The Problem

wow, it's been quite a while since I've written here. My apologies to my (two or three...) regular readers!

Also, a note to those who aren't regular readers: I am fully aware that everything I say on here is completely available to anyone in the world with an internet connection. I have published nothing on here that I would not want ANYone to read. If even the bishop himself were to stumble across my blog, and read things I've written about him, I would not regret anything I have written! So, my apologies to anyone who has been offended by anything I have written. I would hope that if that were to ever occur, people would take the opportunity to engage in intelligent dialogue with me, to determine if there really is any reason for offense.

now, on to business.

my latest thought:

I wonder if I'm beginning to grasp the heart of the difficulty of music in the Catholic Church.
People *want* to sing. The Council of Vatican II instructed to have "active participation" among the faithful, and while there can be a great deal of debate about what that actually means, I am certain that they meant at least *some* level of physically-engaged participation. However, as music goes, they gave us the Graduale Romanum, and put the chants in there as the most highly valued option over hymns! There's no way the congregation is singing that! So they gave us the Graduale Simplex, with simpler, more seasonal responses. (sort of what I do at Offertory, but in Latin, and with different melodies.) Could they truly have intended -as the first choice- to not have the people sing at all at entrance, offertory, and communion? What about what I do as the introit (setting the whole text in English to a solemn psalm tone that stays the same every week.)?
THIS is what I mean by wishing I knew what the "perfect liturgy" would look like...
sometimes I think it would be cool to just hear a schola singing everything, but...people *want* to sing! even if they can't read music! so what to let them, or encourage them, to sing?