Archdiocese of Toronto: Televised Mass for Shut-Ins features Hymn to Earth goddess Gaia!

UPDATE: The Chancellor for the Archdiocese of Toronto has indicated that the matter will be discussed with Monsignor Brad Massman, age 76 and retired Rector of St. Paul's Basilica, to ensure that, "it does not happen again." Perhaps the good Monsignor Massman, who really should know better, might take a look at this article at the New Liturgical Movement on why we sing to God. 

For those of us that work to ensure that the music in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is focused on the true worship of God and with the dignity that befits the sacred liturgy, the introduction of hymns has been a challenging exercise. 

I contend that the single worst problem with Catholic worship today as it relates to what is ridiculously considered to be sacred or liturgical music resides in the 1967 document, Musicam Sacram. For the first time in the history of the Church; hymns were used to supplant the antiphons, liturgical texts from Holy Scripture structured in the Mass for over 1,500 years. This was right out of Luther's Mass. How diabolical! More often than not, we see these sacred texts in the Ordinary Form of the Mass, the Entrance, Offertory (yes, it exists) and Communion antiphons, replaced by hymns of dubious quality and theology. Hymns replacing scripture. The whole premise seems counter to the increased reading of scripture in the Mass that the reformers (I prefer to call them what they were, revolutionaries) allegedly wanted; or was it?

Less control of course is given over the recessional hymn which is certainly not necessary as technically speaking, Mass has ended just before with the Ite. Yet, this is a time, should a hymn be chosen, for glorious singing of praise or thanksgiving to God or perhaps the Blessed Mother or Saint of the Day.

For those poor souls trapped inside and unable to attend the Holy Mass in Toronto, they often choose to be subjected to the liturgical banality of a televised Mass for Shut-Ins which does not substitute for the Sunday obligation.

Is that not bad enough?

No, it seems.

How about this hymn to the pagan earth goddess, gaia at the end of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. You can listen to it yourself at 27:30.

This is a disgrace. How hard, some of us have worked for proper liturgy to the glory of God and the edification of his people. How disgusting it is to see this priest and these laymen and women and these musicians do such a disgrace. So unprofessional; so scandalous to the faithful held hostage by these liturgically incompetent musicians and priests who permit this right under their noses. Have they no faith? 

There is no excuse for this in Toronto, not with the presence of St. Michael's Choir School and the outstanding work done there for over eighty years. Msgr. Ronan would not be amused but I think, they all hated him anyway.

Let nobody tell you that the liturgy in the Archdiocese of Toronto, except for a few minor exceptions, is not impoverished, banal, self-serving and narcissistic. Those are harsh words, this is a condemnation and I am tired of preaching and working for something better when ecclesiastics really don't seem to give a damn. 

A few months ago, a bishop stopped to question me about the book, the Simple English Propers and his questioning of the existence of the Offertory Antiphon. I had to explain to a bishop, what it was. Who the hell am I to explain liturgy to a bishop?

I have over 25 years as a Cantor in the Ordinary Form. I find this liturgical bile reprehensible and insulting to Our Lord and to the work that those of us faithful have done. Frankly, I think there is simply no hope for the reformed liturgy. I am becoming more convinced than ever that the future of the Church is back to its past. 

Pagan gaia worship, and on the official Archdiocese of Toronto YouTube page!

Enough! 

Cardinal Collins, you need to fix this!

For more on the composer.

http://www.carolynmcdademusic.com/bio.html

http://www.carolynmcdademusic.com/gaia-index.html

UPDATE:

I am pleased to see that this is making the rounds in Italian and the writer drew the parallel with the Bishop of Rome's environmental manifesto:

http://www.iltimone.org/33529,News.html

Gaia in Greek mythology is the goddess who personified the Earth generates divine races. Second born after Chaos and before Eros. He was revered, especially in Attica, as the goddess of the dead and the underworld. In late period it is to merge with the various figures of the Universal Mother and the Mother of the Gods. It was identified by the Romans with Tellus.

The global environmental movement has spread the name, and in some even the worship of Gaia, arguing that the earth is a sentient super-organism, which lives in the spirit of the ancient goddess worship and reverence it deserves.

The British chemist and environmentalist guru James Lovelock's book "Gaia: a new look at life" (Gaia: new ideas on ecology) writes that "all forms of life on the planet are a part of Gaia - part of the spirit the goddess that sustains life on earth. From the beginning of this transformation in a living system, the actions of Gaia have created diversity in evolution of living creatures on the planet earth. "

A hymn to Gaia was sung at the end of the Mass broadcast on Sunday by the television channel CTV Toronto, Mass and entrusted to the archdiocese Canadian television space (in the video above per minute 27:30).

The song is titled "Beautiful Gaia" and was written by American Carolyn McDade, feminist and composer of songs spiritualeggianti often used in the liturgies Protestant and Catholic unfortunately.