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Speakers for Sixth Fota International Liturgy Conference Announced

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“St Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy is pleased to announce that the sixth Fota International Liturgy Conference will be held at the Clarion Hotel, Lapp’s Quay, in Cork (Ireland) 6-8 July 2013.

The theme of Fota VI is: Sacrosanctum Concilium 1963-2013.

To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concuilium, FotaVI, drawing on a panel of international experts, will examine the historical and theological background to the Constitution, re-present its vision of the liturgy, and assess the application of that vision over the past fifty years.

The Panel of speakers includes:

Robert Abyneiko O Cist, (Rome);
Carmina Chapp (Philadelphia, USA);
Sven Conrad FSSP (Germany);
Prof. Robert Fastiggi (Detroit, USA);
Dom Paul Gunter OSB (Rome);
Prof. Dr.Manfred Hauke, (Lugano);
Prof. Dr. Helmut Hoping (Freiburg);
Padre Serafino Lanzetta F.I. (Florence);
Dr. Ralf van Bühren (Santa Croce, Rome).

The Conference will be chaired by Prof. D. Vincent Twomey SVD.

Further details will be released at a later date.

Compendium of the 1961 Revision of the Pontificale Romanum - Part 2.11: The Disciplinary Decrees of the Council of Trent (1595)

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As noted in parts 2.8 and 2.10, the translation of the relics of the Saints into the church is interrupted by an address of the bishop to the people, by the reading of two of the disciplinary decrees of the council of Trent, and by the address of the bishop to the founder of the church, who then replied to the bishop. The bishop’s exhortation to the people was given in English translation last week in part 2.10; the following are the two Tridentine decrees, one on the usurpation of ecclesiastical goods, another on the paying of tithes. After these are given the bishops address to the founder, and the rubric which follows it. All of these are suppressed in the revision of 1961.

The first decree, from Session XXI, 17 September 1562, On Reformation, Chapter 11 
If covetousness, the root of all evils, should so greatly possess any clerk or layman, preeminent by whatsoever dignity, even that of emperor or king, that he presume to convert unto his own use, and to usurp, by himself or by others, by force or fear excited, or even by means of any supposititious persons (i.e., persons falsely adduced as those properly entitled to the jurisdictions, goods, incomes etc., as stated below), whether lay or clerical, or by any artifice, or under any colorable pretext whatsoever, the jurisdictions, goods, incomes, and rights, even those held in fee or under lease, the fruits, emoluments, or any revenues whatsoever, belonging to any church, or to any benefice, whether secular or regular, mont-de-piété, or to any other pious places, which ought to be employed for the necessities of the ministers and the poor; or [presume] to hinder them from being received by those to whom they by right belong; let him be under an anathema, until he shall have entirely restored to the Church, and to the administrator or beneficiary thereof, the jurisdictions, goods, effects, rights, fruits, and revenues which he has seized upon, or in whatsoever manner they have come to him, even by way of gift from a supposititious person; and, until he shall, furthermore, have obtained absolution from the Roman Pontiff. But if he be the patron of the said church, he shall, besides the aforesaid penalties, be by the very act deprived of the right of patronage. And the clerk, who shall be the author of, or shall consent to, any wicked fraud and usurpation of this kind, shall be subjected to the same penalties; as also he shall be deprived of all benefices whatsoever, and be rendered incapable of any others whatsoever ; and even after entire satisfaction and absolution, he shall be suspended from the exercise of his orders, at the discretion of his ordinary.

The second decree, from Session XXV, 4 December 1563, On Reformation, Chapter 12
Those are not to be borne who, by various artifices, endeavor to withhold the tithes accruing to the churches; nor those who rashly take possession of, and apply to their own purpose, the tithes which ought to be paid by others; since the payment of tithes is due to God; and they who refuse to pay them, or hinder those who give them, usurp the property of others. The holy Synod therefore enjoins upon all, of whatsoever rank and condition they be, to whom the payment of tithes belongs, that they henceforth pay in full the tithes, to which they are bound in law, to the cathedral church, or to whatsoever other churches, or persons, they are lawfully due. And let those who either withhold them, or hinder them [from being paid], be excommunicated; nor be absolved from this crime, until full restitution has been made. [The Synod] further exhorts all and each, that of their Christian charity, and the duty owed to their own pastors, they grudge not, out of the good things bestowed on them by God, bountifully to assist those bishops and parish priests who preside over the poorer churches; to the praise of God, and to maintain the dignity of their own pastors who watch for them.

The bishop’s address to the founder
Know thou, dearly beloved brother, that the laws do not allow the consecration of churches without endowment and ministers. For even as marriage presupposes a dowry, so too are means needed for the support of the ministering clergy. We would therefore know, dearest brother, the number of priests and clerks, and the appointments thou purpose allowing them, and what endowment thou intendest to settle on the church. And that thou may understand what honor and advantages Holy Church confers on thyself and heirs, know that, in token of her gratitude towards founders, it has been decreed by the holy Fathers that, on the solemn anniversary of the day of dedication, the first place in processions is to be given to founders and their heirs; and should it happen that they come to want, the Church gives proof of her grateful remembrance of the founder’s pious liberality.

The rubric concerning the founder’s reply
The founder makes such reply to these questions as to him seems good; and a deed is drawn up, if the number of the clergy, the stipend, and endowment be sufficient. The Founder and the people then promise to fulfill the bishop’s injunctions. The bishop next tells them to pray for him who has built and endowed the church, for him who has petitioned for its consecration, and he assigns them a share in all the good works that shall there be performed.

The monument of Count Giacomo Arcucci, who founded the Charterhouse of St. James on the Italian island of Capri (then part of the Kingdom of Naples) in 1371. Above, his patron saint, the Apostle James the Greater; in the middle, the count holds the monastery church, still seen near the center of the island’s lower city. The inscription below records that the foundation and endowment were given in fulfillment of a vow after the birth of the count’s son, and that he encouraged the Queen of Naples, Joanna I of Anjou, to endow and protect the Carthusian Order. Like most Italian monasteries, it was suppressed, and its properties confiscated, in the Napoleonic era; this monument, originally placed in the Charterhouse in 1612, was transferred to the nearby church of St. Stephen in 1891. Part of the Charterhouse’s cloister is now used as a school, but most of the complex around it is empty and in ruins.

Laetare Sunday in Genoa, Italy

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We have shown you photos from the chapel of the Turchine nuns in Genoa, Italy before, celebrated by Don Massimo Moroncelli according to the Ordinary Form. Here are some photos from yesterday, March 10th, 2013, Laetare Sunday.














Here is a closer look at the paraments, including those of the altar.





Photo Credits: Ermanno Longo

LMS Mass in Westminster Cathedral for Election of a Pope

More from Laetare Sunday - In Houston, Texas

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A reader sends in some more Laetare Sunday photos, this time from the Houston apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. From what I can see of it in the photos, I quite like this shade of rose.




Here are some details.



Wounded by Beauty

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I was recently invited, after a kind endorsement by Shawn and at the invitation of editor Marcio Campos, to write an article on the aesthetic theology of the pontiff emeritus for La Gazeta de Povo, a Brazilian newspaper running a feature on his abdication. It appeared, I believe, next to or somewhere in the general vicinity of an interview with the famous Father Zuhlsdorf on Benedict XVI's liturgical legacy. Those of our readers who can understand Portuguese can find the translation here; the original English text I wrote, follows below, and is substantially the same as the printed Portuguese save for a few cuts for length. Many thanks to David Clayton to his timely excerpt on the subject which appeared earlier here and served as a useful inspiration, as well as to Nathaniel Peters, who also pointed out Benedict's writings on Nicholas Cabasilas to me.

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Wounded by Beauty: The Aesthetic Theology of Pope Benedict XVI

Some years ago, when I was studying architecture in Rome, we were all taken as a group to see Bernini’s marvelous altarpiece of The Ecstasy of St. Teresa. In it, the great Baroque sculptor presents in stone, stucco and gilt that mystical moment when the great Carmelite was pierced by a burning arrow of divine love. I, too, was pierced by the depth and beauty of the work. As I prepared to write this, my mind returned to that afternoon in the silvery semi-darkness of Santa Maria della Vittoria and the softly-lit milky marble face of the saint, after two friends pointed me to the same passage in Benedict XVI’s writings.

In the then-Cardinal Ratzinger’s work On the Way to Jesus Christ, he describes truth as being “struck by the arrow of beauty that wounds man: being touched by reality, ‘by the personal presence of Christ himself,’” quoting the words of the Greek theologian Nicholas Cabasilas. Contemporary man mistakes beauty for superficial glamour, something “skin-deep” as the old saying runs. When journalists comment on the pontiff’s theology of beauty, they focus on the externals—the silk brocade, the red shoes, the mitres—and mistaken them for prideful display.

But the pope is a quiet man of culture, an amateur pianist who enjoys Mozart and the company of cats, not a pompous self-promoter. The trappings of office are intimations of a deeper reality for Pope Benedict. For him, true beauty is something that goes deep, that pierces the human heart. This transcendent beauty encompasses the whole of the truth of Jesus Christ, both glory and suffering—the light of the resurrection and the darkness of Calvary. As with St. Teresa’s vision, there is both pleasure and pain in the touch of beauty as it opens us up to God.

Elsewhere, Benedict XVI has written that the “only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments, namely, the saints the Church has produced and the art which has grown in her womb.”  In an age which has lost the art of philosophical argument, this experience of beauty—in the sacrificial witness of the Christian life, and the physical beauty of art and architecture—allows us to bypass those defensive walls we have built up within ourselves against God. Benedict’s witness of beauty is thus an evangelical act, of preaching and outreach. Beauty is never merely about beauty.

On a more concrete level, Benedict’s love of art places beauty in the context of history, past and present. The elaborate papal rituals, the new legislation regarding the Tridentine Mass, and other acts which may seem archaic to non-Catholics and even many Catholics, are all attempts to place us in continuity with the Church’s two millenia of painting, sculpture, and music, all of which is intended to direct us to Christ. They represent not self-glorification, but a desire to merge with his office and become a pope at one with his predecessors. He does not want Joseph Ratzinger the man to distract anyone from Christ. It is for this reason that at many papal masses he has had placed on the altar a large crucifix, so both he and the faithful in attendance might look upon the same Christ and be pierced by the same ray of beauty that flows from Him.

While perhaps not the recipient of mystical visions, like Teresa Benedict XVI has been pierced by love and beauty. But as his abdication shows us, his heart has been pierced by many other arrows—sorrow, disunity, the burdens of the papacy, and the infirmities of age. There is beauty in the acceptance of such suffering as well, but let us pray for him as he enters into a much-deserved retirement where he will at last have time enough to pray, think, and even play a little Mozart on his piano.

The Papal Tailors

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I came across the following article in the New York Times by way of John Sonnen's blog. The article, When the Pope Is Chosen, His Tailors Will Be Ready, talks about the tradition of papal clothing and Gammarelli's in Rome.

Readers here will know as well as I do that there can often be a debate about "externals" within ecclesial circle. We here have often approached this question emphasizing the "both/and" nature of this and the evangelical power of beauty. The NYT writer adds another perspective to it:

Whether the new pope will turn out to be a sartorial minimalist is perhaps not the chief concern of a church in considerable turmoil. Yet given the increasing potency of image in an Instagram age, the new pope could do worse than to take a cue from the queen of England, another of the world’s enduring symbolic figures, and a woman who gives careful thought to her working wardrobe.

The New Pope and the Room of Tears


Quarant'Ore, London Oratory

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The London Oratory opened its annual Quarant'Ore devotions in London yesterday evening -- and of course, through the course of these 40 hours, the intention of the conclave in Rome are paramount I am told. Here are some photos of the event.




















Photo credits: Charles Cole

Election of Pope Francis I

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White smoke has risen from the Sistine Chapel. Habemus Papam. But who?


UPDATE

The Cardinal Deacon, Jean-Louis Tauran, has come out to announce the new pope.


"Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam. Eminentissimum ac reverendissimum Dominum..."

The new pope is Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio, SJ of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He has taken the name of Pope Francis. Here is our first sight of him (unofficially):
















Sandro Magister on the New Pope

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ROME, March 13, 2013 - By electing as pope at the fourth scrutiny the archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the conclave has made a move as surprising as it is brilliant.

Surprising for those - almost everyone - who had not noticed, during the preceding days, the effective appearance of his name in the conversations among the cardinals. His relatively advanced age, 76 years and three months, led him to be classified more among the great electors than among the possible elect.

In the conclave of 2005 the opposite had happened for him. Bergoglio was one of the most decisive supporters of the appointment of Joseph Ratzinger as pope. And instead he found himself voted for, against his own will, precisely by those who wanted to block the appointment of Benedict XVI.

The fact remains that both one and the other became pope. Bergoglio with the unprecedented name of Francis.

A name that reflects his humble life. Having become archbishop of Buenos Aires 1998, he left empty the sumptuous episcopal residence next to the cathedral. He went to live in an apartment a short distance away, together with another elderly bishop. In the evening he was the one who saw to the cooking. He rarely rode in cars, getting around by bus in the cassock of an ordinary priest.

But he is also a man who knows how to govern. With firmness and against the tide. He is a Jesuit - the first to have become pope - and during the terrible 1970's, when the dictatorship was raging and some of his confrères were ready to embrace the rifle and apply the lessons of Marx, he energetically opposed the tendency as provincial of the Society of Jesus in Argentina.

He has always carefully kept his distance from the Roman curia. It is certain that he will want it to be lean, clean, and loyal.

He is a pastor of sound doctrine and of concrete realism. To the Argentines reduced to hunger he has given much more than bread. He has urged them to pick the catechism back up again. That of the ten commandments and of the beatitudes. “This is the way of Jesus,” he would say. And one who follows Jesus understands that “trampling the dignity of a woman, of a man, of a child, of an elderly person is a grave sin that cries out to heaven,” and therefore decides to do it no more.

The simplicity of his vision makes itself felt in his holiness of life. With his few and simple first words as pope he immediately won over the crowd packed into St. Peter's Square. He had them pray in silence.

And he also had them pray for his predecessor, Benedict XVI, whom he did not call “pope,” but “bishop.”

The surprise is only beginning.

Source: Chiesa

Pope Francis and his Choice of Name

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I do ask our readers to forgive what seems like a self-promotion on something non-liturgical.  But there is much discussion in the secular and religious press about what what the new pope meant by his choice of his name Francis, especially as this reflects on his views on liturgy. Indeed, today I have gotten many e-messages and phone calls about our new pope's name. I have now spoken to, among others, The Times of London, Irish National Radio, etc., and, finally, I refused to appear on Pier Morgan Live this evening to talk about this topic. This notoriety is mostly because I published, some nine months ago a new biography of St. Francis, that was named one of the eleven "Favorite Books of 2012" of Newsweek, was subject to a (silly) review in The New Yorker, and given the "honorable mention" by the America Association of Publishers in the category "Biography and Autobiography for 2012." So now I am an expert on what the pope's choice of name means! Welcome to the world of the secular media! My own answer to what St. Francis's real teachings mean for liturgy, especially for his devotion to the Eucharist, and what our new Holy Father might learn from them, cam be found in the life of  St. Francis that I wrote for a popular audience while using the best historical principles in Francis of Assisi: A New Biography; Do not trust what you hear in the secular mass media. You may well hear abbreviated, "summarized," and "he said," versions of my understanding of the historical Francis in the press, radio, etc. Do not trust them, just read the book. And God bless our new pope!

St. Francis and the Liturgy

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With the election of the new pontiff and the selection of the name "Francis" there is the expected speculation as to what this name might signify. To be clear, I intend to offer no speculation on the question of what, if anything, the name might signify to the pontificate. That is not my purpose.

What is my purpose however is that with the name "Francis" at the forefront of our minds in these days, it reminded me of a couple of articles we have pursued here on St. Francis of Assisi, because many people often have a very stunted view of that saint -- one which seems to assume that the radical living of the gospel and poverty is somehow at odds with liturgical centrality, beauty and excellence. Nothing could be further from the truth!

With that in mind, I thought I would share these two articles we published over the past few years here.
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St. Francis and the Divine Office


When people think of St. Francis of Assisi, they typically do not think of the sacred liturgy. This is not because Francis was aliturgical or anti-liturgical of course, simply that this particular aspect of the saint's life has not penetrated into the popular piety which surrounds him. (That said, today if St. Francis is mentioned in relation to the sacred liturgy, it will likely be to defend or promote some kind of liturgical minimalism -- and one particularly popular film about his life could even leave some with the impression that he was a precursor to 20th century liturgical progressivism, but I digress.)

We have spoken of this co-opting of Francis just under a year ago, where his concern for beauty was noted by contrast. Recently, another quote came to my attention, this time commenting upon him in relation to the praying of the Divine Office.

In this as in all things Francis gave the most splendid example. He chanted the psalms with such interior recollection as if he beheld God present. Although he suffered from illness of his eyes, his stomach, his kidneys and his liver, he would not lean on anything while reciting the Office, but prayed in an upright position, with his hood thrown back, never allowing his eyes to wander, or interrupting in any way. If he happened to be on a journey, he would make a stop; if in the saddle, he would dismount. Even when the rain poured down upon him he would not depart from this custom.

Hilarin Felder, The Ideals of Saint Francis of Assisi, p. 402

Obviously this particular quotation comes from a modern author, rather than being a direct quotation from contemporary sources, but it is interesting nonetheless, giving us another lens in which to consider this saint.

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[The second article I wished to share -- an excerpt of an article in point of fact -- comes from our series on communities that use both forms of the Roman liturgy, this time of the Missionarii Franciscani Verbi Aeterni, or Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word -- who may be better known to many simply as the "MFVA" or "EWTN friars." In that piece I interviewed one of their number, and within that interview we touched on this matter of St. Francis and the liturgy. Here is what was said:]

You are Franciscans and sometimes the person of St. Francis is invoked in suggesting that our churches and the sacred liturgy should be done without beauty or magnificence. How would you respond to that suggestion?

Yes, that’s a very sad conclusion and suggestion people make a reference about St. Francis, the holy man of God who is passionately in love with Jesus Who is truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

The biographies of St. Francis relate that it grieved him when he found a church that was dirty. He would personally set about to clean it, gathering the clergy and instructing them on the cleanliness of the churches, altars and everything concerned with the celebration of the Mass (cf. Legend of Perugia #18; Mirror of Perfection #56).

St. Francis also had a great love toward the Blessed Sacrament and wanted his followers to provide the best for our dear Lord. “He wished at one time to send his brothers through the world with precious pyxes, so that wherever they should see the price of our redemption kept in an unbecoming manner, they should place It in the very best place…” (Thomas Celano. Second Life # 201)

St. Francis had a tremendous influence in bringing about a warmth of devotion and appreciation of beauty to our Catholic Faith. St. Clare, likewise, spent her final years in ill health making altar linens for all of the churches in the area.

In addition, following and observing the various liturgical laws and liturgical practices according to the mind of the Church is very much in harmony with the true Franciscan spirit. In fact, being in union with the Church is what St. Francis exhorted his followers to do. For some, this may not be considered “very important” topic. There is the principle of preferential option for the poor in social justice, but that does not mean we are to be ignorant of or not be concerned with the liturgy because the poor attend the liturgy as well (the poor in spirit and the poor in fact). They deserved to be fed with the riches of the Church. If we don’t provide them with a beautiful liturgy, then we are robbing the poor of what Jesus wants to enrich them with through the liturgy of the Church; instead, they would become more impoverished. In the old days, it was very typical that the poor themselves were the ones who built the church. They are the ones who sacrificed their time, materials, money, etc. The beauty of some of the older churches was because of the devotion of the poor whose faith was not dead.

Furthermore, St. Francis is truly a holy man of God who loves the Church and who wants his followers to love Her, to be obedient to Her, and to think with the mind of the Church. This is obvious from his own Later Rule. Therefore, everything in it has to be understood in that context. So celebrating the liturgy with devotion and with beauty according to the mind of the Church and the spirit of the Church is to do so according to the will of St. Francis who loves Jesus Crucified passionately because the mind of the Church is the mind of Christ.

The Importance of Reverence within the Sacred Liturgy

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By way of the Catholic News Agency yesterday: Reverent liturgy helps us encounter Christ.

La Garde-Freinet, France, Mar 13, 2013 / 04:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Celebrating the liturgy with reverence and beauty helps facilitate the encounter with Christ during the Mass, reflected a monk involved in organizing a conference on liturgy in Rome this summer.

“Our liturgical nourishment must be ample and in accord with the mind and tradition of the Church if we are to take our place in the world as witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Dom Alcuin Reid, a Benedictine monk speaking from France, told CNA March 8.

Dom Reid said the importance of “liturgical nourishment” is analogous the importance of bodily nutrition, noting how “we know how essential it is for children to receive the sufficient and correct nutrition if they are to grow into healthy adults.”

Dom Reid is assisting Bishop Dominique Rey of the Fréjus-Toulon diocese in organizing “Sacra Liturgia 2013,” a conference which will discuss the role of the liturgy as a foundation for the Church's mission, all in the context of the Year of Faith.

[...]

Thus, the celebration of the liturgy is central to our relationship with Christ. While “some see it as enough that these rites are celebrated validly and licitly,” Dom Reid said it is “hardly sufficient.”

“If we take seriously that fact that we are bodily, sensual creatures whose connection with Christ is by means of created signs...we will celebrate the liturgy as well as we possibly can so as to optimize our connection, as bodily and psychological creatures, with the person of Jesus Christ.”

Liturgy matters, Dom Reid said, because “that connection is the foundation of all evangelization.”

He offered two contrasting examples, showing how different ways of celebrating Mass can have “very different effects” on those attending. A priest whose manner of celebrating Mass suggests reverence, profound faith, and “awe for the mysteries celebrated” may “easily bridge the way for those assembled to encounter Christ.”

On the other hand, a priest who emits “a desire to be finished as soon as possible,” even though his Mass is licit and valid, will be “mitigating against...my optimal connection with the action of Christ,” at the level of human engagement.

“Where the liturgy is celebrated well, fully, making use of the multivalent riches of Catholic liturgical tradition, I am likely to be more engaged, better connected, with Christ,” Dom Reid concluded.

Read the entire article there.

Laudamus Te Magazine

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Please forgive me if this is old news to our readers, but I just wanted to put in a kind word for the good folks over at Laudamus Te Magazine. I first encountered them after their creative director, longtime colleague Ted Schluenderfritz, asked to use some of my line art for their Christmas and pre-Lent issues, along with some of his own work and that of Daniel Mitsui. (If I may be permitted to toot my own trumpet, the crucifixion above, which appears on the Lent edition's cover, is my own work.) So, you say, it has a nice cover, but what about the content? Laudamus Te aims to be to the Extraordinary Form what the wonderful little misalette Magnificat is to its Ordinary equivalent--quite a tall order. But virtually ex nihilo and on a shoestring, Hillside Education has delivered. Not only are there the mass texts and propers (carefully purged of typographic errors that creep into hand-missals), but original meditations, readings from the Fathers, poetry, and the texts for Morning and Evening Prayer--and the original art mentioned before. It is also quite handsome for an essentially ephemeral publication in terms of design, layout and quality. It is representative of something tremendously exciting--the ability to do something new with and for the Extraordinary Form, rather than just relying on the same photocopied leaflets and recycled line art that we've been making do with for more than twenty years. They need all the support, help, donations and subscriptions they can get, so please, have a look over at their website and think about signing up.

Compendium of the 1961 Revision of the Pontificale Romanum - Part 2.12: The Anointing of the Altar and Consecration Crosses (1595)

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The bishop imposes and blesses incense as at Mass, and incenses the mensa of the altar, passing the thurible in a cross over the same five places where he has previously made crosses with the Gregorian water, and in the same order: first in the middle, then the upper left, lower right, lower left, and upper right. He then imposes and blesses incense again, and intones the following responsory. (Although so named in the Pontifical, it is really a gradual, the same also sung on the 19th Sunday after Pentecost and the Ember Saturday of Lent. I will refer to it later by its first word in Latin, Dirigatur.)
Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
As the choir chants it, the bishop incenses the altar three times, going around it from right to left, or if it is attached to the wall, incensing first the right side, then the left. Having finished the third turn, he hands it over to a priest vested in a surplice, who from the floor (in plano), incenses the altar continually with single swings, walking around it counter-clockwise. This priest incenses the altar in this manner whenever the bishop is not using the thurible himself.

The bishop now intones the following antiphon; it is completed by the choir, who sing it with psalm 83 Quam dilecta, without Gloria Patri at the end. (This is the sixth antiphon of Matins of the Dedication of a Church.)
Jacob raised up a stone as a title, pouring oil from above.
While these are sung, he anoints the altar with the oil of the Catechumens in the same five places where he had previously made crosses with the Gregorian water, and has incensed just before this, in the same order. At each cross he says:
Let this stone be sancti + fied and conse + crated. In the name of the + Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy + Spirit, unto the honor of God, and of the glorious Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints, and to the name and memory of Saint N. Peace be to thee.
(This formula is similar to one used with the Gregorian water, but slightly re-ordered, with the addition of “and consecrated.”) As with the earlier anointing of the sepulcher, the bishop makes two crosses with the oil in each place, one at the word “sancti + fied”, and a second at the word “conse + crated.” He then makes the sign of the Cross three times with his hand over each place at the words “In the name of the Father etc.”
An illustration from a 1595 edition of the Pontifical, showing the anointing of the altar. (Permission to use this image has been very kindly given by the Pitts Theological Library, Candler School of Theology at Emory University.)

The priest who has been in the meantime incensing the altar brings the thurible to the bishop, who imposes and blesses incense as before, then intones the responsory Dirigatur a second time. The choir repeats it, while the bishop incenses the altar as before, this time going around it only once. Returning the thurible to the priest (who resumes incensing), he stands before the altar and says with the ministers, “Oremus. Flectamus genua. Levate.”, and the following prayer.
May the ineffable tenderness of Thy mercy be present, o Lord, and pour Thou forth upon this stone the aid of Thy + blessing (he makes the sign of the Cross; likewise in the following prayers), so that of Thy bounty, whoever offereth here his prayer may take away his reward. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
The bishop intones another antiphon; it is completed by the choir, who sing it with psalm 91 Bonum est confiteri Domino, without Gloria Patri at the end.
Jacob rising in the morning, set up a stone for a title, pouring oil from above; he made a vow to the Lord, saying, ‘Truly this place is holy, and I knew it not.’
As these are sung, he repeats the anointing of the altar with the oil of the Catechumens exactly as before. The priest then brings the thurible to the bishop, who imposes and blesses incense again, and intones the responsory Dirigatur a third time. The choir repeats it, while the bishop incenses the altar as before, again going around it only once. Returning the thurible to the priest (who resumes incensing), he stands before the altar and says with the ministers, “Oremus. Flectamus genua. Levate.”, and the following two prayers.
Be present, o Lord, at the dedication of this Thy table, and upon it, that has been anointed by us unworthy with holy oil, pour forth the power and consecration of Thy + blessing and sancti + fication. Who livest and reignest God, for ever and ever. R. Amen.

Almighty and everlasting God, sanctify this altar, which we unworthy consecrate to Thy honor, and to the memory of Thy Saint N., by the power of Thy + blessing, and to all who here call upon Thee, and hope in Thee, show forth the gift of Thy aid; that the gifts placed on this altar may ever find acceptance of Thy condescension, the Sacraments their power, and each prayer its effect. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
The bishop intones another antiphon; it is completed by the choir, who sing it with psalm 44 Eructavit cor meum, without Gloria Patri at the end.
God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness, above thy fellows.
As these are sung, he repeats the anointing of the altar exactly as before, but with the Holy Chrism, rather than the oil of the Catechumens. The priest then brings the thurible to the bishop, who imposes and blesses incense again, then intones the responsory Dirigatur a fourth time. The choir repeats it, while the bishop incenses the altar as before, going around it only once, and from left to right, rather than right to left. (As with the external aspersion of the church, the bishop incenses the altar twice counter-clockwise, and once clockwise, in the same manner as the incensation during the Offertory of the Mass.) Returning the thurible to the priest (who resumes incensing), he stands before the altar and says with the ministers, “Oremus. Flectamus genua. Levate.”, and the following prayer.
Let Thy Holy Spirit descend upon this altar, we beseech Thee, o Lord, our God; that He may sanctify the gifts of ourselves and of Thy people upon it, and graciously cleanse the hearts of those that receive (them.) Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
The bishop intones another antiphon; it is completed by the choir, who sing it with psalm 45 Deus noster refugium et virtus, without Gloria Patri at the end. (In the Office of a Dedication, it is sung with the Magnificat at first Vespers.)
The Lord hath sanctified his tabernacle, for this is the house of God, in which His named shall be invoked; of which it is written: And my name shall be there, sayeth the Lord.
As these are sung, he pours both the oil of the Catechumens and the Chrism together on the middle of the altar in a straight line from the epistle side to the gospel side, then rubs the holy oils over the entire surface of the altar with his right hand, saying nothing. After cleaning his hands, the bishop intones the following antiphon; it is completed by the choir, who sing it with psalm 86 Fundamenta ejus, without Gloria Patri at the end, and without repeating the antiphon.
Behold the odor of my son, like the odor of a plentiful field that the Lord hath blessed. May my God make thy increase like the sand of the sea, and give thee blessing from the dew of heaven. (Genesis 27, 27-28; 28, 3; 32, 12)
After this the bishop says:
Dearest brethren, let us pray that our Lord may bless and consecrate this stone, on which the oil of sacred unction is poured, to receive the prayers and sacrifices of His people, and may that which has been anointed by us, be anointed in His name; that He may receive the prayers of the people, and that we ourselves, in placing on this altar, made perfect by holy unction, the propitiation of holy (sacrifices), may deserve to become propitiators of God. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with him and the Holy Spirit etc.
The bishop intones another antiphon; it is completed by the choir, who sing it with psalm 147 Lauda, Jerusalem, Dominum, with Gloria Patri at the end. The choir continues with two responsories from the series which are sung in the Divine Office during the third week after Easter. (The former is not used in the Roman Rite, but may be found in the Cistercian and Premonstratensian Breviaries, among others.)
Ant. All thy walls are precious stones, and the towers of Jerusalem shall be built with gems.

R.
This is that great and heavenly Jerusalem, adorned as the spouse of the Lamb. * Because she hath become a tabernacle, alleluia. V. Her gates shall not be closed by day, for there shall be no night in her. Because she hath become a tabernacle, alleluia.

R. Thy streets, o Jerusalem, shall be paved with pure gold, alleluia, and in thee shall be sung the song of joy, alleluia. * And through all thy ways shall be said by all, alleluia, alleluia. V. Thou shalt shine with splendid light, and all the ends of the earth shall adore thee. And through all thy ways shall be said by all, alleluia, alleluia.
While these are sung, the bishop goes to the first of twelve crosses on the walls of the church. These may be painted, or made of marble or metal, and fixed to the walls, about seven to eight feet off the ground; above or below each cross is fixed a bracket for a single candle. These crosses are set with two on either side of the main altar, two on either side of the main door, and four on either wall, as evenly spaced as possible. Starting with the cross closest to the Gospel side of the altar, the bishop ascends a movable platform made for this purpose, together with the deacon and subdeacon. The bishop anoints each cross with the Chrism, saying:
Let this temple be sancti + fied and conse + crated. In the name of the + Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy + Spirit, unto the honor of God, and of the glorious Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints, and to the name and memory of Saint N. Peace be to thee.
(This is the same formula used for the anointing of the altar, with the word ‘temple’ in place of ‘stone’.) As with the earlier anointings, the bishop makes two crosses with the oil in each place, one at the word ‘sancti + fied’, and a second at the word ‘conse + crated.’ He then makes the sign of the Cross with his hand three times over it at the words “In the name of the Father etc.” He descends from the platform, which is moved to the next cross; he then imposes incense in a thurible and blesses it as at Mass, and incenses the cross three times, bowing to it before and after. This is repeated at each of the other crosses, moving down the church from altar to door on the Gospel side, and again down the church from altar to door on the Epistle side, adding incense to the thurible when necessary.

The bishop returns to the altar, where the priest who has in the meantime been continually incensing it brings him his thurible. Incense is imposed and blessed again by the bishop, who then intones the following antiphon, which is completed by the choir without a psalm.
Moses built an altar to the Lord God, offering upon it burnt offerings; and slaying victims, he made an evening sacrifice, unto the odor of sweetness to the Lord God, in the sight of the children of Israel.
He then says:
Dearest brethren, let us humbly implore the mercy of God the Father almighty, that besought by the ministry of our voice, He may sanctify with the present + blessing this altar that is to be imbued with spiritual sacrifices, and that He may ever deign to + bless and sancti + fy the offerings of His servants laid upon it, made in the zeal of holy devotion; and being appeased by the spiritual incense, most readily be present to hear the prayer of His family. Through Christ our Lord R. Amen.
The Church of the Holy Cross in Krakow. Two of the consecration crosses can be seen; one in the lower left next to the door of the pulpit, the other on the right, incorporated into the painted decorations of the arch.

Some Liturgical Thoughts for the NLM Following the Election of Pope Francis

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I am receiving lots of email in the past day or two asking me, "what are your thoughts of the new pope?", "what did you think of that balcony appearance?", "what about that first Mass?", etc. For that reason, I felt I should comment here, and hopefully I will have something of merit and value to offer you -- though let me be clear that, as a liturgy focused blog, my intent is to solely limit my considerations to the domain of the sacred liturgy.

First point: I really haven't enough information on the liturgical thought and practice of the new pope to possibly offer any informed thoughts -- so I won't comment upon that.

There are some things that I can comment upon though.

Regarding some of the vestural choices we've seen so far that people are asking about, I wouldn't care to deny that these may well send some signals about a possible direction. (The fact that such things can and often do carry 'messages' also is demonstrative of why externals certainly shouldn't be considered unimportant or inconsequential incidentally, but I digress.) Certainly we know Pope Benedict's choices did; that was made abundantly clear by Msgr. Guido Marini. At the same time, as regards Pope Francis I wouldn't care to jump to any conclusion at this point. All one can do is wait and watch and keep things in their proper perspective. At the end of the day, while I quite like some of the extra-liturgical trappings of the papal office that Benedict restored, and certainly would be glad if this were to continue, my own primary concern is with regard to the sacred liturgy proper. Of higher priority to me is that we would continue to hear the liturgical propers chanted and restored to their proper place within the liturgy; that we would see noble vestments employed (which can have various manifestations let's remember), pontificals used, proper liturgical orientation fostered, etc. I would hope that we would continue to receive good liturgical catechesis and so on. (I've already gone through my "wish list" in another post.)

However, let's hit the point that many are no doubt thinking: what if the new pope doesn't do these things? What if his "personal liturgical style" is such that the propers are not chanted, the vestments simple but not noble, pontificals are abandoned and the approach to the liturgy is overall quite "loose" by comparison? (Let me just say for the record that the idea of a "personal liturgical style" is inherently problematic since the liturgy is no one's personal possession to alter and shape at whim or will -- not even a pope's. One cannot imagine such a thing occurring within an Eastern liturgical context for example. The divine liturgy is simply the divine liturgy and they are formed to it and by it, not the other way around. This is true from a patriarch on down. This is appropriate and is the model to follow.)

Back to the question many are no doubt asking, I want to be honest that the reality is that this could indeed happen. Some or even all of these things might be dropped. The "Benedictine arrangement" might disappear from the papal liturgies. The vestments used in the papal liturgies might become simple (not an issue in its own right I'd note) but also arguably less noble. The propers could be replaced by hymns and so on. This could happen and I think anyone who is rational has always known that this could happen -- and in fact, I would say if we were really honest with ourselves, you'd actually have to say it was fairly likely. I've said it before and I'll say it again: cultures, including liturgical cultures, simply do not change overnight -- and we are by no means out of that post-conciliar liturgical culture. So why be shocked by such a potentiality? Is it happening now? It's simply too early to tell. Wait and watch as I say.

Someone might say, "but if that happens, aren't we supposed to look to the papal liturgies as models to follow?" I'd point out here an important distinction. We aren't liturgical positivists whereby whatever a pope, any pope, does liturgically must be followed or seen as the exemplar. Pope Benedict's liturgies were indeed identified as exemplars in the recent past but that was not because it was the pope's liturgy that it was an exemplar; rather it was an exemplar because they were liturgies celebrated according to sound liturgical principles. It is the principles that matter and we should keep that always closely in mind.

But back to our scenario, even if that is what is happening (which we don't yet know I'd continue to stress), what would that mean? This brings me to the crux of what I really want to say, which is in reality entirely separate from the questions people are asking me, having nothing whatever to do with this pope or any other.

I have said over the years that I believe Benedict XVI understood this point about the need not simply for legislation, but rather for a renewed liturgical formation and a change in liturgical culture; for there to be lasting effects you first need to change hearts and minds. Benedict knew of this cultural issue only too well (and no doubt perceived the very potentiality which we are discussing here now) and that is precisely why he sowed the particular seeds that he did I think; seeds which were planted by his liturgical teaching, his liturgical example, and by the liturgical doors he opened (such as with the Ordinariate and Summorum Pontificum for example). Doors which remain open I'd remind people -- and which really aren't that easy to close pastorally speaking.

Benedict, while the "father of the new liturgical movement" (in my estimation at any rate), is not the new liturgical movement; as such the new liturgical movement does not die with the end of his papacy. No, the new liturgical movement is not based on a person or personality; the new liturgical movement set in motion by him is just that: it is a movement and one based on liturgical first principles. That movement continues to exist now and, as it always has been, is mainly operative at the grassroots level amongst laymen and women, amongst seminarians and amongst the clergy -- especially the younger clergy. While I wouldn't care to deny that it is certainly helpful when the pope is himself bearing the standard of this new liturgical movement, it is not a make or break point at the end of the day -- and for that reason, as interesting as it will be to see how the papal liturgies unfold over the next years, more crucial will be what is happening on the ground at the parish level for it is ultimately there where the new liturgical movement is based at this stage of its life; there and in the writings and researches put forward by the liturgical conferences we have spoken about, the books and periodicals that are put out, etc. As it was in the 20th century Liturgical Movement, so too again now.

In this regard I can only offer my encouragement that you forge on with the movement that was seeded and fathered by Pope Benedict XVI but which was always destined to have to outlive his own particular papacy, not to mention many others. Take courage in that reality and realize that we could never expect this to be simply handed to us from on high (a source of frustration for some even under the last pontificate). Tools were given as we still have those tools; now we need to utilize them and from them draw out further gains and progress. All of the tools and gains we have seen, from the new English translation of the modern Roman missal, to Summorum Pontificum and the Ordinariate, to all of the grassroots resources that have sprung up to help people learn to sing the propers again and so on, none of these things have ceased to exist; nor have they become redundant. Far from it. Our task is clear: like a gardener we must now tend to the garden, watering and fertilizing those those seeds and tending to the green shoots. Let's focus on the tasks at hand.

To end on a lighter note, I've noticed this internet meme for some while on the internet and perhaps a picture really is worth a thousand words and this get across what I am basically trying to say here:

Video of Sculptor Andrew Wilson Smith

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Here is small video of sculptor Andrew Wilson Smith who is currently working at Clear Creek monastery. I enjoyed seeing him work and the hints we got of the process by which he actually works. I also enjoyed the views of the monastery. I would have loved to have seen a little of more of him working and little less of the human interest aspects (such as scenes of him wet shaving), but that's just me I guess. I wrote a piece, here, last year about his methods and his work at the monastery. He had described this to me over the phone, but I found it interesting to seem him doing it on film.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBe5ALQTYUI&feature=youtu.be

Compendium of the 1961 Revision of the Pontificale Romanum - Part 2.13: The Anointing of the Altar and Consecration Crosses (1961)

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In the revision of 1961, the traditional order of the anointing of the altar and that of the consecration crosses (described in the previous article in this series) is reversed. The blessing of the door, previously done immediately before the relics were brought into the church, is moved to the middle of the anointing of the consecration crosses.

The anointing of the crosses is given a new rubrical title, “The Consecration of the Church.” As before, the bishop begins with the cross closest to the Gospel side of the altar, anointing each in turn with Chrism. The formula of the anointing is changed so that only one cross is made at the place noted below; no crosses are made with the hand, and the words given here in italics are omitted. The ministers now add “Amen” at the end.
Let this temple be sanctified and consecrated. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit, unto the honor of God, and of the glorious Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints, and to the name and memory of Saint N.Peace be to thee.R. Amen.
The bishop then incenses each cross three times, as before, and moves to the next one. The candle in the bracket beneath the cross (or above it) is then lit; in the previous version, the candles are lit from the very beginning of the ceremony. On reaching the door, the bishop signs it with Chrism once, saying:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. Door, be thou blessed, sanctified, consecrated, sealed, and given over to the Lord God; be thou the entrance of salvation and peace; be thou the door of peace, through Him, who called Himself the door, Jesus Christ our Lord, who with the Father etc. (italics omitted from the previous version. The door was formerly anointed three times, once at the naming of each person of the Holy Trinity.)
The bishop resumes the anointing of the consecration crosses, continuing from the door to the altar up the Epistle side of the church; previously, the last six crosses were done starting from the Epistle side of the altar, and moving to the door.
H.E. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz anoints one of the consecration crosses during the dedication of the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary. Photo © 2010 F.S.S.P. www.fssp.org
Meanwhile, the choir sings the same chants as in the previous version. The antiphon “All thy walls” is no longer intoned by the bishop; it is now sung after every two or three verses of psalm 147, and Gloria Patri is no longer said at the end. A new rubric provides that the Vesper hymn of the Dedication of a Church Caelestis urbs Jerusalem may also be sung.

After the twelfth cross, the bishop comes to the altar, and says the following prayer, which was formerly said before he began to consecrate the sepulcher. The prayer itself is unchanged, but is now preceded by “Dominus vobiscum”; the bishop now says it with his hands closed, and facing the people in the nave.
O God, who of Thy clemency and kindness art present in every part of Thy dominion to dedicate it, hear us, we beseech Thee, and grant that henceforth, the building of this place remain inviolable: and may the society of all the faithful, which Thee imploreth, merit to receive the benefit of Thy favor. (short conclusion.)
He now anoints the altar with the Holy Chrism, in the usual five places, first the middle, then the upper left, lower right, lower left and upper right. The formula of the anointing is changed so that only one cross is made at the place noted below; no crosses are made with the hand, and the words given here in italics are omitted. Where the word “stone” was said in the previous version, the revised version has “altar”; the word “sealed” is a new addition. The ministers now add “Amen” at the end.
Let this altar be sealed, sanctified and consecrated. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit, unto the honor of God, and of the glorious Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints, and to the name and memory of Saint N.Peace be to thee.R. Amen.
The bishop then anoints the front of the altar, and the four corners where the mensa meets its supports. In the Pontifical of 1595, these are anointed at the end of the ceremony, with accompanying chants and prayers, all of which are now suppressed. (These will be described in a later article.) At each point, the bishop says “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.”, anointing once, where he previously anointed three times, once at the naming of each person of the Holy Trinity.
H.E. Bishop James Timlin anoints one of the side altars during the dedication of the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary. Photo © 2010 F.S.S.P. www.fssp.org
During the anointing of the altar, the choir sings the following antiphon, and repeats it after every two verses of psalm 44, from which it is taken, without Gloria Patri at the end. It is no longer intoned by the bishop.
God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness, above thy fellows.
The incensation of the five crosses on the mensa is suppressed.
The four incensations of the altar by the bishop, formerly interspersed between the various anointings of the mensa, are all suppressed.
The responsory Dirigatur which accompanied them all four times is suppressed.
The prayers said after them are suppressed.
The two anointings of the crosses on the mensa with the oil of the Catechumens are suppressed.
The spreading of the oil of the Catechumens and the Holy Chrism together over the mensa is suppressed.
All the antiphons and psalms which accompanied them are suppressed.
The continual incensation of the altar by a priest while the bishop anoints the altar is suppressed.
The exhortation said before the blessing of the consecration crosses is suppressed.
The final incensation, and the antiphon which accompanies it, (“Moses built an altar”), are suppressed. The prayer said immediately after it is moved towards the end of the service, and slightly altered, as will be described in an upcoming article.

Early Irish Christian Architecture & Design (NLM Reprint)

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[In recognition of the feast day of the apostle of the Irish people, St. Patrick, I thought it might be fitting to reprint this article originally published on the NLM, March 1, 2008]

Catholic Ireland has a proud and long history and it is perhaps one that we fail to give enough consideration to when thinking of our tradition. We think of Italy of course, France and mediaeval England, the Christian East, Bavarian Germany, Spain and so on but early mediaeval Ireland seems to get lost in great part in our circles.

Early Irish monasticism is usually associated with its rigour and has been known to be compared to the tradition of the Egyptian Desert Fathers. (For those interested in looking more at this, the Cistercian Studies imprint has a book titled, The Celtic Monk which documents a number of early Irish monastic rules.)

Associated with this is much extant Irish monastic art and architecture. Now, in Ireland one can also find the gothic ruins of mediaeval Cistercian monasteries that are quite typical of elsewhere in Northern Europe, and likewise many a mediaeval parish church with its lofty spire. But there also exists this stream of early mediaeval Irish art and architecture which is quite distinctive from those mediaeval Cistercian ruins with their stone round towers, their lofty high crosses, their solid stone construction and their unique proportions. One of my favourite examples of this is that of St. Kevin's in Glendalough, wonderfully nestled in the midst of one of the many green valleys of the Emerald Isle:


Here is what the Catholic Encyclopedia has to say about St. Kevin and Glendalough:

St. Kevin (Coemgen)

Abbot of Glendalough, Ireland, b. about 498, the date being very obscure... He was baptized by St. Cronan and educated by St. Petroc, a Briton. From his twelfth year he studied under monks, and eventually embraced the monastic state. Subsequently he founded the famous monastery of Glendalough (the Valley of the Two Lakes), the parent of several other monastic foundations. [...] Glendalough became an episcopal see, but is now incorporated with Dublin. St. Kevin's house and St. Kevin's bed of rock are still to be seen: and the Seven Churches of Glendalough have for centuries been visited by pilgrims.


Clonmacnoise

Another famed ancient monastic foundation in Irish history is that of Clonmacnoise. A few images.


(The "Nun's Church". Do take note of the carving on the doors.)




Monasterboice






Durrow



Durrow is also the home a manuscript which is not as well known perhaps as the Book of Kells or Lindisfarne Gospels, but which is impressive; the Book of Durrow. In the manuscript tradition as well do we find some other distinctive aspects to first millenium Irish art, with the use of interweaving knotwork and what perhaps some might consider an iconographic like portrayal of figures.








Kells

Clearly the most reknowned product of early Irish Christianity is the Book of Kells:



Some close-up details of this significant manuscript:




It seems to me there an interesting aspect of our ecclesiastical tradition to be appreciated here.
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