Recently, Catholics celebrated the 60th anniversary y of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. But, many of its intended reforms are yet to be achieved. Sadly, the decades since the council have often been characterised by deeply entrenched and divergent views. An area of particular division is that of sacred music.
As Sacrosanctum Concilium affirmed, “the musical tradition of the Universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art” (SC 112). The true value of sacred music is in its capacity to create a prayerful ambience which is conducive to proper worship, and which enables a genuine encounter with and experience of the divine. Sacred music forms our hearts and minds by revealing the Word of God to us and deepens our participation in the celebration of the sacred mysteries.
We know, however, that this is not always our experience when attending Mass. Sadly, there are times when the music is a distraction, robbing the Mass of its atmosphere of prayerfulness and us of our sense of communion with the divine. Generally, these problems are self-inflicted and relate to the repertoire of hymns chosen, or a lack of preparation which impacts upon the quality and the aesthetics of the sacred music.
Sacrosanctum Concilium expressed the hope of “fully conscious and active participation in liturgical celebrations” (SC 14). Many interpreted this as “everyone does something and everyone sings”. As a result, the composition of hymns and the style and selection of sacred music has changed significantly over the last 60 years. At times, the music has been seemingly bereft of religious meaning and purpose with little reference to the Word of God or the seminal truths of the Faith.
In many parts of the English-speaking world, parishes have adopted the “praise and worship” style music of the Pentecostal churches and of prominent Christian recording artists. The shift in musical styles has often been pitched as being more “youth friendly” with assurances that congregations will be more actively engaged.
This, of course, hasn’t always been the case. Despite this, many parishes continue to ignore the treasury of traditional sacred music of the Church. For example, vast numbers of young Catholics will have had no exposure to Gregorian chant whatsoever. This is incredibly sad, and the omission has largely arisen from our own poor judgement; we have mistakenly assumed that young people, especially boys, do not value their aesthetic sense, and therefore may not value the truue beauty of sacred music.
Sacred music is an expression of beauty. The contemplation of beauty can stir a desire for God within the human heart, or it can be a moment of genuine connection with God. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis reflected that “every expression of true beauty can thus be acknowledged as a path leading to an encounter with the Lord Jesus” (EG 167).
There is true value in the “way of beauty”, and to this end Sydney Catholic Schools wanted to work with parishes to ensure that students had the opportunity to encounter beauty in their experience of the Mass. To help enable this it has partnered with the Australian Sacred Music Association in the establishment of the Jubilate Deo programme. Both the association and the programme are led by Ronan Reilly, who outlined the vision of the initiative.
In 1974, Pope Paul VI wrote to the bishops of the world, encouraging them to maintain a core repertoire of Gregorian chants that all Catholics could know and sing with ease.
The Gregorian melodies are not just artful, steady and beautiful on a natural level, they are deeply theological, and it’s in this context the Church has jealously guarded that repertoire as her own. The aim of the programme is pedagogic and practical: to equip participants with the ability to sing and pray their sacred musical patrimony.
Although the impetus of Pope Paul in cultivating a deeper knowledge and love of sacred music largely fell on deaf ears, where the document has been met with enthusiasm and good faith it has yielded much fruit.
This has certainly been the case in the Archdiocese of Sydney. The programme has involved a dozen schools to date, with many others on an ever-extending waitlist. Feedback from students, teachers and parents has been overwhelmingly positive. In November last year, over 1,000 students gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, for a Mass which included a repertoire of chant and traditional sacred music (see the New Ark Films YouTube channel).
The Jubilate Deo program promotes the “way of beauty” through the treasury of the Church’s sacred music. The search for what is good, true and beautiful, and the contemplation of these things, has inspired believers in every generation. Today’s younger generations are no different.
Photo: Jubilate Deo director Ronan Reilly, conducting students at St Mary’s Cathedral, has stated that Sydney is unique in its co-ordinated effort to make Pope Paul VI’s vision of a chant repertoire for lay Catholics a reality. (Photo credit: screenshot from www.catholicweekly.com.au; originbal photo by Giovanni Portell.)
Dr Anthony Cleary is Director of Mission and Identity for Sydney Catholic Schools.
This article originally appeared in the February 2024 issue of the Catholic Herald. To subscribe to our award-winning, thought-provoking magazine and have independent and high-calibre counter-cultural Catholic journalism delivered to your door anywhere in the world click here.
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