Yes, it’s awful, and yet awfully funny.
BTW, being a “rad trad” kind of sounds like fun, doesn’t it?  Rad! Trad! Rad! Trad!  I’m picturing cheerleaders (modestly attired cheerleaders, of course).

I love playing the djembe (percussion) at mass and I love the holy sacrifice of the mass too. I understand the place and order of importance of both, which means I can play percussion and involve myself in the mass. I have been taught properly what it means .. I say taze the teachers and Catholic schools that can’t teach the faith properly. That is what leads to the happy clappy tambourine players. Leave the musicians alone ;-)

:-) Love X

Now if we could only find whatever idiot mics the drums, and lead him out in leg irons. They’re drums! Their sound is designed to carry! No church’s acoustics are so bad drumbeats won’t carry! You’re making them drown out the rest of the musicians. Or is that just treating the symptoms? Can we forcibly remove whomever decides to use (Protestant) Christian Top 40 as hymns at Mass?

Dd, we usually have timpani for Christmas at midnight mass and it’s wonderful…fit for a king.

There have neen several incidents of people over the years in Catholic parishes where police had to be called in to restrain the over-zealous/emotionally disturbed for singing off key/off pitch/ off the chart. I concur that we must needs do a better teaching job of allowing the choir in church to be dessert for the music, not the actual musical meal. I like that image I just thunk up!  Hope you do also. My experience of attending protestant services as a guest is that they sing well as a congregation and use the choir for special numbers. At the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin recently, they scatteredr members from the several choirs who came throughout to get the whole congregation involved. Good idea.

I spent five minutes composing a comment that I thought was worthwhile.

I made a mistake on the word game and had to go do it over.  But you deleted my message.

You guys are so lame at this.  I’m not going to bother reposting it.

There is noting done about about loud rock concerts. hypocrits.

What is the purpose of this article? It seems like we are stooping to sensationalism like the secular world uses to get people to tune in. He does not say spread the news He says spread the Good news. I do not beleive any news needs to be censored but I do not believe this type should not be propagated either. Maybe we need to revisit our mission statement? My vision of the Register just went downhill.

I wish someone would taze the person who decided it was a good idea to use Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” as the gospel acclamation at my parish. It wasn’t just a bad idea liturgically, the verse is never long enough to sound good musically.

Richard in Iowa,
We can laugh at news items.It’s called humor & Catholics are allowed to practise it.
I have to admit I had exactly the same thoughts as the author regarding “folk music” before even reading the rest of the article.Sure, it’s uncharitable, but it’s in jest. Sort of…
I bet readers could provide a whole shopping list of taze-worthy musicians at Mass.
:)

LOL

I hope that in our collective vision of the Register, there is room for both compassion AND levity. 
I wish no harm to this poor lady; still, the musician in me thought, “Ha!  Percussionists, always causing trouble!”

NCR and EWTN can do with more light-hearted relief. I love both, and donate to EWTN. Heavy emphasis on Latin and abortion, and other sexual topics on EWTN, only Father Anthony comes across as really fully human with humour and self-deprecation and solid teaching, inviting not condemning, hymns that few sing or seem to know from a soloist. Humour is a faculty animals do not have we believe since it is metaphysical, so let us use it wisely and often. Honey not vinegar as the saint put it.

Who says we can’t learn from our Protestant brethren?  Ha ha.  It’s not supposed to be funny, but I’m afraid my inner trad indeed giggled.

I’ve heard of Taize masses before, but not like this!

I miss the old days when Commando Nuns and Riot Squad ushers handled any and all problems up to and sometimes including Heresy.

My inner rad-trad has the upper hand to the point that I did not even think this was tragic, in fact I immediately started to process ideas for low voltage shock collars that could be engaged by the pastor or 2-3 trusted parishioners who all were hitting the button at the same time… that would be like Jesus doing it. Matt 18:19.

Richard, lighten up. It’s really funny.

Posted by James on Monday, Jul 9, 2012 10:28 AM (EST):I’ve heard of Taize masses before, but not like this!”
***********************
That was pretty good!
:)

I thought of the obvious TAIZE/TAZE pun this morning. BTW they do not do TAIZE Masses, they have provided beautiful chants that are magnificent for Communion and are so soothing, a relief from some awful communion hymns and solos. Do not require holding a book and a baby and receiving communion all at once. “Veni sancte Spiritus” “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Just read this to my grumpy 16 y.o. who paused from his League of Legends war fest to give an appreciative grunt and chuckle of approval.
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We have a traditional Latin choir at the mass we go to.  It is quite beautiful, but sometimes a bit looooong.  Being a half-Hispanic household makes this the perfect mass for us, because we can arrive 15 minutes late, and we haven’t missed a thing.
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We are egregious parish surfers.  We decided to go to a different church for a while so our kids could go to religious education with their friends from school.  My father simply can’t stand that church because they did what he calls a “wreckovation”, and put the tabernacle to the side, put the altar in the center the people, and the choir where the altar was.  The choir master is openly gay, which makes my Dad livid.  So when my Dad was forced to go to that church for a confirmation AND a first communion a couple of weeks later, he came to me, clenching his jaw, temples pulsating, and said: “Look.  I don’t care if it’s for your funeral, I won’t show up for any event in *that church*, not for that freaking Broadway production!”  Haha, he’d be delighted to taze a few people involved.

Speaking of parish surfing, I was once badgered into going to an evening “Life Teen” mass, by a 21-yo whose car was broken.  The badgering party wanted to see if a hot Catholic girl he’d seen there would be there again.  Push-over that I am (and always ready to encourage good Catholic courtship) I caved.  The only thing is that of the seven kids I brought with me, two being *seriously* before the age of reason went awol as we neared hour *two*.  If one of my kids had asked me why I was so grumpy, I might have tazed him too.  Instead, I just growled, “I don’t do hand waving to the groove at mass.”

I’m sorry but i can’t help posting this:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/80a71ef8cb/more-cowbell

That’s the answer we’ve been waiting for in our parish.  What a great idea to get rid of the screeching (she thinks it’s singing) woman who PERFORMS at our Masses.  Think I’ll encourage several of our parishioners to arm themselves with tazers.  Thanks!

In my parish, we once had a visiting priest, after comunion some woman began screaming out, and I mean screaming out. She was supposedly filled with the Holy Spirit. She screamed and screamed! The priest stood up and finished the Holy Mass. The woman supposedly went into a trance and she was carried out by 4 men. She suddenly became tranquil as the 4 men gently carried her out. It was a mess! A holy priest once told me that this is called emotionalism, and is not part of our Catholic Faith!

I think the tambourinist got off lightly. I have had much more uncharitable thoughts than just tazing at Mass regarding the music I have had to endure. I do know however, that replacing a sound board is costly and there isn’t a lot of smoting going on anymore.
Drums sets do not belong in a Catholic Mass any more than electric guitars or tambourines do.  There is absolutely nothing sacred about any music that includes them.

For whatever reason the mundane becomes the profound in your world, thanks, for giving me one more thing to think about at mass…besides the mass. You guys are goofy.

David danced with a linen cloth around his waist before the ark, and was chastised by a woman, worse than being chasTAZED when they are POd. The Temple had all sorts of musical instruments, read the OT for the list. I used attend an extra Hispanic and LifeTeen Mass to relieve the boredom of the “singing” from the neck up of the OWFs in the parish in the USA. Did you ever see JP11 having Mass overseas, he got his eye-full of mammary glands and drums. My cousin was a missionary nurse in Nigeria, and the congregation invited the presider over for the Eucharistic Prayer when they were finished celebrating with enthusiasm. I am handicapped now, do not attend Mass but our local pastor cuts out one Sunday reading and Mass is all over n 30 minutes.

Well, LoneThinker, next time I am going up to Temple I will pay attention to that list in the OT.  Until then, I prefer something sacred at the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. You might want to compare what the Mass used to say to what it does now and then see what we have lost. The music is just an outward sign.

This did not take place at a Catholic church.
This did not take place at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
This was at a Wed night service.
This is not a good article to discuss not having tambourines at mass.

OM-Deblette. Stay out o’  heaBen, Angels hab dem harps up dere.  So boring dey be. Music is as diverse as are human personalities and ethnic differences. The same Jesus’ death, rising, going back to the Father and sending of His Holy Spirit is as present on the altar today as HE was when the prriest whispered in the Latin as today when we had Michael rowing his boat ashore in the 70s and today when there is no music at the early Mass, the reader says Alleluia and in those cases where “cup” is Latin “chalice” and the Gospel of Life is not woven naturally into the Mass readings by unprepared homilists. And some still think that Jesus spoke Latin, when they do not understand that Pilate used Latin to have Him flogged and then crucified.

Midst the emotional range on here, may I state a simple truth. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass” is but one and not the most accurate way of expressing it. “Mass” in the first place comes from the last phrase of dismissal, missa est”  Ehcharist means Thanksgiving. Offering, Anaphora are older names. Just as St Paul’s “bath of regeneration” combines baptism as both washing and new life- and we often taught it takes away original sin (washing) and omitted the second, positive part, sharing in the Divine Nature (Peter’s letter0- so also we say Sacrificial Meal. The MYSTERIUM FIDEI is the suffering,death, rising, going back to the Father, sending of the Holy Spirit. That is made present for us in the Altar-Table and encompasses all that is contained. We sincerely pray that rings a bell, bangs your drum and clashes your cymbal and shakes your castanet.

In an interest to lighten up the conversation I will share the first thing that came to mind when I read the headline:  Saturday Night Live.  Will Farrell and Christopher Walken.  MORE COWBELL (and the dance that went with it).

Dan G,

“Jinx, you owe me a coke!”  Oh yeah, forgot, I don’t drink coke anymore.  OK, then: “Jinx, you owe me a club soda!”

Thsoe how know the Church are aware that exorcists use Latin because the evil one hates it.  It would do us good to hear more of it in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

JMJ I will never forget the time that power went out at Mass and the Folk Singers lost everything, even the electric drums played by a Chancery employee.  The Leader jogged thru the Sanctuary to a back room and emerged with a set of bongo drums which he gave to the drummer.  That was the last straw for me.  I said goodbye to Peter, Paul, Mary, and the drummers wife who always dressed like Stevie Nicks.  JMJ

Deb, You said, “Latin because the evil one hates it.” I agree! I believe that we the laity should also learn to pray in Latin, as Pope Benedict XVl has instructed us to do. If Latin is the official language of the Church, then it is surely pleasing to God, and whatever is pleasing to God is displeasing to the evil one. Recently I prayed for a special intention, believing Latin to be more powerful because it is the language of the Church, I prayed the memorized prayers in Latin. The answer to my prayers were immediate. We should all do as the Holy Father has asked us to do, and learn prayers in Latin.

Better try Aramaic, Jesus’ language. Abba father is the opening word. Simon Peter is Peter, bar Jonah, “Rocky” Johnson. Mary is Miriam, probably did not learn much Latin, except when they were trying and sentencing Jesus.

I’ve always despised the bongos and tambourines, so I’m on your side.  But I became a lot more tolerant at our last church because it wasn’t every Sunday and it was done mostly by the immigrant families.  While it’s sad when an aging hipster tries to be “folksy,” it’s beautiful when an African man makes music from his heart with tears of memory in his eyes.  Maybe it’s an intent thing.

Posted by LoneThinker on Wednesday, Jul 11, 2012 7:58 AM (EST):Better try Aramaic, Jesus’ language. Abba father is the opening word. Simon Peter is Peter, bar Jonah, “Rocky” Johnson. Mary is Miriam, probably did not learn much Latin, except when they were trying and sentencing Jesus.
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In Maronite churches the Consecration is said in Aramaic which is pretty cool.
No tambourines, though,at least not in the Maronite church I visited.

As a percussionist I am a little offended by your reference to percussion at Mass. I am getting a little tired of flutes and violins. Let us have some drums and cymbals. I think there is some reference to this in the psalm’s

Frank, I am sorry to offend you with my references to percussion at the Mass, but historically, in the Catholic Sacrifice of the Mass, there have never been drum sets or electric guitars. That was a post Vatican II invention which was not authorized by the Church.  There are references to percussion in the psalms. Most of the time they were outside while they went up to the Temple. The psalms were sung, or chanted, which is what our Gregorian Chant is fashioned on and is the highest form of Sacred music we could have.
Those who protestantized our Mass were also responsible for removing Sacred music from the Mass and replacing it with secular music. Music that seems bent on emotion and entertainment and not worship. Nothing makes me sadder than to receive my Lord Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar and while I am united with him, on my knees, wanting to thank him and embrace him in love, I am distracted by crashing drums, banging cymbals and repetitive, shallow lyrics of mainstream chritian rock. I love music and I have been to literally hundreds upon hundreds of rock/blues concerts in my life and I prefer to keep them separate from my Mass.

The instrument you use is not important. Organs can be played poorly and without proper reverence. A guitar (electric or acoustic) can expertly and un-distractedly lead people in prayer. What’s important is having musicians that study their craft and have a proper prayerful attitude. As a musician, you have the most effect on the prayers of the people after the priest. This is an enormous responsibility. And an enormous honor. If the music is beautiful, so as to lift the minds of the faithful to God, then it is in it’s proper place. It doesn’t matter the instrument, what matters is training, attitude, humility, and listening to the Holy Spirit.

This reminds me of when I was in seminary (I went for a year and a half before I discerned a vocation to marriage) during a summer camp I was “voluntold” to attend, the organizer was miking the Djembe…..sigh. 

My friends and I joked that if we ever wrote a book on liturgical shenanigans it would be titled “Miking the Djembe” 

Oh and on drums and cymbals and lyres in the Bible, those verses are about singing for joy just because, or in a victory celebration.  Jewish religious ceremonies were solemn as all get out.  I’m all about Catholic pop and rock music, it’s great a youth events, camping, or just listing too.  It’s also great if a musician is in private adoration and wants to Jam for Jesus.  I’d MUCH rather my 8-months gestation daughter, when she’s an older child/teen, listen to Christian Catholic rock/pop instead of secular trash.  But during Mass (and public adoration), organ and chant all the way!  Why?  Read Sacrosanctum Concilium 120:

“In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.

But other instruments also may be admitted for use in divine worship, with the knowledge and consent of the competent territorial authority, as laid down in Art. 22, 52, 37, and 40. This may be done, however, only on condition that the instruments are suitable, or can be made suitable, for sacred use, accord with the dignity of the temple, and truly contribute to the edification of the faithful.”

Of course for this you must have an understanding of what constitutes suitable for sacred use and the dignity of the temple.  Read the words, and the rest of the document, ask what the council fathers meant by that phrase, not what you would have them mean.

Like it was “organs-and-The-Mormon-Tabernacle-Choir-only” in the Old (or New) Testaments.  Ex.  take a look at the musical setting instructions in the Book of Psalms before the particular psalm.  What is a timbrel ?  Sounds suspcisiouly like a tambourine to me, but I haven’t looked it up.  By the way, did Jesus ever comment about liturgical music ?

Mike is on target, proper use of whatever instrument is what proper prayer requires. It is not accurate that Temple music was like listening to a renaissance Mass. Those people were Meditaranean folks with lively spirits and bodies and their musical instruments matched the mood of the ir songs, the Psalms; Psalm 51 is contrite, the last psalms are PRAISE songs.

My preference is still for Gregorian chant.
Like other posters, I enjoy all types of good music but not all music may be appropriate for the Mass.You don’t have to be a music snob to understand that some things are best heard elsewhere.
We’re a universal church,though & there’s room for diversity.
Maybe it’s just the “bad” tambourine players/folk musicians we’re imagining tazing after reading this article…I’ve sung in several church choirs, including a Latin Schola, & know it’s very hard to find folk who will volunteer anymore.If you have any musical/vocal skills(and hopefully good taste in music), why not consider joining your local parish choir & making a difference?
I guess it’s easy to pick on the grey-headed,tambourine shaking, folk music crowd but at least they volunteered.

Great suggestion. Join the choir or music group.
SAW yesterday where the post-Vatican 11 renewal is bringing in more Catholic music based on the opportunity to write and compose and perform in the vernacular languages.
ANYONE ELSE FEEL WE HAVE MILKED THIS SACRED COW to death, and BULL is on the ascendant??

There are many people here who have much more education than I on church music. Most of the comments here refer to the songs or instruments that are used. I strongly agree that I do not want to hear loud drums or cymbals just after receiving my Lord in the Eucharist. I would however like to hear something uplifting or celebratory at the entrance or something joyful sending me forth to proclain the message of salvation as I go out into the world. It is my opinion that most of the people planning the liturgy are only concerned with selecting the songs.
I am a regular attendee at our church except to a few Sundays when traveling.

I will not soon forget this past Easter Sunday. My wife sit in the back pew. At this liturgy we did not know the opening and closing hyms. They were new. The sequence was sung by a woman with a beautiful soprano voice After she was done my wife and I looked at each other and asked “what did she say”. You could not understand her. Her voice was to loud and she was to close to the mic. New songs should not have been used at this liturgy

Many of our song leaders do not know how to use a sound system that we have invested thousands of dollars on (this also goes for those reading)

Those in charge should go to the back of the church and listen to the sound once it has left the mouth of those reading and singing and is heard by those listening. I could give some help but I do not have a certificate of any kind certifying me as knowledgible in this field. Seems as if this is required these days. All I have is 8 weeks of instruction on how to be a commentator back in the times just after Vatican two when all this changed.

I hope some liturgy planners are reading this

Frank

I saw this online @ Catholic Education Resource.You can read the rest of the article there:

Why Praise and Worship Music is Praise, But Not Worship
FATHER CHRISTOPHER SMITH

“All of us are called to lift our hearts, minds and voices to God in prayer. A particular type of prayer is praise, when we recognize God’s goodness, holiness and mercy by our own actions of praise. Praise has always been accompanied by music. Praise has always been something that takes place on an individual or small group level. It is often spontaneous and takes the form of culturally relevant symbols and forms. Praise is something common to all Christians and to many other religions.

Worship is indeed a type of praise, and music is an integral part of it. But the sacred liturgy is the public prayer of the Church, a corporate worship by which baptized Catholics enter into a Mystery which is not of their making. Being a corporate action, it is governed by law and tradition so as to preserve its unity throughout the world and its fidelity to the Message revealed by God. Worship is a Christian act of the baptized gathered by bonds of communion with the visible institutional Church.”

I was wondering if there was going to be an update to this article after the investigation?  I feel it’s warranted after their findings.  http://www.ncregister.com/blog/matthew-archbold/joe-paterno-is-a-good-man

Wow what a disturbance!!!  And I take out my children when they cry!?! Why didn’t I think of giving them tambourines…“hey mister tambourine man play a song for me…I’m at church and I think I’m going to taze you”  I love it…but I’ve never been tazed so naturally I have to imagine the worst and feel sorry for the lady.

What about the smug lack-of-charity that the “folk singers / musicians” show for the congregation?  They literally think it’s about THEM, they’re the focus, they are “entertaining” the “audience” not singing praises to God.  They never wear nice clothes, they sing too loud and badly.  The quality is of such low caliber that I can’t believe that this is the “best” we can give our Lord.  “Oh, He only cares about the fact that we showed up, wet-shower head or not!  He doesn’t care about blue jeans and flip flops and screeching voices!”  Guess what?  The Mass is for US!  God does not NEED anything from us, except our reverence and obedience. Didn’t the Church used to require experienced, good musicianship and singing?  But now we have to allow anyone and everyone who has the nerve to step up there and “bless everyone” with their “talent”, to do so.  I hate it.  I would rather there be complete and total silence at Mass rather than having to tolerate shrieking harridans.

I just found this amazing video from Fr. Robert Schreiner about the role of music in liturgy.  He synthesizes quotes from Vatican II, JPII, and BXVI into a thoughtful talk on liturgical music. It’s a bit long, but worth every moment. Please prayerfully consider his words, and I think it may bring healing and peace to many hearts.
God Bless you,
Mike
Video: http://vimeo.com/19700466
Transcript: http://catholicyouthministry.com/the-role-of-music-within-the-liturgy/

Hold the phone, people!  This story is misleading:  it occurred at a Protestant church.  No Catholics.  No Mass.  Watch the Video:  http://www.thechurchreport.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=siteContent.default&objectID=157487

The author needs to post an explanation why he thought it funny to visit a Protestant website, poke fun at an unfortunate woman (she was drunk), and to top it off—mislead Catholic readers of the Register.

Well yes, Roberta. The tip-off was the quote that “(s)he was not behaving very Christianly.” But misleading? No. And it doesn’t seem that the author was making fun of the woman—he was laughing at the situation. As did I. As Kathleen commented, “It’s humor, and Catholics are allowed to practise it.”
Thanks, Mark, for this hilarious (“but let’s focus”) and sneakily thought-provoking article.

I find it difficult to understand why everyone is blowing this up to be a big deal.  Reading other articles and the police report, she obviously had too much “medication” in her.  In other words, she was high as a kite.  She became disruptive in a worship setting.  The man of God was preaching, she was over in her “own little world” playing her tambourine and becoming disruptive to where the congregation could not hear the preaching.  The off duty officer, looking around at the other members looking at him to do something, did what he thought was best and escorted the woman outside.  She became violent to the officer, and therefore he did what he felt was necessary.  By the way, my dad was an officer for twenty years.  They are never off duty.  They are sworn in for 24/7.  The fact that he was not officially on the clock has nothing to do with whether or not he should or should not have handled the situation.  I think this officer and this church did the right thing.  I attend a rather large and loud worshiping church, myself.  I have heard that before we started attending this church over ten years ago that there was a lady that had to be escorted out.  For the most part, God will extinguish the “wildfires” out of control in His house.  But sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do.  And Mrs. Tambourine needed obviously needed to be escorted out and probably taken to a rehab facility.

I admire the valuable information you offer in your articles.

WORLD BURNS while we are invited to Catholic gossip.