The Vatican II Council issued recommendations on liturgy—the singing, prayers, congregational responses, and Scripture readings that make up a church service. These directives discussed ways to incorporate the whole church community in the service, making them more involved in worship procedures.
Churches were encouraged to shift away from traditional sermons that exhort and equip and instead concentrate on the cursory reading of extracts from the Psalms and Gospels. They were instructed to replace traditional hymns with popular music, modern musical instruments, and physical movement of the congregation. Churches were also encouraged to adapt their styles of worship to suit their cultures. The liturgical section of the Vatican II document, Volume 1, can be summarized as follows:
1. Get the churches accustomed to celebration terminology and the celebration concept. Every function of the church becomes a celebration.
2. Get the churches accustomed to a revitalized style of celebration service, encouraging a reduction of inhibition which includes physical gestures, bodily attitudes and movement.
3. Set forth song and musical celebration services as the most effective celebrations.
4. Utilizing popular religious songs and relating music to the various cultures and the temperaments of the people.
The "Instructions on Music in the Liturgy" section of the Vatican II document says this:
...the unity of hearts is more profoundly achieved by the union of voices, minds are more easily raised to heavenly things by the beauty of sacred rites...In order that the faithful may actively participate more willingly and with greater benefit, it is fitting that the format of the celebration and the degree of participation in it should be varied as much as possible, according to the solemnity of the day and the nature of the congregation present...The participation (a) Should be above all internal (b) Must be, on the other hand, external also, that is, such as to show the internal participation by gestures and bodily attitudes, by acclamations, responses and singing.i
Emotions or Faith?
Emotions are a vital ingredient of this type of worship. There is nothing inherently wrong with emotions, but when they take the place of truth and rational thinking they cannot be trusted. The Catechism of the Catholic Church adds to the above statements of Vatican II:
Song and music fulfill their function as signs in a manner all the more significant when they are "more closely connected…with the liturgical action," according to three principal criteria: beauty expressive of prayer, the unanimous participation of the assembly at the designated moments, and the solemn character of the celebration. In this way they participate in the purpose of the liturgical words and actions: the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful: How I wept, deeply moved by your hymns, songs, and the voices that echoed through your Church! What emotion I experienced in them! Those sounds flowed into my ears distilling the truth in my heart. A feeling of devotion surged within me, and tears streamed down my face—tears that did me good.ii
The word “celebration” is repeated over and over again in these documents, showing that emotionalism has a high priority. The danger is that liturgy can replace the Word. Singing, responsive readings, music, and praise activities can take the place of Word-based religion, thus offering a form of “godliness” devoid of God’s Word.
Vatican II issued directives on what is important in church services—liturgy, music, and activities—so that church became a place people went to in order to have an experience. Their suspicions of Rome diminishing, and forgetting the Reformation, Protestants churches listened. Under the new ecumenical spirit, they allowed Rome to issue recommendations based not on the straight preaching of the Word but on feelings and experience. This experiential religion became known as The Charismatic Movement.
i. Austin Flannery (ed.), "Instructions on Music in the Liturgy," Vatican II Council: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents (New York: Costello Publishing, 1979): 81, 83-84.
ii. "Singing and Music: 1157," Catechism of the Catholic Church.
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This article is adapted from Truth Matters by Professor Walter J. Veith, an international speaker who has studied Biblical issues in-depth in his quest for truth. His popular series Genesis Conflict brings the debate between Creation and evolution to a new climax as he dissects the arguments with a scientific eye. His highly-acclaimed series Total Onslaught sheds light on the state of the world today as we move to a one-world government and an anticipated apocalypse.
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