LifeTeen Mass
  • My pastor recently asked me to incorporate the Life Teen approach to one of ours masses. He wants youth to feel more involved with our liturgy and make relationships with what they are learning in confirmation/communion classes. The bad part is, I am not too familiar with these concepts and not sure what to incorporate in the music. I know music wise he wants to make it more lively. Sheet music wise I do not know where to begin looking for it. Does anyone have experience in this field? Thank you!
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    There was a thread on the topic in 2010, so check that out: http://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/3562/lifeteen/p1
  • Thanks chonak. I read the discussion but it doesn't state where I can find some music for LifeTeen masses. If anyone knows, please share! Much appreciated.
  • www.spiritandsong.com

    www.ccli.com get a projection license and add the song select and it will give you all that music.

    Proceed with caution though, most of that music is not liturgical, and it is very difficult trying to plan music from both spiritandsong and CCLI to reflect the readings and liturgy at hand.

    Reality of the story is, just because it is dumbed down music that sounds like rocknroll, doesn't mean the youth are going to get "more involved" I certainly didn't as a youth. I could recognize dribble than, and the youth in my current position, have shown more interest in gregorian chant than that tired music.
    Thanked by 1theloniouslopez
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    Somebody observed in the other thread that there really isn't a prescribed style of Life Teen music, so one director taught the teen choir to sing chant and they thought it was cool. Most places probably do "praise 'n' worship" (which is praise but really not worship) because they don't know any better.
    Thanked by 1theloniouslopez
  • @ContraBombarde : I know what you mean, and I find this a struggle. Thank you for your redirection to some music. Now to know what the right book is! haha! Browsing through them I wish I knew exactly what to buy. Thanks again!
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    1. People who talk about wanting youth to "feel more involved" and describe them as preferring music that is "lively" (as opposed to what?) is symptomatic of people who are out of touch with youth. Young people, like any other group of people, are a diverse group. Some will prefer Praise and Worship music. Some will prefer old hymns on the organ. Some will prefer chant and polyphony. Exactly like any other age group.

    2. Asking someone who is not familiar with "Contemporary" Praise Music to plan and lead it is a recipe for inauthentic mediocrity. One of the few things that really does set young people apart from older people is their complete impatience and intolerance for the inauthentic and the mediocre.

    3. If your teenaged parishioners are disengaged and hostile toward coming to liturgy, P&W music is not going to change that. If they are engaged and interested in liturgy, P&W music is not needed.

    4. Out of context, P&W music programs seem awesome, with engaged youth and everything. But that is not in opposition to high quality traditional music programs; it is in opposition to crappy, semi-contemporary/pseudo-traditional music programs where folk songs and Protestant hymns are played slowly on a bad organ or a hum-n-strum guitar. It isn't the music that makes the difference- it's the care taken with it, the quality of performance and (most of all) the clear message that the adults care about the kids and their needs. All the things that make a good P&W successful can be done in the context of a program of actual Sacred Music.

    Soapbox ended.

    Obviously I don't know your situation, your parish, or your pastor.
    But if I was asked to do what you are being asked to do, I would have a serious talk with that pastor, and I would also make sure I had spent some time talking with the best and brightest among the youth.
  • gregpgregp
    Posts: 632
    One of the few things that really does set young people apart from older people is their complete impatience and intolerance for the inauthentic and the mediocre.

    Hey! I'm old and completely impatient and intolerant too!
  • I am not here to judge anyones thoughts and visions, just trying to do what is being asked of me. It is our pastors wish to do this, I merely have to follow directions. Simple as that. I know that IF I do not like it, the door is open for me to go somewhere else. Just wanted to know if people know where I can find this music.
  • "LifeTeen Mass"

    So we're going to have masses which deliberately exclude people who are not lively teenagers?
  • marajoymarajoy
    Posts: 783
    Right, theloniouslopez, we realize that's the situation you are in, but you should be aware that by coming here and posting on this particular forum, you are not going to get any actual support for what you are trying to do. (This is not the forum for people who appreciate that style of music/liturgy...)
  • WendiWendi
    Posts: 638
    Have you considered asking the teens what kind of music seems appropriate to them?

    It has always puzzled me why those in charge of planning things like this don't simply ask the target demographic what their preferences are. YMMV
    Thanked by 2Adam Wood Jenny
  • Mike R
    Posts: 106
    As a campus minister, I typically make my first battle the texts. At least find songs that have good texts; you can quibble about the musical style later. If you're selective, you can find some useful stuff from Spirit & Song and from GIA's counterpart, Cross Generation. A good number of the younger songwriters (stuff written in the past ten years) take their lyrics from writings of the saints, etc.

    Another suggestion is to do some traditional hymns with contemporary instrumentation. Something along the lines of Fernando Ortega's recordings. No one will know the difference.

    And didn't someone start a project of contemporary-styled propers awhile back?
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    And didn't someone start a project of contemporary-styled propers awhile back?


    I've publicly lobbied Ed Bolduc to do so. But, to my knowledge, he has not heeded the call.
  • Mike R
    Posts: 106
    I think I was actually thinking of this. Not Propers, but Responsorial Psalms: http://www.modernpsalter.com/
    Thanked by 2Gavin Adam Wood
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    Why does the musical repertoire have to change at all? Get some teens together, and form a choir. Involve them in the music-making, planning, etc. at Mass. Teach them to cantor. Introduce them to the Church's music.

    As Adam implied above, it isn't doing anything for teens if you're just having old people do bad music.
  • @Wendi: Proud to say that my whole choir is all teens! But they all have mixed feelings about the LifeTeen mass.
    @MikeR: Thanks for the reference! I Will browse more thoroughly the GIA books. I think that is the safest bet on what I will do. I think once I add drums and some type of bass guitar they will all be content.
    @Gavin: I have a choir that is all teens. Its 8th-12th graders, I have about 20 singers and I play piano. They are all involved and I have to say I've been lucky with these kids. They appreciate Chant and work from books from OCP, GIA, and WLP. I have brought up the idea of LifeTeen Mass and they do not feel so comfortable, they feel they will be more like entertainers to try to keep everyone "awake" instead of being more of the music to solidify the message of the readings, which they like.

    These changes are coming from the Pastor at the request of the Communion and Confirmation Directors.
    Thanked by 3Gavin Mike R Jenny
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,978
    So have your teens talk to the pastor and tell him what THEY want.
    Thanked by 2Gavin gregp
  • @CharlesW: My choir members are a minority. The teams built in these two programs (Confirmation and Communion) are filled with teens and they have been pushing for a LifeTeen Mass for years now.

    Its not about me wanting to get rid of it. My concern is that I do not know where to get music for it. But thank you to the people that have contributed! I have some point of reference!
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    Wow. It's like all "youth-oriented" programming issues in a single nutshell.

    You MUST talk to your pastor. What he is asking for will wreck your program.
    I know, I know- you're just looking for resources/books. But there is a serious issue here...
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    The best series of contemporary (as in Ensemble-based) Introits to my knowledge are the three or four editions at GIA by Ken Macek and Paul Tate. I have only one of those volumes, the Advent/Christmas, but they are sequential, persuasive and have aesthetic merit. What I mean about sequential is that as the antiphons are repeated, Macek/Tate alters the textures in interesting, compelling ways for both vocalists and instrumentalists. I find that very attractive, much the same way as when we first encountered Taize arrangements.
    YMMV.
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,700
    My present parish has a long-held Life Teen Mass (the entire music program used to, essentially, be a Life Teen Music Program). Though we've moved completely away from it at all the other Masses..., we do still have the Life Teen Mass on Sunday Evenings.

    The average Sunday looks like this:

    Procession: P&W Song
    Dialogues and Kyrie: typically chanted (one celebrant exception)
    Gloria: whatever was sung at the other Masses, chant or metric
    Psalm: chanted (Oost-Zinner or Aristotle)
    Alleluia: chanted with proper verse
    Offertory: P&W Song
    Sanctus/Mysterium/Amen: Roman Missal
    Agnus Dei XVIII or Roman Missal
    Communio: chanted in vernacular
    Communion: P&W Song
    Recessional: P&W Song

    It's not great, but it's a start and at least they're receiving a regular diet of fruits and vegetables along with the candy.
  • My pastor is very involved in Life Teen. He is often one of the speakers at many of the Life Teen events nationwide so I have a bit of experience with this. This is how a Mass works: Don't go all contemporary. Incorporate some of your traditional hymns as well; even chant is fine (not too much chant though). WorshipTogether.com is where you go to find the contemporary music. The spirit and song website is also an option. Usually when I incorporate a contemporary song it is as a communion meditation or an adoration piece after communion. Find a song with a refrain that can be easily learned by all, because that's what they'll be singing. See " Lord, I need You" (mentioned below). Be sure to have a cantor that has that contemporay sound to their voice. Our Life Teen director is a young guy and has a wonderful voice for this style. I also happen to have the right style of voice for this music, so I'll lead sometimes too. Some of my other cantors have great voices, but it just doesn't fit with this style of music.

    Some good contemporary pieces that your teens will know are music by Chris Tomlin, Matt Maher or Hillsong for example. You can even take a traditional piece and make it contemporary sounding. "All Creatures of our God and King" done by David Crowder is a very good opening and has been done at Life Teen Events. I am also partial to Fernando Ortega. He will sometimes take a traditional hymn and add a bit of twist to it. A new one that was done recently at a Lifeteen event that my teens like is "Lord, I Need You" by Chris Tomlin. Matt Maher also has some new Mass parts, which you can find on the Worship Together website that were also used at this event.

    I know, I know this is all the music that people may be flinching at, but if you truly want to follow the wishes of your pastor this is what a Life Teen Mass incorporates. But as I said just don't go overboard with the contemporary. You need to find a nice balance between the different styles of music, which I know can be hard especially when it's not what you're used to.
  • Mike R
    Posts: 106
    Some of the perhaps less-known contemporary stuff we have incorporated into our music supplement (among a lot of more traditional fare, though we have a pretty traditional hymnal already for a Newman Center in Sacred Song from Lit Press):

    Fragrance Prayer (Tom Booth/Cardinal Newman)
    Holy Is Your Name (WILD MOUNTAIN THYME/Haas)
    Lord Jesus Christ (Carol Browning/The Jesus Prayer)
    Lead, Kindly Light (LUX BENIGNA/Cardinal Newman) - seriously, no one will notice that this is a traditional hymn tune if you put it with strings
    Let There Be Light (Paul Melley)
    Let Us Go to the Altar of God (Schutte)
    Spirit of God Within Me (Soper)
    Take, Lord, Receive (Paul Melley/St. Ignatius Loyola)
    Virgin Great and Glorious - again, with the right instrumentation or a cappella no one would think that it's intended to be a traditional style; same goes for Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life and many other hymns
    Worthy is the Lamb (Manalo)
    Thanked by 1theloniouslopez
  • I find the main problem with much contemporary music (ie P&W) is that it is entirely unsuitable for liturgical seasons of Lent and Advent. There was a huge todo at my parish last year on Palm Sunday when the priest had to explain that because Palm Sunday marks the start of holy week they could not have a huge jubilant recessional.

    I used to have the same problem when in another parish I assisted as a member of the youth group to co-ordinate the 3rd Sunday of the Month Youth Mass. There were certain things that were just wrong, and they didn't understand liturgical seasons and didn't want to hear a thing about it.
  • Some traditional hymns do lend themselves to being "popped up". All Creatures of Our God and King is a notable one.
    Thanked by 1theloniouslopez
  • Strange as it might sound, I have had success with college age and high school groups when I schedule Psallite and BFW antiphons, led by college age and high school male cantors and psalmists, all a-cappella, no amplification, in a chapel setting with good acoustics and less than intense lighting. Male peer leadership inspires male and female participation. A snug space with people close together is far better than a grand space with people spread all over. The call and response style of Psallite and BFW seems to expect participation; and no one can hide behind instrumental accompaniment, especially of a performance-model kind. Candlelight and fewer lumens create an intimacy on which young people seem to thrive. And who doesn't sing in the shower (when all the surfaces seem to support your voice)!
  • canadashcanadash
    Posts: 1,501
    We're starting a "Lifeteen" Mass. I really can't see our pastor encourging or accepting anything but traditional music. We'll see how it goes, but the associate has assured me that it has been done in the past and has worked. PM if you want my email and I can ask our "Youth Minister" if she has suggestions for you. She has done this in other parishes as well.
    Thanked by 1theloniouslopez
  • I really appreciate all the help. You have all given me a sense of direction on how to go about this. Thanks for the redirection to music and suggestions. All very appreciated!
  • These changes are coming from the Pastor at the request of the Communion and Confirmation Directors


    This seems to be the crux of the matter. I wonder how many Communion and Confirmation directors would like a musician telling them how to run their program, which books to use, what type of felt to use for the banners etc.

    Perhaps not the most charitable comment, but a poignant question nonetheless.
    Thanked by 2Adam Wood CharlesW
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Earl, was that a rhetorical question? ;-)
    Thanked by 1Earl_Grey
  • When I was still Protestant, a Catholic colleague asked me about the banners hanging outside a mainline church advertising "New Praise." I replied without thinking, "It's what nerdy people think young people like."

    As a girl put it in one youth group I was leading, "If you want to start an argument, break out the CD player."

  • It's been my experience that everyone else is a music expert and the professional musician with a master's degree is always "out of touch". Especially when he is in line with the teaching of the Church.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    I take it my wanted poster is still prominently displayed at the FBI website, Post Offices and police stations, then, Earl? Cause that nails me to a T, and a lot of folks would add "out of his mind" as well.
    Thanked by 1Earl_Grey
  • no prophet is accepted in his own native place.


    Not everyone like what Jesus had to say either.