Question Three: On Divine Praises

S. Th. II-II, q. 91.

764. Praise (louange; loving) is "speech elucidating the greatness of virtue": thus St. Thomas, on Ps. XVII; whence to praise someone is to proclaim and extol what is good or perfect and virtuous. And since God is supremely good and His virtue greatest, He is supremely to be praised by mind and heart. But also, besides, by mouth; not indeed according to His essence, for, incomprehensible and ineffable, He is greater than every praise, but according to His wonderful works and effects (a. 1, ad 2), which are ordered to our utility (ad 3). Cf. Ps. XXXIII, 1; LXII, 6; XLIX, 23.

For although praise of the mouth is not necessary on account of God, either that something accrue to Him, since He is infinite, or that our concepts become known to Him, since He is the inspector of hearts, nevertheless it is useful on account of those praising and hearing: 1. whose affection is stirred toward God from vocal praise and, thus stirred, is withdrawn from those things which are against God (Ps. XVII, 4); 2. and who ought to serve God according to the whole of what they have received from God, that is, with mind and body (a. 1, ad 2 and 3).

765. Song is fittingly employed for divine praises, as is clear both from Scripture (Lk. II, 13-14; Col. III, 16), and from the constant practice of the Church from its beginnings. This must be held against the Waldensians, and Wyclif, who compared clerics singing with the prophets of Baal. And indeed vocal praise is necessary for this, that the affection of man be aroused toward God; whence whatever things can be useful for this are fittingly assumed into divine praises. But through diverse melodies of sounds the souls of men are disposed in diverse ways. Therefore song is fittingly assumed into divine praises, so that the souls of the weak may be more aroused to devotion.

But it should be noted: 1. It is not to be sought "after a theatrical manner, not for arousing devotion but for display or for provoking delight" (a. 2, ad 2). For "through song which someone studiously uses for delighting, the soul is distracted from the consideration of those things which are sung. But if someone sings for devotion, he considers more attentively the things which are said, both because he lingers longer over the same things, and because, as Augustine says (Conf. X, 33), all the affections of our spirit, according to sweet diversity, have their proper modes in voice and song, by whose hidden familiarity they are aroused. And the same reason also holds concerning hearers, in whom, even if some do not understand the things which are sung, they nevertheless understand why they are sung, namely, for the praise of God; and this suffices for arousing devotion" (ad 5). Whence Cajetan: "In ecclesiastical song two things must be guarded against: lest it be sung as if the song itself according to itself were more pleasing to God; and lest it be sung for the sake of our own or another's delight in ecclesiastical offices."

2. "A nobler mode of arousing men to devotion is through doctrine and preaching than through song. And therefore deacons and prelates, to whom it belongs through preaching and doctrine to arouse the souls of men toward God, should not labor at songs, lest through this they be drawn back from greater things" (ad 3).

3. Musical instruments are not to be employed, especially those of greater noise, unless very sweetly and sparingly, not on account of themselves but by way of assistance: "for musical instruments of this sort move the soul more toward delight than through them is formed inwardly a good disposition. But in the Old Testament there was use of such instruments, both because the people was harder and more carnal, whence it had to be aroused through instruments of this sort and through earthly promises; and because bodily instruments of this sort figured something" (ad 4).

766. Corollary. - Hence in song they can sin in various ways, as Billuart explains, diss. 5, a. 11, "namely if profane, vain, or shameful things are mixed with divine offices and are sung either by voice or by organ, which can happen in many ways:

"1. When someone from a vain intention inserts it as a part of the divine office, for example, in place of an antiphon, etc., and this act, besides the deformity which it can have from its own nature, insofar as it is vain and provocative of evil, is besides, under the present head, a mortal sin from its genus, both because it is repugnant to the end of divine worship, and because one so acting is a falsifier in divine worship, inserting as a part of it in the name of the Church what the Church in no way wishes to be inserted.

"2. When someone wishes to signify profane things with organs, not by inserting them as a part of the office, but only for the sake of delight: and if those profane things are honest, it will be only a venial sin, because there seems to be a light injury done to divine worship; if they are dishonest, it will be a mortal sin (from its genus), both by reason of scandal and provocation to evil, and against religion because of the grave injury inflicted upon divine worship and the sacred place.

"3. When someone precisely applies the consonance of a profane sound to sacred words; and then it does not seem to be per se a sin, for the sound, whether of voice or organ, from its own nature is indifferent for signifying sacred and profane things, and therefore can equally be referred to both. Nevertheless per accidens it happens to be a sin, namely, if that sound is of such a condition that it is judged provocative of evil; and it will be mortal or venial according to the account of the evil to which it provokes and of the scandal caused thereby."

767. Opposed to praise is the use of the name of God in vain, besides blasphemy, concerning which it has already been spoken in the treatise on Faith. For the name of God is holy, and must be pronounced only with due reverence, and consequently not in vain and without cause.¹ This also, with proportion preserved, holds concerning the assumption of the name of the saints, since irreverence toward the saints or sacred things as such ultimately redounds against God.

¹ The vain use of the name of God is not sacrilege, as it has seemed to some, because it is not directly against a sacred thing, but against the name of God, that is, against God Himself.

Vain appellation arises especially from a twofold cause: from impatience and anger, or from levity and custom:

a) From anger and impatience, when from a movement of soul there is said, for example, name of God, thousand names of God, name of the Lord. This use generally and per se does not exceed venial sin, both because it proceeds from a sudden and indeliberate movement, and because it includes only a small irreverence; per accidens it is mortal if it proceeds from deliberate contempt of God and from anger against God, or by reason of scandal.

b) From levity and custom, when without cause it is frequently employed in conversation from a certain admiration, for example, my God! Great God! Good Jesus! Sweet Mother of God!... This bears a certain irreverence toward God, but does not exceed the venial fault of light inordination, unless someone exposes himself to the danger of making gravely evil oaths. Whence Eccli. XXIII, 10: "Let not the naming of God be continual in your mouth."

768. Observation. - The frequent invocation of the divine name from an internal affection of reverence and from devotion of heart is not prohibited but rather commended, as the Prophets often saying: Lord! or pious Christians: Praised be Jesus Christ! Hence the Catechism of the Council of Trent, 2nd precept, n. 4: "We venerate and worship the divine name when, for the sake of duty and religion, we celebrate divine praises, and give Him singular thanks concerning all things, both prosperous and adverse... Therefore when we are tormented with pains of soul and body, when we are afflicted with miseries and hardships, let us immediately turn every zeal and the powers of our soul to praising God, saying that word of Job: Blessed be the name of the Lord!"