Beauty Is Objective - By Maestro Aurelio Porfiri

Psalm 150 is often quoted as a carte blanche in order to use in the liturgy any kind of instruments (the psalm lists eight of them), even dancing, in order to "praise the Lord".

However, during a general audience on February 26, 2003, John Paul II interpreted this psalm in an other way: “We must pray to God with theologically correct formulas and also in a beautiful and dignified way", he said.

He asked to once again return the "beauty of music and hymnody" to the liturgy and "to purify the worship from ugliness of style, from distasteful forms of expression, from uninspired musical texts which are not worthy of the great act that is being celebrated”.

This is clearly not an invitation to a liturgical "anything goes".

Beauty is more than a subjective taste. I may like Michelangelo, you may like Raphael. But we still would agree that both of them were great artists.

Beauty is objective the more it approaches the one true and unique Beauty which is God.

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