Quantcast
Channel: New Liturgical Movement
Viewing all 8938 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Psalm Tones for the Vernacular

January 11, 2013, 5:00 am
$
0
0

After a recent article singing Vespers for the US war veterans in Manchester, New Hampshire, people have been asking me where they can get hold of the music. In response to this I have put all the tones we have on a newly published page on my blog, here.

Before I describe what you will find there, I would just like to describe the last time we went to the veteran's hospitial in Manchester, NH. We arrived as usual and were greeted by Fr Boucher in the chapel. Nobody else was there. Fr Boucher thanked us warmly for coming and told us that several veterans had wanted to come but were too ill to go from ward to chapel, and two had died earlier that day. Fr Boucher wanted us to know how important therefore, our prayer was and how much appreciated even by those who can't attend. So we sang Vespers and Compline just as intended and as beautifully as we could for those who could not hear us.

We are grateful to him and also to the other chaplains, including the Chief Chaplain (who is not Catholic) for their support, he wrote to me: "My role is tiny as one of the Catholic chaplains, but I attend every one of these 'lay-led' services. Our Chief Chaplain, Gary Rolph, has been extremely supportive, along with his wife, who attend the Monday evening service whenever they can. Father Tom Steinmetz, of the Melkite Catholic Community is the regularly assigned catholic priest. Both he and I are appreciative of the charity of this Monday night chorus of praise to the Lord on behalf of those who are at chapel or lodge nearby with the knowledge that we pray for their care and sing in their stead. ---Father Roger Boucher, US Navy, retired."

The psalm tones we use are modal and the starting point is the natural rhythm of speech. They conform to the pattern of language, rather than imposing their own rhythm on the words. This means that once you understand how the system works, which is pretty simple, they flow naturally and it frees you to contemplate the text more deeply.

These tones are arranged so that any tone can be applied to any text and they always follow the natural rhythm of the words of the text. The system is so simple, that you don’t need a deep musical training – if you can sing it, you can teach others to sing it. This means that in just a few minutes, you could have a completely fresh group able to learn a tone and sing a whole Office together. Also, because the system of matching tone to text is so natural, it makes it easy to compose new tones. So if you don’t like mine then compose your own!

You can apply these tones easily to any off-the-shelf psalter, bible or breviary. You don’t have to buy a particular edition to sing them. So whichever version you or your group has, you can now sing it together.

In order to sing them you need to ‘point” the text yourself. This takes two minutes for an average psalm – you can just mark them lightly in pencil on the page of your breviary or bible. There is an instruction video showing you how to do it; and then it explains how to sing the psalm.

If you get more sophisticated you can sing these tones in four-part harmonies – appropriate perhaps for more solemn liturgies and psalms sung in Mass. The harmonisations (with the exception of one done by Thomas Tallis) are done by Paul Jernberg.

If you want sheet music for the harmonised psalm tones that you hear, then contact me direct. If we find that lots of people want them, then we'll put them up on the blog page too.

If you want further information, sheet music or instructional CDs for the music of Paul Jernberg, including his Mass of St Philip Neri, contact Paul at cathedralchoirschool@gmail.com or websites here.
Just to give you a feel for one more, here is the English version of the Nunc Dimittis.

Once more, remember that these recordings are done on a cell phone with a group of amateurs practising for about 15 minutes. In case you're wondering, the nasalised voice leading the responsorial psalm is mine - I am no chorister!


And a responsorial psalm:

↧
Search

Healey Willan Society Releases DVD Giving Intimate Portrait of Willan and His Work

January 11, 2013, 9:00 am
$
0
0

For a couple of months now I have been intending to mention a DVD which has been put out by the Healey Willan Society, Healey Willan: The Man Behind the Music.

The DVD in question, which is one hour and twenty minutes in length, presents an interview between Fr. Scott Haynes (of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius and president of the Healey Willan Society) and the daughter of Healey Willan, Mary Willan Mason. I was very kindly sent a copy of this DVD, and it really is a wonderful interview which gives an inside view of the man and his work.

Healey Willan, while certainly known in musical circles, and generally well known within Anglo-Catholic and Anglican circles, is perhaps not yet as well known as he deserves to be generally within Catholic circles in my estimation -- and certainly, with the establishment of the Healey Willan Society and its association with the St. John Cantius, we can hope this will now change.

Willan was an outstanding composer of sacred music in both Latin/Greek as well as in hieratic English. In my view, Willan joins the likes of Byrd, Tallis and other English composers in demonstrating that sacred music is not only possible within the context of the English language, but that it can indeed excel within it.

Here is a selection from Willan's Missa Brevis no. 5 in F sharp minor as recorded by the choirs of St. Mary Magdalene's church in Toronto, where Willan worked for 49 years. It begins with his moving composition of the Kyrie (in Greek of course) and at the 2:10 mark proceeds into his English composition of the Sanctus.


I would certainly encourage people to show your support for the Healey Willan Society in whatever way you can.

I would also encourage pastors, choirmasters and choirs who are advocates of Pope Benedict's new liturgical movement, whether it be an OF context or EF context, to consider how they might employ Healey Willan's works within a liturgical context within their own parishes. Within an EF context, his Latin (and Greek) works are certainly something to consider. Within an OF context, an even broader potentiality exists.

Finally, it goes without saying that Willan ought surely to be given consideration for the liturgical life of the Ordinariate communities throughout the English speaking world.

* * *

Here is some of what the Healey Willan Society has already began to make available for choirs:

Mass of St. Peter

Mass of St. Theresa

↧
↧

Dominican Students Reflect on the Liturgy of the Hours

January 14, 2013, 5:00 am
↧

St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal: Part 3

January 14, 2013, 9:00 am
$
0
0
Guest article by Jeff Ostrowski

As the Holy Father has pointed out, while still Cardinal Ratzinger, the Second Vatican Council "did not itself reform the liturgical books; it ordered their revision . . ." Fifty years later, the reforms are being examined critically and questions are being asked. This examination seems likely to continue, and one notion in particular that has been questioned is the extent to which the sacred liturgy ought to be altered for the sensitivities of "Modern Man." Several prominent priests and bishops have noted that, after the Council, the following attitude seems to have been adopted: "In this enlightened age, we no longer require medieval gestures such as bowing, kissing, genuflection, striking the breast, repetitions of the sign of the Cross, and so forth. Modern Man can pray mentally without these external gestures." However, it turns out that "Modern Man" is composed of both body and soul. It turns out that these physical gestures are wedded to our liturgical prayer in a profound way. I have to agree with those who consider the elimination of these gestures as regrettable. Priests like Fr. Deryck Hanshell, S.J. were already saying this in the early 1980's, more than two decades before Summorum Pontificum. Incidentally, the various gestures of the priest (even the positions of his fingers) are highly emphasized in the Campion Missal.

The patient reader is doubtless wondering why I am speaking of "gestures at Mass" while the topic of this article, the third in a series of six, is supposed to be "Religious Artwork & Illuminated Letters in the St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal for the Traditional Latin Mass." Permit me a personal anecdote: A friend recently celebrated Mass in the private castle of the Pustet Family in Germany. (Most readers probably know that Frederic Pustet was a famous 19th century printer and staunch Roman Catholic.) In the Chapel, the Mass book he used (Extraordinary Form) was a large Altar Missal, a family heirloom. Each and every Proper and Reading was splendidly illuminated with colorful decorations. My friend was astounded and thrilled. The point is, these are the types of things that help our devotion and assist our prayer. Man has a soul but also a body. Ancient gestures can help, and so can beauty . . . and it is of beauty that I would speak.

One of the very first prayers I ever set to polyphony was the "Rorate Caeli." The second part is Psalm 18:2, "Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei et opera manuum ejus annuntiat firmamentum." — The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands. That statement remains true, regardless of whether humans (e.g. atheists) are willing to admit this. There is almost an "excess" of beauty in the universe: think of the dazzling fish at the bottom of the ocean, whose gorgeous colors show forth God's glory, in spite of the fact that no light exists down there! The astounding order of the galaxy is made manifest in a million staggering ways I cannot enumerate here (for want of space), and this truth is written on each every human heart. Beauty has a major role to play in the liturgy. As Dr. William Mahrt has said, "sacred polyphony, in its perfect order and counterpoint, shows forth the splendor of the universe." The medieval ecclesia orans understood, and we can see this in the following example of how they wrote down the Mass prayers (using the example of the "Rorate Caeli" I mentioned earlier):



Surely we've all seen examples of medieval manuscripts, which never fail to delight by their majestic art, pleasing colors, and balanced design (structure). The same can be said of stained glass, captured so magnificently on this blog by Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. — it's what I call an "arresting beauty." It makes one pause and exclaim "Ah!" from one's heart. Before Danjou's discovery of Montpellier H. 159, many medieval chant manuscripts were, quite literally, inscrutable on account of the adiastematic notation system, but they were saved (i.e. not destroyed) because they were "pretty to look at," and musicologists are so grateful for this!

Consequently, it seemed to us absolutely imperative that we try to make the Campion book as beautiful as possible. During the rest of this article, I will share some examples of our efforts in this area.

The Campion book has more than ninety (90) pieces of black and white line art. Before publication, it was necessary for us to locate, transport, copy, clean, and (finally) digitally enhance hundreds of line art pictures. These "woodcuts" came from 19th century Breviaries, Rituals, Graduals, Antiphonals, Missals, etc. stored by the Benedictines. My sister, Kristen Ostrowski, spent hours combing through the books, which (sadly) had deteriorated tremendously. In the end, she saved about 300 total pictures. Here is an example of the marvelous artwork Kristen found:


Here is a closer view, to better show the level of detail:


Finally, here is an even closer view, which still does not show the full level of detail (the resolution is very high on these images once we have finished enhancing them):


Corpus Christi Watershed is releasing several hundred of these images to the public. If you are interested, you might want view the details by clicking here. For those who desire to download these images, simply bookmark the Blog "Views from the Choir Loft", where these pictures will be posted every week or so.

The Campion book is graced with stunning artwork by James Ridley, much of it original. However, in some cases, the artist has added color to black & white images. I have put together a "simulation" to give the reader a sense of what Mr. Ridley has done. Bear in mind, this is a SIMULATION ONLY, to show the reader the juxtaposition. Also, to show the level of detail, the image below is a very close up view of a much larger "fresco" included in the Campion Book:


In many instances, the artistry of James Ridley matches the medieval sensitivity. For instance, I have highlighted the flooring in the following medieval illumination by making the rest of the image black & white:


This reminds me very much of a section of Mr. Ridley's work (the flooring):


Throughout the book, careful use was made of "Drop Caps," especially to highlight particularly pregnant passages in the sacred liturgy:


For the Campion book, James Ridley also created more than 100 stunning illuminated letters. Some are more detailed, some less, depending on the section in which each is used. Incidentally, not all 100 letters from the alphabets ended up being used, since certain letters don't occur as capitals in the Mass texts — "Z," for instance. Presented in the following low resolution PDF document are some variations of Mr. Ridley's Capital "A":

     *  Low resolution sample

I picked out a few random letters, so the reader can begin to get a sense of the extraordinary art of James Ridley:


In Part 5 of this series, I will show examples of the color page layouts, which were specifically designed to "fit" these beautiful illuminated letters. To better show the intricate detail, here is a larger image of the Capital "S":


And here is the Capital "A," which is slightly more ornate (again, always based on where the individual letter happens to fall):


To learn more about the Campion book, please visit:

     *  St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal

Part 1 of this series can be found here.  Part 2 can be found here.
↧

Italy: Ordinary Form, Ad Orientem

January 14, 2013, 1:00 pm
$
0
0

The following image was sent in to NLM by Opus Mariae Matris Ecclesiae showing Don Giovanni Poggiali (a priest of the same), celebrating Mass ad orientem in accordance with the Ordinary Form of the Roman Liturgy in the church of Santissima Annunziata a Castiglione del Terziere, Bagnone in the diocese of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli.


↧
↧

Bishop of Ivea Assists at EF Mass of Msgr. Nicola Bux

January 15, 2013, 5:00 am
$
0
0

On January 11th, Mgr. Edoardo Aldo Cerrato, the bishop of Ivrea, assisted at an EF Mass offered by Msgr. Nicola Bux, consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, in the parish church of San Michele Arcangelo in Rivarolo Canavese.

The Mass, we are told, was coordinated by the Associazione “John Henry Newman”. The photographs are by Cristina Siccardi.







↧

More Heraldic Art from Matthew Alderman Studios

January 15, 2013, 9:00 am
$
0
0

Some time ago, I shared some recent ecclesiastical heraldic design and rendering work I undertook in my studio, including coats of arms for a seminary and a parish. At the close of last year I also completed a rendering of the arms of Seton Hall University which was commissioned as a gift for the incoming rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary and School of Theology, showing the arms of the university flanked by those of the School of Theology and the College Seminary - St. Andrew's Hall. All contain elements adapted from the arms of the archdiocese of Newark and those of Elizabeth Ann Seton. (The apparent 'z' in the motto, "Hazard zet forward" is actually an archaic English letter, yogh, and is pronounced like a 'y'. It inially threw me for a bit of a loop.) The smaller shields showing a fleur-de-lys and the letter 'P' are references to the recipient's devotion to the Virgin and St. Maximilian Kolbe, the latter shield intended to mimic his concentration-camp stripes and the prisoner badge marking his Polish ethnicity. In honor of the recipient's Irish background, the design was rendered in a manner inspired by the the Celtic-influenced style of the late heraldic delineator and painter Denis Endean Ivall. While the scan does not do the colors justice, I think our readers will still find the design of interest. My satisfied client commented, on seeing the finished product, that it was a "wonderful piece" and its recipient was "very happy." I am presently working on a number of even more explicitly ecclesiastical heraldic designs, including a number of priestly coats of arms, that I hope to share in the near future.
↧

Sacra Liturgia Roman Conference Update: Registrations Now Open

January 15, 2013, 1:00 pm
$
0
0

A number of our readers have expressed interest in attending the Sacra Liturgia conference which is taking place June of this year.

I wanted to inform our readers that, just yesterday, the registration form for this conference has now been made available.

Ordinary registration for the conference will be €150 EUR, while student registrations are €100 (EUR).

Registration includes a full conference pack and materials, attendance at all conference events and morning and afternoon coffee breaks. Meals and accommodations are not included in this registration fee -- though you can choose to also book (at additional cost) for luncheons if you so wish.
↧
Search

St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal: Part 4

January 16, 2013, 5:00 am
$
0
0
Guest article by Jeff Ostrowski

With full consciousness that some may consider my statement a cliché, I must contend that the Roman liturgy is often not loved as it should be primarily because it is not known as it should be. With the publication of the Campion Missal & Hymnal, we feel blessed to have been given the opportunity of helping others come to a greater appreciation of the Extraordinary Form, and this goal is the raison d'être for all 992 pages of English translations, explanations, color pictures, religious artwork visually presenting the great mysteries of our Faith, carefully selected hymns, congregational chants in Latin, and all the other features. At this point, it might be useful to mention the website where people can learn more about the St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal for the Traditional Latin Mass:

     *  Campion Missal & Hymnal

In this fourth installment of my six-part series, I will discuss "Manuscripts of Gregorian Chant & the Roman Canon." Apropos of my introductory statements, I must confess that, of all the features in the Campion Missal, this special component will do the most to engender love for the holy Mass. You see, for the first time in history, the Campion Missal includes full color reproductions of ancient manuscripts (containing, among other things, the Roman Canon) placed right alongside the English translation of the Tridentine Mass. Catholics who have the Mass prayers memorized in Latin can pray directly from these ancient codices, and all can marvel at the astonishing antiquity of the Latin Mass.

Before going further, let me point out that this topic is truly vast; far too immense for a single blog entry. As a matter of fact, I will not even have space to treat the Gregorian manuscripts, although their fascinating history remains a frequent topic at the Corpus Christi Watershed blog. For those unaware, there are thousands of pages containing ancient Mass texts extant, and it would be difficult to imagine any other object more deserving of examination than these captivating relics. In the following article, then, I will merely give some basic information which, hopefully, will kindle a desire for further investigation.

The Roman Canon is a sacred prayer of unthinkable antiquity which, as Fr. Fortescue noted, "No medieval bishop dared to touch." Without further ado, let us examine some examples (the Campion Missal & Hymnal contains more than a dozen full color pages of manuscripts like these).

One of the oldest manuscripts with the Roman Canon is called the Gelasian Sacramentary. The copy in the Campion Missal was created circa 800 AD. The oldest extant copy of the Gelasian Sacramentary comes from the 7th century (or beginning of the 8th century). Here is a small excerpt from this manuscript:


Using the Latin (with English translation) given below, it is relatively easy to "decipher" the Gelasian Sacramentary, in spite of its frequent use of abbreviation.


Below is the same section of the Mass, this time in a manuscript from around 983 AD.


By now, the reader has probably noticed the little "X" symbol used for our Lord. When I was little, somebody told me that one should not use "Xmas" because it "crosses out Christ." Those who are familiar with the history of the "Chi Rho," as were the scribes who created these manuscripts, realize how nonsensical that statement is.

By special permission of the Royal Irish Academy, the Campion Missal & Hymnal contains high resolution images from the Stowe Missal, which was written circa 750 AD (or earlier). Here is same section of the Mass as it appears in the Stowe Missal, a wonderfully rare Irish relic:


To hear how the Roman Canon sounds, feel free to download this audio file, a special recording of the beginning of the Canon prayed by Bishop René H. Gracida. His Excellency's voice becomes somewhat louder whenever the music gets louder because unless I am mistaken the rubrics specify that the Celebrant must "be able to hear himself." In any event, here is yet another version of that same section of the Mass (see above), this time in a manuscript from 1439 AD:


And here is that same section of the Mass in a book from 1487 AD:


Finally, here is the same section, this time in a manuscript from the middle of the 16th century:


We hope that many publishers will quickly follow our lead by including ancient manuscripts in publications for Catholic congregations, placing them alongside the English translations. The inspiration for this came from Dr. Peter Wagner's teacher, Fr. Michael Hermesdorff of Trier, who was the first to place adiastematic neumes above medieval box notation in practical editions. Both 19th century Graduals by Hermesdorff (1883-1885) were uploaded for all to enjoy [url] by Corpus Christi Watershed back in 2008. Speaking of printing the full Latin and English texts, many readers might not realize this was required by the Church (at least for priests' Altar Missals) by the document Inter Oecumenici, Sacred Congregation of Rites (September 26, 1964). Section 57 reads: "Missals to be used in the liturgy, however, shall contain besides the vernacular version the Latin text as well."

Another reason we hope other publishers will take up this idea: the manuscripts are such incredible works of art! For instance, presented below is the Preface (historically the beginning of the Canon) in a manuscript dated around 1300 AD. It is worth noting that many of the ancient manuscripts put much more emphasis on the Preface ("Vere Dignum") than the Sanctus, contrary to what one might expect.


Here is a translation for the above manuscript:


Even by the brief excerpts presented above, it is obvious that the Roman Canon is a most precious heirloom of the Catholic Church. I cannot help but think a most jarring change must have occurred when the Novus Ordo Mass was promulgated, since all of a sudden the Roman Canon de facto disappeared, to be replaced by the Second Eucharistic Prayer (which, tragically, so many priests chose because of its brevity). Increasingly, the notion is being challenged that such sweeping changes: (a) ended up bearing the desired fruit; and (b) were desired by a majority of Catholics. I think of the famous passage written in the 1950s by Bishop Charrière, who was bishop of Fribourg, Switzerland (the location where the Solemn Mass pictures were taken for the Campion Missal & Hymnal):

In one word, on this point as on the others, we realize that, from many sides, more or less substantial changes are requested from Rome. But those who are pleased with today's situation, those who do live the Liturgy as given by the Roman Church, are not complaining and do not say anything. Don't we also have to give large consideration to the majority who are content? Isn't their number as great, maybe greater, than the number of those who complain? We are being told of a desire, which then tends to become widespread, for a substantial modification of the Liturgy. What is really universal is the desire to see the faithful always participating in the Mass to a greater extent and to see the priests always living from their liturgical prayer. But as for how this better participation of the faithful and priests can be achieved, we do not believe that those who speak the more loudly, those who somehow impatiently keep asking for endless changes, do represent the majority. A general survey of all the bishops would perhaps let us know the thoughts of those who do not say anything but who are content to see the Liturgy kept in its present form.

Then, too, the wholesale abandonment of the Latin must have also been a great cross to many, as may be gleaned from this document quoted by Dom Alcuin Reid:

"We utterly repudiate the subversive efforts that are being made to discredit the use of the Latin Liturgy, a precious heritage . . . We strongly resent the implication that we and our children are not sufficiently intelligent to understand the simple Latin of the Mass . . ." — Manifesto of the Catholic Laity (1943)

I was quite moved and honored earlier today to receive a message from a liturgist whom I admire greatly. Having read the first three articles about the Campion Missal, he wrote, "No other resource that actually and fully implements Tra le Sollecitudini has been published in any part of the world, in any language until the Campion missal. It has taken 110 years exactly to create a resource that finally enables the principles of Pope St. Pius X to be implemented at the parish level."

Only time will tell if his analysis is correct, but what a Grace that would be! I do believe my Confirmation Saint, Pope Pius X, would be very much in support of this new publication for the laity containing full color reproductions of ancient manuscripts. In particular, I think Pope Pius would be pleased with the ancient Gregorian manuscripts, which (sadly) I did not have space to explore in this article. While still Cardinal Sarto, Pope Pius X even took took part in the "rebel" Gregorian Congress of Arezzo, which was all about restoring the ancient Gregorian codices!


To conclude, I would like to reiterate that the beautiful ancient manuscripts were a major inspiration to us, for reasons explained in the third installment of this series. In your charity, please consider helping us "spread the word" about this new publication. Thank you for your support and prayers!

     *  Campion Missal & Hymnal

Part 1 of this series can be found here.  Part 2 can be found here.  Part 3 can be found here.
↧
↧

Epiphany in Northern Italy

January 16, 2013, 9:00 am
$
0
0

As I recall, our last video presentation of the usus antiquior from a northern Italian setting was received with great interest, so I thought it might be of interest to share the following video from Rpiphany in Val Vigezzo, Italy, north of Milan and near the border with Switzerland. The celebrant was Don Alberto Secci.

↧

Paulus Institute EF Mass in Washington, DC, January 25th

January 16, 2013, 1:00 pm
$
0
0
MASS IN REMEMBRANCE AND FOR THE REPOSE OF THE SOUL OF NELLIE GRAY

St. Mary Mother of God Church

5th and H Sts. NW, Washington, DC,

Fri. Jan. 25, 8:00 a.m., the Day of the 2013 March for Life


The Paulus Institute, an association of the Catholic faithful dedicated to the propagation of the Sacred Liturgy, is pleased to sponsor a Mass in remembrance of Nellie Gray, the ardent prolife advocate and architect of the annual March for Life.

Fr. Alfred J. Harris, pastor of St. Mary’s, has graciously scheduled the Mass for the convenience of all who can attend. Fr. Harris celebrated Nellie’s Requiem Mass at St. Mary’s in the traditional form, a Missa Cantata, with Sean Cardinal O’Malley and Donald Cardinal Wuerl participating in choir.

The Mass will be in the extraordinary form (traditional Latin Mass), dear to Nellie’s heart. For years, she was a regular figure in the third row pew of St. Mary’s at the Sunday 9 a.m. traditional Mass. Recently, Nellie had desired a Mass for March participants to be arranged by The Paulus Institute at St. Mary’s.

The Mass will be that of the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, patron of The Paulus Institute, providentially occurring on the date of this year's March. The celebrant will be Fr. Gregory Pendergraft, F.S.S.P. St. Mary’s schola will sing the propers. A professional choir will sing a prelude of the Stanford "Beati Quorum Via" and Offertory Bruckner "Os Justi" and Communion "Justorum animae" by Saint-Saens. The ordinary will be the Rhineberger Mass in G.
↧

Cañizares: Consequences of "Wild Creativity" vs. Good Liturgical Formation

January 17, 2013, 5:00 am
$
0
0

The French language news agency I.Media ran a piece yesterday where it reports that Cardinal Antonio Maria Cañizares, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, commented on the "wild creativity" in the liturgy that was exhibited in parts of the Church following the Council, noting that it "exasperated" some and helped lead to the rupture of some of those like Archbishop Lefebvre. [...la “créativité sauvage“ de certaines expériences liturgique a “exaspéré“ une partie de l’Eglise et mené à la “rupture“ entre Rome et les fidèles de Mgr Marcel Lefebvre.]

The cardinal is reported to have commented on the importance of continuity within the context of liturgical reform.

The cardinal is also said to have commented that there is "no future for the Church and for humanity even without renewal of a liturgical sense" and that "the most urgent reform is liturgical formation, which strongly lacks and it shows." The cardinal added that "where the pastors and the faithful have a good liturgical formation, community vitality is stronger."

Asked about the liturgical sense of Pope Benedict XVI, including the recent revival of the papal fanon, Cardinal Cañizares is reported to have commented that the celebrations of the pope are a model to follow.

Read the original story (in French) here: La “créativité sauvage“ postconciliaire a provoqué la rupture avec les lefebvristes, assure le cardinal Cañizares.
↧

A Disappointment for Bishop Baraga

January 17, 2013, 9:00 am
$
0
0

I was delighted to hear the news, recently, that Bishop Frederic Irenaeus Baraga had recently been declared venerable by the Holy See, and that a possible miracle for his beatification was under investigation. Baraga, the Slovene "snowshoe priest" was an early missionary in the region of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and in addition to serving as first bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, also translated the Scriptures into Ojibway. I was just as exited to hear a new chapel for his tomb was planned for the handsome neo-Romanesque St. Peter's Cathedral in Marquette--until I saw the official renderings. I laud Bishop Sample of Marquette for proactively moving forward with a new devotional tomb space for the bishop (like any ecclesiastical project, no easy task today), but the design, while better than it might have been, still represents a lost opportunity.

In this day and age, amid a growing revival of traditional art and design, that what might become the tomb of an American saint--a rare breed indeed--would be designed in an uninteresting, anonymously neo-modern pseudo-traditional style is surprising. Perhaps I should be grateful for the traditional nods--stained glass, arches, stone walls--which the design includes. The problem is not that the design is searingly avant-garde, but that it is far too timid and inarticulate. The exterior does blend somewhat with the fabric of the existing church, but it does nothing to improve it. The interior, by contrast, is rather sterile, and features a skylight, a distinctly un-ecclesiastical element that, along with the tomb's unconventional placement along a side-axis, does the space no favors. The apparent lack of an altar also illustrates the continuation of a false dichotomy between private devotion and public liturgy. The detailing, while admittedly schematic at this stage, lacks the imagination necessary to elevate and give life to the space. While extensive ornament might not be possible from a budgetary perspective,there is still much more that could have been done within that comparatively simple framework.



On a happier note, our readers may enjoy this ink illustration I did of the venerable bishop some years ago as a commission for a priest from Michigan, who uses a variation of it as his bookplate--probably the only time Adirondack-style interior design has served as an inspiration for the detailing of a work of religious art!

↧
↧

New Spanish Canons, Gaudix, Spain

January 17, 2013, 1:00 pm
$
0
0

I know that we have a contingency of readers who are quite interested in canons as well as elements such as the vesture of canons, so I thought it was worth sharing the following photos from the Cathedral of Gaudix, Spain, which show five new canons who were recently appointed by the bishop of the same diocese, Mgr. Ginés García.

The ceremony involved the sung Divine Office and after the ceremony a local tradition took place which saw the new canons tossing coins to the gathered congregation -- apparently a gesture that was done in the past as an act of charity, but which today is kept mainly as a symbolic tradition, with donations instead being made to a charitable organization that helps the poor and needy.

Here are a couple of photos of the event.



The story came to our attention via Acción Litúrgica. (The photos and story were originally provided by Semana Santa de Baza.)
↧

More on Cardinal Cañizares

January 18, 2013, 5:00 am
$
0
0

Zenit has a little more on Cardinal Cañizares' recent comments around the liturgy, which we mentioned here yesterday, in this article: Vatican Preparing a Manual to Help Priests Celebrate Mass.

Here is a short excerpt:

The cardinal criticized the effort to make the Mass "entertaining" with certain songs -- instead of focusing on the mystery -- in an attempt to overcome "boredom" by transforming the Mass into a show.

He added that the Council did not speak of the priest celebrating Mass facing the people, that it stressed the importance of Christ on the altar, reflected in Benedict XVI's celebration of the Mass in the Sistine Chapel facing the altar. This does not exclude the priest facing the people, in particular during the reading of the word of God. He stressed the need of the notion of mystery, and particulars such as the altar facing East and the fact that the sacrificial sense of the Eucharist must not be lost.

Go over to Zenit to read the whole article which is fairly lengthy.
↧
Search

Beauty Communicates Something Beyond Words

January 18, 2013, 9:00 am
$
0
0

I was intrigued by the following passage written by St Augustine in which he talks of communication of truth beyond words. What he is describing is how the beauty of expression in a full integration of form and content adds something that words alone cannot say. As an expression rooted in love it is the fullest form of truth. He is talking specifically about music, but what he says applies just as much, it occurs to me, to sacred art and architecture. Their beauty speaks to us of something that words cannot say. The painting of a saint or of the key truths of a feast speaks to us through the harmonious relationships between its parts, by gesture and expression of figures portrayed, for example.

It occurs to me that this communication goes both ways. So not only is beautiful liturgy the fullest way of communicating in love our praise for God, when that beauty is integrated with it in liturgical music and art it is teaching us as we pray, at the deepest level, the truths that are contained within.

This is something that educators should note, I suggest. If what Augustine says it true, then the wisdom that is the goal of education  cannot be offered by book study alone but only by placing it in the context of a liturgical life for there is much to learn that is 'beyond words'. It is an argument, I suggest for putting a practical education in beauty, with participation in the liturgy as its foundation, at the core of everyone's education.

Here is St Augustine's quotation:

Will you ever, do you think, that you need know no fear of jarring on the perfect listener’s ear? This is the way of singing God gives you; do not search for words. You cannot express in words the sentiments which please God: so praise Him with your jubilant singing. This is fine praise of God, when you sing with jubilation. You ask, ‘What is singing with jubilation?’ It means to realize that words are not enough to espress what we are singing in our hearts. At the harvest, in the vineyard, whenever men must labour hard, they begin with songs whose words express their joy. But when their joy brims over and words are not enough, they abandon even this coherence and give themselves up to the sheer sound of singing. What is this jubilation, this exultant song? It is the melody that means that our hearts are bursting with feelings that words cannot express. And to whom does this jubilation most belong? Surely to God who is unutterable. And does not unutterable mean what cannot be uttered? If words will not come and you may not remain silent, what else can you do but let the melody soar? What else when the rejoicing heart has now words and the immensity of your joys will not be imprisoned in speech? What else but “sing out with jubilation”?’ (St Augustine, On Psalm 32, Sermon 1, 7-8 quoted in the Office of Readings for the Feast of St Cecilia, November 22nd)

↧

Before and After in Kansas City

January 21, 2013, 5:00 am
$
0
0

It has been awhile since we've featured one of our "Before and After" series, so I was pleased that the FSSP parish in Kansas City sent some photos our way.

For context I should note that the "before" images show the church as it was originally; namely, a Lutheran church built in 1949. Here it is:

BEFORE




AFTER



Some of the details may be difficult to see in these views, so here are a couple of closeups:


↧
↧

A Challenge for NLM Readers

January 21, 2013, 9:00 am
$
0
0

Claudio Salvucci is a name which will be familiar to our readers, particularly if you have taken an interest in our posts here on NLM regarding the liturgy within the context of the Native American missions.

Our friend Claudio is hoping to get some help from NLM readers:

NLM readers: I am looking for help identifying a mission Mass in the Abenaki language likely written in the 1700s, perhaps by Sebastian Rale, SJ or, more probably, one of his successors.

The propers for this Mass (Introit, Gradual, Alleluia, and Offertory) are shown below. The Introit melody seems to match that of the "Factus Est Dominus" of the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost. But it is structured more like a Votive Mass with variations for Paschal time: such as the added alleluias in the Introit, and an Alleluia taking the place of the Gradual.

Can anyone identify these chant melodies? There are two other Masses in this manuscript that I have already confirmed as the Requiem Mass and the Gaudeamus of All Saints.

I do not know Abenaki well enough to translate the text, but "Sangheman" is the equivalent of Latin "Dominus" if that helps.




↧

Ordo Militia Templi

January 21, 2013, 1:00 pm
$
0
0

Some liturgical images take on a certain iconic and timeless value by virtue of their setting. I often find this to be the case when looking at images of Masses within Romanesque settings in particular.

I mention this because I had a similar response to the following photo which was sent to us this past weekend from the Chiesa del Castello della Magione in Poggibonsi, Tuscany, which is associated with the Poor Knights of Christ (Militia Templi - Christi pauperum Militum Ordo)


It is not clear to me that this is a photo of a recent liturgical event, but I wanted to share it nonetheless.

↧

Dom Cassian Folsom: "The Great Divorce: An Attempt to Diagnose the Root Cause of Our Liturgical Ills"

January 22, 2013, 5:00 am
$
0
0

This past October we told our readers about a visit and talk given by Dom Cassian Folsom, OSB, to Wyoming Catholic College. In that post we reported on a lecture that he gave called, “The Great Divorce: An Attempt to Diagnose the Root Cause of Our Liturgical Ills.”

The lecture drew upon the work of Fr. Jonathan Robinson of the Toronto Oratory -- amongst others -- and argued that the root cause of defects in the liturgical reform, both shortly before and after the Council, was a false anthropology rooted in the Enlightenment which exaggerated rationality, particularly through verbal instruction, while neglecting the immense role played by the senses, the symbolic imagination, and memory, as well as the appetitive side of human nature.

We are pleased to report that this lecture is now available as a podcast off the website of the Monastero San Benedetto:

↧
Viewing all 8938 articles
Browse latest View live
Search