Compendium of the 1961 Revision of the Pontificale Romanum - Part 13: The Blessing of a Reliquary (1595 & 1961)

August 9, 2013, 7:20 am

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The blessing of reliquaries begins with the versicles “Our help is in the name of the Lord.” and the following exhortation.

Let us pray, dearly beloved, God the Father almighty, that He who created all things in great goodness through His only-begotten Son in the power of the Holy Spirit, may deign to mercifully pour out upon us, though we are unworthy, the dew of his grace, for the consecration of these vessels prepared for the keeping of the relics of His Saints.

This is followed by the long conclusion, (“Through the same our Lord…”), which segues into the preface dialogue, and the following preface.

Truly it is fitting and just… eternal God, God inestimable and ineffable, God of mercies and of all consolation. Who commanded Thy servant Moses to build an ark of incorruptible woods, according to the model which Thou didst show him on the mountain, and enclose it in purest gold, in which the golden urn filled with heavenly manna, with the tables of the covenant written by the finger of Thy majesty, might be preserved as a witness under future generations. And in our age, Thou hast made manifest these same things that they might be understood in a more sacred manner, since Thou has filled with all the fullness of divinity the body of Thy only Son, conceived of the incorrupt Virgin by the work of the Holy Spirit, and made to live by a rational soul.
We humbly implore Thee, almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named; that Thou deign to imbue with Thy heavenly + blessing these vessels prepared for the pledges of thy Saints, as the same Saints intercede for us. And so may those that seek their patronage merit through their intercession to overcome, by Thy aid, all adversity, and merit also to find by the abundance of Thy bounty all things convenient and profitable.
* And as they, o Lord, by Thy inspiration, have been able to guard against the subtleties of spiritual wickednesses, and not only to despise, but also, since Christ the Lord did strengthen them, entirely to overcome the exquisite torments devised by men: so to those that venerate their merits, and humbly embrace their relics, being conciliated by the prayers of the same Thy saints, propitiously stretch Thou forth the right hand of Thy invincible power, against the devil and his angels, against lightnings and tempests, against hail, and various plagues, against foul air, and pestilences of men and beasts, against thieves and robbers, and the incursion of (enemy) nations, against savage beasts, and all the divers forms of serpents and reptiles, against the wicked inventions of bad men; to drive away what is hurtful, and always and everywhere to bestow what is profitable. *

This preface is printed without music; it ends with the long conclusion, which is said in a low voice. The bishop then says “The Lord be with you,” and the following prayer.

Let us pray. Lord God almighty, * who, that Thou might restrain the murmuring of the mad people, and prove that the priesthood of Aaron was pleasing to thee, didst make his withered rod to bud and produce fruit-bearing flowers; and didst command it to be laid up in the ark of the covenant, for a sign of Thy power, and Who to us also hast shown, by the same presage, that Christ, who was withered on the altar of the Cross, bloometh afresh by His resurrection on the third day, and in this latter time through His death beareth fruit day and night in the raising up of the Church; we ask Thee, O most indulgent provider of the human race, * (we humbly beseech Thee) that Thou wouldst so sanctify, with Thy freely-given grace, these vessels prepared to receive Thy Saints; so that wheresoever they shall be carried forth in Thy name, Thou may drive away and annul all things adverse, through the interceding merits of them that dwell within, and multiply and preserve all things useful; so that Thy faithful may, through the greatness, or rather the universality of Thy kindnesses, rejoice that in a small portion of their relics, they have obtain the entire bodies of Thy Saints (i.e. the fruit of the final resurrection), and through the temporal places devoted to their prayers, be enlived with greater confidence to take possession with them of eternal joys. (long conclusion)

He then sprinkles the reliquary with holy water.

In the revision of 1961, the first prayer, (“Let us pray, dearly beloved...”) is suppressed , and the second prayer (“Lord God almighty, who, that Thou might restrain...”) is moved into its place. The words noted within this prayer between the red stars are omitted. The words in parenthesis (“suppliciter exoramus - we humbly beseech Thee”) are added. Within the preface, the words noted between the red stars are omitted. The Sign of the Cross is not made at the words “heavenly blessing.” The preface is set to music; it ends with the long conclusion, which is sung as part of it, rather than said in a low voice. The bishop then sprinkles the reliquary with holy water.

A silver reliquary of the 6th century from the Italian city of Grado, believed to be one of the oldest reliquaries in existence.

10,000!

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Some Perspective on the Election of Francis

August 9, 2013, 7:51 am

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The sudden wave of press attention to this website, and to the supposed disgruntlement of "traditionalists" with Pope Francis -- and how the press would love to drive a wedge between the issues that concern us and the seeming universal love being shown to the new Pope! -- has set off an interesting round of commentary on the election itself.

Those of us who post on liturgical sites such as this one tend to be rather focussed on liturgy. This sounds obvious, and it is. But the observation has large implications for how we tend to evaluate the current moment in the life of the Church.

Any exclusive focus on one subject tends to do this. When I watch Papal Masses, for example, I am mainly interested in whether the choir is singing the Gradual and the Offertory antiphon, whether they sing the Psalm in the Psalm-tone mode or use the authentic verse, the treatment of the salicus in the manuscripts, and other arcane matters such as this.

I'm the first to admit that this is a wildly distorted perspective (not to mention ridiculously geeky), though wholly defensible for reasons I'll explain in a bit.

For musicians and people interested in liturgy, it is always a bit humbling to remember that our focus tends not to be shared by the Bishops and certainly Cardinal electors. It might come as a surprise to consider that most of the electors gathered for the papal election this year were not thinking about liturgical reform, about the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Roman Rite, about the status of priestly orders attached to the old ritual, about the problems of pop music at Mass.

Indeed, you can look back at the sweep of history and observe that liturgical and musical matters have only been at the forefront sporadically in the history of the Church.

I think back to the first Vatican Council, for example, and its main concerns. It was all about the loss of the Papal states and the rise of democracy in Europe. How would the Church be able to protect and extend its influence in an age where there was universal consensus for religious liberty? The management habits of 1,000 years of Roman rule were in serious upheaval.

The status of the liturgy much less the music were not even on the radar -- even though the liturgical books were already in serious need of restoration and the liturgical movement was rising all over Europe and even in the U.S. somewhat. That agenda that had then consumed many liturgically minded intellectuals and musicians had to wait to be realized many decades later.

Or think back further to the Council of Trent. Liturgical reform played a part but it was one issue in an overall plan of counterreformation strategy. The question of liturgical music was an afterthought, and seriously botched after the Council's close.

And this is again true even if you look at the Second Vatican Council, which pushed liturgy up to the front of issues to be addressed alongside issues of religious freedom, cultural upheaval, technology, war and peace, and much else. When the Council did speak on liturgical matters, there were missteps in presentation and a lack of clarity on crucial issues, due mainly to a lack of planning, focus, and consensus. Permission for the introduction of the vernacular was introduced but in a way that boarded on the irresponsible; there were no plans in place for how this would be handled -- and this was arguably a catastrophic oversight.

As soon as the Council closed, the problems became obvious and many years and decades of confusion over liturgy ensued, with grave consequences. Here we are fifty years later and only now gaining some clarity on this subject.

So, let us put ourselves in the position of the Cardinal electors in 2013. What was the larger context? In my lifetime, there had never been a greater public-relations problem for the Church. For the previous ten years, the world press had free reign to trash, slander, detract, and calumny the Catholic Church and therefore the faith and there was no end in sight.

In the United States, as a result of court orders and legislation, parish life has been transformed. We've become bureaucratized to the point that even volunteers need background checks and must take tests on diocesan websites. Priests themselves have developed the habit of standing two feet away from everyone for fear of finding themselves embroiled in accusations of abuse.

I can recall these days well. It was very painful for all us, so much so that Catholics would tend just to avert our eyes. Our non-believing and protestant friends would confront us and ask what we think about the sexual scandals, and we were often alarmed to discover that they were much more informed on the details. They were watching the news, even as Catholics tended to turn the channel.

These were extremely difficult times. I was thrilled at what was taking place liturgically under Benedict XVI. At the same time, for those of us who have this concern at the top of our minds, we tended to overlook larger problems, or just pretend that they weren't happening.

For example, some of my priest friends who took great pride in their vocation quietly stopped wearing clerics when shopping at the store or going on travels. Many young people just stopped attending Mass; they were just too embarrassed over the bad press. Many Catholics just felt a profound sense of demoralization, and it only became worse with every revelation, every court decision, every defrocking, arrest, disclosure. And it never seemed to stop, year after year.

The painful of these times had nothing to do with liturgy. The pain resulted from decades of poor management, the continuing fallout from the years of confusion, a press corps that smelled blood in the water, and juries and governments that couldn't pass up the chance to loot and smear the Catholic Church.

How much did this weigh on the Cardinal electors as they considered the papal election? It must have been gigantically important in their minds.

Fr. Ruff at PrayTell makes the compelling point:

Then as now, liturgy was probably not the main question on the minds of the cardinal electors. It’s probably hard for Pray Tell readers to fathom, but some cardinals no doubt find the Vatican Bank scandal and Vatileaks to be more pressing questions than what style of chausible and crosier the celebrant uses and whether it’s EP1 in Latin or EP2 in vernacular. The cardinals didn’t vote out Benedict’s liturgical views and vote in simplicity (and tackiness) – at least not directly.... The cardinals had to sense, as we all did, that the Catholic Church had a massive worldwide PR problem, that the Roman curia was the laughingstock of the world and the butt of late-night comedians’ jokes. The Vatican seemed pathetically unable to respond to scandals, to speak to the modern world with credibility.

Fr. Ruff goes too far in some ways, but it remains true that the electors saw a desperate need for a new form of evangelization for the faith, someone who would shake things up and present an appealing friendliness the whole of the world, someone who could well manage the serious and desperate need for the Church to have a new image in the world - an image of openness and change.

In other words, the election had nothing at all to do with liturgy and everything to do with reversing the meltdown caused by other factors that had nothing to do with Benedict's papacy at all.

And it is absolutely true -- even if some of us who are somewhat less than exuberant about the liturgical style of Pope Francis -- that this papacy has truly done wonders for the image of Catholics around the world. I have friends of mine who know absolutely nothing about the faith and Catholicism generally who just think this new Pope is fantastic. They were happy in the week following his election and remain so today.

It is just undeniable that this makes me happy in some ways. I sometimes want to correct them and say: "actually, his predecessor was a great Pope," but I also know full well that the people who are praising Pope Francis intend no commentary on his predecessor. They only intend to express their glee at the present present, and, truly, that is a wonderful thing.

The press's love affair with Pope Francis might be driven by all the wrong considerations and fueled by ridiculous hopes, but, even given that, it simply cannot be a bad thing that he is so widely beloved. Maybe the problems of the last ten years (and I'm the first to admit that I've been in a kind of state of denial about how serious the problems have been and what a toll they have taken) are starting to go away. Maybe this evangelization is starting to take effect. Lord knows we need it.

Where does this leave those of us who are so interested in and intense about liturgical matters? It means that we have greater responsibilities than ever. There is no chasm separating the liturgy and evangelization. In many ways, they can be and truly are the same cause.

My mind often drifts back to the age of St. Pius X, and his mighty efforts to reform the liturgy. His efforts were 50 years in arriving, and then soon after, the world broke out into ghastly war. The liturgical movement to which his papacy gave life persisted and thrived and worked hard to realize the dream. That is what we are called to do.

What might seem to others to be a maniacal obsession and ridiculously geeky concern (liturgy) is actually very important for the life of the Church. Those of us who have been granted or consciously adopted this special concern also have an obligation to carry through -- not with a need for unrelenting pats on the back from the Vatican as if we are dependent and insecure children but rather with a determination and confidence that sustains itself based on the value of truth and beauty.

Eleven Things You Might Not Know about a Minister’s Life

August 9, 2013, 8:42 am

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This article is written to pertain to all types of ministers but every word pertains to your parish priest.

Mosaic of St Lawrence from Ravenna

August 10, 2013, 3:02 am

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This Day, the Tenth Day of August: At Rome, on the Tiburtine road, the birthday of the blessed archdeacon Lawrence, a martyr during the persecution of Valerian. After much suffering from imprisonment, from scourging with whips set with iron or lead, from hot metal plates, he at last completed his martyrdom by being slowly consumed on an iron instrument made in the form of a gridiron. His body was buried by blessed Hippolytus and the priest Justin in the cemetery of Cyriaca, in the Veran field (from the Roman Martyrology).

This mosaic depiction of a toga-clad St Lawrence standing next to the gridiron, holding the Gospel in one hand and the victorious Cross of Christ, king of martyrs, in the other dates to c.424. It is in the mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy. Recent scholarship suggests this may in fact be a depiction of St Vincent of Saragossa but the attribution to St Lawrence is traditional.

Pontifical Mass at the Oxford Oratory

August 10, 2013, 9:14 am

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Archbishop Longley of Birmingham visited the Oxford Oratory last Sunday to celebrate Mass. Metropolitan Kallistos Ware of Diokleia was also present on the sanctuary. After Mass Archbishop Longley invited the Metropolitan to join him in the blessing of the new building which provides additional accommodation for the community, new Parish Rooms and a library. In his sermon, the Archbishop made reference to the new Oratorian Parish in York:

Our Mass today affords me the first public opportunity to thank the Oratory Fathers for their generous response to the invitation to establish a new house in York, under the patronage of St Wilfrid. We shall pray for the founding members of this community as they serve their new parishioners and the pilgrims who visit the Shrine of St Margaret Clitherow.

The full text of the sermon and more photographs are available here. (Photos: Elizabeth Nyikos)

The Basilica of San Zeno in Verona

August 11, 2013, 5:19 am

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The Basilica of San Zeno in Verona is an extraordinarily beautiful church which I recently had the pleasure of visiting. Saint Zeno, who was born in Africa, was one of the earliest Bishops of Verona and converted the whole town to Christianity. The Basilica, which houses his relics, dates from the 10th/11th centuries and is one of the most perfect examples of Romanesque architecture in Northern Italy. The façade, of alternating tufa stone and bricks, is dominated by Brioloto’s Wheel of Fortune, a large engraved rose window. Stairs lead down to the Crypt which contains Saint Zeno’s remains, beneath the upper church.

Statues of Christ and the Apostles stand on the parapet of the upper church:

Detail of the carving on the pillars of the crypt:

The view from the crypt looking up into the nave:

Mantegna’s famous altarpiece was stolen by Napoleon in 1797. It was returned some years later, missing the predella which was replaced with copies of the originals by Caliari. The original scenes, The Prayer in the Garden of Olives, The Crucifixion and The Resurrection now reside in the Louvre and the Museum of Tours.

At a side altar is Torbido's altarpiece, a Madonna with Child among St Anne, St Zeno, St Sebastian and St Christopher:

This statue, known as the laughing or smiling San Zeno, dates from the 13th century. It is also known as the Fishing San Zeno:

The 14th century cloister:

San Zeno is known in particular for its beautiful frescoes from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries which adorn the walls of the basilica:

Many of the frescoes have been inscribed with graffiti, much of it referring to historical events such as earthquakes and floods lest they be forgotten. This one, of Saint Benigno and Saint Caro transporting Saint Zeno’s body, has the date 1390 inscribed, referring to the seizure of Verona on 29 June that year:

The frescoes which form part of altar pieces are free of graffiti, presumably spared out of respect. Those higher up the walls and safely out of reach are also intact, such as these two, of the Madonna and Child and St George and the Dragon which date from the 15th century:

If you are ever near Verona, do visit, it's spectacular. (Photos: Charles Cole)

Cardinal Burke celebrates Mass in St Louis, Missouri

August 12, 2013, 6:22 am

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Cardinal Burke visited the Oratory of SS Gregory & Augustine in St Louis, Missouri yesterday to celebrate Mass and bless a new statue of the Sacred Heart. The Oratory was canonically established on the First Sunday of Advent, 2 December 2007 by Cardinal Burke when he was Archbishop of St. Louis. It is a non-territorial parish of the Archdiocese of St. Louis which celebrates all the Church’s Sacraments in their extraordinary form for the pastoral good of the faithful according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. The parish was entrusted to the the pastoral care of the Benedictine Monks of St. Louis Abbey and Father Bede Price, OSB was appointed Rector of the Oratory. Further pictures are available at the Parish website.

Giving Life and Energy to Benedict's Liturgical Legacy

August 12, 2013, 6:33 am

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I further fleshed out some thoughts I first posted here, in this piece for Crisis Magazine today.

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Review: Ad Completorium - Compiled by Steven van Roode

August 12, 2013, 9:00 am

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As many of you know, the situation for liturgical books concerning the sung office in the Ordinary Form is somewhat complicated and difficult. Not all of them are even published yet! Not to mention the size of the books are usually on the larger end of the spectrum.

However, with Steven van Roode's new resource, Ad Completorium, one can easily sing compline (night prayer) according to the official liturgical books in Latin. Compline is a wonderful office to begin with, since it is on a weekly cycle, it's shorter, and almost never changes for the feast day, giving it an ease that is good for beginners to the office. It also makes a great introduction to the office in latin, if you are already praying with the English editions of the Liturgy of the Hours, as it is very easy to draw parallels between the english and latin, and to feel more comfortable with it, since Compline is on a weekly cycle, instead of 4 week cycle.

It opens with the Ordinary section, providing musical notation for every text spoken in the liturgy, encouraging it to be sung, which I find very desirable. He even goes so far as to notate the confiteor, so that it is clear that it be sung (for those not as familiar with it), even though this step could certainly be seen as unnecessary, but is a great way to encourage the sung liturgy, even if parts are sung recto-tono, which in some cases, is actually the norm many times, such as parts in the minor offices.

Interestingly, even the rubrics were in Latin, allowing this book to be used in a multi-lingual parish context, or even outside the English-speaking world.

As I was flipping though it, I found that every single text (in Latin) needed to sing Compline at any time of year or any feast is found inside. It contains all of the Marian antiphons, all of the responsories for holy week, and all of the psalm verses pointed for easy singing. The book itself is printed in red and black, making it very easy to read with the red rubrics and other characters in red.

Lastly, in the back, the psalm tones are listed, along with the tones for the readings and collects. I was also pleased to see 6 pages of the hymns, containing all of the various tones and texts needed throughout the year, including several tones for Te lucis ante términum, Christe, qui, splendor et dies, and others.

You may recognize Steven as the typesetter of Bartlett's Simple English Propers, as well as the Lumen Christi Missal, which means you'll get the same high quality, beautiful typesetting. I'm a big fan to Steven's typesetting style, especially his attention to small detail, as you can see in some small details below. To be honest, I can't put my finger on exactly what he does, but whatever it is, it looks good.

For those wishing to take a closer look, check out this PDF preview of a few selected pages to give you a feel for the quality of the book.

This book can be purchased here for $12.94.

Good work Steven!

The Beauty of Holiness: An Appreciation of the Campion Missal

August 12, 2013, 12:20 pm

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Among my favorite verses from Saint Paul is this, in the Epistle to the Philippians:

Brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil 4:8). 

Unlike worldly men who think, speak, and act more or less as they please (to the extent that they can get away with it), Christians are supposed to live conscientiously in the sight of their heavenly Master, thinking on Him and how to please Him. Instead of thinking on what is ugly, clumsy, vile, ignoble, or vicious, they should train their minds to true doctrine, honorable principles, just deeds, pure affections, lovely and gracious ideas, images, and words. In short, they are to strive for praiseworthy excellence in all things—and that striving should, of course, extend especially to everything connected with the sacred liturgy, the very “source and summit” of the Christian life. Here, we do not, we cannot, settle for what is mediocre, slipshod, superficial, profane, or unworthy of the temple of God; we aim at the beautiful, the holy, the finely made and nobly done, as much as lies in our tradition and in our power.

These words in Philippians bring to mind a statement in Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: 

Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom 12:2)

“Good and acceptable and perfect.” Is this our program for liturgical life, for sacred music, books, vestments, vessels, furnishings, architecture? Do we seek that which is good because it has the requisite qualities of holiness, artistry, and universality? That which is acceptable to the Lord because it accords with the traditions, teachings, and laws He has given us? That which is as perfect as we can make it, because it shares in that litany of attributes related in Philippians?

A comparison of the Campion Missal (Solemn Mass section) and a popular daily missal

It is such thoughts as these, together with a compelling sense of good news that must be shouted from the rooftops, that prompt me to share with the readers of NLM my personal reaction to the Saint Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal. I say “personal reaction” because I do not intend to offer a standard review; the content and layout of the Campion Missal have already been reviewed and discussed in a number of excellent articles, which may be found gathered here. 

My intention is to praise this book as a book that, to an unusual degree, embodies exactly what Saint Paul says to the Philippians and the Romans—to such an extent, indeed, that it should grace the shelf of every Catholic layman, deacon, priest, and bishop, and fill the pews of every church and chapel privileged with at least the Sunday celebration of the traditional Latin Mass. I would add that no Catholic bookstore or gift shop should fail to stock this book.

Why are the reviews gushing with superlatives, exclamations, and imperatives for acquisition? Why all this enthusiasm, this (as it were) sober inebriation? After all, a book is just a book, one might think, and there are several missals already in print for the usus antiquior. What makes the Campion Missal special?

A comparison of the Campion Missal (Low Mass section) and the familiar red booklet

Let me try to say this as simply as possible: this book is a magnificent book. It is stunningly beautiful. It contains all the texts of the Mass for Sundays and Holy Days, well translated, handsomely typeset, tastefully ornamented, and lavishly illustrated. It is a treasure-trove of all that is most true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious in the Roman Rite; from the first to the last page, it is a manual of liturgical, spiritual, and theological excellence, speaking and singing of mysteries and mercies and majesty, of all that is ultimately and eternally worthy of praise. And as a result, it causes one to think about these things—to ponder them long, with joy and wonder, with fear and trembling, with inward peace and consolation, with a spirit of reverence and adoration. Its greatest glory, one might say, is precisely that it humbly helps along that process of the Christian’s transformation by the renewal of his mind, turning it again and again to heavenly realities. It could have been called the Epiphany or Theophany Missal, so well does it open up vistas of meditation and prompt one to prayer.

In a world of video games and movies, sexual utilitarianism, flashy advertising and journalistic manipulation, people have a hard time understanding beauty pure and simple—beauty as a gift from God, to be welcomed and rejoiced in as part of our prayer of praise and thanksgiving to Him. The traditional Mass and sacramental rites and Divine Office are full of a transcendent spiritual beauty that brings deep joy and peace to a receptive soul, but obviously not without the participation of the body at every stage. It is precisely the aesthetic dimension, the sensuous appeal, that first captivates the mind and stirs the heart, leading the worshiper from shadows and images to mystery and truth, and back again, in an upward spiral. The external beauty of the traditional liturgy serves an evangelistic and catechetical role even as it prepares the way for a more profound internal experience of the Lord. The external and the internal are in harmony, as body and soul are created to be.

The Campion Missal layout for the Propers of the Mass: here, Palm Sunday

Because man has both a soul and a body, it is important that the entire experience of worship be dignified, well-ordered, and beautiful, as befits its inner nature. By providing in a single book all that is or could be needed for Sunday and Holy Day Masses—the Order of the Mass, the Propers of the day, a complete Kyriale, and a generous selection of hymns—the Campion Missal facilitates a full and fruitful participation in the Mass, both interiorly (which is the most important kind of participation) and exteriorly, in all the ways called for by Holy Mother Church, in keeping with the teaching of Pope Saint Pius X and all of his successors.

The care for beauty in the Campion Missal extends to the smallest detail, and, far from being old-fashioned, has an adventurous side as well: Corpus Christi Watershed commissioned Kevin Allen, one of our most gifted composers of sacred music, to contribute several new hymn tunes for the book. Exquisitely crafted and eminently singable, with noble lyrics truly worthy of the liturgy, these new hymns stand as worthy heirs of the English hymn tradition brought to its peak by the likes of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst almost a century ago.

(A digression on hymns: if any reader is wondering whether the Campion Missal has enough hymns in it, this would be my response. There are 151 hymns in the book—a generous number in the context of the Extraordinary Form, where hymn-singing, though it finds a legitimate place, does not have nearly the prominence it does in many Ordinary Form situations. Nevertheless, to focus on the quantity of hymns is to miss a crucially important point. Like the Campion Missal’s chief editor Jeffrey Ostrowski, I have in my personal library a large collection of traditional hymnals from the 19th century to the present, and I have found, in scanning their pages, that it is rare indeed to find a hymnal from which a discerning music director could make use of even 50% of the pieces included. The rest are just too painfully sentimental or musically inept or textually vapid or all of the above. The genius of Ostrowski is that, drawing upon his good taste as a musician and his sound theology as a traditional Catholic, he has brought together 151 of the choicest hymns—the most singable and beloved, as well as lesser known or new hymns with soaring melodies and profound texts. Whereas most hymnals are like a flea market of good, bad, and indifferent, an Ostrowski hymnal is like a satchel of precious and semiprecious stones: every item is beautiful and apt for its purpose. Hence, I would rather have the 151 choiceworthy hymns of the Campion Missal and sing every single one, than sift through 400 hymns of wildly variable musical and textual quality in hopes that I can find enough to satisfy.)

from the Low Mass section

As I draw to a close, I am afraid that my words will be inadequate for those who have not yet held and viewed and prayed with the Campion Missal and totally unnecessary for those who have already seen it with their eyes and taken it to heart. All that I can do is express my amazement that such a book has been created and published in our day and age, when so much of the print world seems to be vanishing into the internet, and so much that remains in print has declined desperately and pathetically in quality. Whoever owns the Campion Missal will find it a princely book, a golden measure for what can be done when human talent throws itself passionately into the glories of the sacred liturgy, for the glory of God. I predict that it will become a cherished, even necessary companion to every Catholic who uses it to pray the traditional Mass.

To read more about the Campion Missal, for more photographs, and for information on placing orders, go here.

A postscript: the Campion Missal is now in its second edition. The first edition had a very colorful cover and florid graphics in the center section. The second edition, while mostly the same, has a more “classic” look to it: the cover is a subdued slate gray, the Solemn Mass section more restrained and easier to follow. A handy ribbon has been added and a few typos were corrected. However, the pagination and contents of both editions are IDENTICAL in all other respects, so they are entirely compatible.

Why Chant Can Sound Spooky

August 12, 2013, 2:36 pm

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The online chant academy will cover the minor modes tomorrow night. Sign up here. (Imagine that we now have the technology to teach chant to the whole world in real time. Takes your breath away. What the monks of the past would have done with this!)

Assumption Day Masses

August 12, 2013, 5:05 pm

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For the second year, Fr. Christian Saenz, SJ, will offer a solemn high Mass at historic and beautiful Gesu church in downtown Miami. The deacon for the Mass will be Fr. Rhone Lillard, FSSP, and subdeacon Mr. Daniel Heenan, FSSP. The Mass is at 7:30 p.m. The Schola Cantorum of Sts. Francis and Clare will sing for the Mass.

An introduction to the Traditional Latin Mass will proceed the Mass at 7:00 p.m. and will be given by Fr. Joseph Fishwick, chaplain emeritus of the Latin Mass Community in Miami. The Mass will be followed by a social in the hall downstairs, hosted by the young adults of the Latin Mass Community. All are cordially invited to the Mass and social.

As there are many such beautiful Masses coming up on Thursday, feel free to let others know about celebrations in your area in the combox on this post. Please include a link to a more official event page if available.  

Candlelight Procession, West Virginia

August 13, 2013, 5:52 am

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What the Cardinal Electors Heard Before the Conclave

August 13, 2013, 6:57 am

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Sandro Magister has interesting information about the last meditation heard before the conclave, as spoken by Prosper Grech. The focus is precisely what I suggested in my Crisis article yesterday. The problem is the loss of reputation of the Catholic faith and the solution is a new path on evangelization.

An excerpt:

It is another thing when what is said about us is the truth, as has happened in many of the accusations of pedophilia. Then we must humble ourselves before God and men, and seek to uproot the evil at all costs, as did, to his great regret, Benedict XVI. And only in this way can we regain credibility before the world and give an example of sincerity. Today many people do not arrive at believing in Christ because his face is obscured or hidden behind an institution that lacks transparency. But if recently we have wept over many unpleasant events that have befallen clergy and laity, even in the pontifical household, we must consider that these evils, as great as they may be, if compared with certain evils in the history of the Church are nothing but a cold. And just as these have been overcome with God's help, so also the present crisis will be overcome. Even a cold needs to be taken care of well to keep it from turning into pneumonia.

EF Nuptial Mass

August 13, 2013, 3:50 pm

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On Saturday, July 13, 2013, Charles and Lauren Yost were married at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Des Moines, Iowa. Monsignor Frank Chiodo celebrated a Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Diocesan priests, Rev. Guthrie Dolan and recently-ordained Rev. Adam Westphal, served as deacon and sub-deacon, respectively. The Mass was quite beautiful and was supplemented by an 8-member schola.

St. Anthony’s is the only church in the Diocese of Des Moines which celebrates a Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Each Sunday at 8:30am a Missa Cantata is celebrated in the crypt.
Here are some photos provided by a faithful NLM reader.

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Catholicism in the Netherlands

August 13, 2013, 5:49 pm

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Fr. Anthony Ruff found himself at the Church of St. Dominic. Here is his description of the Mass:

No Penitential Act, Gloria, or Collect. No first reading, responsorial psalm, second reading, Alleluia, or Gospel. Rather: song, prayer by female prayer leader, song repeated; welcome talk by another woman; song; a man read from Dorothee Sölle; homily by another woman; song; and on to the collection with piano intermezzo. Uh, no Nicene Creed. Then a table prayer with sung elements (no Sanctus) led by seven people (5 women, 2 men, none vested), and sharing of the bread and wine. Then general intercessions, blessing, and song. Coffee served at the platform.

As it turns out, this parish is in schism but no one informed him of that in advance and he would not have known if he had not pressed the issue. Reading this gave me a sense of relief but I'm not sure how much one should feel, given that no one thought much about whether the parish was or was not in schism and also given the statistics on Mass attendance. "Fifty years ago, over 40% of Dutch people were Roman Catholic. The figure is now below 17% and will soon be below 10%. About 1% of the entire population attends Catholic liturgy on Sunday."

My thought when reading his post was as follows. There are no controlled experiments in social science, but, in seeking an explanation for this catastrophe, my mind first turned to the serious and devastating problems that ensue to any community or nation or civilization from ritual upheaval and revolution. It creates no end to problems and unleashes unpredictable destabilization on any society. That is surely not the whole explanation but any theory that does not point to liturgical revolution as bearing some responsibility is not telling the whole story.

A Pontifical Baptism in the Extraordinary Form

August 13, 2013, 6:00 pm

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St. Josaphat's Church in Detroit (now called Mother of Divine Mercy Parish due to a parish merger) held an extremely rare event this past July 28th, a Pontifical Baptism in the Extraordinary Form. The celebrant was Bishop Francis Reiss, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit. You can see more photographs of the ceremony at the parish website. Thanks to Mr. Christopher Din for sending us the link. (Images of another such event from more than three years ago can be seen here at Orbis Catholicus.)

How A Search for High Quality Paint Brushes Created Chinese Characters that Portray the Gospel

August 13, 2013, 7:36 pm

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Here's an unusual story. First of all  a tip for anyone looking for brushes for icon painting. I was looking for a source for good cheap brushes to use with egg tempera. The usual recommendation is Kalinsky sable. These are very expensive watercolour brushes and made from sable hair (a sable is a Russian marten). If you use brushes for watercolour they will last a lifetime, but if you use them for egg tempera they quickly degrade because the paint is quite abrasive, made from pigment - which is effectively coloured grit - and egg yolk, diluted with water. This can become expensive quite quickly. I discovered that Chinese painting brushes are an excellent but much cheaper alternative. They are made to come to a point for use with calligraphy and hold a large amount of paint, so are perfect for painting in egg tempera. I get my brushes from an online supplier called Good Characters, here. 

Another side of their business is doing a consultancy for people doing business in China - they develop company logos that will speak to the Chinese and give the right impression. As a regular customer, and as part of a promotion for this Andy Chuang who runs the company in California asked me if I wanted him to create a Chinese character for me. I thought about it and suggested this:

First of all the statement from Lao Tsu: ‘Man’s standards are conditioned by those of Earth, the standard of Earth by those of Heaven, the standard of Heaven by that of the Way [Tao] and the standard of the Way is that of its own intrinsic nature.’ (from Tao Te Ching, XXV (6th century BC)

Then I asked that this be juxtaposed with the scriptural quote: ‘I am the Way’ Jesus Christ, (John 14:6)

I thought maybe it would help evangelise China. Doaism has belief in heaven which is a non-material, spiritual place, but is an impersonal, empty heaven with no God. I thought that maybe putting these together might lead them to accept Christ as the fullness of what is believed. 

Andy was very happy to oblige and sent me the following. First the Lao Tsu

and then from John's gospel

then he sent me a Chinese screen image into which I could insert them. My techie skills aren't up to it but I thought I would show it in case any readers want to make use of it. (I should also say that I cannot read a word of Chinese, so I am taking it on good faith that this what they say!)

Then he gave me the same script but in a more artistic arrangement of the letters:

and from the gospel:

So I encourage readers to share these to things together and spread the gospel in China. For once we wouldn't mind if Beijing was hacking this site!

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist on NPR (This is so moving!)

August 14, 2013, 6:00 am

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Fascinating story on NPR on the newest chant CD:

See You in Saint Paul in October!

August 14, 2013, 7:29 am

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The countdown to the registration deadline has begun for "The Renewal of Sacred Music and the Liturgy in the Catholic Church: Movements Old and New," a conference hosted by the CMAA in Saint Paul October 13-15, 2013.

www.musicasacra.com/st-agnes

From the website:

The conference seeks to explore, through critical analysis, former and present efforts to revive the Church’s sacred liturgy and music, particularly as exemplified by Msgr. Schuler’s work. Questions central to the conference theme include:

– Which efforts have resulted in a true restoration of the Church’s liturgy and sacred music?

– Upon which principles has authentic liturgical and musical renewal operated in the past?

– Which reform actions have had deleterious effects on sacred music and the liturgy?

Here are just some of the paper topics and recitals lined up for the conference:

• “The Twentieth-Century Liturgical Movement and American Church Architecture” – Matthew Alderman

• “Louis Bouyer and the Pauline Reform: Great Expectations Dashed” – Dr. John Pepino

• “Twentieth-Century Reform and the Transition from a ‘Parallel’ to a ‘Sequential’ Liturgical Model: Implications for the Inherited Choral Repertoire and Future Liturgical Compositions” – Dr. Jared Ostermann

• “The Effect of 2007 Motu Proprio on Sacred Music and the Liturgy” – Dr. Edward Schaefer
  

• “Singing ‘the Living Voice of the Liturgy’: The Liturgical Movement and Music in the United States, 1940–1960” – Fr. Robert Johansen

• “Joseph Bonnet, Animateur of Gregorian Chant Congresses” – Dr. Susan Treacy
  

• “Mariology and the Motet in the Early Seventeenth Century: The Marian Motet Cycle of Juan de Esquivel” – Dr. Michael O’Connor

•  “Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, Evelyn Waugh, Flannery O’Connor, and the Reforms of the Liturgy of the Roman Rite” – Devin Jones

•  “How Firm a Foundation: Hints from Blessed John Henry Newman and the Tractarians in Contemporary Catholic Liturgical Reform” – Dr. David Paul Deavel

• “Reginald Mills Silby: The Westminster Connection” – Dr. Kevin Vogt
  

• “Cum Angelis Canere: To Sing with the Angels, or A Farm Boy Learns to Sing Mozart” – Fr. Michael Miller

• “Factum est silentium in caelo: The Silence of Sound in the Heavenly Liturgy and the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy” – Nathan Knutson
  

• “Cantate Domino Canticum Novum - Renewing the Faith through Devotional Music – A Recital for Organ and Voice with music by Leisentritt, Campra, Rheinberger, and Langlais” - Dr. Cecilia Nam, soprano and Dr. Horst Buchholz, organ

   

• “The Celebration of Sorrow in the Roman Rite” – Fr. Eric Andersen

The conference will include the celebration of vespers (featuring Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore) and Missae Cantatae at the Cathedral of Saint Paul and Church of Saint Agnes, featuring an orchestral Mass (Paukenmesse by Franz Joseph Haydn), classical works for organ, chanted Gregorian propers, and a modern polyphonic setting of the Mass ordinary (Messe Salve Regina by Yves Castagnet).

We hope to see you there in October! 

www.musicasacra.com/st-agnes