Tonight's lecture by Fr. Robert Skeris was simply smashing. Accessible to those unacquainted with "the liturgy wars," encouraging to those who have slogged the trenches lo these many years--a shot in the arm for all.
However, I left the auditorium sad. In his lecture, Fr. Skeris quoted an address of the Holy Father to French bishops on their ad limina visit. Pope Benedict told them to ensure that beautiful hymns were written in their dioceses. Fr. Skeris found this amusing: How could a bishop make a composer? The Holy Spirit, not the bishop, ensures that beautiful hymns are written.
Sadly, I must beg to differ, from personal experience. It is true that the Holy Spirit inspires sacred art. But bishops must in fact ensure it. It's not a simple matter of money--though I wouldn't complain at all if the ancient art of patronage were revived! Rather, it's the more delicate art of clearing the way, making room for the charisms to flourish and become effective in the life of the Church, using the gift of administration that bishops are ordinarily given with their office of governance.
Good things don't just happen. They happen because there is some provision for their encouragement.
3 comments:
I had two clarification questions. One, when you say “hymns” do you mean the text or the music?
The other is about the role of the bishop. Perhaps I'm just ignorant as to the structure of the American church, but what role does a bishop play in the liturgy of an individual parish?
Is it through the supply of hymns, by providing resources or moral support for those developing new hymns? Is it through the demand for hymns, by allowing/encouraging parishes to experiment with new hymns? Is it through quality control, by requiring that parishes use doctrinally sound hymns or at least ones that touch on sacred themes?
It may also be my biased perspective of considering "good new hymn" to be an oxymoron. Of course, if the Church had that attitude in 1849, Rev. Frederick William Faber would not have composed “Faith of Our Fathers.”
Ephrem,
Amen. And your own understanding seems to be that of Church's, with salvation resting on one great "fiat".
RCK
9.west,
Good questions!
Bishops are the liturgists of their dioceses, so while they don't often have fine-tune control over parish worship, they could make restrictions if they wanted to. They also set the tone for music in their dioceses by the the manner of liturgy in large diocesan celebrations, such as ordinations.
I was primarily speaking, however, about their responsibilities, according to Canon Law (which implements the ecclesiology spelled out in the Second Vatican Council)to recognize charisms within their dioceses and foster them. Bishops can erect schools of liturgy, for example. They are supposed to send people to school if their education would help the diocese.
Re: your final paragraph, I will have some things to say later. Stay tuned.
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