Towards a Theology of Inspiration: Part 2
The sixth Annual Manning Clark Lecture was delivered by Hugh Mackay at the National Library of Australia, Canberra on Thursday 3 March 2005.
It was a fascinating breakdown of societal developments since World War II and how these various developments have aided and contributed to the current world we find ourselves in.
Towards the end of his speech, Mackay insisted that in the not too distant future [he predicts] – we will see a rise in a number of individuals who will ‘enlarge’ the vision[s] for society – rather than narrow and restrict it with dogmatic rules and regulations. These will be, he suggests, leaders in our society who will inspire us all. And while he does not know from which quarter of the community these individuals will emerge, he is confident of their imminent appearance.
While Mackay’s speech refers to the secular world – I am convinced much of what he advocates is relevant to our Church and precisely the kind of discussion and language necessary for a revitalization of current liturgical practice.
Liturgically speaking, the Church is in need of significant inspiration…and as I mentioned in last week’s article, the idea of participation that is ‘full, active and conscious’ is no longer a good starting point for liturgy in today’s Church.
In the immediate post-conciliar Church, such a point of view as expressed in Sacrosactutm Concilium was appropriate, satisfying a desire and real need to participate fully by the laity.
That has now changed – as has the Church and its demographic.
Members of any congregation [whether they be regular members of the assembly or the ‘Christmas and Easter’ clientele] – now have different needs than to merely ‘participate’. To get to that point – they need encouragement.
They need to be inspired.
And…unfortunately, this is not happening.
Now, I acknowledge that high quality, theologically appropriate and contemporary liturgical music is not the panacea to the Church’s woes. Nor is it an answer to fledgling congregation numbers over the last few decades.
But it would help.
It would help a great deal.
And unfortunately, over the last number of years, there has been a complacency developing where liturgical improvement is seen as less important compared to say… building developments…or economic rationalism [even within the Church!].
Liturgy is in need of major help – and the issues are endemic throughout all stratum of the Church…from the way the hierarchy conducts itself right through to the administration and liturgical implementation at a local parish level.
…and so to the tough questions.
When it comes to us celebrating Liturgy - what causes us to be inspired? And what are the effects of this inspiration on us?
A simple response to the first part of this question is that God is our source of ultimate inspiration – and through Jesus and the movement of the Spirit, we are constantly inspired by a very beautiful and incomprehensible Mystery of Love.
But how is this Mystery of Love made known to us? The celebration of Liturgy is certainly an excellent way to be spiritually nourished and inspired – but within these moments of ritual – who inspires us to be inspired enough to engage in ‘full, active and conscious participation’? Is ‘participation’ our ultimate objective? Or is it something else?
Scriptural evidence abounds that displays the cause and effect of inspiration.
In Exodus 15, we witness the flight of the Israelites out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and free from the armies of Pharaoh. Immediately following this, Moses and the Israelites sing a song of praise to God. A similar act of praise quickly follows in the form of Miriam’s Song.
What is happening here?
Moses and the Israelites have experienced the saving power of God. Through this salvivic act – they are in awe of God. They are awe-inspired. [!] And through this inspiration, they raise their voices in song and then participate fully, actively and consciously as one unified assembly to God. Their inspired song has become a source of our inspiration too.
Essentially, the very act of inspiration is catching and infectious. It [inspiration] compels us into actions and gestures that recapitulate our way of being and give us a renewed sense of meaning [as seen in Ex 15]. This gives us wonderful purpose to want to celebrate and participate in that celebration. And then, having participated, we are then further inspired to go forth and live out this inspiration in the world we live. In short, [and to connect back to Mackay], we become the inspirers.
We might view this ‘Cycle of Inspiration’ like this:
GOD=inspiration=participation=inspiration=GOD
The song of Miriam [Ex 15] also displays the way in which those inspired can have an effect on others to stimulate inspiration and consequently active participation.
We watch Miriam as an inspired person taking on a leadership role and [in an act that resembles Psalm 150] playing tambourine. This encourages the other women to take up tambourines too and dance and sing to the Lord a triumphant song of praise.
And this very act of Miriam singing, dancing and playing an instrument as seen in the scriptures has continued to inspire people throughout time. People have been inspired to mimic her actions and those as described in Psalm 150 to inspire them in their prayer life.
I recently wrote a piece looking at this highly interactive way of praying the psalms. It is an inspirational way of living out the scriptures in a jubilant way. It inspires us to want to participate.
In this Advent season, it is appropriate to look at the Magnificat as an inspirational piece of evidence in our discussion.
Mary was inspired by God. Her amazement of God at her own pregnancy, as told to her by the angel Gabriel is evident in the scriptures. Further, her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy also astounds her with Gabriel saying to her:
‘For nothing will be impossible with God’
Here stands a most inspired woman. A woman very much in tune with her God and inspired enough to proclaim her inspiration in a most beautiful and dramatic way as seen in the Magnificat [Luke 1: 46-55].
Like Miriam and Moses, we see the figure of Mary as a figure of inspiration to all of us. Her song has become our song. It inspires us to participate. My experience of Evening Prayer earlier this year, has given me a renewed appreciation for Mary through singing the Magnificat every week. Her yes to God was total – and is a wonderful model for all of us seeking God’s will.
Mary’s song inspired me to sing – and then the gathered assembly were inspired by my leadership to sing and participate. This experience of Evening Prayer has lingered with many of us at my parish and has propelled us forward into a prayer filled life.
Having said this, can we say that our celebration of Liturgy is as inspiring as it could be?
As a teacher, I often have discussions with my students who are very quick to tell me of their frustrations with current liturgical practice.
There major reason for not going to Mass is that it is devoid of inspiration. To them, Mass is ‘boring’. They site extremely uninspiring music as a major source of their dissatisfaction. Coupled with this is an inability for the vast majority of priests to engage meaningfully with their world view to make relevant connections.
My students will ask me questions such as ‘How are we meant to be inspired to go to Mass – if the Mass and the music and the priest are not inspiring us’?
These are valid questions…and the questions are real. They reflect truths that lie behind the questions that, to my understanding and knowledge are not being serious addressed by the Church.
I have lost count of the amount of Diocesan-level conferences and meetings I have been to where the catch cry is hailed; ‘We must read the signs of the times!’
From my point of view, [and most certainly from the point of view of my students] – the Church are simply not reading the ‘signs of the times’. One could argue, the Church have become illiterate on this front. And there is proof of such an assertion.
In a recent article from http://www.chiesa/ , Mosignor Grau, president of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music has gone on record to say:
‘I would go so far as to say that without Gregorian chant, the Church is mutilated, and that there cannot be Church music without Gregorian chant.’
There are other statements made in the article that are reason for concern. A Church that prides itself on reading the ‘signs of the times’, are not doing themselves any favours when such divisive and exclusive words as these are spoken and posted around the world via the internet.
An insistence on Gregorian Chant by individuals such as Grau is exactly the kind of music and liturgical diet that so many young people [and students I teach] find repellant. They struggle so much with current practices which they see as restrictive, old fashioned and irrelevant. The insistence on Gregorian Chant is like adding insult to injury. They are crying out to be inspired!
They will be the first to tell you they do want to sing and be involved in liturgical music – but in a genre that speaks to them and inspires them to want to participate.
And so…they don’t participate.
A Perth Marist Brother who lectures at Edith Cowan University last month delivered a report that claimed almost all students who graduate from Catholic education regard the Church as irrelevant. Regarding Sunday Mass obligation, the majority of students (62.4%) did not agree that missing Mass on Sunday was sinful, nor did they agree with the Church's teaching on Sunday Mass. [Br Luke Saker: The Record]
This is precisely the reason why the Vatican II clarion call of ‘full, active and conscious’ participation is not an appropriate starting point for liturgists, musicians and catechists. The Church is saying one thing. Young people [and also other people who aren’t necessarily young] are saying another thing. There is a lack of connection.
Inspiration could be the key to the connection being made.
We need to invest heavily in devising ways of inspiring people into wanting to participate in our liturgical life. I feel an important way of going about this is through the inspiring power of music.
The role of the music minister is vital to this revival of inspiration. With dwindling numbers of priests and also a rapidly aging and ailing priesthood – who will be able to inspire? In my diocese, the average age of priests is 65. Where will our priests be in 5, 10, 15 years time? As figures in the community who have traditionally been seen as agents of inspiration and spiritual leadership…who will replace them when they are infirmed…or dead?
If the Church continues to hold the stance of not changing the conditions of ordination, then it will become the responsibility of the people like the music minister to take up the role of leadership and inspire people to want to participate.
But, we need not wait until that point.
We can start inspiring people – now.
It was a fascinating breakdown of societal developments since World War II and how these various developments have aided and contributed to the current world we find ourselves in.
Towards the end of his speech, Mackay insisted that in the not too distant future [he predicts] – we will see a rise in a number of individuals who will ‘enlarge’ the vision[s] for society – rather than narrow and restrict it with dogmatic rules and regulations. These will be, he suggests, leaders in our society who will inspire us all. And while he does not know from which quarter of the community these individuals will emerge, he is confident of their imminent appearance.
While Mackay’s speech refers to the secular world – I am convinced much of what he advocates is relevant to our Church and precisely the kind of discussion and language necessary for a revitalization of current liturgical practice.
Liturgically speaking, the Church is in need of significant inspiration…and as I mentioned in last week’s article, the idea of participation that is ‘full, active and conscious’ is no longer a good starting point for liturgy in today’s Church.
In the immediate post-conciliar Church, such a point of view as expressed in Sacrosactutm Concilium was appropriate, satisfying a desire and real need to participate fully by the laity.
That has now changed – as has the Church and its demographic.
Members of any congregation [whether they be regular members of the assembly or the ‘Christmas and Easter’ clientele] – now have different needs than to merely ‘participate’. To get to that point – they need encouragement.
They need to be inspired.
And…unfortunately, this is not happening.
Now, I acknowledge that high quality, theologically appropriate and contemporary liturgical music is not the panacea to the Church’s woes. Nor is it an answer to fledgling congregation numbers over the last few decades.
But it would help.
It would help a great deal.
And unfortunately, over the last number of years, there has been a complacency developing where liturgical improvement is seen as less important compared to say… building developments…or economic rationalism [even within the Church!].
Liturgy is in need of major help – and the issues are endemic throughout all stratum of the Church…from the way the hierarchy conducts itself right through to the administration and liturgical implementation at a local parish level.
…and so to the tough questions.
When it comes to us celebrating Liturgy - what causes us to be inspired? And what are the effects of this inspiration on us?
A simple response to the first part of this question is that God is our source of ultimate inspiration – and through Jesus and the movement of the Spirit, we are constantly inspired by a very beautiful and incomprehensible Mystery of Love.
But how is this Mystery of Love made known to us? The celebration of Liturgy is certainly an excellent way to be spiritually nourished and inspired – but within these moments of ritual – who inspires us to be inspired enough to engage in ‘full, active and conscious participation’? Is ‘participation’ our ultimate objective? Or is it something else?
Scriptural evidence abounds that displays the cause and effect of inspiration.
In Exodus 15, we witness the flight of the Israelites out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and free from the armies of Pharaoh. Immediately following this, Moses and the Israelites sing a song of praise to God. A similar act of praise quickly follows in the form of Miriam’s Song.
What is happening here?
Moses and the Israelites have experienced the saving power of God. Through this salvivic act – they are in awe of God. They are awe-inspired. [!] And through this inspiration, they raise their voices in song and then participate fully, actively and consciously as one unified assembly to God. Their inspired song has become a source of our inspiration too.
Essentially, the very act of inspiration is catching and infectious. It [inspiration] compels us into actions and gestures that recapitulate our way of being and give us a renewed sense of meaning [as seen in Ex 15]. This gives us wonderful purpose to want to celebrate and participate in that celebration. And then, having participated, we are then further inspired to go forth and live out this inspiration in the world we live. In short, [and to connect back to Mackay], we become the inspirers.
We might view this ‘Cycle of Inspiration’ like this:
GOD=inspiration=participation=inspiration=GOD
The song of Miriam [Ex 15] also displays the way in which those inspired can have an effect on others to stimulate inspiration and consequently active participation.
We watch Miriam as an inspired person taking on a leadership role and [in an act that resembles Psalm 150] playing tambourine. This encourages the other women to take up tambourines too and dance and sing to the Lord a triumphant song of praise.
And this very act of Miriam singing, dancing and playing an instrument as seen in the scriptures has continued to inspire people throughout time. People have been inspired to mimic her actions and those as described in Psalm 150 to inspire them in their prayer life.
I recently wrote a piece looking at this highly interactive way of praying the psalms. It is an inspirational way of living out the scriptures in a jubilant way. It inspires us to want to participate.
In this Advent season, it is appropriate to look at the Magnificat as an inspirational piece of evidence in our discussion.
Mary was inspired by God. Her amazement of God at her own pregnancy, as told to her by the angel Gabriel is evident in the scriptures. Further, her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy also astounds her with Gabriel saying to her:
‘For nothing will be impossible with God’
Here stands a most inspired woman. A woman very much in tune with her God and inspired enough to proclaim her inspiration in a most beautiful and dramatic way as seen in the Magnificat [Luke 1: 46-55].
Like Miriam and Moses, we see the figure of Mary as a figure of inspiration to all of us. Her song has become our song. It inspires us to participate. My experience of Evening Prayer earlier this year, has given me a renewed appreciation for Mary through singing the Magnificat every week. Her yes to God was total – and is a wonderful model for all of us seeking God’s will.
Mary’s song inspired me to sing – and then the gathered assembly were inspired by my leadership to sing and participate. This experience of Evening Prayer has lingered with many of us at my parish and has propelled us forward into a prayer filled life.
Having said this, can we say that our celebration of Liturgy is as inspiring as it could be?
As a teacher, I often have discussions with my students who are very quick to tell me of their frustrations with current liturgical practice.
There major reason for not going to Mass is that it is devoid of inspiration. To them, Mass is ‘boring’. They site extremely uninspiring music as a major source of their dissatisfaction. Coupled with this is an inability for the vast majority of priests to engage meaningfully with their world view to make relevant connections.
My students will ask me questions such as ‘How are we meant to be inspired to go to Mass – if the Mass and the music and the priest are not inspiring us’?
These are valid questions…and the questions are real. They reflect truths that lie behind the questions that, to my understanding and knowledge are not being serious addressed by the Church.
I have lost count of the amount of Diocesan-level conferences and meetings I have been to where the catch cry is hailed; ‘We must read the signs of the times!’
From my point of view, [and most certainly from the point of view of my students] – the Church are simply not reading the ‘signs of the times’. One could argue, the Church have become illiterate on this front. And there is proof of such an assertion.
In a recent article from http://www.chiesa/ , Mosignor Grau, president of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music has gone on record to say:
‘I would go so far as to say that without Gregorian chant, the Church is mutilated, and that there cannot be Church music without Gregorian chant.’
There are other statements made in the article that are reason for concern. A Church that prides itself on reading the ‘signs of the times’, are not doing themselves any favours when such divisive and exclusive words as these are spoken and posted around the world via the internet.
An insistence on Gregorian Chant by individuals such as Grau is exactly the kind of music and liturgical diet that so many young people [and students I teach] find repellant. They struggle so much with current practices which they see as restrictive, old fashioned and irrelevant. The insistence on Gregorian Chant is like adding insult to injury. They are crying out to be inspired!
They will be the first to tell you they do want to sing and be involved in liturgical music – but in a genre that speaks to them and inspires them to want to participate.
And so…they don’t participate.
A Perth Marist Brother who lectures at Edith Cowan University last month delivered a report that claimed almost all students who graduate from Catholic education regard the Church as irrelevant. Regarding Sunday Mass obligation, the majority of students (62.4%) did not agree that missing Mass on Sunday was sinful, nor did they agree with the Church's teaching on Sunday Mass. [Br Luke Saker: The Record]
This is precisely the reason why the Vatican II clarion call of ‘full, active and conscious’ participation is not an appropriate starting point for liturgists, musicians and catechists. The Church is saying one thing. Young people [and also other people who aren’t necessarily young] are saying another thing. There is a lack of connection.
Inspiration could be the key to the connection being made.
We need to invest heavily in devising ways of inspiring people into wanting to participate in our liturgical life. I feel an important way of going about this is through the inspiring power of music.
The role of the music minister is vital to this revival of inspiration. With dwindling numbers of priests and also a rapidly aging and ailing priesthood – who will be able to inspire? In my diocese, the average age of priests is 65. Where will our priests be in 5, 10, 15 years time? As figures in the community who have traditionally been seen as agents of inspiration and spiritual leadership…who will replace them when they are infirmed…or dead?
If the Church continues to hold the stance of not changing the conditions of ordination, then it will become the responsibility of the people like the music minister to take up the role of leadership and inspire people to want to participate.
But, we need not wait until that point.
We can start inspiring people – now.
posted by malleebull at 10:46 am
7 Comments:
I saw your comment on our eleven15 blog at Northminster Presbyterian Church in Evanston, IL...and checked out your blog. Thanks for your thoughtful reflections on liturgy, inspiration, and full participation of the body. As I'm preparing to preach tomorrow on the Magnificat, I also appreciated your connection of Mirium's song and Mary's song--both becoming our song as we welcome God's call in our lives and our world.
Hi Wendy,
Glad you like the blog. Furthering the discussion of Holden Evening Prayer and all things Vespers - I am in the process of interviewing three well known liturgical musicians and asking them how music has had an influence on their experiences of Morning and Evening Prayer...I'm not sure whether to include their reposnses all in one story...or to spread it out over three seperate blogs...
Visit again over the next few days for some insightful relfections...
Okay, I am digging this whole "inspiration" thing more and more... in fact, I am making this the "key vision" for our music and creative arts ministry for 2006. If we are not inspired ourselves, then how can we inspire others? I just read a great quote from a non-believer - Sir, Somebody... he said, "If even one-tenth of what we believe is true, then we ought to be ten-times as excited as we are about it." Sort of hammers the nail on the head... Thanks for this, er, uh - INSPIRING - blog post!!
Thanks Dan...it seems this particular post has struck a chord with people. I have received a few email [off-line] comments too and it certainly has people thinking - which is good.
It is interesting [and a little flattering] that my scribing way down here in Adelaide is having an impact on the key vision for 2006 in your parish.
Follow Hugh Mackay's advice [see the hyperlink I made in Part 2] and continue to be an social 'enlarger' of the vision and inspire people in your ministry!
Your writing is quite persuasive, but I think you miss the point of Grau's speech.
If you haven't already read St Pius X' instruction on Musica Sacra, then you probably should; it will help distill your thoughts. After that, you could read Ratzinger's writings on the topic of Music in Liturgy. He's not difficult to understand.
But without leaning on "authority" too heavily, despite the value of such, you also establish a false dichotomy; you maintain that "Chant-inspired music" cannot be inspirational. I disagree.
If we presuppose that music-for-service-of-God is to be ART,then it must have the qualities of Art--goodness, beauty, form. Do we then offer schlub-Art, or good-Art to God? I think the latter.
All that Pius X (and Pius XII, and JPII and Ratzinger/B-16) have said is that 1) Good Art should be used, and it should use Chant as its inspiration. Is this impossible?
Ask Durufle--whose Requiem Mass is actually the Chant Mass with parts and orchestra. Or Faure. Or Bruckner. Or Peeters. Or Theophane Hytrek. All of these men and women lived in the last 150 years and wrote outstanding sacred music based on Chant. Even Len Bernstein wrote music based on Chant (Chichester.) You will find the Magnificat psalm-tunes at the base of JSB's "Magnificat," as well.
Unfortunately, one rarely encounters children of most ANY age "getting something" out of Mass--but that's not the purpose of the Mass, either.
As educators, OUR goal is to elevate the minds of children to Art, and not to concede an inch in the process--nor to feed them something less. To do less is to advise the children that they are 'un-educable.' You may do that with your own children, if you wish--but not mine. The etymology of the word 'education' should be a clue.
Mgr. Grau is correct in his analysis and his prescription.
Hi dad29,
Thanks for your comment.
I think chant has its place in our Church. In our Cathedrals and Bascillicas - yeah sure - but my read of Grau's speech was that he wanted it to be blanket across the entire spectrum [as it used to be].
This is where my tension lies.
I don't find Chant repugnant - like say many of the folk at the 'Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas'.
There is something age-old and powerful about it that speaks to our tradition - but in a parish like mine...or even in the schools I have taught in over the past couple of years - it just would not go down well at all.
Another little anecdote...
Last school holidays my family went down to a local wine growing region here in South Australia. We went to Sevenhill Winery which is run by the Jesuits. They are responsobile for making most [if not all] altar wine in Australia.
Anyway - there is a lovely Church on the property...so we decided to go in a have a look.
We were with my parents, brother and my two young boys [4 and 2]. We were all talking loudly [particularly the boys] as we entered the Church.
But as soon as we did...there was Gregorian Chant playing over the PA system...and immediately...our boys stopped talking and entered the Church in absolute silence.
It was fascinating to watch - we all noticed it - and it showed to me that Chant has a power to be reckoned with and [can even have an effect on young kiddlings!]
Fascinating...thought provoking...but I still think Grau is a bit of a liturgical nutter with what he is proposing.
What a refreshing perspective on music and the liturgy. Though your post is quite old I'm glad it's still there.
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