Charismatic Trad Mass anyone???
Now before anyone jumps down my throat about this one I'd just like to point out that I am merely speculating about a hypothesis here and it should not be seen as me advocating this.
I attended a Charismatic mass for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was quite struck by two things. Firstly the fervent belief of most of those attending in their Catholic faith and secondly the hymns; which, although certainly not to my own tastes, seemed to be a step above the Marty Haugen et al type of hymns which usually grace the novus ordo.
Now what I was thinking is that although vernacular hymns are not permitted at a high mass they are allowed at a low mass. This being the case there is no reason why charismatic hymns could not be sung at a low mass. Ok it may not be to the liking of most trads but that is not to say that it is not permissible and in any case the old mass is not the preserve of "trads" but Christ's gift to the whole Church.
It all made me wonder whether the fervent belief of the Charismatics (oviously I have no insight to their personal opinions but they came across as heartfelt) and their apparent spirituality would not be better served by the old mass rather than the novus ordo since it is a much more explicit statement of the Catholic faith.
Any thoughts on this?
I attended a Charismatic mass for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was quite struck by two things. Firstly the fervent belief of most of those attending in their Catholic faith and secondly the hymns; which, although certainly not to my own tastes, seemed to be a step above the Marty Haugen et al type of hymns which usually grace the novus ordo.
Now what I was thinking is that although vernacular hymns are not permitted at a high mass they are allowed at a low mass. This being the case there is no reason why charismatic hymns could not be sung at a low mass. Ok it may not be to the liking of most trads but that is not to say that it is not permissible and in any case the old mass is not the preserve of "trads" but Christ's gift to the whole Church.
It all made me wonder whether the fervent belief of the Charismatics (oviously I have no insight to their personal opinions but they came across as heartfelt) and their apparent spirituality would not be better served by the old mass rather than the novus ordo since it is a much more explicit statement of the Catholic faith.
Any thoughts on this?
- roydosan | 6:03 PM GMT
Comments [4]
Well, we don't get hymns at Low Mass here, even though technically they're allowed - use of them often reflects the cultural traditions in the particular area. As long as the music is reasonably high-quality, magnifies (not diminishes) the meaning of its text, and reflects the liturgical action at the time, I see no problem with it. One forgets we can get quite a lot of mediore music at Latin Masses as well, including musically uninspired recessionals etc
Whether charismatics would be drawn to the new or old Mass really depends on the individual and their personal preferences here. As per your earlier post, they would best served by doing their homework first, but unfortunately this is unlikely to happen in general
hmmm.... weird thought...
Personally, I think when it comes to good hymns, there are certain places not to look. There are other places where looking might be a good idea. I recommend pilfering all the Anglican translations of Latin hymns. For that matter, if we *have* to have a vernacular Liturgy, what on earth was wrong with the English Missal...???
Sorry... rambling...
Octave of Pentecost - that is all I have time to say at the moment!
It may be a weird thought but I just wanted people to consider how the Old Rite could be lifted out of the trad circles (nothing wrong with them and I'm not criticising them by any means) and appeal to others who could benefit from it. Personally these type of hymns are not my cup of tea but they could be sung at a low mass.
The Anglican hymns are good because they are generally to a meter that the average person in the street could sing to unlike 'On Turkeys Wings' etc. But there are many equally good Catholic hymns from the 19th century.
The problem with the English Missal is that it is the creation of Anglicans. I think I'd rather stick with ICEL, however problematic, than use the liturgical books of schismatic heretics - no matter how good the style of language they employ.
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