Musically Elevating the Novus Ordo

In this time of crisis, when the Ordinary Form of the Mass is often celebrated with irreverence, informality, and banality, the needed response, as we all know, is a liturgical renaissance. 

Despite the hopes of traditional Catholics, a return to the Latin Mass for the whole Church is highly unlikely, at least in our current times. The best thing that can be done now for the good of the whole Church is for priests celebrating the Novus Ordo to do so with the utmost reverence, which often means incorporating those elements we love so dearly in the Latin Mass. Installing altar rails, using Latin extensively, or celebrating ad orientem are admirable goals. The average parish, though, may have trouble implementing these changes immediately, especially with the bishop looming overhead, as was seen in Charlotte and elsewhere. 

Despite these challenges, the one change that any parish can implement right now that will begin the much-needed process of restoration of the Mass is fostering the use of good liturgical music, which is just as vital as the changes listed above. 

The young people who will lead the Church of the future do not care for mediocre, stale, banal, cringy “hymns” from the 1970s. Folk, praise-and-worship, and “feel-good” guitar music bring irreverence to the sacrosanct celebration. The chosen soundscape sets the tone of the entire liturgy. “All Are Welcome” and “O God Beyond All Praising” convey very different sentiments.

Music during Holy Mass, most importantly on Sundays and holy days, forms “a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy,” as Sacrosanctum Concilium says. Concerning liturgical music in particular, the fathers of Vatican II explicitly state their desire to adhere to the “norms and precepts of ecclesiastical tradition and discipline,” which was “led by St. Pius X” during the liturgical movement. 

Pope St. Pius X’s 1903 motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini outlines in detail the nature of sacred music and what is most proper to the liturgy. Gregorian Chant is the most exalted form, and the closer a composition is to it, “the more sacred and liturgical it becomes.” Chant developed within the bounds of the Church and can be rightly claimed as her own. It is our music as Catholics, our form of art that is “greater even than that of any other,” as Vatican II proclaims. Cardinal Ratzinger even says that Gregorian Chant is elevated as a “permanent standard” for all sacred music. We do not heed Mother Church’s recurring exhortation to revere this music nearly enough. 

Yet it is not the only music that is permitted. However, compositions that are not Gregorian Chant must, says Pius X, contain three primary qualities: sanctity, goodness of form, and universality. 

This, in part, means that the secular is prohibited. The profane has no right to enter the sacrosanct realm of the sacrifice of the Mass. 

It also means that holy lyrics are not enough to justify the use of a song in the liturgy. Many praise-and-worship songs—which are just Christian pop or rock—contain lines that are rooted in Scripture and contain nothing objectionable. However, the form of the music is deficient for the liturgy. 

If a non-English speaker tuned into the “latest hits” station, listened for a while, and then switched to K-LOVE, he would not detect much of a difference, if any at all, and would easily confuse the two. He would not be able to identify that one was (supposedly) sacred and the other everyday popular music. So since the form of praise-and-worship compositions mimics the form of secular, profane pop songs, they fail Pius X’s second criterion. And this analysis can also be applied to much of the other music one hears at Mass besides praise-and-worship. 

The Pontiff says his final criterion of universality will be achieved when the piece contains the former two qualities of sanctity and proper form. 

The celebration of the Mass certainly demands more than what is often given to it today. Necessary though the incorporation of “traditional” elements into the Novus Ordo is, it has proven difficult to execute. Bishops have expressed distaste toward the widespread use of Latin and restricted the celebration of Mass ad orientem. Parish priests are afraid of what might come to them from above if they even attempt to stray from accepted modern practice by installing an altar rail or restricting altar servers to males. 

Despite these challenges, any priest can begin to increase reverence in the liturgical soundscape and can reclaim the musical traditions of the Church for his own parish. No permission is needed to switch from modern hymns to traditional ones. And these implementations are not as difficult as they may seem. Dusting off the old, neglected organ and purging the guitars is a simple undertaking that goes a long way in uplifting the liturgy and cultivating much-needed devotion. 

Inevitably, this will upset some of the congregation. Any transition or change will. But that sacrifice is sometimes necessary, particularly in our time of liturgical crisis. Uplifting the celebration of the Novus Ordo through good, holy, and traditional sacred music—stripping away modern banality and secularity—is one change that any parish can implement toward restoring the liturgy to its intended form.