Wednesday Liturgy: Follow-up: Antiphons and the Graduale Romanum

ROME, AUG. 16, 2011 (Zenit.org (http://www.zenit.org)).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

In line with our article on the use of the Roman Gradual (see July 19 (http://www.zenit.org/article-33106?l=english)), several readers had asked about the approval process for musical settings and songs to be used in the liturgy. One Canadian reader wrote: "Do hymns used during the Mass need to be approved before they may be put into use, and if so, what is the approval process? Or, can those who lead the music select and determine for themselves what hymns are to be sung during the Mass? The hymnal used by the band (guitars and drums) at our parish's Sunday 'family Mass' was developed by a member of the congregation."

The bishops' conference of each country may legislate regarding the use of music in church. Some countries have produced national repertoires so that everybody in the country is familiar with at least a nucleus of liturgical songs. Others have published detailed norms while others have yet to engage in this task. Individual bishops may also issue some norms for their dioceses.

There is usually a distinction made between settings for the Mass texts themselves and other songs. Music for the Mass texts (for example, the Gloria, the Holy Holy Holy, and the Lamb of God) usually falls upon the bishops' conference. These texts may not be altered or substituted by others. The approval of other songs (offertory, communion, etc.) falls upon the bishop of the place they are published although any bishop may approve or forbid the use of any particular song.

In Canada the Episcopal Commission for Liturgy and the Sacraments-English Sector consults on a regular basis the National Council for Liturgical Music in the process of reviewing music and approving hymns for liturgical use in the country. Therefore it is not a question of each parish making its own way but following a clear approval process before using any music or texts in the liturgy.

The United States has a similar setup as described in the bishops' document on liturgical music, "Sing to the Lord (http://usccb.org/liturgy/SingToTheLord.pdf)":

"107. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has delegated to the Committee on Divine Worship the responsibility of overseeing the publication of Liturgical Books that describe and guide the reformed rites developed in the years since the Second Vatican Council. In light of this responsibility, Guidelines for the Publication of Participation Aids has been developed for publishers of popular participation materials.

"108. Hymns, songs and acclamations written for the liturgical assembly are approved for use in the Liturgy by the bishops of the diocese wherein they are published, in order to ensure that these texts truly express the faith of the Church with theological accuracy and are appropriate to the liturgical context.

"109. Composers who set liturgical texts to musical settings must respect the integrity of the approved text. Only with the approval of the USCCB Secretariat for Divine Worship may minor adaptations be made to approved liturgical texts."

This shows the Church's great interest in the Music used for the liturgy the need for discernment in choosing what is most appropriate for worship.