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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Youth in Favor of Sacred Music

Fr. David Friel · February 2, 2014

AVEN’T WE ALL HAD the experience of going to a supposed “youth Mass” only to find that most of the congregation consisted of Baby Boomers? It’s an old method. In an effort to preserve the dying appeal of folksy liturgy, adherents re-package and brand it as something enticing to the youth. “It’s for the kids”—who could resist such an argument?

But what sort of liturgy—and, particularly, what sort of sacred music—do young people really want? I can recall a few very fruitful discussions of this question: in a wonderful article about David Hughes’ children’s choir at World Youth Day, in a recent post of mine, as well as in this excellent post from Ben Yanke. Ultimately, there is not one catch-all response to the question of what young people want in liturgy. But it seems fair to say that the desire for truly sacred liturgical music is not simply a negligible niche in the larger youth market.

More evidence of this growing trend was published in a recent National Catholic Register article. Including interviews with three Catholic college professors, the article contends that there is a resurgence—a renaissance, if you will—afoot in our Catholic colleges in favor of traditional sacred music. According to Susan Treacy, there has been growth at both Ave Maria University and Franciscan University of Steubenville:

When I first started at Franciscan, not too many students knew what the Church teaches about sacred music. Gradually, that number increased, with more of them becoming aware of the Church’s glorious musical traditions. This knowledge was usually accompanied by an appreciation of what the Church teaches, but not always.”

Kurt Poterack, of Christendom College, expresses his hope for the future in this way:

We’ve made noteworthy progress, and I think as long as we stay focused and promote sacred music with charity, it will not only continue to grow in popularity at colleges, but it will become the accepted norm once again in parishes.

Dare we hope that he is right?

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Gregorian Chant, Reform of the Reform, Secular vs Sacred Music at Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“If we continue to tolerate sad examples of liturgical abnormalities, experimentation, abuse, and simply poor-quality liturgies, why should we single out those connected to the ancient rites of the Church for special vigilance? It just doesn’t seem right.”

— An Example of a response (sent to Pope Francis) Re: the TLM

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