The brilliant European-born American professor George Steiner proposes (“Real Presences”) that the aesthetic - the arts - are prelapsarian, i.e. they are remnants from before the Fall.  And in our exile, they are the tools that will lead us home.  I find this theory a trustworthy compass, and your experience confirms it yet again.

If we should dare…paraphase our Almighty God, speaking to Job in the Old Testament (Job:chapter 38)...“where were YOU when I created…music?”

Thank God that God is God!  He knows how to fill our hearts and souls with beauty - HIMSELF!

PAX

I just had the same experience as I was returning from our Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel this morning at 5:00 AM and listening to classical music.  I normally drive at 70 MPH, but I suddenly noticed that I was driving at 40 MPH.  This tremendous peace came over me that I recognized as the presence of Almighty God.  Then, along with the peace came the joy and the love!

I returned home, checked my emails, and read your article.  There are no coincidences!  It was an affirmation—for me and for you.

Was she listening to a Latin High Mass?  It is difficult to believe she would be inspired by some of the music I hear at Mass in English these days! It is even worse when you consider that they CHOOSE to use a piano instead of the organ.  The organ just sits there!

Thanks.I think music is a sort of non-verbal language that communicates the spiritual to us.God speaks more to our heart than our intellect.Sometimes it’s the pride of the intellect that gets in the way of our hearing.

Rich: I get your point that some of the music at Mass is not very good. But there are still hymns I hear that make me acutely aware of God’s presence. Having a great music director, choir, and organist helps.

Plus, not only explicitly religious music makes me feel this way. I’ve had it happen witth film scores lots of times. Or even listening to the pop station on the radio. All good art comes from the Lord.

I’m a musician.  Few things bring us closer to tasting heaven on earth.
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I think you would enjoy the writing of Dr. Oliver Sacks: in ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,’ he has a chapter on Hildegard’s visions, and one on a girl (Rebecca) who couldn’t always put her clothes on right side out, but had a natural grasp of poetry, symbolism, and liturgy.  He writes of natural phenomena from a clinical perspective, but also with a reverence for the mystery of human life, not as a bludgeoning tool to discredit and feel a false sense of triumph over others (not that I necessarily think that is what your acquaintance meant to do).
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Rich: I suppose you’d know the facts better than I would, but consider that the organ may not be serviceable for some reason, or the player may not know how to operate it.  Not all pianists are organists; organists are few and in much demand.  It is not perhaps the ideal situation, but is there a chance it might be all the local resources can support at the moment?

Rich Dykstra: AMEN! The music at most English masses is terrible. It’s not the instruments either. Marty Haugen sounds even worse on a full pipe organ than budget model 1970s era electric pianos for which it was written. Generally, the music is sappy, the lyrics are theological nonsense, and the congregation doesn’t care.

I feel this way with music period. Though it seems to happen more with non-religious music. Maybe I’m not listening to enough Christian stuff, tho…

Posted by JD on Friday, Jun 22, 2012 9:37 AM (EST):Rich Dykstra: AMEN! The music at most English masses is terrible. It’s not the instruments either. Marty Haugen sounds even worse on a full pipe organ than budget model 1970s era electric pianos for which it was written. Generally, the music is sappy, the lyrics are theological nonsense, and the congregation doesn’t care.”
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I sing in the choir at church & hear you.
One of our members used to look at the upcoming hymns for Sunday & whisper “It’s another “Marty” song.” Every week we had at least one.You could add a full orchestra to those “Marty” songs & it wouldn’t help.
My solution would be to put our current hymnals on a 50 year rest.We have how many centuries of sacred music? And how much of that is reflected in most hymnbooks?

Jen, it’s interesting that you should mention music and also the heart, and quoting Pope Benedict in this regard.  There’s something else he said, too:  that “the heart is the primary instrument for seeking God.  The intellect is not sufficient.”  Now, this does not mean that the intellect is not necessary or left out entirely.  By no means, in the Catholic worldview.  It just needs something more.  Which I think ties into one of your other observations in that it’s easy to think that one read one’s way logically toward Christianity, but the heart does get involved.  Those with a great talent for Mathematics have a love and passion for it that does stir the heart;  it engages the emotions as well as the mind, and so is not completely or merely emotional.  Seen in many a time in quite a few Math professors.  I believe it was G.H. Hardy who once wrote in A Mathematician’s Apology that “there is no room for ugly Mathematics.”

Rich Dykstra and JD, I know where you’re coming from.  To an extent, I share your concerns.  But at the same time, I will posit that it really does depend on what you are able to receive at any particular time.  I now know in retrospect that I’m not fond of Marty Haugen and David Haas, or certainly their overuse at Mass.  And I do deplore how much the musical heritage has first been decoupled from the liturgy and then been lost.  But I did have an experience with Marty Haugen’s “You Are Mine” during Mass similar to what Jen described at a time when I was barely practicing, and I was certainly asking a lot of questions about love, relationships, belonging, and life itself, which hit me out of nowhere.  It was heartbreaking.  But looking back with some perspective, it was a necessary stepping stone, and it also points to something that comes up repeatedly in NCRegister comboxes:  that God meets us where we are, but loves us too much to leave us there.  Also, we often hear that He may sometimes have to break your heart in order to give you something better.  And He can and will use anything at all.  After all, at the Why I am Catholic website, we know from one particular young woman’s story that he can use comic books—specifically an X-Men character named Nightcrawler—to plant the seeds of conversion.

So yes, the likes of Marty Haugen and David Haas might engage us on a heartfelt level.  Nothing wrong with that per se except for the fact that it then begs the question of where one’s heart is oriented, and it cuts to the heart of what kind of prayer the Mass is.  Where Gregorian chant comes in is that it doesn’t just leave us on the level of those feelings, as though “feeling it” and feelings are enough.  Chant takes those feelings and directs them upward toward the things of Heaven, and there’s this sense of its sound being both intimate and transcendent at once.  You get a sense of praying with heart and mind, and body as well, at the Latin Mass.  And some people who might not otherwise have become Catholic are indeed converted by hearing Gregorian chant.

In general response to “maybe it was the music,” indeed, what is music, what is its form, function, and purpose, and how do we engage with it?

Posted by enness on Friday, Jun 22, 2012 9:12 AM (EST):I’m a musician.  Few things bring us closer to tasting heaven on earth.
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I think you would enjoy the writing of Dr. Oliver Sacks: in ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,’...”
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Thanks for mentioning that. I read a copy from the library recently.
I think the material & spiritual are not mutually exclusive.Just because something manifests in an observable physical way does not preclude a spiritual/supernatural occurence.If one has a mystical experience:Teresa of Avila, Joan of Arc, etc, perhaps some part of the brain might exhibit more activity but that could just show the connection between body & spirit.Materialists tend to see things through a smaller lense.I think those with faith see more possibilities.

Music also played a part in my conversion from atheism. As a young atheist I loved traditional Chrismas Carols. Singing and hearing them was always a special joy.  The theology behind them they passed me by, but the music didn’t.

Over the years they played less and less traditional carols on the radio and I had a harder time looking for my Carol mix since just holiday seasonal music was not cutting it.  I ended up finding a Protestant radio station that was playing more traditional carols.  Hearing what was in between the music set me off starting to read everything I could from the religion section of the local library, especially Christianity.  This reading eventually led me to the Church.

In general response to “maybe it was the music,” indeed, what is music, what is its form, function, and purpose, and how do we engage with it?

P.S. those are questions that aren’t just about the emotions, either.  And for that reason, I don’t think anyone who understands the function of Gregorian chant would reduce it to how music affects the brain, and how people can use music to delude others into thinking that they’ve experienced the divine.  For the little that I know, chant points beyond itself.  It is a form of prayer, and one does not worship one’s feelings as though they are “God”;  rather, one may latch onto the beauty, but once one starts asking intellectual questions about the nature and purpose of that form of music, and its structure, then it ceases to be primarily or exclusively about touching off pleasure centers in the brain and somesuch (besides, should those of us blessed with strong intellects ask ourselves the same questions about “touching off pleasure centers in the brain” whenever we feel any emotional rush that comes with thinking ourselves superior to others?  Not meaning to be snide and snarky or putting anyone down at all;  it’s just that Pride is not known as the deadliest of the deadly sins for nothing).

I think the material & spiritual are not mutually exclusive.Just because something manifests in an observable physical way does not preclude a spiritual/supernatural occurence.

BINGO.  Thank you for expressing it way more eloquently than I could, Kathleen.

Apparently, Marty Haugen isn’t even Catholic! (He was raised Lutheran and is now United Church of Christ.) That explains a lot.

It’s not that overly emotional music can’t be moving. It’s that such music really doesn’t fit in with the mass. “I am the Bread of Life” is quite moving, but completely inappropriate, even at communion. It creates the wrong emotion.

Furthermore, such music designed more for Protestant worship, specifically, evangelical Protestant worship. That’s the point of their worship: An emotional response to God, followed by an intellectual lesson on the Bible, combined with fellowship with other believers. Nothing wrong with that, but it isn’t what the mass is about. In an evangelical church “Shout to the Lord” is a great opener to get the crowd going. I’ve heard it done in a Catholic Church. No. Just No. Please stop. It’s not working.

And I think Catholics know it that the music isn’t really Catholic. I believe that is why so many Catholics do such a half-hearted job with the music. Even the most musically deficient parishes can still manage to belt out a good “EEE-mac-yooo-lit Maa-ree” when the time calls for it.

The real problem with what happened after Vatican II wasn’t the Novus Ordo or the vernacular, or certainly not anything that actually happened in the counsel, but that some Catholics mistakenly took it as permission to start acting like lukewarm Protestants. No wonder things went downhill!

One type of hymn singing that I love is the old timey Sacred Harp.If you google “FaSoLa” you’ll find a website with samples of Sacred Harp hymns & info on it’s history.You might also be fortunate enough to live where there are Sacred Harp singings.We have one about 45 mins.down the road.
Sacred Harp uses the old shape notes & sounds something like bluegrass, Gregorian Chant & Russian Orthodox chant all mixed up & served with a little gospel on the side.
Some of the hymns turn up in our Catholic hymnbooks but often the words are fooled around with & the harmony is completely altered.
It’s a cool part of our American history & very moving music to listen to.

We are blessed with a vibrant music ministry in our parish. Given that both my husband and I are musicians, music is very important to us. It was the music in our parish that first caused us to want to go back during our discernment process; it as the beauty of the Mass that made us stay. 

I have said for years that Mozart is proof of the existence of God. When music touches you deep in the pit of your heart - it will fill your life with memories, touchstones, lessons and joy.

At least to me - that proves that God exists.

I don’t know about your diocese, but many parish music directors are either in a fog or seem to be seeking their own glory.  Still others keep beating the same hymns to death each Sunday, fail to ever introduce any new music or merely change the words of perfectly fine old Protestant hymns to make them seem more Catholic.  There’s a lot of great Christian music out there available.  Parish music directors should expand their horizons.  I have heard, though, that all music selections must be filtered through some “approved” list by the diocese.

My husband and I attended a Spanish mass last Sunday, where the sheer volume of the electric accordion made our eyes water—the wrong way.  On a lighter note, I was considering a blog post by Simcha Fisher on the subject of the noble practice of reading to one’s children. I was beginning to feel a bit indignant that neither of my parents read to me ever, but then I realized that I was allowed to stay up as late as I wanted if I was reading, AND my father played concert level piano nearly every night, on his grand piano.  I thought ALL fathers did this.  It was comforting and sublime.  It is also the time I “talked to God” as I had been taught.

One quibble, we aren’t the only creatures who compose music. Birds are great musicians and can repeat melodies of great complexity. So I wouldn’t use that as evidence of a soul. Although, I agree with you that great music can transport us and bring us closer to God. But it’s God using the music to reach us, not the music imitating God. I’ve been moved by music in secular situations. I cry like a baby at Le Miserables, but I never thought, this proves God.

A lot of people are struck by a certain characteristic of Celtic music that even musicians find impossible to describe.  I have heard that in Japan and Korea Celtic music is described as “healing music,” although Wikipedia muddies the water on that question.  I suspect that this indescribable aspect is that something spiritual is being communicated.  But that’s just my non-musician’s take.

A few years ago, I joined a newly formed Men’s Choir at my parish.  I am not a trained singer.  My previous singing experience is singing in the car along with the radio.  I sing melody, because I am not a good enough singer to sing harmony, such as tenor or bass.  We sing the “new” music - Marty Haugen, David Haas, Bob Hurd, and a lot of stuff from Oregon Catholic Press.  Several of the posts above have expressed the authors’ opinions that this music is terrible, not very good, etc.  Maybe they are right.  But, participation in this Men’s Choir has given me great joy, from the fellowship of rehearsing, to the singing at Mass.  I have been moved close to tears by the beauty of the experience of singing with this group in the Mass.  My faith has deepened, and I have become more involved in my parish. 

I wonder if people of Mozart’s time criticized his religious music as not being as good as Gregorian Chant.

Martin Soy, I don’t think you can compare David Haas and Marty Haugen to Mozart, and I’m not sure the comparison is all that apt.  Mozart actually wrote Masses—in other words, he understood that liturgical music has a very specific form:  the Mass must be seen as a cohesive and coherent entity.  So Mozart was certainly not the Marty Haugen or David Haas of his day.  Marty Haugen has indeed written Masses—like the Mass of Creation—but it does not compare to Mozart.  Liturgical music meant for the Mass also has very specific parts, namely the Ordinaries (the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei;  usually sung by the congregation and led by the choir or schola) and the Propers (Introit, Gradual, Tract, Sequence, Offertory, and Communion;  based on the Psalms and sung exclusively by the choir or schola). The EF obviously does this well, and the OF Mass can, too, with more widespread understanding of what the Mass is (boy, is this an opportunity for catechesis—if the law of prayer is the law of belief, how many Catholics have actually sat down with either the text of the EF, with the Latin and English side by side, or with the text of the newly translated OF and studied and ruminated upon those prayers, and the Mass as a whole as a prayer—the public prayer of the Church?).  The problem with the way that the OF is often celebrated is that it’s often treated like a jukebox or playlist where hymns are just slotted in.  This is not to say that contemporary music isn’t and can’t be composed for the Mass.  I would point out that Kevin Allen is doing exactly that, as are others.  For examples, check out http://www.ccwatershed.org

I’m glad that you find it fulfilling to be singing in your parish’s men’s choir.  Some choirs most certainly don’t have enough men, so God bless you.  That said, maybe at some point, your men’s choir could slowly learn to sing better music.  For one thing, plainchant and Gregorian chant is all melody based, given that it flows better with the reading of the words of Scripture in the way that metered music does not.  And it does not depend on harmony (though polyphony does).  One can start simple, introducing it bit by bit, before progressing to the harder stuff.  The Deus Genitor Alme setting usually chanted during Lent is one of the simpler ones.  Our parish sang the Agnus Dei and Sanctus settings from that Mass in English, which unfortunately did not mesh very well—sung in English, they sounded clunky, and I see no reason why they could not have sung it in Latin.

P.S.:  the other thing about learning chant settings for the Ordinaries of the Mass (again, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei) is that they differ according to the liturgical season.  The Propers will change from Mass to Mass, but the Ordinaries will be sung throughout the season until the season itself merits a change.  The entire congregation, then, will have slowly built up a repertoire of Gregorian chant.

The Catholic tradition is one of Faith and Reason, both, and some forms of music in terms of structure and sound are just better suited to the Church’s liturgy than others.  As Fr. Barron often points out, we have a smart tradition in the Catholic Church.  It most certainly is encapsulated in her musical tradition.  This is our heritage;  this is who we are, and it’s not just “our” Catholic faith on an individual level, but the faith of the whole Church throughout all ages.  Vatican II points out as much (some people’s impressions to the contrary; see “Sacrosanctum Concilium”) that chant is best suited to the liturgy, and all things being equal, should be given first place.  It is one thing for other kinds of music to move us, but again, the question is move… where, and toward what?  Orientation matters.

And yes, this stuff does go to the heart when you hear it done right.  It’s not unapproachable.

In this regard, I must support the author’s association between beautiful music and the fomenting of faith in our “inner sanctum” where we can contemplate the greatest music, art and ideas that our life may offer.  I can’t help asking, however, why our bishops have been so reluctant, in so many dioceses, to insist that the music of our liturgy be something that represents a level of professionalism in the art of music and in the understanding of the heights of our sacred tradition of doctrine and spiritual teaching.  Are we afraid to accept the challenge to grow in our faith and become the brave spokespersons of a better way of life found in living by our faith?  Where there is a will to proclaim the Lord, there is a way to make music worthy of such a proclamation!  And where there is music worthy of such a proclamation, there is a way to share this proclamation to a world starved for the touch of just such loveliness.  Let’s get on with it!

I agree with Kevin that Celtic music will create this experience in most people.  The two strongest times I have felt this were both “Amazing Grace”: Once, when my highschool band played it at a concert in a pitch black gym, and the other, when played with bagpipes.  Also, Celtic music should be added wherever it can be. (a note to all you songwriters out there!)

I suppose that part of the healing aspect of the music is its soft lilt, and the sad history that Ireland has to compliment it.  For example, the Clancy Bros. singing “Roddy McCorley”, “Whistlin’ Gypsie”, or “We have Drums and Guns” will always get this experience started.  “Morning has Broken” is also a good example of this phenomenon

Almost all of the music at my church is “protestant evangelical pap.” It is overplayed and over loud. Somehow someone thinks that if it is played at deafening levels, it translates into worship. I cringe every time we have to sing the Gloria (a Haas version)  because someone took a beautiful restoration, broke it up with multiple refrains, and turned it into an incomprehensive agony to endure. In protest, I refuse to sing the refrains. I talk to the Lord instead and tell him of my love for him and my wish that this version would incinerate itself with all copies.
I listened to the Gloria sung at a Latin Mass by a full choir and I could have sworn my soul had left my body and was lifted up to heaven. That was worship music.  The Christian rock I listen to in my car, should stay there. Unfortunately, I have to listen to it in my church, with full drums and electric guitars.  Why do I stay? The priest is a saint and the Lord told me to listen to him.  So, I offer it up and pray for an opening of hearts of the music group to move to music that truly worships God and not themselves making music.

@Deblette:  Full drums and electric guitars in a Catholic church?  Please name your parish and diocese.  I know of no Catholic church or diocese which allows or includes—your words “Protestant Evangelical Pap” on their hymn list.  There are many centuries old hymns of faith found in the Protestant tradition starting with Amazing Grace which Catholic parishes fully embrace.  However, your reference to “Evangelical Pap” —sounds disingenuous.

I belong to a Charismatic Catholic Church that is slowly being led back from completely evangelical to more middle of the road Catholic. The music played would be considered praise and worship rather than hymns. I do not consider most of the music worthy of a Catholic Mass and yes, full drum set and electic guitars. I have been a member for four and a half years and I no longer pray for explosions of sound equipment and smoting of instruments. It is however the culture of the church and it is changing, thanks to a very holy priest. Slowly, very slowly.
I did get to hear How Great Thou Art Once. I am pretty sure it was an accident. :)  Trust me, if I never hear Open the Eyes of my Heart or How Great is Our God again, I will know I have died and gone to heaven.
I am in the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis and yes, my church is not the only church like this, although the others, try to restrict this music to the teen Masses,like that makes it acceptable.
The trade off of putting up with the music is that the congregation, on the whole, are truly open to the workings of the Holy Spirit and have a great reverence and Love of Our Lord in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Belief in the supernatural, which is what God is, is the norm. I have not experienced another church which has such a strong presence of the Holy Spirit. I consider my pastor a saint. He is another Christ on earth.  I would put up with a lot more than this music in order to continue receiving direction through his preaching and as my confessor. I consider the music a cross the Lord has given me, but I still pray that he will relieve me of it one day.

@Deb, thanks for the explanation.  My apologies to you.  Catholic Charismatics are a whole different bent.  They seem more moved by the experiential rather than the Savior.  I know 3 Catholics who claim to speak in tongues.  I agree with you regarding “Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord.”  That’s one which has been beaten into the ground along with a number of tired and worn out Catholic standards.  I wouldn’t mind hearing some Twila Paris music.  My diocese has no Catholic Charismatic parishes.

Casting Crowns,  Yes, Charismatics are different, mostly in that they are completly open to the workings of the Holy Spirit. Speaking in tongues is one of the gifts of the Spirit and is nothing unusual. I am 56 years old and was only confirmed four years ago. I had a very powerful conversion and I was speaking in tongues before I knew what they were or what charisms were. That is why we do need a new evangelization, it is only through the Spirit that one can fully experience everything that the Lord wants to pour out upon us. I know that can be done without the praise and worship music. The gifts and fruits of the Spirit are very real and are powerful and abundandt as those poured out upon the Apostles. Pentecost is for all time When you know hundreds of Catholics who speak in tongues, you will know that things are as they should be. :) Hopefully, just with more sacred music.

@Deb, you won’t find me an encourager of the Charismatic movement.  The people I know appear more focused on “gifts” of the Spirit rather than Christ as primacy.  As for speaking in tongues, that is a gift of the Apostolic age only.  The people were able to hear the gospel preached in their own language of the day.  Speaking in tongues in the Apostolic age meant a KNOWN tongue or “in the language of their nation” which a person was from—aka an “ecstatic” tongue.  The gibberish you and others speak today is false since no one can understand the utterances coming from your mouth.  I would caution you that avenue of worship is satanic and directs your attention toward gifts and seeking additional gifts and away from the Lord.  Satan is extremely deceptive in leading people in false worship.

Casting Crows,I am sorry, but you are so wrong if you believe that the powers and gifts brought to the Apostles at Pentecost are not still being poured out upon those God chooses to give them to.  True speaking in tongues does come in great moments of ecstasy and prayer and usually without the intention or sometimes even the knowledge of the particpant.  You presume to tell me that Jesus Christ is a liar when he said that those who believe in him and the works that he does, will do greater works than those. Just because you have not experienced the supernatural gifts of the Spirit, does not mean they do not exist. That is like atheists stating God does not exist because they cannot see him.  I don’t know the people you know, but I know myself. I know that my life changed when I was baptized in the Spirit by a priest. Mind you, I was 51 years old and prior to that did not believe in God, Jesus or even have a clue who the Holy Spirit was. I smoked dope every day of my life for 34 years. Satan did not exist either. I was converted by the Holy Spirit and in a manner that you would obviously not understand nor believe. So, let me tell you that Jesus Christ himself brought me to the church he wanted me at and told me to listen to the pastor. Just happened to be Charismatic Church. I had no knowledge of anything. I joined RCIA and was confirmed at the age of 52. The Holy Spirit worked in me day and night and sorry, but I was not being led by Satan. I go to Mass every day, confession every one to two weeks and am in my first year as a novice with a Carmelite Third Order.  Jesus is my life and if wants me to speak in tongues, his Spirit takes over and it happens. I tell you all this not to boast of gifts, because I have precious few, but to warn you against disparaging the things that are of God.  Presumption that all you can understand is all there is dangerous and that in itself, could be from the evil one. He certainly doesn’t want you to take advantage of all the Lord wants to give you.  Think on that one a bit and I will pray that the Holy Spirit will blow your heart open to all he can give you.

@Deb:  I never said spiritual gifts are no longer being given.  Certainly there are many spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit can and does bestow upon people.  I stated, however, the gift of speaking in tongues was for a particular time since gibberish is not understood by others hearing you.  That time was the Apostolic age only.  “Tongues” means in a KNOWN language, not gibberish.  The same applies to healings.  The Apostles had the power to heal “in Jesus name.”  Healings still take place today but they are not performed because someone *has power* to heal.  It is Jesus who does the healing and not because of a human laying hands upon you has power to heal.

Very nice article, as usual.

From Peter Kreeft’s website:

Art also reveals God. I know three ex-atheists who say, “There is the music of Bach, therefore there must be a God.”

God bless,
Dan

Casting Crowns, I am well aware that the Lord works through his priests. He does so in amazing and beautiful ways. However, you are wrong. Please read this from Blessed Pope John Paul II’s CHRISTIFIDELES LAICI, from 12/30/88.  Myself, I will not question the holy priests I know who speak in tongues. I have received much from God through their hands, starting with the Eucharist I am blessed with every day. I am aso not going to question St. Paul, St. Peter, Jesus Christ or The Blessed Papa. You, yea, I would question. :)

The Holy Spirit, while bestowing diverse ministries in Church communion, enriches it still further with particular gifts or promptings of grace, called charisms. These can take a great variety of forms, both as a manifestation of the absolute freedom of the Spirit who abundantly supplies them, and as a response to the varied needs of the Church in history. The description and the classification given to these gifts in the New Testament are an indication of their rich variety. “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor 12:7-10; cf. 1 Cor 12:4-6, 28-31; Rom 12:6-8; 1 Pt 4:10-11).
Whether they be exceptional and great or simple and ordinary, the charisms are graces of the Holy Spirit that have, directly or indirectly, a usefulness for the ecclesial community, ordered as they are to the building up of the Church, to the well-being of humanity and to the needs of the world.
Even in our own times there is no lack of a fruitful manifestation of various charisms among the faithful, women and men. These charisms are given to individual persons, and can even be shared by others in such ways as to continue in time a precious and effective heritage, serving as a source of a particular spiritual affinity among persons. In referring to the apostolate of the lay faithful the Second Vatican Council writes: “For the exercise of the apostolate the Holy Spirit who sanctifies the People of God through the ministry and the sacraments gives the faithful special gifts as well (cf. 1 Cor 12:7), ‘allotting them to each one as he wills’ (cf. 1 Cor 12:11), so that each might place ‘at the service of others the grace received’ and become ‘good stewards of God’s varied grace’ (1 Pt 4:10), and build up thereby the whole body in charity (cf. Eph 4:16)”(79).
By a logic which looks to the divine source of this giving, as the Council recalls(80), the gifts of the Spirit demand that those who have received them exercise them for the growth of the whole Church.
The charisms are received in gratitude both on the part of the one who receives them, and also on the part of the entire Church. They are in fact a singularly rich source of grace for the vitality of the apostolate and for the holiness of the whole Body of Christ, provided that they be gifts that come truly from the Spirit and are exercised in full conformity with the authentic promptings of the Spirit. In this sense the discernment of charisms is always necessary. Indeed, the Synod Fathers have stated: “The action of the Holy Spirit, who breathes where he will, is not always easily recognized and received. We know that God acts in all Christians, and we are aware of the benefits which flow from charisms both for individuals and for the whole Christian community. Nevertheless, at the same time we are also aware of the power of sin and how it can disturb and confuse the life of the faithful and of the community”(81).
For this reason no charism dispenses a person from reference and submission to the Pastors of the Church. The Council clearly states: “Judgment as to their (charisms) genuineness and proper use belongs to those who preside over the Church, and to whose special competence it belongs, not indeed to extinguish the Spirit, but to test all things and hold fast to what is good (cf. 1 Thess 5:12 and 19-21)”(82), so that all the charisms might work together, in their diversity and complementarity,

@Deb.  The Lord works through all his people, not just priests.  Speaking in tongues is still gibberish since unlike the apostles no one can understand a word you say.  Witch doctors in Haiti (also embraced by the church) do this as well and Paul calls such spiritism a doctrine of demons.  I suggest you consider which spirit you and these priests you know are under the control of.

I am sorry. I can’t explain something to someone when they have no frame of reference for the workings of the Holy Spirit.  Sweetie, if the evil one is the one who urges me to Mass every day, who shows me Christ present in the Eucharist, who takes me to spend time in Holy Hours of Adoration, t frequent confession, to the Carmelites, to the Marian Cenacle prayer group, to the Liturgy of the Hours, then he must have completely switched sides. In fact, you might want to pray that this same spirit comes a knocking on your door. Or…........you could just sit and pass judgement on things you know nothing at all about and spew about demons and evil spirits. I know them too. The closer you get to Christ, the harder it is for them to hide.  But, that is another story.
I will pray for you.

@Deb, you’ve already stated your Pastor is “another” Christ on earth.  We’ve seen that before with Jim Jones, David Koresh, the Dalai Lama and Rev Moon.  That’s the problem with many Charismatics.  You like many confuse the message, follow the messenger or concentrate only on “gifts.”  Seems like we have succeeded in debunking the notion of speaking in tongues by those of the modern age.

Casting Crowns, I am thinking that we are just too far apart on our spiritual journeys to communicate effectively. You might want to read some of the words of St. John Vianney regarding Priests and some St. Peter Julian Eyemard regarding the Eucharist and then the Dialogues of St. Catherine of Sienna for an understanding of communicaion with God. I think if you read St. John of the Cross you might get a concept of what spirituality is.  Then again, I am thinking all of these would be way over your head. See, the priest is “another Christ.” If you had any idea of how the power of God works through them, if you had ever experienced it, you would not be so flippant. All priests are “another Christ” for us.  Do you know anything about the office of priest?  Do you not know how God works through them? Do you believe in the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist?  See, here is the thing. We are all given charisms. Your narrow definition of charismatic is probably holding you back from advances in your relationship with Christ.  Do you understand the gifts of the Spirit? The fruits of the Spirit?  You are obsessed with the speaking in tongues. It is the least of all gifts and no one thinks it is a big deal. Pope John Paul II acknowledged it, but then again, I am sure you are far more evolved than he was.  I am thinking you should try a healing Mass. It might open up your very closed mind and heart. God can’t work there you know.  Why don’t you start with something basic and read the bible.

there is nothing wrong with the piano during mass, but it seems a shame that there seems to be no need to play it well….

I have to wade in on this one. I am a LifeTeen missionary in Germany.  My son is a recent convert to the Church.  He came into the Church at first because of the music of Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin, Jackie Francois, and other contemporary musicians.  We catch teens’ attention with this contemporary music, and then feed their spirits and hearts with God, with the Bible and the teachings of the Church.  That being said, I do love the older music also that I remember from childhood, especially the May Crowning hymns.  I believe our wonderful Church can surely have room for both forms of music, since both types of music speak so strongly to groups within the Church.

When I was in music conservatory in London in the early ‘70’s, I was an Anglican client at St. Paul’s.  It was worth a special trip from the suburbs Sunday morning just to hear the professional St. Paul’s Cathedral choir and the inspiring sermons of the Right Reverend Martin Sullivan, who recalled the war in his constructs.  I was so entirely tired of the “pandering” sermons to youth.  That music was the catalyst to my conversion.  Unfortunately, when I became an American Catholic, I discovered just how much I missed the good Anglican music.  I still do, but fortunately have an inspired pastor who directs our liturgy as no one else!