SACRED, BEAUTIFUL, & UNIVERSAL

It was about a year ago that I left our territorial parish because of frustrations over what the priest was preaching.  It really had nothing to do with liturgy.  I thought the words of the liturgy and the sacrifice being represented were so beautiful that it didn't much matter what type of music was performed, what type of building you worshiped in, or if the priests threw in some wildcards while celebrating mass.  One year later, my view on the importance of reverence and beauty continues to deepen.  I remember when I first found read Canon 846.1:

In celebrating the sacraments the liturgical books approved by competent authority are to be observed faithfully; accordingly, no one is to add, omit, or alter anything in them on one’s own authority.

I remember thinking, "do the people who change the mass realize what they're doing?"  I went from being  lenient to a stickler on the rubrics of the mass.  It wasn't that I turned into a grinch, but that my understanding changed.  In fact - I really had no idea what the Church had to say about the liturgy itself.  In a similar way, I remember reading an article about a year ago about how Gregorian Chant and other sacred music are the only forms acceptable for liturgy.  I was turned off by that article simply because I felt they were trying to push their own preference of music.  Again, I was ignorant as to what Holy Mother Church had to say on the topic.  So once again, I've been having a similar sort of experience with liturgical music as I did with the liturgy itself (seems sort of obvious once you realize the music IS the liturgy - not something separate).  This change in me has had a lot to do with hearing more about what the Church (and our current pope) has to say about music, but it also comes down to experience.  Experiencing high masses at St. Stan's has had a profound effect on me.  Another experience I've had recently was watching this incredible video that I came across when reading the New Liturgical Movement.


SACRED, BEAUTIFUL, & UNIVERSAL: Colloquium XIX from Corpus Christi Watershed on Vimeo.