Catholic Thought discussion

Part 3, Chapter 2
Music and Liturgy

Liturgical music goes back deep in the Old Testament. Singing is first mentioned upon the crossing of the Red Sea. This is connected to the impulse of the Jewish people to be free from Pharaoh to worship. Ratzinger explains.

When man comes into contact with God, mere speech is not enough. Areas of his existence are awakened that spontaneously turn into song. Indeed, man’s own being is insufficient for what he has to express, and so he invites the whole of creation to become a song with him: “Awake, my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds” (Ps 57:8f.).

The singing of the Old Testament becomes a longing for a new song, one which will be fulfilled with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians then “entered into the prayer of Israel and came to realize that, precisely through them, that prayer was to become the new song.”

We see two principle motivations for singing in the Old Testament, affliction and joy. In time, love, hidden in this relationship with God, would make its way into song, especially through the Song of Songs. Ultimately the songs are an expression of the “love story of God and his people.” The love song moves into a wedding song through the Passion “toward the wedding of the Lamb,” which is a communion with the Bridegroom in the Eucharist. The singing of the Church comes out of this love.

We know through the pagan Roman, Pliny, that Christian liturgy in the second century already incorporated singing. The musical fusion with the Greek mystical tradition presented its first threat to Christianity which was overcome by a return to the restrained, purely vocal music of the synagogue. This developed into Gregorian chant in the West.

In the Middle Ages, polyphony and instruments as a result of the development of secular music became a second threat, once again was alienating “the liturgy from its true nature.” The Council of Trent needed to define proper liturgical music.

In the present day, the Church faces a third moment of musical crises. First, cultural integration of a universal church required expression of local forms. Second, classical music has become specialized and removed from the general population. Third, popular music has evolved into an expression of elemental passions, unfit for Christian worship. No current solution appears to be in sight but it needs to return to the sober inebriation of the Holy Spirit rooted in the logos.

The music of Christian worship is related to logos in three senses.

1. It must be related to God’s saving action which is made present in the liturgy.

2. Music must draw the senses into spirit and brings man back to wholeness by leading it to Christ. The music must serve the Logos by “the lifting up of the human heart.”

3. The music must take us out of our individualism and lead us to the communion of God’s creation, God’s people, and into God Himself. It must oppose the radical subjectivism of today that has led to a “deconstructionism.” It must be bring us back to wholeness.

This passage in particular struck a note with me:

"The singing of the Church comes ultimately out of love. It is the utter depth of love that produces the singing. “Cantare amantis est”, says Saint Augustine, singing is a lover’s thing. In so saying, we come again to the trinitarian interpretation of Church music. The Holy Spirit is love, and it is he who produces the singing. He is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit who draws us into love for Christ and so leads to the Father."

I sing to our Lord all of the time, (with my awful voice!), and I didn't realize that the Holy Spirit was directly involved. Now I look at it in a whole new way.

Yes! This was another great chapter. I thought he would bring up that famous quote from St. Augustine that "he who sings prays twice." But he didn't.

Speaking of awful voice, when we're in church and singing, my son elbows be and shushes me. He says I have a terrible voice. And I do!

Manny wrote: "Speaking of awful voice, when we're in church and singing, my son elbows be and shushes me. He says I have a terrible voice. And I do!"

LOL! It doesn't stop us, though.