In my sermon last week I set out the reasons why those who are concerned for the Church’s mission are so urgently seeking to do new things – and introducing change. Just to take one example – in the Diocese of Brooklyn, Mass attendance has fallen by 40% since 2017; just 6 years. Statistically, this is a very short period of time indeed. Granted, the Pandemic accounts for a lot of this demographic disturbance, but we have to come to terms with the fact that many people who were coming to Church out of habit before the Pandemic, have now lost the habit and will not come back unless we do something radically different.

One area I would like to set out a different direction is regarding music. In many parishes the model for music at Mass is a variation of the “Four-Hymn Sandwich,” the only variation being whether more traditional, or more contemporary, hymns are chosen. The Four-Hymn Sandwich has a distinct history connected with the idea of “Low Mass” – that is, where the priest recites all the parts of the Mass without singing any of them. Only later were hymns allowed at Low Mass, giving the people attending something to take part in. But these hymns were an overlay on top of the Mass as opposed to being a part of the Mass itself.

This Low Mass culture is still with us today. The idea that hymns occupy the Faithful whilst the priest gets on with saying the prayers is still rather prevalent, but the danger is it leads to a disengagement with the rites and prayers – it is the opposite of active participation, because it encourages participation in something which is not the Mass at the same time as Mass is going on. In short, it is the difference between singing at Mass and singing the Mass. I would like to explore with you what singing the Mass looks like.

At the 12 Noon Mass, the Prayers and Readings, along with the Propers and Ordinary are all sung, not recited. In fact, only the Ecce Agnus Dei and the blessing are specifically recited by the priest as opposed to sung. The Ecce is strictly speaking not part of the Mass – it is part of the Roman Ritual – and to sing the final blessing is a privilege given to Bishops alone. At the 9 and 10:30 Masses I have begun to sing the Prayers, but we still have some work to do on the Propers (that is, the texts for the Entrance, Gradual, Offertory and Communion.)

All of this requires input from you, the Lay Faithful. If you are a Mandated Reader or an Usher, thank you for your service to the Oratory! If you would like to become one, please see me. If you have children who would like to get involved, we have the Altar Server team for boys and the Girls’ Choir for girls. If you yourself are interested in singing – why not consider training to be a Cantor for the 9 and 10:30 Masses? If you have creative skills, perhaps you would be interested in joining the Flower Arranging or Altar linen teams? As I said last week, I would like the Oratory to be a place of maximal participation by an engaged and intentional Laity. Let’s see what God has in store for us as we see this vision take shape! God bless you all.