Thursday 25 July 2013

Liturgy and Music at World Youth Day 2013

I am old enough to remember when my favourite singer of the day (the barefoot Sandie Shaw) won the Eurovision Song Contest singing “Puppet On A String”. I turned on the TV the other night and thought my receiver had somehow switched itself from EWTN to the BBC, since I was confronted by a re-run of the Eurovision Song Contest: the singer was an attractive young lady with a  good voice on a stage with a nice colourful haze that I presumed had something to do with her song.  Then I noticed that he was assisted by an altar server, and I was captured: had heaven decided to enter the Eurovision Song Contest? It was then that I realised this was not Eurovision, but a World Youth Day presentation of the Holy sacrifice of the Mass. It was truly hard to tell the difference between Eurovision and Catholic worship: as with Eurovision, the worship offered that night seemed focused on pleasing the crowd; on being ‘grounded’ or (as some would say) “incarnational”. I would say “earthbound; anthropocentric”.  Liturgy ought to lift us from earth to heaven; it should bring us to meet the Risen and Ascended Lord; it should have a music which is clearly not contemporary to time and place. In short, it requires Gregorian Chant -which is not bound by time or place- if it is to achieve its aim of lifting us toward that which is beyond time and place: Heaven.

Though the liturgy does form man by grace through the worship of God (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10) and does allow us to gain sense of common identity and community adhesion (which we badly need today) it exists primarily for the worship of God, uniting us to the heavenly Jerusalem and to all who inhabit the Holy City of heaven, thereby enabling us to sing “with all angels and all the saints... Holy, Holy, Holy”.  As Vatican II stated:

In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, a minister of the holies and of the true tabernacle; we sing a hymn to the Lord's glory with all the warriors of the heavenly army; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Saviour, Our Lord Jesus Christ, until He, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with Him in glory (Sacrosanctum Concilium 8).
Although the sacred liturgy is above all things the worship of the divine Majesty, it likewise contains much instruction for the faithful [34]. For in the liturgy God speaks to His people and Christ is still proclaiming His gospel. And the people reply to God both by song and prayer. (ibid, 33)

Thus, in that the liturgy of World Youth Day I saw was hardly distinguishable from the Eurovision Song Contest, the liturgy of World Youth day is failing, and failing badly. If souls are not lifted up toward heaven by the liturgy but are kept grounded in their contemporary world, their souls are kept earthbound; detached from heaven.


Yes there is a need to grasp the attention of the young and to engage with them in a style they can understand, which is why I have often argued for the use of paraliturgies during the week. But let us keep contemporary music and dancing puppets etc for such paraliturgies and for prayer meetings of all kinds; in that way we can give the youth (and all Catholics) a wide experience of prayer situations while highlighting for everyone of us the absolutely transcendent nature of the Mass.  You never know, it might also help everyone to see why paraliturgies are a devotional option and the Adoration of Mass an obligation: “Do this as a memorial of Me”. 

9 comments:

  1. “The Church stands and falls with the Liturgy. When the adoration of the divine Trinity declines, when the faith no longer appears in its fullness on the Liturgy of the Church, when man’s words, his thoughts, his intentions are suffocating him, then faith will have lost the place where it is expressed and where it dwells. For that reason, the true celebration of the Sacred Liturgy is the centre of any renewal of the Church whatever.”
    Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Preface to “Die Heilige Liturgie,” ed. Franz Breid, 1997.

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    1. Thank you for your comment.
      Yes. Indeed that is why liturgy must be of the highest quality in its ars celebrandi and not only in its texts and ritual. Sadly, the focus on 'engaging the people' and being 'relevant to the people' takes practical precedence today over the thankful propitiation and adoration of the Lord which, according to #2 of the General Instruction, are the purposes of the Mass.

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    2. We often forget that the people's participatio actuosa is, in the end, the responsibility of the people.

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  2. Indeed the only time we can be in the real presence of Our Saviour is at the Holy Mass. And kneel solemnly with Our Blessed Lady and the Angels and Saints at the foot of Calvary. Why is that hard to see as if we truly believe we are present at The Sacrifice of The Lamb that was slain for our salvation we would want nothing but The Sacred liturgy I don't understand why this isn't obvious for all to see especially (God love them) the bishops who are of good heart I am sure but too concerned about keeping friendly rather than actually leading the flock to where we should be aiming for. With prayers Father
    SallyAnne

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    1. Thank you for your comment.
      I think belief in the Real Presence, the Sacrifice and the union with heaven are forgotten in a focusing on earthly community. All of us, Bishops, Priests and laity, can fall into 'not wanting to offend' and to making people happy as though this was the greatest good to be achieved. It is not. Salvation is.

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    2. Salvation is not the greatest good. Rather, union with God is.

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    3. Thank you for the comment.
      In that salvation is being united to God for all eternity, I think we are saying the same thing. Oh that the secular world would open the mind and heart to see that salvation is our ultimate need.

      God Bless.

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  3. Seeing parts of the WYD closing Mass now..and getting really really sad from what I see and hear. Where is the lifting up to God, where is the part of heaven that touches earth...I have never been to the WYD myself, but things like this don't make me enthousiastic about going.

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    1. Thank you for your comment.
      Sadly, the emotions will be high but I don't think it will make spirits soar; the youth will go away with the impression that the Faith is about enjoying yourself, when it is a daily taking up on the cross in love of God and a hope that does not deceive us.

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