A Rules Religion

There's this young fellow on a bulletin board that I've kind of allowed myself to get in a heated discussion with - about liturgical music in the Catholic church. He's basically throwing a lot of rules at a group of us who do liturgical music, and telling us that guitars are banned, and anything that isn't chant or pipe organ accompanied is banned.

Now - experienced as I am, trained as I am (I've taken courses on music and liturgy), I know this to be bunk. Sacrosanctum concilium explicitly permits forms of music other than gregorian chant, and explicitly permits accompaniment other than the pipe organ, and allows episcopal councils (like the bishops' conferences) to set the parameters for music in Mass. The folk music written by the St. Louis Jesuits may not be to everyone's tastes, but it is entirely permissible in the North American context.

What disturbs me even more, however, is people who can't seem to see God past the rule book, though. Catholicism may have a lot of rules, but they're not there to send people to Hell. All the guidelines and rules for the conduct of church services, liturgies, and Masses are there to purify our worship, to help us meet God at the table God has set before us. I don't do my disciplines during Lent because some rule book says I've got to - I do it to burnish away the things I don't like about myself, and try to make the small improvements that, given enough time, will become big improvements.

Jesus was not fond of people who followed the letter of the law and broke its spirit - people who tithed mint and cumin so that they could be found to be technically within the law. Legalism destroys the heart and soul of faith - which is doing good for its own sake. Or in the case of liturgical music, worshipping with holiness and sanctity because God is Holy and deserving of it. I've pointed out many times that King David returned the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem in a spirit of high mirth, dancing and singing. His wife Michal looked dourly on David, when he arrived, complaining about his lack of properness. David's response is essentially How dare you condemn me for singing before the Lord? If I make a fool of myself, I will continue to make a fool of myself!

God's gifts to us are abundant and amazing. They should be amazing in our sight. There's a reason St. Augustine said, "He who sings, prays twice." Singing should be a thing of joy, done with enthusiasm and real feeling. The rules are not there to constrain that; they are guidelines reminding us that music must also be holy, too - warning us not to get too carried away with secular fads that may distract rather than add to worship.

But if you can't see past the rulebook, how can you pray twice to a God you've hidden behind the regulations?