Rantings on Liturgical Music

I offered a Requiem Mass (in the ordinary form) at a wake earlier. Before the Mass, the members of the choir approached me to ask if they may sing the responses at the Mass. "Old translation or new translation?" I quickly asked. "The old, father," the leader said, "we have not yet updated ourselves." I was disappointed with the answer as the implementation in the Philippines of the new English translation of the Roman Missal was a year behind the implementation in most English speaking countries.

I ask: Why is it that in spite of the formation given by the Diocesan Liturgical Commissions, choirs still insist on singing the responses in the old translation? If the priests are obliged to use the new translation, why should the noncompliance of the choir be toleration. I think that insisting on using the text of the old translation is really arrogance. If priests must follow rules, why shouldn't the choir? Also, in the Philippines, certain compositions paraphrased the official text. This is the bad case of lyrics adjusting to the melody. Why should the text suffer just so that the composition may fit into the melody? Is the liturgical text the servant of the music? I don't think so! The music is the servant of the liturgical text. Fine! "Mundo" and "sanlibutan" might be synonyms. But the official text of the Agnus Dei in Tagalog is "Kordero ng Diyos na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng SANLIBUTAN" and not "Kordero ng Diyos na nag-aalis ng mga kasalanan ng MUNDO..." I think that composers of liturgical music must have the humility required to make their compositions submissive and faithful to the liturgical text.

In the extraordinary form, these things I speak of are not problems!

Also, I ask: Can't the choir prepare a repertoire appropriate for a Requiem Mass? If the bereaved family requires the services of a priest for a Requiem Mass, I think that it will be inappropriate for the priest to preach a wedding homily. He is expected to speak on the reality of the four last things. If this were the case, then would it be too much to expect from the choir to sing songs appropriate for the occasion? Why should the choir have a greater license than the priest? Everybody involved in the Sacred Liturgy ought to have the humility required to submit the self to liturgical laws. The liturgy is not ours. It belong to Christ. It belongs to the Church.

On Cremation

I chanced upon an interesting article on the practice of cremation. Although I do not know who Bishop Michael Evans is, I would recommend this article because of the important consideration on the traditional view on this practice.

"As far as I know, since the publication of a decree in 1963 there is nothing to stop a Catholic from being cremated, even if the Code of Canon Law (1983) "earnestly recommends the pious custom of burial be retained" (n. 1176). The Church also usually requires that the body must be present for the public Requiem Mass - so that the temple which housed the Living God may be properly reverenced. Since 1997, though, the Holy See has allowed some Bishops' Conferences to permit cremation before the funeral, as long as the urn is placed on a stand next to the paschal candle during the Mass. After cremation, the Church teaches that the ashes must be kept in an urn for burial or deposition in a place such as a Columbarium - as far as I know, the scattering of ashes is still forbidden. Also, of course, the Catholic Church teaches that cremation should not be used to "demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body" (CCC n. 2301).


"Right from its earliest days, and rooted to its Judaic heritage, the Church taught that cremation was an abhorrent practice - both a denial of the resurrection of the body and a desecration of the work of God's hands. According to Fr John Dietzen, though, in his book Questions and Answers (quoted in a Catholic Culture article), "the first general legislation banning the burning of bodies as a funeral rite came from the Vatican's Holy Office in May 1886, noting the anti-religious and Masonic motivation behind the movement. The 1918 Code of Canon Law continued that ban because cremation was still considered a flagrant rejection of the Christian belief in immortality and the resurrection." To this day, though, even though it normally lacks any anti-religious motivation, many traditional Catholics remain opposed to the notion of cremation, and the practice is still banned in the Orthodox Church - in which those who normally choose to be cremated, unless it is for some "good cause", are usually denied an ecclesiastical funeral or the Church's official prayers for the dead. "

Follow the link: A Reluctant Sinner: Bishop Michael Evans' body will be cremated. Is th...: