Top Ten Signs a Parish Has Been Using Oregon Catholic Press for Too Long

(Substitute any of your favorite modern hymnals for the title :)

10. People call to ask what time Midnight Mass is "sending forth" (usually about 11 PM).
9. Epidemic of laryngitis following attempts to "sing a new church into being."
8. Followers of Huub Osterhuis lobby to have flooring removed in favor of hard-packed dirt.
7. Bored parishioners count how many times the word "gather" is used per Mass.
6. Old "Glory & Praise" books thrown out for being too "conservative" and "exclusive."
5. People discover that they get that same fuzzy feeling of community standing in Wal Mart.
4. Incense is re-introduced at Mass, but it's patchouli.
3. Worn depressions in "D" keys and pedals on the organ.
2. What's an organ?
1. The local Byzantine parish begins construction on the new church building.

I can't take credit for that list, I found it online somewhere... but it's definitely something that I understand!

People who know me, know that many of my ARGH! moments come when liturgical "drivel" music is forced upon the congragation during the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Altar (ie, Mass). I truly believe that our liturgical music reflects what we believe, and in many ways, teaches us what we are to believe -- which explains why, in the aftermath of the insipid FM-pop-station ditties invading our liturgies, it is now said that 73% of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence. Why would they? Their Masses have been turned into celebrations of "community" and sappy love (not real Love, Who died on the cross for our sins - three things that have become forbidden topics in many "modern" Masses)

Two things of note: First, if anyone is looking for a better "worship aid" for their parish, you might try to propose the Adoremus Hymnal. Second, if you (like me) despise the invasion of pew-pop-psychology, you might want to check out this great "pious sodality" I discovered - the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas

Also check out this article: "What's So Sacred About Sacred Music?: Is Sacredness a Matter of Taste or an Objective Reality?"