Theo Tigno

I normally read my news through Google Reader and one of the places I subscribe to is the Chant Cafe. The Catholic Church has a great tradition of music!

Well, this morning I saw a post from the Chant Cafe that talked about two new settings from the National Basilica. I thought to myself that it was wonderful that we have a setting offered by the Basilica and I saw two settings there. One of them was called the Mass of the Immaculate Conception.

Knowing that the name for the Mass setting I wrote is the Mass of the Immaculate Conception as well, I thought that I'd share the link to the setting by Dr. Peter Latona.

There are a lot of beautiful settings for the new Mass parts. I'm starting to find out that there are new settings being composed ... or at least I'm just finding out about them.

When I think about that, I cannot help but meditate on how we are made in the image and likeness of God, Who created the beauty we have all around us. Rich Mullins once talked about if we are made in the image and likeness of a God Who created, then we have the impulse to create. The many new Mass settings in various styles reminds me of a God Who created the beauty of the oceans ... the beauty of the desert ... the beauty of the mountains ...

It is a shame that there are those who are offended by contemporary settings. It's a shame that there are those who want to move away from traditional and polyphonic settings. Either way, both can be done reverently and prayerfully. Either way, both can be done without a humble and prayerful heart.

Which gets back to the main purpose of all of all these settings: it is at the service of the Mass. With or without music, it is still the Eucharist which we adore and receive. At a Mass with an organ, a guitar, or just voices, the words we are praying are the words of the Church. We can pray these words or we can perform them. I have seen both from both.

I have lived in Hawaii and I know the beauty of the oceans, tropical flowers, and lush mountains. I currently live in Arizona and I know the beauty of the untouched desert, majestic rock formations, and desert flowers. Either way, they're all created by God.

As I think about all of these settings, it is our participation with God to artistically point to the beauty of the prayers of the Church. That is all that these settings are doing. The true beauty lies in the words of the prayer and our active participation in praying these words.

Okay ... I'm coming down from the soapbox ...

I am excited to link to the Mass of the Immaculate Conception on the National Basilica website. I haven't heard it yet (I am currently working at a coffee shop), but I look forward to hearing it one day. I had the chance to visit the Basilica a year and a half ago while on a business trip. It is beautiful and inspires and points to the grandness of Our Lord. May we do the same with our participation in the prayers of the church.