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"Gregorian Chant in the Parish"

JMG asks the following question:

Q: I am involved in a Latin schola, consisting mostly of people in their 20s and 30s, which sings Gregorian Masses, Latin hymns, as well as appropriate songs in English, our vernacular. It has been my experience that young people, used to contemporary music at Mass, quite appreciate Latin and other beautiful liturgical hymns when they hear them. What guidelines could you give for the use of Gregorian chant in a parish Mass?

Fr. Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, answers here.

Posted 12.24.2003
by Aristotle Esguerra
2 comments.
Filed under: Gregorian Chant.

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2 Comments

The best advice I can give is find a Church and a pastor who supports Gregorian chant so passionately that he is willing to make this choir assist at a regular Sunday liturgy.

It is not enough that Vatican encourages the use of Latin songs in celebration of the Novus Ordo. The choir actually needs a priest, preferrably a pastor - or priests, as many as they can enlist - to give it moral support.

They’ll need the pastor’s shield for when the bullets start flying from the influential aging hippies among the parishioners who absolutely hate Latin.


Marie
01.07.2004 @ 1:06 pm #

Marie,
I live in Eastern Nassau County, NY. I am the chairman of my parish liturgy committee. I am trying to push/plead/cajole as much as possible in this direction. My Pastor has said that he would love to have a chant Mass and has hired a new music director. I do not yet know if the two are connected. I do know that the new guy refuses to play secular songs (a good sign). I am trying to give the Pastor the support to go forward despite the hippies. If you want to drop me a line I will keep you updated.
jmccaff [ATSIGN] optonline [POINT] net


John M
01.08.2004 @ 4:14 pm #

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