The following comes from a September 24 article on the Crisis magazine website.
Every weekend or so, some name composer of mainstream Catholic music is out and about giving a workshop in a parish somewhere. I’ve been to enough of these to pretty much know what they are going say in advance.
They stand in front of parish musicians and repeatedly tell them that the most important job is to engage the congregation to the point that people feel like singing, and that means catchy tunes and simple words.
And how to decide between the hundreds of such songs in the mainstream pew resources? The answer, we are told, is to look at the theme of the week, which is given by the readings. Flip through the book and find a song that seems to match in some way. Check out the theme index. Then consider and anticipate the congregation’s reactions to the pieces of your choosing and give it your best shot.
Sadly, nearly everything about this is wrong. In this model, the musicians are being charged with making the liturgy happen on a week-to-week basis. The Church struggles with provide liturgical books with deep roots in history, but the musicians show up and put five minutes of thought into making decisions about styles and texts that have a gigantic effect on the overall liturgical ethos. It is too much responsibility to put on their shoulders, and no one is competent to pull it off…
To be sure, it is flattering for the musicians to hear that they have this power. When the workshop leader comes and tell them this, their egos get a boost. Most aren’t paid and most aren’t really trained either, so this kind of responsibility can be welcome in lieu of material reward. It is to accept a job that is almost priestly but without the trouble of six years of training and ordination. But the truth is that no actor in the liturgical world should have this level of power and discretion, and it is wrong to expect this of anyone.
What’s more, from what I can observe from parishes I visit, it doesn’t actually accomplish the goal. What actually happens is that people feel as if the musicians are overreaching and asking something of the congregation that the people don’t feel the need to give. Mandatory enthusiasm for someone else’s project doesn’t go over well in any aspect of life, especially not in music. Many just sit there vaguely and habitually protesting in their minds. So the musicians end up with a feeling of failure and confusion. Or they blame others and end up getting mad about the people and their refusal to go with the program….
It is not our job to discern themes of the day and take over the job from the Church of pushing texts that we find appropriate. The texts for singing at Mass are already given to us. There is an entrance text, a Psalm text, an offertory text, and a communion text. These are in the liturgical books. The counsel to pick and choose whatever you want amounts to a counsel to ignore the liturgy of the Church and substitute something of your own making….
Thanks mostly to the efforts of the Church Music Association of America, we now have the beginnings of a growing repertoire of music that is both accessible to parishes and seeks to do what the Church intends with regard to the liturgy, which is to say that these new resources set the liturgical word to music. There are new books of sung propers appearing every few months, books such as the Simple English Propers (2011) and the Parish Book of Psalms (2012).
The idea is to provide a bridge to the ideal, to re-root the singing at Mass in a coherent framework, to restrain the wandering power of the subjective imagination of musicians, and to unleash a new kind of beauty that comes with following both the letter and spirit of the liturgy itself….
Author’s Note: If you want to know more about the proper role of music in the liturgy, there is no better source than William Mahrt’s The Musical Shape of the Liturgy (CMAA, 2012). Here is the full presentation of the bracing but uplifting reality.
To read entire story, click here.
As long as the Bishops continue to cave in to the Oregon Catholic Press and its acquisitions as a virtual monopoly over American liturgical music, these efforts at remediation won’t go far. On a seeming positive note, it is said that EWTN has been welcomed by the Bishops to supply catechesis for most diocese’s seminaries. But as with Democrat pollster Pat Caddell’s recent speech to Accuracy in Media “Mainstream media is threatening our country’s future”, private groups, (in that case, the press taking a dominant roll in civic life without the checks and balances of 3 part government, in these other cases, a private religious initiative and a lay liturgical apostolate), are operating outside ancient, highly structured institutions. Three generations after the Council, it is to be hoped that these incursions can be brought into the mainstream. Recall how orthodox Benziger was before the Council, in contrast with its heterodoxy over the past 40 years.. What if EWTN falls to some future radicalism? Rudderless ships founder on desolate shoals.
EWTN has been going downhill for years ever since the imprudent decision of Mother Angelica to step down over a decade ago. They have had problems with their cults of personalities who have resigned in disgrace. There has been a book written about all the many problems called “EWTN: A Network Gone Wrong”.
Apparently Seraph doesn’t watch or listen to EWTN?
EWTN is possibly the most orthodox, faithful and consistent source of the Church’s teachings of the Faith, except for Benedict XVI !
BTW – The wonderful Mother Angelica has been seriously ill for almost a decade, but EWTN follows in HER footsteps !!
And when you get upset with the muddled, “feel good” we frequently hear from the pulpit, tune in to EWTN!!
Seraph how dare you knock down EWTN! CJO I agree with your comments!
Some people are just condemning so quickly and unjustly attacking the little good we have left!
No one is perfect and I hope that we can hang in there until our Good Lord comes again and saves us! We must remain faithful in good times and in bad times.
Because of her criticism of a “female Jesus” in a Stations-of-the-Cross drama staged on World Youth Day in Denver, Mother Angelica was fired by LA Archbishop Mahony from her own EWTN. The archbishop charged that a contemplative Poor Clare nun has no business being seen and heard on TV. So faithful to her vow of obedience, Mother Angelica handed over EWTN to a lay management staff and quietly went back into the cloister. Read Raymond Arroyo’s bio of Mother Angelica for the full story.
We should sing the Mass, not sing at Mass. Another bad fruit of the “spirit” of Vatican II is that any song or type of music is suitable for Mass. I pray Gregorian chant music is restored to the Mass. The Catholic faith should change the world, the world should not change the Mass.
” This Spirit” is certainly not the Holy Ghost..
MKM, that is gravely wrong.
Anonymous, MKM is right; the “spirit of Vatican II” isn’t the Holy Ghost! Haven’t you even heard the phrase “spirit of Vatican II,” which is used to justify things that Vatican II never envisioned or allowed? Maybe you need to do some research on the “spirit of Vatican II” vs. what Vatican II actually taught.
He capitalized spirit. I agree that much was done that should not have been and that the “spirit of Vatican II” was the excuse.
I just wish we could really have music that worships the Lord and that
people would not clap as if they were being entertained at a concert!!!
Stop the clapping people.
It just encourages more clapping when the musicians respond with a hearty “Thank you, thank you”. Ugh!
But ‘it is a concert’… or its become one..
The musicians should not be telling by hand gestures the people when to stand and sit, it should be the priests job. It would also be better if there were no music when receiving Holy Communion so that people could pray in the quite.
FSSP
With a few exceptions, I agree.
Amen and amen why are our priests caving???
With such a magnificent musical heritage of exquisite music designed for the Catholic Mass, why are we usually subjected to such awful music these days? It is generally unmatched to the vocal range of the normal human being. It is so often awkward melodically, and too often lyrically unworthy of the high purpose of worshipping God. Those who love both God and music are overjoyed when we worship with our most moving music, and those of us who are appalled by so much of what passes for music these days long for the days when it was all so masterfully chosen and sweetly presented. We must trust that God does love us greatly to dare to offer such unGodly sounds unto the Lord.
Just look for a Traditional Parish. I Finally got weary of productions and move on to real Mass that is devoid of all the “spirit of V II”
I agree with you sentiment 100%. The post V-2 generation feels Mass should be a stage show, not the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Reverence has gone by the wayside.
Much ado about nothing! This person should be going to Church to Worship Jesus and to be giving Him thanks and Praise, much of which has been abandoned by Catholics for the past 450 or so years since the Mass in Latin become universal. Give Glory to God and block your ears if you don’t appreciate the talent or lack of talent that the people are trying to use to Worship Him. +JMJ+
Inane comment, JMJ. Have you shut yourself off in a remote cave somewhere?
JLS, Once again you show just how confused you are about how the Mass was done by Jesus and His Apostles. Nothing even close to the Latin Mass with it’s lack of praise and the Holy Spirit. MKM, are you even a catholic? Attacking the Holy Spirit is very dangerous to your eternal salvation. MARYANNE: ‘ungodly’ sounds? Who put you in charge of what God wants? I guess that you have never heard of “joyful noise”? Look it up, it’s in the Book. MARIE, you are so right. We should not be entertained during or after Holy Communion, as it is a time for reflection on what God has just done for us once again. Come Holy Ghost and fill us with your love, enkindle us with your gifts. +JMJ+
JMJ – The Latin Mass has plenty of praise and Holy Spirit. Take your word back.
JMJ I may be Charismatic too but I tend to disagree with your comments! Just because you have not elevated your spiritual growth higher enough to understand the beauty that the Latin Mass is high in praise and Holy Ghost, doesn’t mean you can’t get there someday. Jesus is elevated in the Latin Mass, it is a time we deny ourselves the self pleasures of other worship and focus on Christ’s body and blood instead. It’s hard to explain it but I wish you would take the time to really get to know the deeper side of the Latin Mass and stop sounding so protestant by discounting it If you want to dance and sing, do it in your own home, privately worshiping God in the way that it gives you pleasure but don’t think that the Mass is a place to distract your whole self to Christ by other forms of entertainment! I understand that sometimes we get the wrong feeling about the Latin Mass because some judge those who are devout to it as lacking charity and being too rigid, it way be so or not but we are not there for others, but we are at Mass for Jesus! I do love my NO mass parish that is more reverent and appreciate the devout charismatic element of it when it is loyal and faithful to Christ but I also embrace the faith’s Latin Mass part of the faith. I am thankful that I got to see the deeper aspect of it and appreciate it too!
Why seek to recover? Post-Vatican II music is uniformly awful. The Church has a rich history of spectacular music and voice arrangements created for the Mass. Return to these. Most N.O. masses have irrelevant and irreverent music, including an occasional Broadway Show tune. (No, Dear Reader, “Jesus Christ Superstar” does not use traditional Catholic music or hymns as a basis of its musical score.) And, the Crisis article is correct in suggesting that the true purpose of music at Mass is not to create a sort of Baptist Tent-Revival atmosphere; we are all there to worship God, after all, not perform. In fact, many a parish seem to specialize in what can only be labeled as “Protestant” hymns: “Rock of Ages,” “The Old Rugged Cross,” and the like; or “Field Hand” songs. One priest, when asked, said that many Catholic hymns were no longer suitable, including, incredibly, “Faith of Our Fathers”. The key point, however, is that even with the truth of this argument, no one does anything about it. Too bad these Churches did not insist on Gregorian Chant, then the local Ordinary would be very involved.
In almost all parishes where I have seen Mass celebrated on Sundays, more often than not the choir and musicians have dominance over the rest of the liturgy. There is no silence at any time, except while the homily is spoken.
Even when two communion hymns are sung, and there are still people in line, they must be playing instruments. Silent prayer is not allowed.
It has made me wonder what is WRONG with these pastors to allow it ?
Inappropriate instruments are also a distraction, especially percussion instruments. The worst has to be the tambourine. I hope for some return to sanity. Rein in the lay wannabe “experts” !!!!
The author of the article, Jeffrey Tucker (who is a board member of the CMAA with president Mahrt, mentioned here), is an associate and friend of mine, as well as others who frequent this wonderful website. Originally an essay posted at another website, The Chant Cafe, Jeffrey posits primarily not about “flattering” our church musicians, rather his focus is upon the woeful lack of catechesis about the church’s own resource documents, both legislative and repertoire that is the core of our “sacred treasure” of musical art. He also typifies, to the unfortunate point of caricature often, the reality that publishing interests, a.k. as the Missal and Hymnal major publishers, have not only monopolized the Catholic worship market, but the attitude and behaviors of musicians. None of this is false or misleading. Ask any room of church musicians if they know of anyone who was “drafted” as an ORGANIST by someone, a priest, another musician, a desperate parishioner, when they were found to be capable of playing the piano to a basic competency. All hands would go up. That is why I wish to temper the remarks of my friend Jeff Tucker with reminding him and folks that not all parish musicians have YouTube egos and play to the crowd for applause at the end of Mass. Sometimes our celebrants encourage this kind of “Variety Show” reaction on the part of congregations themselves. It is not something that responsible church musicians encourage and find quite embarrassing.
All of you who’ve told your horror stories about “bad music and musicians” at Mass here and elsewhere need to know that this really isn’t a liturgical problem thats endemic here and everywhere else in the world; rather, it is an ecclesial problem wherein bishops and pastors have abrogated their pastoral influence if favor of expedience and popularity. Yes, your stories are valid, your concerns are real. Yes, if every parish had celebrants capable of SINGING much less saying the Traditional Latin Mass, many of these problems would vanish instantly and likely new scholas and choirs of people would flock to any director either trained or willing to learn thoroughly on the fly to chant/sing THE MASS, rather than “at Mass.”
But, please, don’t print out this article and run to your pastor as if what’s in it is, finally, the Silver Bullet that will end your parish’s musical misery.
If anything, concerned parishioners should ask themselves: “How can we help to foster and grow a greater interest in our parish music ministry?”
I am a firm believer in a now famed cliche, “Save the Liturgy, save the world,” which (believe or not) was not coined by Fr. Zuhlsdorf. I have one of those magnet stickers on my motorcycle! But, actually doing that doesn’t primarily reside in the duties of musicians, or the music they choose or how they choose it. The solutions to solemnity, in either the EF or OF, will require a ton of people to re-orient their understanding of why we show up for Mass in the first place.
Blessings to all
And please quit clapping for them when the mass is over, we are not in a concert hall but the house of God praising Him!
Agreed! The hand-clapping is canonically incorrect. Gregorian chant was good enough for saints and ought to be good enough for us. The Mass is not a Protestant service, but a sacrifice.
I love to sing, but amen to the no clapping. We are there to honor God not each other.
Music is supposed to inspire the people, but more importantly, it is to glorify God. Going to Mass is now like going to a show or a sports event. The choir was in the back of the church, in the choir loft, but now the choir sits up front near the altar. Instead of adoring God, the parishioners ae treated to a good show. Worship II was a good hymnal, but the newer ones are awful, full of banal hymns, gender neutral words, and horrible, unsingable tunes. Gregorian chart relaxed as well as placed everyone in a praterful mood, and inspired the congregation. The modern music is terrible, and an insult to God. Instead of ‘praying twice’, these new tunes mock God, are heretical, and in no way cacn be called sacred.
The Church has centuries of music appropriate to the Liturgy, and the one person who has the responsibility to choose that music for Mass is the pastor, or the priest who will be offering the Mass on that particular Sunday, for his Mass. The music I speak of is, of course, the Gregorian Chant that we all knew and loved (yes we did, know it and loved it). It may have been a challenge to a few, and they are the noisiest ones who complained, but in the old days, we just had to give them “that look” and their catterwalling stopped. Now, if you are a person “in charge” of the music for Sunday, please, do yourself a favor, and go see your priest before Mass, and ask, “Father, what would you like to hear at Mass today?” and he will tell you. It is that simple. You might also check out the many websites that offer that music in an audio version, for the basic line of chant, and if you can find that the line of scripture can be accomodated to the line of chant, voila! you have your psalm and responsorial right there. Just a little effort goes a long way.
The Mass is the noisiest in my 58 years. Just too noisy to pray, concentrate, whatever. A few moments of silence dispersed throughout the Mass would greatly benefit this Catholic to meditate and pray. Every second has someone speaking or the music is cranked up. I prefer crying babies to the incessant din of too much music. At least you can hush a baby.
The debate should be about getting some “quiet time” in the Mass, not whether we’re chanting centuries hymns or the lastest hip tune from the Catholic music movement.
And we wonder why so many Catholics don’t find the Mass to be relevant enough for an every Sunday worship?
Couldn’t agree more… the 7:30 am Mass at our church has no music, just prayer. It also has the best attendance of all the five Saturday and Sunday Masses each weekend. When asked, most people will say they don’t care for the music which is always changing and which they have no clue about how to join in the singing. Many feel it’s an opportunity for the choir folk to show off and has no real meaning to most in the pews.
Jeffrey Tucker–who as near as I can tell has zero educational background in sacred music–entirely misses the boat here. The reason that church music is dominated by the likes of GIA and OCP is because the bishops have abdicated their responsibility to guide church music and allowed this situation to fester for over 40 years. Any Protestant denomination worth its salt publishes its own hymnal. The US Catholic Bishops talked about producing their own back in the late 1970s and (surprise!) we are still waiting for it. In the meantime it’s all been DIY run amok and frankly, Jeffrey Tucker seems to be yet another exemplar of this DIY mentality. Until there are some true professional CATHOLIC higher education programs in sacred music–and no, I don’t think the one at Notre Shame counts–we will continue to experience more of the same.
You should ask yourself two questions: 1) Why did the US Bishops transfer the copyright for the new Psalter gratis to the powerful family that controls GIA? 2) Why is the Pope’s Sistine Chapel Choir so bad?
The answers pretty much sum up the problem with music in the Catholic Church.
In the Novus Ordo, They are not ‘Musicians’ they are ‘Liturgist’ who hold high office… They are incharge of “All Liturgical innovations”
A great Example of a mordern day Liturgical Tyranny is Good Shephard Mega Parish in Mira Mesa, San Diego, The Chief Liturgist over there is a good man who is badly formed and exersises authority over priests in regards to Liturgy… Forget the Roman Missal…
The Lent, Advent and Easter Season are full of his tyranny.
His role is director of the productions…. in secular terms…
Its horrid..
To each his/her own. I went to the web site of this parish that you think is horrid. It is so bad, that only 5,000 people each weekend attend Mass there. It is so bad that it invites anyone who wishes to join the choir and any of the other ministries, wherever their talents lead them. I has a vibrant parish life, a large faith formation section, a rather large staff to serve all the needs of the parishioners. The altar area is beautiful. Perhaps your standards are just a touch high, or you haven’t become accustom to the changes that were made to the liturgy fifty years ago. The Mass of the Roman Catholic Church is not an event to which you attend to “pray in silence” , although there are times when it is appropriate. The Mass is where you go to praise and adore God with your fellow community members. The Bible says that we should praise God with various noise makers, that we should shout his praise and celebrate the Great Thanksgiving. Yes, our church has a great tradition of sacred music, but most of it was written in the renaissance. If you don’t like the current music at your parish, it may not be that it is bad music, just that you don’t like it.
5000 people, BobOne? Does that seem like a lot to you? Have you ever counted then people in a shopping mall at the same time? What about a baseball stadium? What about the beach at noon on Sundays during August? I mean, if it is a numbers game for you, then you should expand your horizons.
Most of the parishes I have attended (most not all) have a few hundred at best.
Once, I was at a Mass (Mission San Diego De Alcala St. Francis Chapel) and apparently it was the Sunday youth mass that happens at a Chapel by the main church,
Virtually everything that could make a sound was at that mass, (ever heard the song tarara boomdie, tarara boomdie they brought
Their pots to bang, can’t tell them not to bang?) Well, long story short, the priest might I say dared to utter “♫♫The mystery of Faith♫♫
The ensuing noise was totally mysterious… I could say there was a few pots and pans there…
Mbûkû Kanyau Mbithûka I am glad that they had this article here. It helped me correct the ill ways I was raised, I was use to clapping after Mass and praise the Choir…to no fault of mine, I thought that was charitable thing to do…now I understand better. Thank you Cal Catholic…I feel woken up.
See how it’s not our fault, we raised with these things and find them acceptable because that is how our church permitted us…with a little love and thoughtful charity to clarify and explain truths….one can form their conscience in Christ.
I hope I remember to not clap after mass when I attend one of the parishes I go too, I don’t have to worry about this at the Latin Mass. I’ll try to break that habit of clapping since that is how were raised to do.
Parishes would save tens of thousands of dollars a year if they stopped using OCP and other “worship aids” and went back to singing the Mass, either in Latin, or in an English translation, which has been done already. Watershed website has gorgeous music to be used at any Mass, and how many Gregorian chant Masses do we have? 16 or 17? Some appropriate for feast days, Sundays, for ordinary days, for Our Lady, and even a funeral Mass which I believe is the most beautiful of all. Chant workshops are available several times a year. Oh for the days when Msgr. Cremins of L.A. Archdiocese gave annual or semi-annual workshops on singing the Mass-all before Vatican II, which did not outlaw the Latin but encouraged it.
There is a parish in Lafayette, Indiana where they tired of the vapid popular “modern” liturgical music published by the Oregon press folks. They decided to publish a supplement with more appropriate music and hymns. It got bigger and bigger until they published their own volume of hymns. They call it the “St. Michael Hymnal.” Their website is www,stboniface.org. I belonged to that parish, and it has a great pastor. He is what a pastor should be. Entirely orthodox, and the parishioners mostly just love the man. Buy the hymnal and see. The masses there are as reverent as the Novus Ordo can be.
I know that priest! He’s awesome!
The St. Michael Hymnal is wonderful. While visiting relatives in the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia, I got to attend Mass 3 Sundays in a row at a parish that uses it. My parish here in California only knows the OCP product. Sadly, our musicians really don’t understand Catholic liturgy.
Post vat2 “Catholic music” is a disgrace and unbearable to listen to.
It’s amazing how an article titled “Stop flattering church musicians” contains so many “self-flattering” opinions tossed like mud on a wall in the comboxes.
Well, Sir, you added one more.
Priceless post
I didn’t notice that Cal. Cath. Daily doesn’t publish URL links.
For three specific comments upon this issue and article by Jeffrey Tucker, please feel free to google “Optima Music Dei Donum.”
Our local parish is the epitome of overindulgence in the “song meister” he goes beyond just the music, he has actually told our priest, Ok to go ahead Father, what gall and what downright stupidity of the priest to allow this inane carryings on.
I like the Adoramus Hymnal best.
The churches could have a miniature version of the Christ Cathedral inside for the pop music choirs and those who prefer it … sort of like a very large crying room.
From time to time the agnus Dei is sung in Latin in our parish. It is a small step, but it makes Mass better. Why not the Gloria as well?
I agree with Ted above, tambourines are the absolute worst.
you can go to Youtube and look for Muungano National Choir Kenya and play “Bwana ni Nani” and discover that Vatican II did not call for Horrid Vernacular Music
But, the Bible says that we should worship with tambourines, and lyres, etc. Mass should be a joyous occasion where the people of God gather to worship and praise their Lord and Savior. He has saved us from eternal damnation! Should we not loudly proclaim our thanks? By the way, however, I agree that some of the music is horrible, but that is often because volunteer musicians are trying their best but can’t pull it off. Small parishes can’t afford the $50K that it takes to pay a full tive director of music.
tambourines were mentioned becouse no one had heard of an organ back then. The Bible has since ditched tambourines for Organs.
Can you cite which book of the Bible and the chapter and verse? Thanks.
uh, editor, sorry to be fussy, but the picture above is wrongly labelled.
it’s called STANFORD university.
just FYI…………………..
Mass now is a show production with bad music and talentless people leading the people. We have a woman in our church who plays the piano who looks like someone in a saloon in the Wild West. And what’s about the worst song they keep pushing on us? So many you can’t name them all but Lord of the Dance makes me want to puke.
As a church musician in violin and viola, I have to agree with many sentiments expressed above: much of the music I play is unsingable or at least hard to sing, with lyrics that do not inspire or lead the heart to God. I hate the clapping after Mass and wish it would stop. I detest any showmanship. God is a jealous God, and does not share His glory with anyone else. When I play the violin or viola, I am doing so as an act of worship (there are a few songs we do that inspire) and especially some of the Mass parts are beautifully written and these I enjoy playing the most. Sometimes the leader of the group I play with picks a song that in my opinion is so bad, both in its music and its lyrics, that I just don’t play. But most of the time I just try to make the song more beautiful, as hard as that may be at times. I always hope that my attempt to worship our Lord with strings will be felt in the congregation and lead to a more prayerful Mass. Should at some future time the parish change to music for which my services are no longer needed, that is fine with me.
Ever since the radical changes effected by Vatican 2, nothing has remained the same. Most post-V2 church music ranges from the insipid to the truly awful. There is entirely too much chanting and singing. Piano music is an atrocity that should never be heard inside a church. When the Tridentine Mass was tossed out, a high percentage of the traditional prayers contained within the Latin text disappeared. Without the sing-song, a novus ordo mass would be over in a matter of minutes. The chanting fills in the time and allows me, a lowly parishioner, to read the mass in its original Latin form from beginning to end. God bless Pope Benedict for at least restoring portions of the traditional wording, which nevertheless have aroused so many complaints and gripes….
At one church I attended, they actually played, “Rhapsody in Blue,” I kid you not. Even my Methodist husband, who almost always attends Mass with me, was astounded and kept shaking his head in shock and sympathy with me, but the young and middle-aged parishioners seemed thrilled. I guess they’d never seen the Lawrence Welk Show before. I’m just making sure I’ve got the words memorized correctly for when we all start crooning, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” We maybe won’t be religious, but boy will we be spiritual. Bring on the dancing girls.
Glad to see this article. Years ago my family and I left an extremely left-wing parish. I was in the choir for a few months before leaving. I placed a call to the choir director, saying, “I just want you to know that we’re leaving Saint ___ .” His response was, “Does it have anything to do with me?” “No,” I said. He thought we were leaving the parish because of him! There was no reason for him to ask that question; we never had a personal word between us. His role during Mass was too closely tied to the priest’s role. Maybe he thought he and his choir was the Mass itself! He bragged many times that his choir was considered one of the best in the U.S. The ego of these salaried choir directors is unbounded! We go to a Latin Mass in a small church now. I don’t care if some of the singers sing out of tune. It’s the Mass that is important.
You see your director of liturgy otherwise known as choir director sees himself as the reason people are attracted to mass.
forget holiness and the Holy Ghost…