A.M.D.G... C.G.

September 22, 2024                25th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

 

Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”

- Mark 9:35

When we take pity upon a man and care for him, it is for his advantage that we do so; but somehow or other our own advantage follows by a sort of natural consequence, for God does not leave the mercy we show to him who needs it to go without reward.

- St. Augustine, De Doctrina Christiana, Book I, Ch. 32, Art. 35

 

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted, and behold: service was joy.

- Rabindranath Tagore

 

Having worked with church music ministries in different places and different times – Catholic and Protestant alike – and having heard their widely diverging views on how liturgical music should be used, I’ve found that there is one thing on which all church musicians agree: that the music must serve the liturgy and must never be merely performance/entertainment.

 

There are two things that make this complicated. Firstly, as I’ve noted in a previous post, the kind of music that raises one person’s mind to God may not necessarily be the kind that does the same for another. It may be easy to dismiss a church with a drumkit as devolving into entertainment, but I’ve been in some very loud, drum-and-guitar-filled contemporary worship services in Protestant communities where I’d see the people next to me with their eyes closed, hands lifted in the air, voices fully involved, actively participating in what I do not doubt is sincere prayer for them.

 

Secondly, music-making inherently involves the techniques of performance, even if performance is not the end goal. Just as a good homily must be delivered with eloquence and in a language that is accessible to the general public – qualities we would expect of any good oration – so too must liturgical music possess the qualities we would expect from any good musical performance. Fr. Jim McDermott, fondly known as “the pop culture Priest,” put it best when he said:

 

What we are doing in liturgy is not performance, but it is meant to be evocative in ways similar to theater. It is word and gesture (and sight and sound and scent) that sets people on a journey and ideally gives them some opportunity to connect with God, both in the moment and in the week to come.

- Jim McDermott, S.J., Catholics deserve better homilies, in America: The Jesuit Review

 

To add to Fr. McDermott’s very wise words, I would also underscore the importance of the element of delight. Believe it or not, it is desirable (and even preferable!) for people to feel delight in the liturgy, music included. As St. Thomas Aquinas writes:

 

…we might say that heat is necessary for fire. And in this way delight is necessary for happiness. For it is caused by the appetite being at rest in the good attained. Wherefore, since happiness is nothing else but the attainment of the Sovereign Good, it cannot be without concomitant delight… Delight that is attendant upon the operation of the intellect does not hinder it, rather does it perfect it… since what we do with delight, we do with greater care and perseverance.

- Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-I, q4 a1

 

Ok, so if liturgical music done in sincere service can look soooooo similar to entertainment music done just for the thrill of it, then how do I know which is which? How do I know if our music ministers act out of humble service, or out of a desire to be the greatest, like the disciples in this Sunday’s Gospel? Or how do I know if the parishioners who come to the Masses with the Youth Choir, Adult Choir, or Worship Band, are there because they truly want their minds raised to God, or if they are simply looking for whichever group they find most entertaining? My answer is four words that I’m learning to be more and more comfortable with: I do not know. Unlike my friend Kathy, I’ve never been good at feeling people’s intentions just by looking at them. I also don’t possess telepathic abilities, so I can’t just peek into someone’s mind. And I certainly don’t have omniscience like God does. It is not for me to see the inner workings of a person’s heart and what drives their actions – that belongs to God and God alone. But what is within my power is to create as much as possible a conducive space for people to experience how music could bring them closer to the Divine, and joy is an integral part of that.

 

The Latin phrase ad majorem Dei gloriam (in English: “for the greater glory of God”) is said to be a favorite mantra of the Jesuits. The acronym A.M.D.G. was everywhere in the Jesuit university I attended! I’ve always wanted to add two more letters: C.G., for cum gaudio, which means “with joy.” Ad majorem Dei gloriam cum gaudio – “for the greater glory of God, with joy” – wouldn’t that be a great way to serve? So, if you will, permit me to sign off in that manner…

A.M.D.G.C.G.

Carlo Serrano, Music Director