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St. Joseph Catholic Church

1875 S C R 700 W
North Vernon, IN 47265

Rev. Jonathan P. Meyer, Administrator

Office Hours:

Monday Office closed
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 8:30 AM till 12:30 PM

St. Joseph Rectory Phone: 812-346-4783
Fax: 812-352-9033

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What about music at weddings?

Music is a tremendous form of art. We use it to express ourselves and to glorify God. It provokes emotion and is an instant trigger of past events. From the earliest days of mankind, music has been a part of our history. With the gift of technology, specifically the ability to record and play back music, it has become part of almost every moment of our daily lives. Thus, it is hard to think of a wedding without music. However, like all things in the Church it must be used with reason. All music is not appropriate for church weddings. This is quite different than our protestant brothers and sisters. It is common to attend a protestant wedding or even a funeral and hear several secular musical pieces played off of an I-pod or CD. Yet, it is our tradition that music in a Catholic wedding be: performed live, sacred, based upon Sacred Scripture and part of our tradition of Sacred Music. Once again we need to remember when one receives the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony they are entering into the sacred rites/sacraments of the Church. Just as it would be odd to play secular music at a Sunday Mass, it should seem odd to play secular music at a Roman Catholic wedding. However, there have been times I have been at a Mass and they have played secular music- there is a Catholic high school in Indy that plays “Lean on Me” as the closing song to EVERY school Mass. Is it right? No! Mass is Mass. Sacred is Sacred. Secular is Secular. I like to remind brides and grooms there will be plenty of time for secular music at the reception. Playing secular music during a Catholic wedding ceremony would be like a bride and her father dancing to Ave Maria at the wedding reception. There is a time and place for everything. Some secular pieces of music either have themes that are contrary to aspects present in a Catholic wedding or by their associations with specific groups that hold teachings against those of the Catholic Church. Some examples of this are as follows: -The wedding march from Wagner's Lohengrin, known as "Here Comes the Bride” is not appropriate; the marriage in the Opera ends in death and separation. -The Mendelssohn Wedding March from A Mid-Summer Night Dream accompanies a fake/mock wedding, far removed from any notion of marriage as a life-long commitment. So you ask what can we have played? The great thing about being Catholic is we have 2,000 years of a musical tradition. Here is a short list of the most popular musical pieces used: Ave Maria - Franz Shubert, One Hand, One Heart - L. Bernstein, Laudate Dominum - Mozart, Bridal March - Wagner, Canon in D - Pachabel, Trumpet Voluntary – Clarke/Stanley, I have Loved You – Joncas, Prayer of St. Francis – Sebastian Temple, Servant Song – McGarill, Set Your Heart on the Higher Gifts – Warner, Where There Is Love - David Haas, Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring – Bach, Panis Angelicus - Cesar Franck, One Bread, One Body – Foley, Gift of Finest Wheat – Kreutz, Taste and See – Moore, Joyful, Joyful We Adore You - Hymn, Beethoven, Ode to Joy – Beethoven