Where the spiritual catastrophe began. GoGo Masses of the 60s and 70s.

[Michie]

The GoGo Mass of the 1960s and 1970s: religious, musical and festive celebrations







Les Alléluias performing in Saguenay in 1965.

The revolution in the Catholic Church brought about by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (Vatican II) was reflected in the emergence in Quebec, among other places, of "GoGo masses", or rhythmic masses. So popular were these ceremonies that they gave rise to a veritable musical genre, which the Quebec industry has seized upon. Sébastien Desrosiers, music editor and blogger specializing in Quebec's heritage, recounts and explains this epoch-making phenomenon.

In Quebec, some priests didn't wait for the end of Vatican II. As early as 1958, Father Bernard, nicknamed le ménestrel du Bon Dieu, sang the word of Christ on his first record. Father Bernard was inspired by Félix Leclerc, who invited him to open his shows in France in 1959.

Christian rock

Between 1961 and 1965, the group Les Alléluias, led by Bernard Tremblay, united seminarians from the Pères rédemptoristes scholasticate in Aylmer-Est, Outaouais. They released three singles, which met with considerable success. In 1964 and 1965, a tour took them to Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and the Montreal region. At the same time, Les Alléluias recorded at the Maison de Radio-Canada studios in Montreal. The album is a great success.

The first GoGo Masses were held in the spring of 1965, and the movement quickly took off, spreading to churches and records.

A studio in a church

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Cap-de-la-Madeleine sanctuary near Trois-Rivières became the production center for Quebec religious pop. In 1947, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate inaugurated the Radio-Marie station and studio, which remained in operation until 1979. In 1959, Radio-Marie produces its first muse, Oblate singer and guitarist Jacqueline Lemay. She scored a hit with singles and her first album in 1962.

In 1967, the Radio-Marie record company recruited a young artistic director, Father André Dumont, who was already a songwriter. He developed the Jerusalem collection, a series of recordings created to capitalize on the mass craze.








A Christian rock opera

Continued below.

Where the spiritual catastrophe began. GoGo Masses of the 60s and 70s.

The GoGo Mass of the 1960s and 1970s: religious, musical and festive celebrations Les Alléluias performing in Saguenay in 1965. The revoluti...

cathcon.blogspot.com

 

[JimR-OCDS]

So-called Go Go Masses is a made up term.

I never heard of such a thing all through my Catholic life.

 

[Michie]

So-called Go Go Masses is a made up term.

I never heard of such a thing all through my Catholic life.

Kinda like fundamentalist Catholics. Really groovy stuff in the op.

 

[mourningdove~]

"Go-Go!"

Yes, everybody was dancing in the 60's (even The Flying Nun!) ...
what a silly, crazy, fun time it was ...
but I never saw it in church!!!

 

[Michie]

"Go-Go!"

Yes, everybody was dancing in the 60's (even The Flying Nun!) ...
what a silly, crazy, fun time it was ...
but I never saw it in church!!!

Lol! Thanks for posting that! Super cute! A sense of humor is a great gift!

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Kinda like fundamentalist Catholics. Really groovy stuff in the op.

Except the term, "fundamentalist Catholics," didn't come about until around the time Obama became president.
Rigid Catholics, many who were converts, brought their fundamentalist mindset from Protestantism with them
into the Church. It's a reality that still exist today.

Go Go Mass from the 60's I never heard of

 

[Michie]

Except the term, "fundamentalist Catholics," didn't come about until around the time Obama became president.
Rigid Catholics, many who were converts, brought their fundamentalist mindset from Protestantism with them
into the Church. It's a reality that still exist today.

Go Go Mass from the 60's I never heard of

Too bad huh? Pesky converts going about ruining everything.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Too bad huh? Pesky converts going about ruining everything.

No, they just cause division within the Catholic Church.

 

[Michie]

No, they just cause division within the Catholic Church.

There was division long before we got there. Cradle Catholics does not equate to a perfect Church. I’m glad my priest and others have told me converts are a gift to the Church. I’ll go with that.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

There was division long before we got there. Cradle Catholics does not equate to a perfect Church. I’m glad my priest and others have told me converts are a gift to the Church. I’ll go with that.

Nothing like the division we have today. Even Pope Francis is disliked and spoken against by the fundamentalists.
One even expressed that they are anxious for the day he dies and they can elect a new Pope.

 

[Michie]

Nothing like the division we have today. Even Pope Francis is disliked and spoken against by the fundamentalists.
One even expressed that they are anxious for the day he dies and they can elect a new Pope.

Yes it’s all the converts fault Jim. Give me a break. Talk about painting with a broad brush. It would be like me calling all cradle Catholics jerks. And there are a lot of those too. There has always been division. Just stay off the welcoming committee. The Church has itself to thank for its problems.

 

[mourningdove~]

Pesky converts going about ruining everything.

Just the opposite!

My goodness, I can still remember when Scott Hahn came to the Church, with all his knowlege of the Bible!
And there have been so many others like him since then ... many now strong Catholic apologists, who love the Church and who God is using to strengthen Catholics in their faith, and to bring other Protestants to conversion to it.

Many converts have done so much to help revitalize and build the Church.
And they are no longer just regarded as "converts". They are fully sisters and brothers now, united in the faith.

 

[Michie]

Just the opposite!

My goodness, I can still remember when Scott Hahn came to the Church, with all his knowlege of the Bible!
And there have been so many others like him since then ... many now strong Catholic apologists, who love the Church and who God is using to strengthen Catholics in their faith, and to bring other Protestants to conversion to it.

Many converts have done so much to help revitalize and build the Church.
And they are no longer just regarded as "converts". They are fully sisters and brothers now, united in the faith.

Yes indeed. But there is still that snarky set that never have anything nice to say and flat out resent it. You shall know them by their fruits….

 

[mourningdove~]

There was division long before we got there. Cradle Catholics does not equate to a perfect Church. I’m glad my priest and others have told me converts are a gift to the Church. I’ll go with that.

What your priest told you is TRUTH.

And as a cradle Catholic, it's okay for me to speak about these things!

Let's face it. Many cradle Catholics are Catholic simply because their parents brought them into the Church when they were babies.
Most cradle Catholics did not themselves make the decision to be Catholic.
They were "blessed" that their parents did so.
I was.

But for a convert, it takes "work" to become a Catholic. Lots of heart and soul and mind work. It is a "choice".
Converts come in to the Church actually "wanting" to be there.
I think that matters much to God, as it is our heart ... love ... that He desires.

Many converts love the God and His Church deeply.
Many cradle Catholics do also, but some cradle Catholics are also just in the Church because of "habit" or "obligation".

 

[Michie]

What your priest told you is TRUTH.

And as a cradle Catholic, it's okay for me to speak about these things!

Let's face it. Many cradle Catholics are Catholic simply because their parents brought them into the Church when they were babies.
Most cradle Catholics did not themselves make the decision to be Catholic.
They were "blessed" that their parents did so.
I was.

But for a convert, it takes "work" to become a Catholic. Lots of heart and soul and mind work. It is a "choice".
Converts come in to the Church actually "wanting" to be there.
I think that matters much to God, as it is our heart ... love ... that He desires.

Many converts love the God and His Church deeply.
Many cradle Catholics do also, but some cradle Catholics are also just in the Church because of "habit" or "obligation".

Thank you! Not the first time this has been inferred about converts ruining the Church and I’m quite sure it will not be the last. With some, it is just simply expected. As ugly as it is.

 

[mourningdove~]

Yes indeed. But there is still that snarky set that never have anything nice to say and flat out resent it. You shall know them by their fruits….

Yes, and you are being kind and very fair-minded in this discussion. Bless you!

Sure, there are the snarky converts. And some of them are loud, entertaining, popular.
But there are also so many good and loving converts, that are a blessing to so many of us.

Really, many loving convert "celebrities" have been very instrumental in helping me find my way back to the faith.
As a cradle Catholic/former Protestant, I listened to those converts ... what they had to say, their experiences.
I still listen to them!

Many converts come into the Church with a knowledge and understanding of the Bible that is so very helpful to the rest of us.

The contributions that "converts" bring to the Church are too many to even try to list ...
and the love they have for God and His Church is nothing but a gift to us all ...

 

[Michie]

Yes, and you are being kind and very fair-minded in this discussion. Bless you!

Sure, there are the snarky converts. And some of them are loud, entertaining, popular.
But there are also so many good and loving converts, that are a blessing to so many of us.

Really, many loving convert "celebrities" have been very instrumental in helping me find my way back to the faith.
As a cradle Catholic/former Protestant, I listened to those converts ... what they had to say, their experiences.
I still listen to them!

Many converts come into the Church with a knowledge and understanding of the Bible that is so very helpful to the rest of us.

The contributions that "converts" bring to the Church are too many to even try to list ...
and the love they have for God and His Church is nothing but a gift to us all ...

Yes I remember talking with my priest and he basically said the same type of thing. There are all sorts. But it is the Catholic Church and as it has been said: Here comes everybody! Like it or not.

 

[mourningdove~]

Thank you! Not the first time this has been inferred about converts ruining the Church and I’m quite sure it will not be the last. With some, it is just simply expected. As ugly as it is.

It is extremely ugly ... to draw a line, a distinction, between cradle Catholics and those who convert to Catholicism.

There are "bad" apples everywhere! So we don't listen to them, right?
But it saddens me deeply to know there are persons that feel this way about "fundamental" Protestants that come into the Church.
Because we are ONE Body in Christ. And Jesus loves His Body.

To talk about "converts" ... or even just what some call "fundamentalist" Catholics ... in such a divisive way is so very, very wrong.

We let God deal with the Catholics ... cradle or convert ... that speak unkindly about the Church, the Pope, etc.
That is for God to deal with. He knows what is in their hearts.

But our "assignment" is to love one another.

... and where we are offended, we are to forgive.

 

[mourningdove~]

Yes I remember talking with my priest and he basically said the same type of thing. There are all sorts. But it is the Catholic Church and as it has been said: Here comes everybody! Like it or not.

Yep!

And it is a good thing to have this kind of "diversity" in the Church.
Makes for many opportunites to grow, and strengthen our faith.

Well, I have been on both sides of this issue ... cradle Catholic and "fundamentalist" Protestant ...
and I love converts! They are my sisters and brothers in Christ. We are one, in Him.

So ... time now for more coffee, and think I will go pull some weeds out of my flowerbed.
The rain last nite softened the soil abit, will make "pulling" easier!

 

[Michie]

Yep!

And it is a good thing to have this kind of "diversity" in the Church.
Makes for many opportunites to grow, and strengthen our faith.

Well, I have been on both sides of this issue ... cradle Catholic and "fundamentalist" Protestant ...
and I love converts! They are my sisters and brothers in Christ. We are one, in Him.

So ... time now for more coffee, and think I will go pull some weeds out of my flowerbed.
The rain last nite softened the soil abit, will make "pulling" easier!

It’s unbearably hot here! I’ll be cleaning out my pantry instead. Thank you for the kind words!