A Bishop speaks
The Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison, Wisconsin has written to priests, deacons, and directors of music and worship in his diocese:
"The question arises, does some of the music routinely sung embody the incorrect overemphasis on the presence of Christ in the assembly, so that people are confused as to the importance of the sacramental intensity of His presence, especially under the signs of bread and wine.
"Certain songs come to mind where the lyrics raise a real question for me. For example: "We are called, We are chosen, We are Christ for one another, We are a promise, We are sower, We are seed, We are question, We are creed." Singing that song repeatedly teaches people something, and I am afraid that it is something that I as Bishop do not want to teach them, but we certainly need to begin a dialogue about these matters.
"Another example of this same problem would be the lyrics of the hymn Gather Us In, where a seemingly endless explanation is given to God about who We are, who are gathered in."
"The question arises, does some of the music routinely sung embody the incorrect overemphasis on the presence of Christ in the assembly, so that people are confused as to the importance of the sacramental intensity of His presence, especially under the signs of bread and wine.
"Certain songs come to mind where the lyrics raise a real question for me. For example: "We are called, We are chosen, We are Christ for one another, We are a promise, We are sower, We are seed, We are question, We are creed." Singing that song repeatedly teaches people something, and I am afraid that it is something that I as Bishop do not want to teach them, but we certainly need to begin a dialogue about these matters.
"Another example of this same problem would be the lyrics of the hymn Gather Us In, where a seemingly endless explanation is given to God about who We are, who are gathered in."
posted by Fr LWG at 4:18 PM
1 Comments:
That's insane. Are our most reverend Bishops that afraid of us lowly laity that they cannot allow us to percieve Christ's presence within our midst even within a song? It is true that we must always have Christ's presence within the bread and wine at the center of who we are, but is it not also true that unless we allow that Sacred Body and Precious Blood to live in us, and unless we are open to perceiving this sacred presence within our neighbor and ourselves, then we are doing a grave diservice to this great Eucharistic gift our Lord and God has given us? I mean come on now...a little common sense here!
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