GorT almost posted about this topic last weekend after Mass but thought I must just have been in a funk the last two Sundays.  Well, this makes it the third.  Well, ok, it was Saturday evening Massto mark number three. 

GorT is fine with the new Mass – some of the language is a bit stilted and while I understand the translation bit, I’m still not so hot on the “entering under my roof” bit.  I still struggle to remember all the new words in the Nicene Creed – occasionally reverting back to the old style.  However, what really gets me is the new bits of the Mass that are sung.  I like a sung Mass and yes, large parts of the Mass were intended to be sung.  However, there are two big problems I have with current implementations of it:

First, if you are going to sing the Gloria, the Kyrie, and other parts like that, please understand the setting.  By this I mean, if this is the high Mass on Sunday morning with a solid cantor and choir, then sign away and those confident enough (at least in their own minds) might join in.  However, when the cantor and choir, if any, aren’t able to fill the church with song and there is an expectation that the people in the pews will fill in with their voices, then choose a melody that is easy for a novice singer to follow.  Far too often, these tunes use a wide range and complicated note changes.  Otherwise, consider opting out of having a fully sung Mass.

Second, maybe I missed something from the Church but I’m not sure when or why we needed the Kyrie (in English) to have the final response repeated twice.  I’m starting to be able to accept the 14 Amens in Amen but, honestly, the Kyrie for some reason has always had a spot in GorT’s heart – especially when chanted in Latin.

Minor gripes, but I worry that an emphasis is growing regarding the singing of these parts of the Mass.  This can lead to pompous choir directors and cantors essentially driving the Mass.  While not happening in GorT’s parish, and likely won’t happen, I worry that it could easily happen with the recent changes in some parish somewhere.

GorT

GorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and return it to the past for retroinvention. The profits from this pay all the Gormogons’ bills, including subsidizing this website. Some of the products he has introduced from the future include oven mitts, the Guinness widget, Oxy-Clean, and Dr. Pepper. Due to his immense cybernetic brain, GorT is able to produce a post in 0.023 seconds and research it in even less time. Only ’Puter spends less time on research. GorT speaks entirely in zeros and ones, but occasionally throws in a ڭ to annoy the Volgi. He is a massive proponent of science, technology, and energy development, and enjoys nothing more than taking the Czar’s more interesting scientific theories, going into the past, publishing them as his own, and then returning to take credit for them. He is the only Gormogon who is capable of doing math. Possessed of incredible strength, he understands the awesome responsibility that follows and only uses it to hurt people.