Monday, January 13, 2014

From Gregorian chant to rap

IN this life we cannot help but be versatile. St. Paul himself expressed it so well when he said that we have to be “all things to all men.”

“To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews,” he said. “To those under the law I became as one under the law—though not being myself under the law—that I might win those under the law.

“To those outside the law I became as one outside the law—not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ—that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.” (1 Cor 9,20-22)

Of course, we have to remind ourselves also, as St. Paul himself had also reminded us, that though “all things are lawful…not all things are helpful.” (1 Cor 8,12) There’s always a need for discernment and prudence.

This is a doctrine worth keeping in mind, its relevant attitude and skill properly and consistently cultivated and developed. That’s because nowadays we cannot help but contend with a growing variety and complexity of people, issues and situations.

Most pronounced these days are the generational and cultural differences, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. There are also differences brought about by our professional, economic, social and political status, and our many personal preferences in styles and outlook. We have to learn how to handle this condition.

Even in our spiritual life, we cannot help but have a great variety of spiritualities, brought about by the different Spirit-given charisms to cope with the different situations of our life.

All of these, though, are meant to enrich the one same Church, the People of God that comprise the mystical Body of Christ. They are not meant to tear the Church apart, dividing and isolating people from each other. Our differences and the variety of things are supposed to build and enrich the whole Church and each one of us.

And so, we just have to learn to be open to all possibilities while maintaining the core essence of things, which hopefully everyone will recognize to be none other than to have faith in God and his doctrine, to have hope in his promises, and to fill ourselves with the love of God that enables us to love everyone, including our enemies.

This consideration has led me to cultivate the need to be versatile without getting lost along the way. In the area of reading and praying the psalms, for example, I was thinking that while traditionally they are set in Gregorian or even in more ancient tones, they can also be set in modern ways, even in what is now known as the rap.

Recently, a very young nephew of mine uploaded in youtube a song about the earthquake in Bohol, with a very good Christian message, but rendered in rap. I must say I was moved, not so much because it was done by my nephew, but more because the Christian message can be delivered in rap. There was no irreverence at all.

There’s a certain beauty to it, with a beat that is most appealing to the young of today. It sounds cool and it’s hip. It’s fast-paced, short of emotion but it drips with the reverse appeal of the sangfroid, the I-don’t-care and challenging kind of stance that mysteriously is captivating.

At the moment, most rap is done with inane, naughty and even immoral compositions. But that’s precisely the point. We can turn it into something good and useful if it is humanized and Christianized. There’s nothing in it that can take away its rich Christian potential.

Obviously, it has its limitations and dangers, as anything done to excess and out of place will always have. But these limitations and dangers do not detract from its becoming a good way to pray.

I must say that while I pray my Breviary mostly in plain meditative tone, I also try to do it with the Gregorian chant in my mind. I also tried it in other settings, like soul, jazz and R&B, depending on the mood and the circumstances at the moment, and always with good effects.

I am trying it now with rap as the background, and I must say that it also has bracing effects. I cannot deny that I also feel energized by it as I get to see things with a certain clarity due to its crispy rhythm, and I seem to feel lighter, as if cleared of some baggage.


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