Well that's... interesting.

Idiot.

"fasting from beauty."

For me: God is Truth. Truth is Beauty. Therefore God is the epitome of all that is Beautiful.

Fasting from Beauty means fasting from God: So I presume that you are all going to apostatize during lent, and then make a Solemn Profession of Faith at the Easter Vigil to reconcile yourselves to the Church?

Come on, guys. He's only applying the well-known principle of progressive insolemnity.

What the heck.

We are invited to let him know if we have any questions.

Have you even read Musicam Sacram?

On a more serious note, setting aside the goofy "fasting from beauty" thing, perhaps there is an opportunity here for some positive changes. Imagine instead of "dropping" the particular Mass part/song, on the appointed Sunday, those particular parts change from what in most US Catholic churches is a contemporary Mass setting or a substituted song in place of the propers to the appointed chants:

Feb. 10 - Ash Wednesday - Mass of ________ replaced by Mass XVII (or Jubilate Deo, if Mass XVII is too complicated)
Feb. 13-14 - Opening Song replaced by Introit
Feb. 20-21 - Offertory Song replaced by Offertory Chant
Feb. 27-28 - Communion Song replaced by Communion Chant
March 5-6 - Closing Song replaced by Marian Antiphon (Ave Regina Caelorum)
etc.

If the pastor's objective is to introduce a more solemn/sober atmosphere during Lent (as is appropriate), this might be a good counter-proposal. "Fasting" from instrumental music during Lent is already appointed by the Church, so perhaps with the right education/encouragement this can turn into something positive.

Actually, as unrooted in liturgical propriety as this priest's plan is, it will be more effective in demarcating Lent than what is done in most parishes. I think his congregation will actually notice.

Of course, there are better ways of making this demarcation, but I applaud him for trying something striking. If I were in the OP's shoes, I would be trying to demonstrate to the pastor that there are other ways of making a noticeable difference between Lent and Ordinary time which both respect the content of the rites and better lead to a properly celebrated Holy Week. Maybe the OP has already done this and been rebuffed. If so, rejoice in the extra rehearsal time for Easter, since little else needs to be prepared.

Reminds me of Cardinal Ratzinger's phrase:the reductionist form of celebration. It's very interesting since this is pretty much an admission that the Low Mass is a more penitential paradigm than a Sung Mass.

I knew an EF pastor who regularly scheduled Low Masses on Sunday even though he had a schola and choir because he purposely wanted the Mass to be "difficult" for the people so they had to struggle a bit and were deprived of the consolation of music.

I would think singing the Mass with unaccompanied chant (as the Church prescribed in Lent before the reforms!) would provide a more austere atmosphere without depriving the people of music altogether--- a paradigm which is not liturgically appropriate in any season since the Church traditionally provides music for every day of the year and almost every hour of the day in the old liturgical books.

We musicians just got word from our priest that his theme for Lent is "fasting from beauty."

Wow!!! Of all the half baked... I am not sure what is meant by "fasting from beauty", but I recognize an experiment when I see one. Perhaps I missed the point, but IMHO, there seems to be a disconnect on what is meant by beauty. The holy sacrifice of the mass is the action of Christ himself, and is beautiful even when it makes use of profound silence. Removing music from the mass seems to be the height of absurdity, especially during Lent.

We musicians just got word from our priest that his theme for Lent is "fasting from beauty."

I didn't need to read any more after that first sentence; I knew this was going to be a doozy.

"...his theme for Lent..." - we are talking a Catholic parish/shrine/institution, not a quasi-liturgical Protestant one, right?

More to the point, why would we ever want to "fast from beauty?" If one really wanted to "fast from beauty," why doesn't he suggest fasting from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass altogether?

I might ask your priest if this would entitle me to a six-weekend vacation...with a straight face.

The idea that the Mass parts are the first thing dropped is red flag that this is seriously unserious. It's clear the Mass parts are viewed as wallpaper.

@Liam: it seems as if this priest views music in the Mass (let alone "singing the Mass") as wallpaper. Full stop.

Yikes! Only church in town - does that mean it is a small parish in a smaller city? Is the bishop getting him out of his hair by sticking him in this parish?

You could always try poison. Have you seen
"Arsenic and Old Lace" by any chance? This priest won't be missed. LOL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NLV24qTnlg

Trigger warning: yellow face microaggressions in spades. (Per custom, with lyrics updated to be au courant.)

Ben, yes, I attempted to disclaim the whole "fasting from beauty" idea at the top of my comments and replace it with something better. Alas, from Teresa's follow-up comment, I'm afraid this might be a lost cause. Pray for vocations and for a lovely retirement villa for your pastor.

"At the Consecration he barely lifts the Host and Challis a few inches and then quickly back down."

It should be noted that of the list of particulars, this thing is not like the others: it's not inconsistent with the instructions in the Missal, which envision a showing rather than an elevation of the Body and Precious Blood and an elevation thereof at the doxology. (I am not fond of when priests get all scrupulous about this one thing or something else they cherry pick, though, and then drive trucks through other clear instructions. Because I am not a fan of cherry picking, though I love cherries.)

I was also thinking that adhering to the 3 tiers of MS would be more beneficial. I've also noticed in parishes in my area that priests are trying to make a concerted effort to appropriately adjust the amount of solemnity for various Masses and seasons by experimenting with which parts of the Mass are to be sung: some will be one weekend, but not the next. The Gloria in particular has been the subject of this: many weeks during the summer last year, it was not sung.

TeresaH - I think that you have done everything already that you can and should do. I would not try to improve his plan and I would not do anything to show him up with anyone, including the choir.

Especially since your choice of parish is constrained, I would keep my eye on the musical prize, realizing that the pastor controls everything but the quality of your preparation and performance. What you learn now from dealing with this situation may well serve you well when you have a more congenial pastor, or are working with a more congenial celebrant.

Don't get fired over this or let it affect your vision of what music should be in the liturgy. A better day will come.

Here's a reference for Liam's point:

The rubric on p. 697 of the Roman Missal tells the priest to raise the host "slightly" ("parum") before reciting the prayer of consecration; and then he shows ("ostendit") the consecrated host to the people.

Now, if the priest were offering Mass versus Deum, then showing the Host to the people would imply raising it high; but if he is celebrating versus populum, then the more modest elevation complies with the rubric. There's not much point in complaining about that.

Bp. Elliott's Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite (#301) recommends that the elevation be done in an unhurried manner, and above eye-level.

My only point being that that thing is not an outright abuse the way the other things are.

I will do the usual for Lent - accompany singing with no reed stops, and play no instrumentals. On "pink" Sunday, I will play some Lenten organ chorale preludes by Reger and others of note.

Somehow I thought St. Augustine's tortured reflections on sacred music might fit into this discussion:

St. Augustine's Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 33:

"I used to be much more fascinated by the pleasures of sound than the pleasures of smell. I was enthralled by them, but you broke my bonds and set me free. I admit that I still find some enjoyment in the music of hymns, which are alive with your praises, when I hear them sung by well-trained melodious voices. But I do not enjoy it so much that I cannot tear myself away. I can leave it when I wish. But if I am not to turn a deaf ear to music, which is the setting for the words which give it life, I must allow it a position of some honor in my heart, and I find it difficult to assign it to its proper place. For sometimes I feel that I treat it with more honor than it deserves. I realize that when they are sung these sacred words stir my mind to greater religious fervor and kindle in me a more ardent form of piety than they would if they were not sung; and I also know that there are particular modes in song and the voice, corresponding to my various emotions and able to stimulate them because of some mysterious relationship between the two. But I ought not to allow my mind to be paralysed by the gratification of my senses, which often leads it astray. For the senses are not content to take second place. Simply because I allow them their due, as adjuncts to reason, they attempt to take precedence and forge ahead of it, with the result that I sometimes sin in this way but am not aware of it until later.


Sometimes, too, from over-anxiety to avoid this particular trap I make the mistake of being too strict. When this happens, I have no wish but to exclude from my ears, and from the ears of the Church as well, all the melody of those lovely chants to which the Psalms of David are habitually sung; and it seems safer to me to follow the precepts which I remember often having heard ascribed to Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, who used to oblige the lectors to recite the psalms with such slight modulation of the voice that they seemed to be speaking rather than chanting. But when I remember the tears that I shed on hearing the songs of the Church in the early days, soon after I had recovered my faith, and when I realize that nowadays it is not the singing that moves me but the meaning of the words when they are sung in a clear voice to the most appropriate tune, I again acknowledge the great value of this practice. So I waver between the danger that lies in gratifying the senses and the benefits which, as I know from experience, can accrue from singing. Without committing myself to an irrevocable opinion, I am inclined to approve of the custom of singing in church, in order that by indulging the ears weaker spirits may be inspired with feelings of devotion. Yet when I find the singing itself more moving than the truth which it conveys, I confess that this is a grievous sin, and at those times I would prefer not to hear the singer.


This, then is my present state. Let those of my readers whose hearts are filled with charity, from which good actions spring, weep with me and weep for me. Those who feel no charity in themselves will not be moved with my words. But I beg you, O Lord my God, to look upon me and listen to me. Have pity on me and heal me, for you see that I have become a problem to myself, and this is the ailment from which I suffer."

http://www.toddtarantino.com/hum/augustine.html

I'm not sure there's anything you can do here.

As we say in the east, who was the heretic Augustine or Donatus? The answer is both of them LOL.

Leaving out some or all music for the entire period of Lent makes a LOT more sense than dropping chunks bit by bit. Withdrawing music bit by bit puts the question in people's minds, "What are they going to do next week?" rather than assisting them in prayer and reverence.

This is progressive foolishness. It will bring attention to the music (well, the lack of it) rather than focus people on the lenten liturgies.

The only way to deal with this priest is for all the musicians to band together and approach him. If any of them refuse, then just let it be - or find another parish.

CGZ, honoring your criticism, I have scratched out my message as being useless repetition.