Since the news of the scandal in the Catholic Church in Pennsylvania broke, there’s been a lot of talk about reforming/modernizing…
Way back in the 60s and into the 70s, a Mass called the Folk Mass was somewhat popular in the Catholic Church. I don’t remember the Mass being any different than a regular Mass, except for the music. When we attended the Folk Masses, there were usually a small group of musicians that almost always included a guitar or two — I remember there were often other instruments like clarinets, pianos and those things that you shake and they make a noise. I think I remember some of the music being more contemporary, but a lot (most) of it was just “church music.” Anyhow, I enjoyed them and when we had a choice, usually opted for the “Folk Mass.”
Obviously these Masses were a passing fad. I haven’t been to one or heard of one for a number of years. I wonder what happened to them?
I didn’t become a Catholic until I was in my thirties, so keep in mind that I’m not really very knowledgeable about the history of the Catholic Church. I have heard that before Vatican II, Catholics generally did not sing in church. Any singing that did occur was normally done in Latin. If I looked at the right sources, Vatican II was convened from 1962 to 1965. That just happened to be the time that folk music was the most popular.
If I’ve got my facts straight, Pope Paul VI authorized the Mass to be said in vernacular languages, and he also encouraged Catholics to sing at Mass. It seems that as part of this “revolution,” in order to appeal to more young people, someone came up with the idea of the “Folk Mass.”
I’m not sure just how popular Folk Masses ever became, but it doesn’t seem like they were around for long. Folk music went out of vogue and rock music more or less took over….I never heard of, or attended, any “Rock Masses” but there may have been some.
I kind of think it’s a shame that Folk Masses didn’t last. I agree that the Catholic Church needs to clean up some of its act and modernize — maybe something along the lines of Folk Masses could be a part of that…. I haven’t heard anything bad about them — at least not yet. Just a thought….
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