Jeg leste i dag tidlig en diskusjon om hvordan den katolske messen helst bør begynne . Helst med inngangsverset/ introitus som er satt opp for dagen, men dette brukes veldig sjelden i Norge nå. Dernest kan man begynne med en inngangssalme (som de fleste gjør i vårt land), og her liker jeg å bruke en salme som takker/ priser Gud for hans storhet og hans omsorg for oss. Men man kan (dessverre) også åpne messen med en «gathering song» (svært vanlig blant katolikker i alle fall i USA) som fokuserer veldig mye på det horisontale, på det fellesskapet vi har i messen.
Denne diskusjonen handler nota bene ikke først om fremst om musikksmak, den handler (syns jeg) om hvordan man får hjelp til å samle seg om det mest sentrale i messen; møtet med Herren, der vi hører Hans ord og bærer fram Kristi fullkomne offer for Faderen.
Så til det jeg leste i dag tidlig:
The Holy Sacrifice is the main reason we come to mass, and even if people don’t entirely understand that explicitly, the idea that we are there for deeper reasons than social ones is a pervasive understanding even today in the Catholic Church. A chipper, welcoming song just doesn’t connect with the Catholic sense.
What happens is this. People arrive and kneel to pray. There is usual a sense of quiet and this is very much to be valued. Suddenly the music begins, and you are called on, and sometimes badgered incessantly, to pick up your hymnal and sing and sing. It goes on for a few verses, and the mood is transformed dramatically and decisively from penance and quiet to loud celebration. Then it stops. The priest is at the altar, though you didn’t see him get there, since your head was buried in a book. The penitential rite begins. The shift is too dramatic. You have time for neither authentic celebration nor authentic penance, and this is vaguely annoying.
The phrase «gathering song» really must be completely retired from use. «Gathering song» implies that Mass is something like a family reunion, a dinner party, a staff meeting, or some other people-center event in which people just sort of show up and enjoy each other’s company. This is decidedly what Mass is not. The Mass is the great miracle. As a symbol of what is taking place, the position of the people is in procession as led by the priest to the altar and toward the East of the risen Christ. We are not «gathering» but spiritually processing toward the focal point at the center.
In any case, the phrase «gathering song» is not mentioned the defunct and otherwise highly misleading American document «Music in Catholic Worship.» It is not in the General Instruction. It is not in the Missal or any rubrics that I can find. In fact, the GIRM says specifically that «after the people have gathered, the Entrance chant begins…»
There is a sense, then, in which phrase «processional hymn» is actually better. But to press the point further, we should take note that the music chosen for this processional is not just arbitrary. It is rooted deep in history, and there is usually a good rationale for thing such as this.
In the practice of the ages, the introit from the music of the Mass is sung by the choir alone. The people do not sing. Is this a bad thing? Apparently many people think so. But they should consider that the Introit connects people to both their heritage and to the liturgical day. The music is also beautiful. It facilitates prayer. And it enables the people to actually watch and thereby better experience the procession itself.
I St Olav synges konsekvent dagens introitus på søndager. Skjønner ikke hvorfor ikke alle gjør det, teksten er jo nøye utvalgt for dagen, og det er veldig synd å gå glipp av den.