Occasionally we have posts about our favourite hymns or the role and choice of music in the liturgy. NEO comes from a church music background, so I am always interested to hear his thoughts on the matter.
Music is one of the ways in which the Christian Anglosphere is held together. Sharing English as a language, we are able to understand songs written in different parts of the Anglosphere (though we may need to reflect on some contextual matters to understand what a given lyricist has in mind).
Where the pastor organises the service, even if he does not lead various parts of it, it is common for him to pick hymns that are related in some way to the main message of his sermon. Thus, for example, a pastor preaching on the return of Christ might choose the following hymns for the service.
- “Lo! He comes with clouds descending” by John Cennick and Charles Wesley
- “Sing we the King who is coming to reign” by Charles Silvester Horne
- “Christ is surely coming bringing His reward” by Christopher Idle
- “Great is the darkness that covers the earth” by Gerald Coates and Noel Richards
New songs may be set to old melodies, and it is common for older songs to be sung to a variety of melodies and blended by worship leaders in order to create a fluent time of worship during the service.
The traditions of the Church and the use of repitition allow us to use songs to emphasise various seasons and doctrines. This brings stability and devotion to the Lord (cf. the use of litanies in private devotion, such as the Litany of the Virgin).
Our world of instability, rocked by the spiritual war and the tribulations of the physical world, weary our bodies and souls. Sung worship helps us to commune with God, to reflect on His character and promises, and trust in Him as the Rock upon whom our lives and His Church are built.
The ancient Church, taking on the traditions of Second Temple Judaism, understood worship on earth to be mystically linked to worship in heaven (see the scenes of worship in Revelation). They believed that angels would be present during our earthly services, taking part in worship (invisibly as a general rule). This provides part of the context for St Paul’s admonition to women to have their heads covered during gatherings (hence mantillas).
Songs are also used to augment certain parts of the liturgy (although this practice is also open to abuse). Thus it is common in many churches to have the worship band or choir perform during the eucharist. Choirs in traditional churches are often dressed in white surplices or gowns in order to reflect the worship of the redeemed and angels in heaven.
Songs, as mentioned above, are also problematic: things in this earthly realm can be used for both good and evil. The emotional intensity elicited by songs can make us vulnerable.
Passing the collection plate during worship has drawn the ire of many Christians, who object to this practice on the following grounds. Firstly, it is a distraction during a time when one is supposed to be focussing on God. Secondly, people may feel compelled to give in their emotional state when otherwise they would not. Arguably it is better to give in a fully rational mind when one chooses freely. Lastly, people can see each other giving: it is not private. The purpose of this paragraph is not to give a definitive position on this practice, but merely to point out that it is controversial.
Worship can also be a temptation for performers, composers, and leaders to draw attention to themselves, rather than to God. While succumbing to this temptation is probably rare, it does happen. Similarly, there is a danger for congregants: singing in order to make ourselves feel better as a primary goal, rather than to give worship to God. For this reason, the song, “The Heart of Worship”, was composed by Matt Redman.
Songs, gestures, declarations, and prayers are not the only part of Christian worship. The Bible teaches us that, if we truly love God, our whole lives will be one long act of worship. Obeying Jesus’ commandments out of love for Him is worship: giving to the poor, spending time with the vulnerable, being dutiful to our parents and those in authority over us, speaking the truth in love.
All of the above show the different intersections between Christian songs and our lives. They teach us, inspire us, and help us to show God our wonder and love for Him. But they also reflect the times in which they were written. For many today, the meaning of (parts of) older songs is obscure. Thankfully, we have opportunities to address this problem through sermons, emails, blogs, conversations, and bible studies.
Have a good Thursday.
All Along the Watchtower 
“songs” vs. “hymns”
https://songsandhymns.org/music-worship/article/hymns-and-praise-songs
My pet peeve is that we not only lost the most identifiable Catholic use of music expressed primarily in Gregorian Chant and polyphonic hymns and replaced them with song . . . which is syrupy to say the least or highly tinged with an ulterior motive to express multicultural ideals.
The Catholic Liturgy, focusing primarily on the Sacrifice of Christ on the Holy Cross (thus the name of our liturgy being the Sacrifice of the Mass) is being lost rapidly and people are losing their belief in the Real Presence and consider it nothing more than symbolic or merely as a communal meal to be shared which takes precedence over the Sacrifice of our Lord and Savior. Praise and worship songs are fine outside of a defined ritual but have no place at the Holy Mass. I think that is my pet peeve.
Even songs, which are poplar such as “Amazing Grace” are far from the mark of Ritualistic hymns designed to draw us into the Divine Mystery. It is filled with the saccharine verses that repeated speak of “I” and might be considered self-service to our emotions. The same can be said for the negro spirituals that have become popular like, for instance, “Were You There When they Crucified our Lord.” The songs are fine outside of the Mass for praise and worship and we have a host of other songs that weaken our faith in the Real Presence as well. Modern musical directors seem to have lost their way and they claim that they look for the ‘participation’ of the people all singing or clapping to these new snappy tunes. And then you have such atrocities as “Lord of Dance” which makes me head for the doors whenever they perform it. I could list hundreds of others but this is the new thing. Nothing that is vaguely contemplative and adds to the worship is demanded. We now get more songs than we do hymns and more awful singing that we do trained choirs who can manage a good Catholic Hymn or Chant.
And if anyone wonders about the power of music at Mass and discount such criticism, just know that I have known priests who became priests via the old discipline of Ritual music for Mass and others who have left our parish in search of a more spiritual experience rather than a fellowship experience.
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That seems to hit the nail on the head regarding the conflict in the RCC today as I see it from the outside. They ought to have left the Mass alone so that traditional people could have it and provided the more Protestant-style services at non-Mass times, e.g. in church halls for mid-week bible studies. That would have been better.
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Yes, there are plenty of opportunities to sing these songs outside of Mass. Instead they have tried to blend praise and worship services with the Holy Mass and it does not work. It seems like it ia a bureaucratically designed form of worship and instead of satisfying everyone, it satisfies nobody. It is about as non-sensical as the new bi-lingual Masses with an admixture of both English and Spanish . . . it works for nobody.
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Indeed, Catholics trying to do Protestantism strikes me as odd at times. Sometimes, it works, e.g. the case of a homily delivered as a prophecy – but that is not innovation. There are historical examples of this.
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The old adage is that Catholics don’t do Protestantism very well . . . and that seems spot on. In the mix, the heart of Catholic worship is ripped asunder and we do not mimic the Protestant emotional atmosphere at all: and it isn’t rocket science. It’s like mixing oil and water . . . what did they expect. It turn out to be neither. Just a mixture that is impossible to be homogenized.
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Indeed, a bad example of hybridising. Better to pick something that actually fits where you are supposed to be. In my own case, whatever longings I have for traditional liturgy, I know it is not the “bread and butter” of the sort of Christianity I practice. I am a Protestant, but I wish Catholics every success in restoring their liturgy to what it should be and weeding out heresy. In a healthy Christendom, there should be room for both of us and I believe there was in the early church. I don’t have a problem with Protestants converting to Catholicism or Orthodoxy or of Orthodox and Catholic Christians becoming Protestants – just so long as they do so for the right reasons and don’t try to turn any Church into what it isn’t by nature.
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Yes, and to be clear, the Catholic Mass does not ignore scriptural readings or the sermon aspect. The first half of Mass is fully devoted to that as a prelude to the most important aspect of Christianity; the Sacrifice of Christ for our sins. There is the processional hymn followed by the prayers which are filled with scriptural reference, then the readings, the singing of an antiphon taken from a psalm and then the gospel and homily. Another hymn is sung as the priest prepares the Eucharist and then the Liturgy of the Word is over and the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins. One flows to the other seamlessly as a climax to what was preparatory for this most august highlight of Worship: the re-presentation of the self-emptying sacrifice of our Lord at Calvary. Why we would want to take the preparatory half of Holy Mass and highlight the Word over the advent of our Risen Lord (giving Himself to us in Holy Communion) is indeed distressing. The music for this central aspect of Mass must be appropriate or it makes the Eucharist seem secondary to a priests homily and it trivializes that which is central to Worship:
Exodus 8:1 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
“. . . Thus saith the Lord: Let my people go to sacrifice to me.”
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We have communion around once per month. Being Baptists we do not use vestments or anything like that. Our pastor presides over communion, using a bible reading, either from the Last Supper in the Gospels and/or from Paul’s teaching in the Epistles. Despite its simplicity, I actually find it very moving, because of the solemnity of it (I don’t know whether my pastor’s Catholic background has anything to do with it – there is something Catholic about watching him break the bread in front of us, although he does so ad populum, not ad orientem. He sometimes will ask members from the congregation to help him distribute to us, which I have done once or twice in the past. We consume both elements: we eat the bread as we receive it, and then hold our cups and drink in unison. For me, the silence and simplicity of our service and the intent of the people is what gives it the “beauty of holiness”.
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That reminds me of Scott Hahn and how he introduced Communion into his Presbyterian parish and got the people excited about the significance of it. So it went eventually from once a month to every Sunday. Of course, in the meanwhile he started reading Catholic sources and then began visiting Catholic Masses and shocked at all of the scripture that was contained in the prayers throughout the ritual. From there he had the extreme fortune of meeting Bp. Bruskewitz who was probably the most orthodox bishop our country had at the time. He was taught by the bishop and brought into the Catholic fold even though he had to give up his ministry at the Presbyterian Church. Of course, things worked out quite well for him as we all know.
But simplicity became further enriched by ritual and theological underpinnings to Roman Rite. He was hooked and couldn’t get enough. Gerry Matatics also came into the Church and they both had excelled in the same Protestant seminary and were close friends. Matatics tried to talk Hahn out of his Catholic leanings in the early stages but interestingly enough he beat Scott into the Catholic Church itself.
So what you described to me is a love for something which may grow in intensity and desire and you might long for more as they did. Be careful, you might become a Catholic Nicholas. 🙂
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Well, I believe my thinking is shaped by the principle, “look for the good in everything”: when I look at other denominations I try to find first of all what I understand, then be open-minded about what I don’t understand and explore it, and then look at the intentions behind the beginning and then in the current practice. What one finds using such analysis can be surprising: for example, although in theory I would like to be Anglo-Catholic, as there is much I like about it, I am suspicious of the motives of some of its ministers: women who want to promote the feminist agenda and homosexual men who dislike women. To be clear, that is not the whole picture, but it is a substantial part of it.
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That would probably stop me as well. At least we are at a point where we have a fight to face and can still do so. If it works out badly then there will be schism to some degree . . . although strictly speaking it will be them who left the faith and not those who have no control of the buildings etc.
I also think that anybody who wants to know more about the Catholic Rite ought to spend time reading the Old Missal texts of Mass in their native tongues. Most Bible Christians actually identify more of the Scriptures contained therein than do our lifelong Catholic brothers and sisters. That’s why we have some good apologists these days as they are converts from a good Biblical base.
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Yes, I have noticed in my time among the Anglicans and looking at Catholic materials, the stitching together of verses to form liturgies and litanies, which I like. I found what I think was a missal at a charity shop I used to volunteer for, while I was sorting through donations. There were parallel texts as I recall, Latin on one side and English on the other. I think it made use of red and black ink, though I forget the schema (in some bibles, like my main one, red is used for words actually spoken by Christ in the Gospels and as quoted in the Epistles). I could read a fair bit without consulting the English because of my classics education. Nevertheless, there are differences: the Vulgate tends to preserve Hebraisms etc, whereas if you asked Livy or Cicero or Caesar to write the message of a verse, it would come out differently. When I say hail Mary’s, I often say them in Latin rather than English, which feels more natural for me.
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Yes, the texts are interesting and most do use the red and the black texts. The following is pretty standard:
Click to access ExtraordinaryFormTextLandscape.pdf
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Does P stand for Populus and S for Sacerdos here?
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The P is for the priest and the S is for his server. It becomes a dialogue of sorts.
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Ah. Yes, I recall seeing servers at Mass, and Orthodox and Anglican servics. In fact, I served as one once at an Anglo-Catholic service in my college chapel.
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Today it is the entire parish that does the responses and I think in 1965 they had some responses for the people as well as for the servers. But rather than listening people are too busy anticipating their own response at first although it becomes second nature after a while. I like the earlier missals better and think it allows us more time to interiorize all that is going on. The red is of course the rubrics that are being followed. Like the red cross is where the priest traces a cross over the sacraments or blesses the people etc.
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Some of these songs can fit into worship if used correctly, some cannot. I think part of the Catholic Church\s problem in this are is that it is relatively new at it, the CofE (including the Methodists) and the Lutherans have been dealing with this for 500 years. And for the most part, from what I’ve seen (heard?) they are doing well with it.
But music in our churches has a specific part to play. It is not entertainment
1) the gathering hymn. (on High Holy Days, in some churches) replaced with the processional. Its purpose is to get everybody on the page and paying attention. An easy example is a lot of our churches use “Crown Him With Many Crowns” as a processional on Palm Sunday, the most triumphant day of Jesus’ ministry on earth.
Most of us still sing the Kyrie Eleison, sometimes responsively, as part of our public confession. This is the particular form I am most familiar with.
There are lots of other, some Gregorian, some quite modern, all are supposed to help us confess our sins.
The Psalm of the day is occasionally sung by the choir or the congregation, and sometimes chanted responsively. In most of our churches, the Gospel reading is introduced with a chanted or sung “The Gospel of the Lord”. and a similar after.
Usually, there is a meditative hymn preceding and/or following the sermon to prepare or reflect on the message for the day. It is often referred to as “The Hymn of Praise”
The offertory (and sometimes the choir’s anthem) is used during the collection of the offering, as far as I can see to provide something of interest during a process that could lose interest
The doxology follows as our gifts are presented to the Lord. Most common is this:
There are others, and there are some seasonal ones such as for Lent and Advent.
The last hymn is often called the Sending Hymn, it is an adjuration to carry the message of the Lord out into the world.
Then you have the Benediction, sometimes spoken, often sung
I’ve stuck pretty much here to the structural music, sometimes there are more hymns, rarely less. The lessons come from the Lectionary (which is a common three year one across Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and quite a few more churches. The LCMS also has a historic one year lectionary. Both also (and also the service books) often provide suggested hymns, and such are often multiples allowing congregations to choose the ones they prefer. (Usually the old and familiar ones.) keyed to the particular readings of the day.
A rough outline, from memory, so I could well have made mistakes, but that is what I remember.
And “Shine, Jesus, Shine” should never be heard again, anywhere.
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We sing “Shine, Jesus, Shine” at my church on occasion, not that often though. Our service structure is fairly simple, being Baptists:
-Notices
-Prayer/short text from pastor
-Opening hymn/song
-Quick prayer of praise from pastor
-Hymn/song
-Short prayers of praise from congregation
-Hymn/song
-Childrens talk
-Hymn
-Children leave for Sunday school
-(Reading for sermon)
-Prayers of intercession from congregation
-Sermon
-Hymn
-Closing prayer / benediction / grace
When we have communion (c. once per month), we usually do the prayers of intercession after communion. Sometimes hymns/songs are omitted if some part of the service is overrunning. We do not have our own building; we rent rooms in the Village Hall, so we have to stick to a timetable.
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One of the marks of a liturgical service are that certain things must be included. One of them is the Public Confession of Sin. which is to some extent the recitation of one of the three creeds. Someplace I have a generic order of worship, with and without the Eucharist, which is mostly monthly with us as well, I’ll see if I can find it.
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