not sound like something you hear at a pop concert. I am dreading my parish hauling out the drum kits and the electric guitars.
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,094
    You know, somebody should do a survey on "what Catholic youth want". The answers might surprise all of us. Not that the Church is a democracy, but since it's being treated like one ("buy off this special interest group by giving them 'their' music") we might as well ascertain the Will of the People.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    Youth are attracted to contemporary music groups that welcome them. It's the people that run the groups - be it the guitar group or the choir, that attract youth, not the music that is played.

    The charisma of the group leader and the people she/he are attracting and surrounded with make the group. For youth the music that the group plays and sings rarely has any attraction value since all of it, chant, pseudo-folk and rock, is totally different from what they like and listen to on the radio.

    Many youth are drawn to involvement in music to avoid sitting in the pews/ushering/other duties. And also to be different than all the others...

    Male and female scholas differ in group dynamics from an SATB choir and will draw people who would not join an SATB choir...but once again, the group dynamic is created and controlled by the director. And the dynamic can be inherited from a former director.

    Many small choirs are small because they are unwelcoming to youth and everybody. They have their own little thing and it's theirs. No one else is welcome. This is especially evident in cantor programs. They are stars. They complain that no one else wants to cantor, but it's because they want to cantor all the masses themselves because they are so much better at it than anyone else can be and they fear someone else might do better.

    Youth Masses where kids do everything are wrong, they should already be involved in everything.
  • papalgal
    Posts: 35
    I think in our case, the only diet of "music" that we have is OCP. The kids very rarely get to hear, let alone, sing, sacred music. When I leafed through Spirit and Song, it really nauseated me. The last song in the book was "Lean on Me", yes, that "Lean on Me", the old R&B song. Another title that made me sick was "Celebrate Youth." That is why I am going to do my best to avoid this pariticular Mass.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    I can't remember the name of it, but there's a song in the Spirit and Song that sounds like "Can you Feel the Love Tonight."

    And I don't mean that the way snarky Traddies mean, "It reminds me of the Edmund Fitzgerald or the Brady Bunch theme song."

    I mean- literally, note for note, the verses are identical to the verses for Can you Feel the Love Tonight for about 4 bars- it's unmistakable.
  • PaixGioiaAmorPaixGioiaAmor
    Posts: 1,473
    If you have the OCP yearly hymnal, check out Carey Landry's "Women of the Church". I am not. making. this. up.
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    I know that plenty of conservatives/traditionalists/good-Catholics are quick to jump all over expressions of feminist theology in worship.
    Okay, but let's put that aside for a minute so that I, a feminist, a liberal, a heretic, a writer of feminist hymnody, etc, etc, can just say:

    What the heck is wrong with Carey Landrey?

    That text is just awful. Cheesy. Goofy. Counter-productive to the feminist cause (as most liberal activism is). Inappropriate for liturgy (on several different grounds unrelated to it's feminist purpose). Ridiculous.



    This is why, even given my philosophical/theological/ecclesiastical profile, I support orthopraxis in liturgy and traditional sacred music...

    Traditional Liturgy and Theological Training >>produced>> The vision of women like Hildegard and Julian of Norwich, the cosmological mysticism of Teilhard de Chardin, the prophetic character of John XXIII and Vatican II, the keen wit of Cardinal Arinze, the pastoral liberality of B16, and saints and thinkers in every age who fill every inch of the spectrum between liberal and conservative, between progressive and traditional, between orthodox and heretic

    Goofy Creative Liturgy >>produced>> self-centered pseudo hippies, shallow thinkers, agnostic dropouts, ineffectual activism, and a wave of ultraconservative reactionaries.
  • noel jones, aagonoel jones, aago
    Posts: 6,611
    Adam, your post comes at a time when I have just been exposed to the thinking of a comments protagonist at Chant Cafe from a link that sent me to visit to his blog. Having read postings there I see that GCL along with strong support for ordination of women priests and things that totally challenge the traditions of the church are alive, alive and not well. I have not been comfortable with comments posted in the past, but an article in church paper explained a lot about why I have been uncomfortable. He describes writing about church music as, in his words, "a hobby."

    You may describe yourself as you have done, but every word you write exhibits your strong support and belief in the traditional church.
  • Bobby Bolin
    Posts: 422
    I agree with Jeffrey. Children and teens seem to like the Spirit and Song stuff about the same as most of us. I have also noticed a growing trend in people around my age (22) and younger having no interest in any type of sacred music, whether traditional or contemporary.

    I am worried...
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    You may describe yourself as you have done, but every word you write exhibits your strong support and belief in the traditional church.

    Because I have a strong support and belief in the traditional church, and particularly in Her liturgy.
    And in those (very few, but to me, very critical) areas where I really do believe that the Church is in error, I strongly believe in the power of the Holy Spirit, working through the Sacred Liturgy and the long tradition of Church scholarship, to eventually correct the Church; and/or, conversely, in the that same Spirit's power, working through those same instruments, to eventually correct my misguided thinking. (In short: the truth will out!)

    Goofy Creative Liturgy (GCL) does nothing to help the cause of those who (rightly or wrongly) desire change of any sort: it only serves to make people feel like they've accomplished something, which removes their fire and inspiration for actually doing something meaningful. For goodness sakes- if you want God to change something, why aren't you praying to God for it? Why are you praying to yourself, about yourself, and for yourself?
    If you are heartbroken about the exclusion of women, why aren't you lamenting before God? Why are you celebrating just how included women have always been?

    I can't for the life of me figure out how adding dancers, or singing stupid songs, or having lighting effects at the Easter Vigil, or building puppets, or wearing ugly vestments, or using bad translations, or calling a church a "worship space," or building ugly buildings, or any of the other ridiculous things people do, actually moves forward the cause of (for example) women's ordination.
  • miacoyne
    Posts: 1,805
    Well, I agree with chonak's following post. I should have sent it to 'whisper'. Thank you. [edited]
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,221
    Hm, that's sort of a side issue. Let's get back to papalgal's topic.

    I didn't even know that (previously) there had been WYD-related events around Palm Sunday. The start of Holy Week is so important, I'm glad if they decided not to add any specialized events then. Was that something US-wide, or local?
  • papalgal
    Posts: 35
    Chonak, it is supposed to be US-wide. I checked the USCCB website, but, I did not find anything.
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