The Church has long recognized that Latin is the language of the Church. It is the “mother tongue” of Catholics, you might say. As an essential part of our common heritage it should, through song, be incorporated into the liturgy and sacred worship more liberally than has been done in most parishes in the past few decades. Contrary to popular opinion, the Second Vatican Council taught that “the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites…steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.” 

The “Ordinary of The Mass” is what some call the “parts of the Mass” including the Gloria, Sanctus, Mortem Tuam, Amen, and Agnus Dei. You will have noticed over these last many months that we have been singing most of these ordinaries in Latin. Like with anything, it takes time to become comfortable with singing something new, especially in a language that is not as familiar to most. So with repetition, and over time, it is our hope that as a parish we reclaim our “mother tongue.” 

But this won’t just happen by osmosis. In the document helping Bishops and priests to implement the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the Church asked that “Pastors shall carefully see to it that the Christian faithful…know how to recite or sing together in Latin, mainly with simple melodies, the parts of the Ordinary of the Mass proper to them.” This request was, for all intents and purposes, completely ignored during all the rapid changes that happened in the 60’s and 70’s and was rarely taken seriously or achieved in subsequent decades. Through the catechesis we are doing and by chanting or singing in Latin at Masses, St. Bartholomew is simply striving to be faithful to what the Church has asked us to prioritize.

Gregorian chant has, for centuries, been identified as the supreme model for sacred music and is given pride of place within the liturgy. This has never changed and has been repeated by popes throughout history from St. Gregory the Great in the 6th century to recent popes including St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. St. John Paul II explains the importance of chant very simply: “With regard to compositions of liturgical music, I make my own the ‘general rule’ that St. Pius X formulated in these words: ‘The more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savor the Gregorian melodic form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple.” This is high praise! 

This means that the closer a particular song or hymn is to Gregorian chant the more fitting it is to include in liturgy, while the further from Gregorian chant the music is the harder it is to justify for inclusion in liturgy. St. John Paul II is repeating what his predecessors and what the Second Vatican Council taught about chant, namely, that it is especially fitting for sacred liturgy and that it should be “given pride of place in liturgical services.” Pope Benedict XVI noted that chant must be “esteemed” and, as a beautiful part of our unique Catholic heritage, it should be treasured. When done well and beautifully – in Latin or in the vernacular – it helps us to worship well the God who loved us so much that he gave his only Son for our salvation.

The organ has long been and remains the principle instrument of the Church and, all things being equal, should be prioritized as the instrument for liturgy. It is truly a liturgical instrument – where else do you hear an organ played?… Okay, “Take Me Out the Ballgame,” but one of the things that is unique to the organ is that it is almost exclusively reserved for a liturgical context. 

As a wind instrument it can be played with incredible power or it can be played as a gentle supportive accompaniment to chant. The Second Vatican Council emphasized that in the Roman Catholic Church “the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.” When it is played beautifully the organ really does draw our attention to the grandeur of God, it elevates the senses, mind, and heart to the divine. 

This is why St. John Paul II wrote that he, along with his predecessors, “recognizes without hesitation the prevalence of the pipe organ and establishes appropriate norms for its use.” Other than the human voice, no other instrument is held in such high regard throughout the entire history of the Church.

Part 1: This is such an important question, the answer to which has had significant impact on the liturgical renewal. St. John Paul II writes the following: “Today, moreover, the meaning of the category ‘sacred music’ has been broadened to include repertoires that cannot be part of the celebration without violating the spirit and norms of the Liturgy itself.” Our parish leadership and parishioners from across the parish took heed of the great Saint’s words almost two years ago asking, might our “repertoire” of music – which was very similar to many parishes – be an example of this? 

We discovered that the Church has taught that all sacred liturgical music fitting for sacred liturgy will possess three characteristics: 1) Sanctity/Holiness, 2) Goodness of Form/True Art, and 3) Universal. The most important of these three qualities is that to the highest degree, it must be truly holy, that is, at a minimum, it must “exclude all profanity” both in the song itself and in the way it is presented. Recall that, in this context, to be sanctified is to “be set apart” or set aside for a sacred purpose alone. When the Church speaks of not allowing the profane into the liturgy it means only songs set aside for liturgical use belong. 

The Second Vatican Council taught that “sacred music is to be considered the more holy in proportion as it is more closely connected with the liturgical action, whether it adds delight to prayer, fosters unity of minds, or confers greater solemnity upon the sacred rites.” Here the council is emphasizing that to be holy it must be intimately connected to the liturgy (the language should be liturgical rather than profane or secular), and the more it is liturgical the more fitting it is for liturgy. Sacred liturgical music will also foster unity because the words avoid ambiguity – their meaning is clear. That is, the words are true and theologically precise - we can count on their trustworthiness. And such music brings a great sense of the sacredness, the solemnity, of what we are commemorating in the Mass – the passion and death of Jesus. Venerable Pius XII put it this way: Sacred liturgical music “should be conducive to the lofty end for which they are intended.”  In Part 2, we will explore the other two criteria: True Art and Universal. 

In Part 1, we learned that one character of sacred liturgical music is that it is holy and marked by sanctity, that is, it is set aside for this sacred purpose. Sacred liturgical music must also be true art. It should be well-composed, truly beautiful, and musically sound. In other words, the art and musical quality should benefit from centuries of men and women who were steeped in the tradition of sacred liturgical music, of music theory, and who themselves learned from the masters and from the liturgical books. 

After Vatican II all kinds of bad musical art was regrettably admitted into liturgies. In the 1960-1990’s there was a complete rupture from the musical tradition; this was a time period in which songs were composed and were used in sacred liturgy that were neither holy nor good art. Many of those songs have since been condemned by one rightful authority or another but many, unfortunately, can still be heard today. The most extreme example of this might be the infamous “My Little Pony” Mass composed by one of the most popular composers of the Gather Hymnal. His Gloria was, verbatim, the tune for “My Little Pony!” Such an example indicates what happens when anything counts as “art” and instead of a genuine continuity and development there is a rupture from and rejection of the tradition. The Vatican Council taught “The Church approves all forms of true art having the needed qualities and admits them into divine worship.”    

The third character of sacred liturgical music is that it is universal. This quality flows from the fact that it is holy and that it is good art. Though many songs will be reflective of the nations from which they are composed (for example many of the hymns in the St. Michael’s Hymnal are of English origin), St. Pius X emphasized that “still these forms must be subordinated in such a manner to the general characteristics of sacred music that nobody of any nation may receive an impression other than good on hearing them.”  

Sts. John Paul II and Paul VI said: “not all without distinction that is outside the temple (profanum) is fit to cross its threshold.” Please note that just because music isn’t fitting for liturgy does not necessarily mean it may not be appropriate for other contexts. “This little light of mine”, for example, is clearly not liturgical but is a great song and tune for summer camp with the little ones. We don’t recommend religious songs that are ambiguous or untrue, but many songs that we no longer sing at our liturgies are perfectly suitable for other occasions. 

We have been singing a common and simple chant immediately after the bell is rung. These chants are called antiphons, in this case, specifically an “introit” or “entrance antiphon”. These antiphons are one of the texts of the Mass just like the various prayers and readings. They are each part of a beautiful and larger plan of sacred liturgy – the readings, prayers, and antiphons are not just random but are all carefully selected, woven together, and drawn directly from tradition and sacred scripture by the Church. 

The words of the antiphons are truly beautiful and belong to the Mass as a sacred contribution to the liturgy. Through our liturgical renewal, we are gradually re-discovering the place of the antiphons and have begun by singing those that have been identified by the Church as seasonal – that is, they fit the liturgical season we are in. You will hear many of the same ones over the weeks because we are repeating them. And once we learn the seasonal antiphons and become accustomed to them, we will gradually introduce new antiphons that are proper (prescribed) for the Sunday or feast day. These efforts to gradually reintroduce these texts drawn from Scripture or written by the Church for the Mass is a part of our effort to truly sing the Mass. 

Practically speaking, at this time, for the entrance antiphon, the bells ring, the faithful then stand, and the entrance antiphon will be sung once. This is then followed immediately by a suitable hymn and the entrance procession. The antiphon is found in the worship aid, so please feel free to join in singing. Or simply follow the words, listen to them, and interiorly pray them with the cantor.

Repetition is an important method of increasing familiarity and going deeper into something. In this case, the repetition of a chant allows for the melody and the text to, in a sense, enter more deeply into our souls so that we can have a more fruitful interior participation. It is inspiring that some parishioners, and many of our young families have taken the challenge to learn these chants because of their beauty and because they connect us to thousands of Catholics across the centuries who have chanted these same melodies and prayed, through song, these same words.

The particular chants that we are currently singing (when we have time to do so at the end of Communion) at many of the Masses are seasonal Marian antiphons. Each was written to honor different aspects of Mary’s privileges: Her Motherhood, Perpetual Virginity, Assumption, Immaculate Conception, Queenship, and so forth. Each antiphon is addressed to Mary which allows us, her children, to honor her as Christ wanted us to do. 

The tradition of the Church gave us certain days to ponder certain aspects of Mary’s qualities and virtues. The Liturgy of the Hours (the official prayer of the Church) establishes a cycle throughout the liturgical year in which one of the Marian antiphons is prescribed and sung according to the liturgical seasons we are in. From Advent through the Presentation of the Lord (Feb. 2) we sing Alma Redemptoris Mater. From the day after the Presentation (Feb. 3) through the end of Lent, Ave Regina Coelorum is sung. Then from Easter through Pentecost we have the well-known Regina Coeli. And finally, after Pentecost (Ordinary Time), Salve Regina is the prescribed antiphon. 

While certainly there is nothing wrong with singing these antiphons at other times, it is most fitting to sing them or pray them during their proper season. Doing so also helps us to orient our lives in accord with the liturgical calendar and the life of the Church.
 

Yes, the Doctrinal office of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops recently issued a wonderful new document that identified key common errors found in many hymnals that purport to be “Catholic.” They also gave examples including the ones mentioned in the question. In doing so, they reinforced what has always been taught but not always been done: that the doctrinal content of the hymns is and must be a priority. If a song includes heterodox words – words that are not faithful or orthodox – then it cannot be sung at liturgy. The same can be said for vague theological formulations that are not based in the Catholic tradition. Songs that are heterodox or vague are disqualified from being sung at Mass. 

It is essential that when selecting music, selections not just be loosely based on a scriptural theme or adopt themes from the surrounding culture that may be antithetical to Church teaching. Rather, the US bishops stress that hymns should be direct quotes or tightly connected to Sacred Scripture and liturgical theology. This is essential in composing, selecting, and performing music. St. John Paul II stressed that “We must pray to God with theologically correct formulas and also in a beautiful and dignified way. In this regard, the Christian community must make an examination of conscience so that the beauty of music and hymnody will return once again to the liturgy. They should purify worship from ugliness of style, from distasteful forms of expression, from uninspired musical texts which are not worthy of the great act that is being celebrated.” 

We should note that this is also what the Second Vatican Council called for as well: “The texts intended to be sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine; indeed they should be drawn chiefly from Holy Scripture and from liturgical sources.” The Church does move slowly! We are proud to be a parish that, through the liturgical renewal, began doing what St. John Paul II and Vatican II asked for prior to the bishops’ publishing this recent document. 

There is an ancient maxim that we are encouraged to appreciate. In Latin, it’s lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi. In English, as we pray, so we believe, and so we live. In other words, prayer is central to the life of a Catholic and the words we pray shape us and form our mind and heart, and also influence the way we live our lives. So it is vitally important that the words we pray within liturgy are true and precise. 

Because sacred liturgical music has an incredibly integral role in liturgy; it is important to “do it well” and to adhere to the Church’s timeless teaching and priorities. One way we are doing this is that many of the chants we sing (the antiphons especially) are direct quotes from scripture, especially the psalms. Also the psalm arrangement we select and sing for Mass today are now verbatim from scripture rather than a paraphrase of the psalms as was commonly sung in recent years. 

You’ll also notice we sing more hymns today that are written by Saints like St. Thomas Aquinas or St. Bernard of Clairvaux who had a great love for Our Lady. And then, with regard to the other hymns we select, we carefully make sure there is no error or ambiguity in the words we sing. It helps that our new hymnal, the St. Michael’s Hymnal, is full of very strong hymns. Over the centuries the Church and the Saints have made it clear that the words we pray are important: No less is at stake than the life of the Church, the sanctification of the faithful, and our ability to give fitting worship and glory to God. 

Incense is a sacramental of the Church that is most often used to bless, sanctify, purify, and venerate during the celebration of Mass. Incense can also be used at other times in the life of the Church. The word “incense” comes from the Latin word incendere which means “to burn.” (This is the same Latin word from which “incinerate” comes.) Incense was considered a highly valuable commodity in ancient times, its use in worship began long before Christianity, it was highly common in Judaism, and it was used early on by the first Christians. The earliest documented history of the use of incense in Catholic liturgy is from the 5th century in what is known as the “Liturgies of Saint James and Saint Mark.” And how can we forget? Two of the gifts Jesus received from the Magi at his birth were incense: Frankincense and myrrh. 

Incense is typically a resin (sap), either from plants or trees. Frankincense, for example, comes from Boswellia sacra trees. Incense is sprinkled over the top of burning coals creating an aromatic smoke. There are many different scents of incense, and the priest is free to choose what scent he would like to use. This is why sometimes the incense smells more or less floral or sweet and so forth.
 
Before it is burned, the incense is held in what is called the boat. To be burned during the liturgy, it is placed atop hot coals in what is known as the thurible. The thurible is the metal censor suspended from chains. When there is an altar server or acolyte who carries or tends to the incense throughout the Mass he is called the thurifer. And, finally, would you believe that the word “incense” is used 170 times in the Bible?!  Incense has always been a beautiful part of the Catholic tradition.
 

In short, it is because incense is a sign during the liturgy that helps the people of God to engage the senses and to see, smell, and hear the realities of what is happening at each Mass. There is a beautiful richness and depth of meaning found in the burning of incense, which is a sign pointing to deeper realities. Perhaps the most obvious is that the smoke rising or drifting toward the heavens is an image of the prayers of the faithful rising to Heaven. This calls to mind Psalm 141:2, “Let my prayer be incense before you: my uplifted hands an evening offering.” 

Incense also purifies and sanctifies what it touches which is why the people are blessed with incense – it purifies and sanctifies us ritually before approaching the altar. Incense also helps to foster a sense of mystery and awe (almost otherworldly) because it reminds us that in the Mass Heaven kisses earth. Consider the fascination of a young child eagerly watching smoke drift from the thurible to the Heavens. In the same way that a child marvels at the smoke, we who are capable of seeing the deeper heavenly reality ought to marvel at these realities. The sweet scent also reminds us of the sweet-smelling presence of God in our midst. With incense we get a sense of the ambiance of Heaven as described in the Book of Revelation where St. John saw incense in the vision of Heaven. How fitting it is to use this sign revealed to us by the Word of God!

And finally the reverent use of incense truly adds solemnity and mystery to the Mass. By the sign of incense, the faithful get a real sense that something different, something remarkable, something truly Heavenly is taking place at each Mass. Incense helps us to acknowledge the reality of what is happening at the altar: a sacrificial offering; it reminds us of the burning of victims that were used in the Temple of Jerusalem, and it helps us to see how Christ’s sacrifice of His own body and blood is the ultimate sacrifice.

These are just some of the reasons we are using incense more often and why it is praiseworthy to do so.

Bells have long been a part of the Catholic tradition. The first Christian to write frequently of bells is St. Gregory of Tours. The first Christian bells were of Celtic origin, but by the 8th century, bells were regarded as an essential part of the equipment of every Church. Over the centuries, bells have been a sign to communicate something important to the people of God. For example, bells have resounded to announce the hour of Mass, or of a time of prayer or even to announce that a parishioner was dying or had died so as to encourage prayers for the happy repose of his soul. By the 13th century the church bells were rung to let workers in the fields know that at Mass the Sacred Host was being raised on high so that they might pause and make an act of adoration perhaps like doubting Thomas did upon encountering the risen Christ: “My Lord and my God.” 

Bells have been used to assemble the community as we still see to this day in monasteries. The clash of several bells at once signifies joy and solemnity. For example, as the Gloria is sung on Holy Thursday the bells are rung during the entire hymn of praise. In short, bells are characteristic of Catholic Churches and have long been a sign communicating something to the people of God. 

When they are rung before Mass they are a sign of a call from above that is not forcing us but inviting us to rise and prepare our hearts for something great. This is the attitude of every believer at Mass; we get ready for the greatest gift to humanity, that is, the gift of Christ on the altar for all of us to adore and later receive in communion. There is a beautiful solemnity in inviting the faithful to stand up to get ready to sing the entrance antiphon or hymn with the sound of a bell, rather than a voice from a speaker saying: “Please stand and join us as we sing.” Sometimes, it is better to communicate through signs than with words; after all, speaking through signs is the language of those who are in love.