According to GIRM only certain types of hymns and music are permitted at a Catholic Mass. Why do youth insist on secular or Christian pop songs like Hillsong for Mass?

The short answer is that people generally tend to gravitate towards things that they already know and have come to like and which belong to their “culture”. Though Gregorian chants are finding their way back into the lives of many, it would be safe to say that for many young people it is something that is not there in their playlist of songs. This isn’t to say that it has lost its beauty and magic that has the power to elevate one’s hearts and mind to the heavens. Rather, it just means that the 

In the section titled “The Importance of Singing”, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) notes the following:

The Christian faithful who gather together as one to await the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apostle Paul to sing together psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (cf. Col 3:16). Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy (cf. Acts 2:46). Thus St. Augustine says rightly, “Singing is for one who loves.” There is also the ancient proverb: “One who sings well prays twice.” Great importance should therefore be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of the Mass, with due consideration for the culture of the people and abilities of each liturgical assembly. 

Further, regarding the form of music that has to used, it says:

All other things being equal, Gregorian chant holds pride of place because it is proper to the Roman Liturgy. Other types of sacred music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded, provided that they correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action and that they foster the participation of all the faithful. 

What is sacred music?

It is easier to describe what sacred music is, thanks to Pope Pius X who in his motu proprio (an edict issued by the Pope personally to the Roman Catholic Church) called Tra Le Sollecitudini, defines it as music whose purpose is the glorification of God along with the sanctification and edification of the faithful. It must be holy, and must, therefore, exclude all profanity not only in itself, but in the manner in which it is presented by those who execute it. 

This does not mean that only traditional music is allowed in the liturgy. The Church has always recognized and favored the progress of the arts, admitting to the service of religion everything good and beautiful discovered by genius in the course of ages — always, however, with due regard to the liturgical laws. Consequently modern music is also admitted to the Church, since it, too, furnishes compositions of such excellence, sobriety and gravity, that they are in no way unworthy of the liturgical functions.

The admittance of modern music into liturgy comes with a warning – Since modern music has risen mainly to serve profane uses, greater care must be taken with regard to it, in order that the musical compositions of modern style which are admitted in the Church may contain nothing profane, be free from reminiscences of motifs adopted in the theaters, and be not fashioned even in their external forms after the manner of profane pieces. 

There is one more area that we have to be aware of – the theological content of the songs. Lot of the contemporary Christian music that we are familiar with comes from our Protestant brothers and sisters of which the Hillsongs is a good example. Consequently, sometimes, the theological ideas that are present in the lyrics might not conform to that held by the Catholic Church. One good example would be the following lyrics from the song “Hosanna” by Hillsong United – “I see His love and mercy … Washing over all our sin”. Here we can see the influence of Protestant theology. According to which, God’s grace acts as a sort of cloak which covers the corruption of human nature and makes the person acceptable to God, though underneath he remains depraved. In contrast the Catholic understanding is that “grace of the Holy Spirit has the power to justify us, that is, to cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ” and through Baptism (CCC 1987). In short God’s grace does indeed work intrinsically, and that in Baptism the person is truly made a “new creation”. Therefore, we have to be extremely careful not to use music which goes against the teachings of the Church. 

The right kind of music to be used in liturgy is “sacred music”. As long as one has clarity regarding what the Church views as sacred music, any kind of music that falls under that category can be used for liturgical services, preference being given to traditional music.