Most of us have heard it before. That weird, ominous chanting in the Catholic Church, sometimes even found in movie scenes. What kind of music is that? Why does it sound so haunting? Does the Catholic Church really use this chanting in its services?
Not only do
they use this chanting during Mass,
but according to the official Vatican document, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Solemnly
promulgated by His Holiness Paul VI on December 4, 1963:
“The Church
acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially
suited to the Roman liturgy.” (Chapter VI, paragraph 116 – Emphasis added)
See here:
So, it is
not only used in its services, it is the official
music of the Roman Catholic liturgy.
An Interesting Story
Roman Catholic priest Pellegrino
Ernetti (1925-1994) was a popular musician/musicologist and physicist in the
Church. He was also the most famous
exorcist in Venice in his time.
It is reported that Ernetti went to
the Electroacoustics Laboratory of the Catholic University in Milan with fellow
priest Agostino Gemelli in 1952 to make a tape recording of Gregorian chants. They were attempting to filter harmonics from
these chants, but the tape recorder microphone kept malfunctioning. In frustration, Gemelli looked skyward and
asked help from his deceased father. A
voice from within the tape recorder
answered, “Of course, I shall help you.
I’m always with you.”
It was heard by both of the priests
and Gemelli was shocked when he recognized his father’s voice. He just knew it was his father speaking to
him, since the voice used Gemelli’s childhood nickname (which no one else
around there could have known). The two
priests then went directly to the pope at that time (Pius XII) to report what
happened, and the pope answered him that the recording was “scientific fact,”
and that this discovery could be “a cornerstone for building scientific studies
which will strengthen people’s faith in the hereafter.”
See these links for different accounts
of the story:
https://teakrulos.com/tag/chronovisor/
This Time Traveling Catholic Priest used Music
to Talk to the Dead - NewEarth Media
Troubling Theology
The pope’s encouragement appeared to
have been the impetus for Ernetti to take this “scientific fact” and, with the
help of other scientists, (allegedly) invent a sort of “time machine,” or “time
viewer” – the Chronovisor.
You can read the accounts for
yourself, but the purpose of this article is not to determine the authenticity
or the falsity of this invention. My
intention is to point out that these men were highly trained Catholic priests
and they were dabbling in something sinister in the course of their studies of
this Gregorian chant. In this process, they
began hearing (and communicating with) the dead by requesting and accepting the
priest’s dead father’s “help.” These
priests and the pope should have
known better, since Scripture is clear concerning the sin of necromancy and
similar sins (Leviticus 19:26, 31; 20:6, 27; 2 Kings 21:6; Isaiah 8:19-22).
For the record, Scripture is also
clear about “the hereafter” (Revelation chapters 19-21), and the
pope should encourage Catholics to search the Scriptures if they want to strengthen their faith in life after
death, rather than encourage them to flirt with disaster through necromancy. But maybe that’s expecting too much from a
pope who is obligated to promote Catholic concepts.
Equally troubling is Ernetti’s role in
this, being a popular exorcist who was allegedly trained to combat spiritual
darkness. Did this “religious expert”
not recognize the danger in what the pope said?
But then again, the Catholic Church is fine with the idea of its members
communicating with, and praying to, the dead.
But this is certainly not something to flirt with.
Concerning Ernetti’s Chronovisor, Professor
of Theology and priest Francois Brune was one of the few people that Ernetti
had spoken to about his secret invention.
And Brune was convinced that this invention tied into something called Electronic
Voice Phenomena (EVP), declaring EVP to be “one of the most significant
religious events of the century.” Apparently,
he was another priest who was oblivious to the Bible’s warnings. Yet, Brune went on to write three books about
this topic.
Interestingly, Electronic Voice
Phenomena is linked to parapsychology, which is the study of alleged psychic
and other paranormal claims. And this chain of events all
started with Gregorian chant.
See this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUaGZ90AVog
Again, this is not something that true
followers of Christ should be associated with.
Ties That Bind
Someone could say, “But this is just
hearsay. This whole Chronovisor story
could all be based on a lie.” Ok, so
let’s assume that this was all fabricated and there never was any “time viewer.” But that’s not the point. Regardless, this whole Gregorian chant study
still ties into the realm of necromancy.
It seems that Gregorian chant was the doorway to all this confusion and
spiritual danger from the start.
It is also interesting that this music
is often used by Hollywood and the film industry, especially in horror movies! Now, it is true that Hollywood has certainly
been known to abuse their cinematic liberty at times, but their choice of
Gregorian chant in some of these creepy, haunting films is no coincidence. Hollywood knows scary music when they hear
it! In the movies, music is almost
always used to “set the mood,” and choosing Gregorian chant for this is not an
accident. This music is often a setting
for some dark themes. According to one
source:
“Some chants
have become standard melodies for films, in particular, the ‘Dies irae’ from
the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead. The ‘Dies irae’ is, in fact, one of the
most frequently heard chants in film, used in television theme songs,
commercials, and even a Christmas film (It’s a Wonderful Life). Death, danger
or the supernatural are invariably part of the story or visual situation where
it is used.” (Plainchant in Motion Pictures: The "Dies
irae" in Film Scores, by Linda Schubert, p. 207)
“Perhaps
more importantly, the meanings that have been coded into the ‘Dies irae’ over
the last two centuries are, as we shall see, not tranquil but dramatic,
disturbing, and threatening.” (ibid.,
p. 208)
“However
sinister its associations in popular usage, the ‘Dies irae’ retains this
‘simple’ quality as well—which may make it all the more disturbing. Simplicity
is often associated with innocence and lack of care. The ‘Dies irae's’
associations with death make it anything but carefree, and its connection with
demons and the supernatural do not permit innocence. Yet an eerie impression of
simplicity remains. One can argue that an audience does not need to know
anything about chant to be affected by a score and to appreciate a film. On the
other hand, film composers are aware
of the associations attached to the pre-existent music they use.” (ibid., p. 208 – Emphasis in original)
See this link:
https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/flor.15.011
So, to
recap, this source is telling us that Gregorian chant, especially the tune from
‘Dies irae,’ is indeed
used in many of Hollywood’s movies.
Topics like death and danger are “invariably” a part of the story, and
rather than being tranquil, its
message is dramatic, disturbing, threatening, and even sinister. And furthermore, it often appears to have a
“connection” with demons and the dark supernatural world. Hollywood is indeed very aware of Gregorian
chant’s influence.
Relaxing and Peaceful?
Some claim
that Gregorian chant is supposed to be peaceful and it relieves stress and
relaxes those who hear it, but I think it is a false peace. Personally, something
in me cringes when I hear this type
of “music.” To me, it’s haunting, sinister and downright
creepy. Nothing “cheery” or relaxing about
it.
Furthermore,
there are many websites that
incorporate Gregorian chant in their occult and/or eastern mysticism themes. Apparently, they see something in Gregorian
chant that links to their dark views. This
connection is interesting and should not be ignored.
Excuses
Someone could say, “But that’s exactly
what the “Dies irae” is all about in the Catholic Church… death! It is a tune that specifically relates to the
Mass for the dead. Of
course it is going to be eerie!”
But isn’t a Catholic funeral about
celebrating hope? Isn’t the Catholic who
dies almost always referred to as now being in Heaven, or at least Purgatory
(which promises Heaven)? If he was a
faithful Catholic, why would you want this disturbing and ominous-sounding
music to accompany his passage into eternity?
Shouldn’t it be more upbeat and encouraging? Why use chanting which has a connection with
the demonic if it is supposed to suggest one’s glorious journey into Heaven? No, the general feeling doesn’t seem to be
about the Christian’s victory in death,
but rather an ominous, foreboding presence. The music seems to be more about despair than eternal life in Heaven.
The Catholic might respond, “But the
‘Dies irae’ is not the only chant
used in the Catholic Church. There are
plenty others that are uplifting.”
Yeah, and there are plenty other of
these Gregorian chants that are often used in creepy and disturbing websites,
as well. It just seems to have too many
ties with eastern mysticism and possibly the occult and other strange things,
so I wouldn’t be bragging about it, much less make it “official” church music.
Conclusion
Music does indeed have a “power”
behind it. David would play the harp for
King Saul, soothing him and chasing the demonic forces from him (1
Samuel 16:23). On the other
hand, we know that some forms of music can invite
demonic forces.
Jesus said, “By their fruits ye shall know
them” (Matthew 7:16-20). So, how
music affects a person, how it makes him behave, is a very good indicator of
the source of any music.
For many, Gregorian chant encourages them
to stay in the Catholic Church. That
alone makes me seriously question the “goodness” of that type of music. If the Catholic Church only played such music
every once in a blue moon, that would be different. But Gregorian chant is the official music in the Catholic liturgy. That causes me great concern, since the very
existence of this blog is to warn of the false teachings of this Church. If something keeps you in the Catholic Church, then I would have to seriously
question its validity and it would be a good reason to reject that something.
The Bible does not contain a list of all
songs that are godly, nor a list of all those that are ungodly. God expects us to use discernment in such
endeavors. Maybe one’s view of music is
somewhat subjective, but biblical discernment goes a long way (Hebrews
5:12-14). Just because Gregorian chant may have some spiritual
words and phrases in it does not make it godly.
I would certainly encourage Catholics
to immerse themselves in Scripture and learn to exercise discernment. I think they would find that Gregorian chant
is not the “sacred” music they think it is.
