Fr Byrne's SCOTTISH CATHOLIC OBSERVER column
Every fortnight Fr Byrne writes a column in the Scottish Catholic Observer. Here you can read the latest article.
It is unclear when an antiphon began to be sung during the offertory of the Mass. The first reference to an offertory chant appears to be in the writings of Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), who notes that he had been the subject of criticism for having introduced music “ante oblationem” (before the sacrifice). He was similarly criticised, it would seem from his writings, for encouraging singing during communion.
The original form of the chant is similarly unclear. Right up until the late Middle Ages the offertory chants were rather lengthy. Later, however (possibly due to the demise of the offertory procession) the vast majority of them were reduced to one or two verses of Scripture. These chants are highly developed, and give no real clue as to what form the offertory originally took.
With the possibility of having an offertory procession in the Ordinary Form we might well have expected the offertory chant to have been the subject of more attention by modern composers. However, compared with the music associated with the entrance procession and the communion, modern offertory chants are very few indeed. The combination of the demise of Gregorian chant in our parishes (a direct result of the demise or abolition of parish choirs), the all-too-late-arrival of the Graduale Simplex, the poor (almost scandalous) standard of our modern hymn books (despite a few recent, notable exceptions), andthe lack of attention which composers have given to the chant opening the Liturgy of the Eucharist, has contributed to the current situation in which the offertory, perhaps more than any other part of Mass, lacks a solid, properly liturgical repertoire.
This means that in many parishes we still (amazingly) continue to sing ditties such as ‘Gifts of bread and wine’, or ‘All that I am’ during the offertory— almost with the same frequency with which they were sung thirty years ago. These are at least inoffensive. However, other common ‘offertory hymns’ range from the musically trite and poetically absurd, such as ‘In bread we bring you Lord’ (with references to ‘plants in hearts’ and ‘spirits’ grief’) to the doctrinally inaccurate, such as the reference in ‘Fill my house unto the fullest’ to eating bread and drinking wine, or the one-sided view of the Mass contained in ‘Take our bread’. Actually, the offertory antiphons in the Roman rite rarely, if ever, make any reference to the actual act of offering. In preparing the music for the parish Mass it might well be better to glance at the offertory chant from the official books in order to assist in the choosing of an appropriate hymn, rather than the indices of our hymn books, which are invariably unhelpful.
‘What about Marian hymns during the offertory?’ I am often asked by many parish musicians. ‘We have been told this is “liturgically incorrect”’. The simple answer to that? Not so. There is no official document which prohibits the use of a hymn in praise of Our Lady, or one invoking her intercession during the Preparation of the Gifts, or indeed at any other point during Mass. It is difficult to know where this idea originated, or what possible reason those who assert such things have for doing so.
Once again, the official books of the Church (which remain largely unchanged for both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman rite) may aid us. In the Roman Gradual the offertories appointed for use on feasts of Our Lady frequently make reference to her. One example is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, where the offertory is taken from the Hail Mary. On other occasions there can be found even original compositions in praise of Our Blessed Mother, for example on the Solemnity of the Assumption (‘Mary has been taken up to heaven; the choirs of angels are filled with joy, and praise the Lord! Alleluia!’) or for the Feast of the Visitation (‘Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary, who bore the Creator of all things. You brought forth your own Creator, and yet you remain a virgin forever.’) These texts in the official books of the Church make clear that she in no way prohibits Marian texts during the sacred liturgy. We must be sensible, of course. It would be inappropriate to sing a hymn to Our Lady on, for example, the Solemnity of the Ascension. Nevertheless, if the Church allows Marian texts to be used on her feasts, I cannot see why a Marian hymn might not be equally appropriate during the months of May and October, or indeed any other time when there seems to be a good reason for it.***