Though we know so many of you are moved by the Spirit when the choir sings after Communion at Sunday liturgy, it is really not a time for clapping. The members of the choir and instrumentalists know that you support all their hard work, and we thank you for wanting to show your response at times. However, it is a time of reflection, and it would be best if we could just let the music be what it is supposed to be ... a prayer. Our choirs do work hard and are very dedicated to their ministry, but we would appre-ciate it if you just prayed the words to the music as we sing them.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Clapping At Mass
Some might applaud, figuratively, what our parish's Director of Liturgy and Music wrote [pdf] in last sunday's bulletin,
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echos of Ratzinger at St. Al's? Wow, that is great!
ReplyDeleteIn his book "The Spirit of the Liturgy," Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Now Pope Benedict XVI) wrote: "Whenever applause breaks out in the liturgy because of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been replaced by a kind of religious entertainment" (Page 198).
I agree. Plus it just feels wrong. I knew since I was a young boy that clapping was not a good idea in church. I think people would be less tempted to clap if the choir wasen't the central focus of Saint Als., if it didn't have a stadium like seating, if it had a proper linear layout, and if the Lord was present behind the alter. Church architecture matters. It's a process that took hundreds of years to perfect before V2. And in an instant it changed for the worse.
ReplyDeletewow! Terry said that? Im dead shocked! I would have never thought this would ever happen. Perhaps the crazyness at St. Al's is slowly being turned back...one can hope
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