Oh Boy

Finally! Not being musically inclined and being raised on this pablum, I had a hard time understanding why many people strongly disliked much of the music used in Catholic Masses today.

Yes, some were syrupy and not very inspiring. But I have never heard different, so what is the deal. We are at Mass and we make do. But the people protesting the "G&P" or "Jouney" song books and the "Haugen-Haas" music were people I respected on other points, so I took their critical comments and pondered them. One of the most hated songs, "Here I am Lord" was a personal favorite.

So what is the problem? Then I started to pay attention to what I was singing. I noticed the grand theme was ME. And why I was so great, I myself was the bread of life and the reason for being at Mass. It started to dawn on me that these songs were affirming my "wonderfulness" when I was at Mass to worship God. Slowly I began to detest singing about me.

God loves me. That is a wonderful realization to know. But I don't think I go to Mass on Sunday to proclaim how wonderful I am. God loves me in spite of my shortcomings. He loves me because HE IS GOD and not because I am so wonderful He can't help but love me.

So I kept reading. And trying not to be annoyed at Mass. But I can't help but point everyone who reads this blog to the site, A Liturgical Guitarist Reformed. This musician's conversion is very enlightening. Especially this quote

"What we get instead when guitars enter the sanctuary is what seems, to my non-musician's ears, to be an insipid STRUM-a-strumma-strumma-STRUM-a-strumma-strumma that turns the guitar into a low-rent folk rhythm instrument. And overbearing rhythm instruments have no place in any liturgical celebration, in my opinion. This is just another example of how the 'folk' movement in liturgical music has provided shelter to, and an excuse for, wretched composing and substandard musicianship."
~The Goliard

And Mr. Inman links to this page at the bottom, Ritus Narcissus

A conversation demands that we include the other in the discussion. If someone speaks to you about himself, about you, about himself and you, but never really with you, you would call that person conceited. So have we become in our conversation with God: He humbles Himself to dwell among us under the form of bread and wine, while we ignore Him and sing about ourselves and to ourselves.

Wow!

and thanks Curt Jester for the links.