Music and worship

May 10, 2018
Mary Salim
San Mateo
 
I continue to love your paper. Thank you for the good work you do. The letter from Richard Bodisco is a beautiful testimony about the Mass. I completely concur with every point – especially loud conversation – with one important exception. Even King David used tambourines when he worshipped the Lord. See especially 2 Samuel 6:5 and 1 Chronicles 13:8. Surely how we make music and what instruments we use are culturally determined. No music is objectively bad, however contrary to one’s own taste. I haven’t been to a single Mass in the Bay Area in the last three years since moving here that had any kind of music that young people would like, for example. It’s not the only reason they don’t attend Mass, but it can’t help. I’m not young, but my heart sinks when I find myself at a chanted Mass. That’s just my own personal disinclination – comparable to Mr. Bodisco’s aversion to the tambourine. Music is an important element of the worship service, but in our modern world we have a vast array of preferences. How do we bridge this divide?
 
 
P.S. The links on conscience were so convenient to use! Thanks.
 
P.P.S. Father Rolheiser (always good) hit it out of the park in his article about “Moral outrage.” They should read this aloud at the Georgetown gathering about polarization in June (Page 6).


 

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