St Nicholas of Myra

The Palestine Choral Festival takes place 22-31 August and features a large number of local and international choirs giving a number of concerts of Sacred Music and associated events taking place in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and many other towns. One of the highlights of the festival will be a performance of Benjamin Britten's St Nicholas in Beit Jala. This year marks the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) and there are a number of events taking place worldwide in celebration of this major British composer. It is particularly appropriate that a performance of this cantata about the life of St Nicholas should take place in Beit Jala, as the saint lived there for a number of years in a cave over which a Greek Orthodox church now stands. Inside there is a most unusual icon of him appearing over Beit Jala and protecting it from bombs during the 1948 war, when against all odds and heavy attack the town and church escaped destruction.

Benjamin Britten

I am fortunate enough to be involved in the performance which takes place at the Latin Church in Beit Jala and some other events too. I hope to manage a visit to the Greek Orthodox Church to see the cave and the icon and will post photographs if I succeed. Below is a YouTube of Britten's St Nicholas (audio only) in a live performance from 2011. Stephen Layton conducts the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, the Holst Singers and the boys of the Temple Church Choir. The part of St Nicholas of Myra is sung by tenor Allan Clayton who will reprise this role in Beit Jala next week. You can buy a very fine recording by the same forces here.

Dom Mark Daniel Kirby, prior of Silverstream Priory, recently gave NLM some Q & A that might might be of interest to our readers here. I'd encourage you to read below about their community.

Dom Mark Daniel Kirby, prior of Silverstream

Father Prior, could you briefly describe for us the origins of your community?

The seed of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle, now known as Silverstream Priory, was planted in my heart during the Year of the Eucharist (2004-2005).  Profoundly moved by Bl. John Paul II's apostolic letter Mane nobiscum Domine, I resolved to live the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist with a special intensity and to preach that mystery (insofar as possible) every day during that year.

The death of Bl. John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI coincided with a trial affecting my health.  That trial turned out to be (in effect) a grace, because it obliged me to enter more deeply into the designs of God upon my life, as a monk and a priest.

Providentially, I was able to spend the Feast of Corpus Christi 2005 in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  I understood then that Our Lord was calling me to a "vocation within a vocation": not only to the pursuit of the traditional Benedictine life, to which I had made profession as a monk of the Order of Cîteaux many years before, but also to adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, in a spirit of reparation and intercession for the sanctification of priests.

A series of opportunities (orchestrated, I think, by the Holy Ghost) led me to begin very humbly living this "vocation within a vocation", in the company of a few good men, under the protection of His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa.

An indult from the Holy See dispensed me from my obligations to the abbey of my profession, and freed me to renew my vows, under the Rule of St Benedict, into the hands of Bishop Slattery in view of a new monastery dedicated to adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

How did it come about that your community moved from Tulsa to Ireland? 

Another series of providential circumstances led our embryonic community from Tulsa to County Meath in Ireland, where we found a property and buildings suitable to our particular expression of Benedictine life.  Although we had looked long and hard for suitable property within the Diocese of Tulsa, we found nothing corresponding to our needs and to our limited means.

It was while speaking at an international conference on Eucharistic Adoration (Adoratio 2011) in Rome, that I encountered several Irish priests, seminarians, and layfolk who suggested that what could not be found in Tulsa might be readily available in Ireland.

This invitation to consider Ireland touched me deeply, because for several years I had felt a growing desire to respond to the needs of the Church in Ireland with a humble love, principally by prayer, never thinking that I would be led to implant a new monastery there.

How did you find the property of Silverstream in County Meath? 

In our search for a suitable property, we made a novena to St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, and also prayed confidently to Blessed Columba Marmion.  To my astonishment, upon arriving at Silverstream, I discovered in the sacristy hanging above the vesting cabinet, a framed document in Latin attesting to the dedication of the little church and its altar to St Thérèse!  The dedication of the little priory church to St Thérèse took place during the tenancy of the Brothers of St John of God, previous owners of Silverstream.

On October 19, 2011, I met with His Lordship, the Most Reverend Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, and laid our monastic project before him.  His Lordship graciously and magnanimously welcomed us to the Diocese of Meath.  And so, upon His Lordship of Meath's invitation, and with the fatherly blessing of Bishop Slattery, Dom Benedict Andersen and I set out for the Isle of Saints and Scholars.

Silverstream House, built 1843

Tell us a bit more about your "vocation within a vocation" as you described it? 

Essentially, our goal is to implant traditional Benedictine life at Silverstream.  This means a close adhesion to the letter and spirit of the Rule, and a commitment to the traditional forms of the sacred Liturgy, celebrated worthily, in Latin and Gregorian chant.  Like all Benedictine monks, we open the sacred Scriptures daily, in lectio divina, to discover there, shining through every page, as if through the "lattice-work" of the text (Cant. 2:10), the adorable Face of Christ.

Our "vocation within a vocation" flows from the discovery of the Face of Christ that illumines the sacred Scriptures.  Just as the disciples, on the road to Emmaus, passed from the opening of the Scriptures to the recognition of the Risen Christ in the Breaking of the Bread, so too do we pass continuously from the hearing and chanting of the Word, notably in the choral celebration of the Divine Office, to the contemplation and adoration of the Face of Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

This particular focus on the radiant Countenance of Jesus, both revealed and concealed in the Eucharist, is rooted in the expression coined Blessed John Paul II in the encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, wherein he enjoined the faithful to tarry before the "Eucharistic Face of Christ."

At Silverstream Priory, we do this in relationship to the Liturgy, source and summit of the adoration that flows out of the Mass and returns to it.  And we do it specifically for the sake of those men whom our Lord called "not servants, but friends" (John 15:15), his priests, and in particular for those priests who, for one reason or another, are unable or unwilling to linger in the company of Our Lord in the Sacrament of his Divine Friendship.



People don't usually associate Benedictines with the cultus of the Most Holy Eucharist outside of Mass.  What are the sources or precedents for this way of life? 

The fountain-head of all monastic life is, of course, the Gospels and all of sacred Scripture.  And I think we would have a predilection for the Fourth Gospel, which according to tradition, John drew out of the Heart of Jesus at the Last Supper in the Cenacle.

After Scripture, we would, like all Benedictines, refer to the Fathers of the Desert, and to the ancient monastic traditions of East and West.  One cannot lay claim to a Benedictine identity without loving the Fathers of the Church, and drinking deeply of the living water they transmit to every generation.

At Silverstream Priory, we also take to heart the teaching of a seventeenth-century Benedictine reformer and mystic, Catherine Mectilde de Bar (1614-1698). Mother Mectilde is, to the Benedictine Order, what St Teresa of Avila, la Madre, is to the Order of Carmel.  Mother Mectilde deserves to be better known.  She has, I think, all the makings of a Doctor of the Church!  Closely associated with the Benedictine monks of the Congregation of St Maur (Maurists), she gave expression to a charism of Eucharistic Adoration and Reparation that revitalized Benedictine life in the seventeenth century, and that continues to do so.

Abbot Celestino Maria Colombo OSB (1874-1935) believed passionately in the Mectildian charism, and hoped to see it flourish among monks of the Order.  At Silverstream Priory we are, in some way, carrying out Abbot Colombo's dream.

Belltower of the monastery Church of St Thérèse

Could you describe for us your horarium and liturgical life, and how Eucharistic Adoration fits into it? 

Our horarium does not differ essentially from the horarium of any other traditional Benedictine monastery.  We pray the entire Psalter, 150 Psalms, in a single week, thereby respecting the injunction of St Benedict in the Holy Rule.  We rise at 4:35 am to be in choir for Matins at 5 am.  Following Matins, there is ample time for lectio divina.  At 8 am, we return to choir for Lauds.

After Prime there is the daily chapter. We listen to the portion of the Holy Rule appointed for the day, and I give a brief commentary on it. The daily chapter is of capital importance.  It is the transmission of the living tradition by which the brethren, and men aspiring to the monastic life, are encouraged and stimulated to become, according to an expression one of the Desert Fathers, "all fire".

A monastery in which the flame of fervent love burns low quickly becomes a dark and cold place.  I see the Abbot, or conventual Prior, of a monastery as being, before all else, the keeper and guardian of the flame, charged with transmitting the living fire from one generation to the next.  Thus do monks become, in the Church, "friends of the Bridegroom", like St John the Baptist whom Our Lord described as ardens ac lucens, a man burning and giving light (John 5:35).

Conventual Mass at Silverstream Priory

What happens after Chapter? 

After chapter, there is a period of work.  We perform a great variety of tasks here: hospitality, spiritual direction for priests, running a bookstore, desktop publishing, gardening, maintenance, and renovations of the buildings we currently occupy.

Then, at 9:45 am, we sing Terce, the Hour traditionally associated with the descent of the Holy Ghost, and objectively the most perfect immediate preparation for Holy Mass.  Even though we are few in number, we sing the Mass, using the Graduale Romanum, nearly every day.

Sung Mass, in the Usus Antiquior, is for many Irish Catholics something of a discovery.  Young people, particularly, have expressed joy and gratitude at the first experience of what was for them a treasure hidden in the field, a pearl of great price.

Shortly after midday, we have the Office of Sext and go to the refectory for dinner.  Following St Benedict's injunction, we have reading at both dinner and supper, principally biographies which provide intellectual stimulation, spiritual nourishment, and sometimes comic relief.

After a siesta in the afternoon, we have the Office of None, then another work period, and Vespers at 5 pm.  Supper is a light collation, and Compline follows. With one last filial homage to the Mother of God, we enter the great silence until the following day after Prime.

Conventual Mass at Silverstream Priory

As Benedictines of Perpetual Adoration, do you have any distinctive practices? 

We keep every Thursday as a kind of weekly Corpus Christi, giving greater solemnity to the Mass and having solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and Adoration all day.

On other days, given our small number, a few hours in the afternoon, between None and Vespers, are dedicated to Adoration.  The length of time given to Adoration will increase as the community grows until all the hours of the day and night are covered.  I often say to Our Lord, "Multiply us, give Thyself adorers, and provide for us!"

Every day after Mass, one of us, kneeling at a column in the middle of the choir, recites an Act of Reparation by which we seek to make up for the coldness, indifference, irreverence, and sacrileges that grieve the Heart of Our Lord in the Sacrament of Love.

You mentioned that a major part of your charism is hospitality and the spiritual care of priests.  Can you tell us more about that? 

When we came to the Diocese of Meath, Bishop Smith shared with us his own long-standing desire for a place where his priests could find spiritual refreshment and give themselves over to prayer.  Our arrival in his Diocese, by God's Providence, fulfilled that desire of his.

Priests labouring in the vineyard have always been drawn to the silence of the cloister, as to a safe harbour in which their friendship with Jesus Christ can be experienced more intimately or rekindled.  We are happy to offer priests a place of silence, natural beauty, and liturgical prayer, all in the radiance of the Lord's Eucharistic Face.  The priests who have spent time with us thus far have told us they have benefited greatly from their experience.

Monastic recreation

How many members are there in your community at present?  

Currently we are four. There are two professed monks, myself, and Dom Benedict Andersen, who came with me from Tulsa.  Dom Benedict, by the way, when he pronounced his vows last September, was the first Benedictine monk to be professed in the Diocese of Meath since the dissolution of the Abbey of Fore by the commissioners of Henry VIII in 1539!  Then we have two men in formation, as well as a number of others in the early stages of inquiry with us.

Are you currently welcoming vocational inquiries? 

Yes, indeed.  I've learned from experience that the most promising candidates are between 21 and 30 years of age, and (if I may use the expression) untainted by a previous experience of religious life.  In a new foundation it is important that men arrive with a certain freshness of vision, without preconceived notions of what the life "ought" to be, and above all with a capacity to be flexible.  I encourage men interested in our life to read the great Benedictine classic, Christ the Ideal of the Monk by Ireland’s most famous Benedictine, Blessed Columba Marmion.

What are you looking for in candidates? 

We are looking for men willing to be formed in a truly Benedictine way.  That means a number of things.  First of all, humility: the frank admission that one comes to the monastery as a learner to submit to a doctrine of life; obedience, a readiness to listen and to be changed by what one hears.

Then, our monks must have zeal for the Sacred Liturgy and love of the Word of God, particularly the Psalms, and the desire to adore Our Lord in the Sacrament of His Love, and to make reparation for coldness, irreverence, and indifference towards the Most Holy Eucharist.

As mentioned before, they must have reverence for the Fathers of the Church and the great monastic teachers of East and West. Sympathy for the traditions of the Christian East (for what is the Rule but an adaptation of Eastern monasticism for Western monks?).

Above all else, a candidate must have a certain passion to seek God, and a firm resolve never to despair of his mercy.  Of course, no man will have developed all these qualities when he seeks admission.  The monastery is school of the Lord's service, not an academy of experts; it is a hospital for sinners, not a stadium for athletes of asceticism.

Postulants at recreation

What are the stages of formation a man would pass through to become a monk? 

After some initial exchange of correspondence, a man may be invited to visit the monastery.  Several short visits are the ideal, but given that men may come from great distances, a single longer visit may be the best practical option.  If we see in a man elements of a vocation to Silverstream Priory, I will invite him to spend a month observing our life while we observe him.  If the indications are favourable, the candidate may complete an application and request to begin the postulancy.

The postulancy may be as short as three months and as long as nine.  Men arrive at monastic life from different backgrounds; some would not even be familiar with the Catechism, while others may have an adequate understanding of the Faith through personal reading, or through a course of theological studies.  At the end of the postulancy, a man may petition to receive the novice's habit, and enter into the year and a half of the novitiate.

At this point, I help a man discern whether he is called to be a choir monk, or a converse monk (conversus monachus, sometimes called a "lay brother").  The converse monk seeks God in a life marked by manual labour, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and a limited participation in the choral Office.

Monastic formation in the novitiate begins, of course, with the Gospels and the Psalms.  The young brother will also become familiar with the Rule of St Benedict and our monastic forefathers in East and West; he will acquire a working knowledge of Holy Mass and the Divine Office; and he will read the works of Blessed Columba Marmion.

At the end of this time, he may request to be admitted to temporary profession for three years.  At the end of his triennial vows, the junior monk may ask to make perpetual profession and receive the monastic consecration.

Holy Mass at Silverstream

What about monastic priesthood? 

The Prior can call a perpetually professed choir monk to studies in preparation for Holy Orders.  The monastic priesthood, as we live it at Silverstream, does not involve pastoral ministry.  It is, rather, a sacramental configuration to Christ, Priest and Victim, in his oblation to the Father; and this, in the context of a hidden life, marked by silence and in effective separation from the world.

You mentioned Oblates earlier.  Could you tell us something about your community of Oblates?

Oblates are layfolk, men and women, or diocesan clergy, who offer themselves to God in the spirit of the Rule of St Benedict.  We consider our Oblates members of the extended monastic family.  We have, at the present, about two dozen Oblates living in North America and Europe, including a priest and a permanent deacon.  Geographical proximity to the monastery is not a requirement of the Oblateship.

Are you engaged in any specific work at the moment, or do you have any specific work in view for the future?

Responsible stewardship of the land is a primary monastic work.  We are blessed with meadows, forest, and a stream.  There are plans for a small orchard and herb gardens. Dom Benedict has a professional background in book design.  I have done a fair amount of writing.  We are planning to set up a small monastic publishing house.  The bookshop and guesthouse already require a significant investment of time and labour.

Initial iconography proposal for the east wall of the monastic church

Finally, what can you tell us about the current status of your renovation projects and your current needs? 

I have to raise funds for the purchase of the Silverstream Property.  The purchase will be effected in two phases: first, the core of the property, that is the present buildings on 15 acres, and second, the remaining 160 acres, which are indispensable for the preservation of silence and separation from the world.

At the moment we are engaged in the renovation of the guesthouse; there will be 6 en-suite guestrooms, a small oratory (dedicated to the Holy Angels), a library, a conference hall, and a kitchen and dining area.  We also have a beautiful hermitage (dedicated to the Holy Souls) which we would like to "do up" (as the Irish say) for those who would desire a more secluded retreat.

It is urgent that we begin and complete the renovation of the existing priory church; it was built in 1952.  We have had to gut the interior; it needs a new roof, heating, insulation and, of course, furnishings.

Please God, eventually, we will be able to adorn the church with iconography suitable for the House of God; we have a beautiful plan which has been drawn up by the English iconographer Aidan Hart, who is proficient not only in the Byzantine style but also in early Christian and Romanesque styles.

Finally, we foresee twelve monastic cells in the main building.  The kitchen is in desperate condition.  It needs to be totally renovated and a flooding problem there must be corrected as soon as possible.

Father Prior, thank you for taking time out of your busy monastic day to answer these questions.  There is one last question.  How can people help Silverstream Priory? 

First of all, pray for us. Second, make our specific vocation known to men who may be drawn to it.  Third, contribute something according to your means.  You can find information on how to donate on our website, and you can contact us here.  The foundation of Silverstream Priory is an ongoing act of faith in Divine Providence.  Divine Providence makes use of human instruments.  We pray for our benefactors every day.

Many may remember my review of the First Edition of Corpus Christi Watershed's Edmund Campion Missal and Hymnal for the Extraordinary Form. The entire stock sold out quite quickly, so Jeff Ostrowski took the opportunity to make corrections and modifications to make it even better for the next print run. Overall, it is very similar to the first edition, so for those not familiar with this book, I'd encourage you to follow the link above to see my review of the first edition. It took me a bit longer to write this than I expected, but it was nice to be able to use this multiple times at Mass to get a feel for it's actual ease of use. This new edition also keeps the page numbers the same, so the two books can be used side-by-side in the pews without issues.

The Archdiocese of Miami has featured an article about getting to know the Latin Mass on its blog. The author, Blanca Therese Morales, shares her experience of getting to know the Traditional Latin Mass at the Mission of Sts. Francis and Clare in downtown Miami, a chapel which has a weekly sung TLM celebrated by a diocesan priest, and where I have the joy of serving as the director of the schola cantorum. 

Perhaps you've had a similar experience in getting to know the traditions of the Church. If so, I'd like to hear about it, with the possibility of sharing your story with the readership of the NLM. Please write to me at jdonelson@newliturgicalmovement.org.
 

Praying in the Language of the Saints

Sheer curiosity is what led me to first attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form. I had heard of the terms Missa Cantata, High Mass, Tridentine Rite or Traditional Latin Mass, but didn’t know they all referred to the same thing: Mass as celebrated in the time-honored tradition of centuries past.

I knew very little about the Traditional Latin Mass, which had fallen into disuse after the Second Vatican Council. I also didn’t know that in 2007, Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI made it easier for priests to celebrate the Latin Mass in his motu propio Summorum Pontificum. In this apostolic letter, Pope Benedict XVI noted that the form of Mass which had nourished the faith of so many generations should be made more widely available, though the newer form of the Mass, as celebrated in most of our parishes today, must continue to be recognized for its value and holiness. It would be inconsistent, he said, to exclude the new rite as illegitimate.

Being a part of what many call “the JP2 generation,” my only association with Mass has been in the post-Vatican II “ordinary” (normal) form, which introduces a lot of youth-friendly modernisms such as contemporary praise music.

Looking to explore something new and different, I entered the quaint Spanish-revival church, the Mission of Sts. Francis and Clare, with preconceived notions of Latin Mass that had been given to me by the media.

Great was my surprise when a great majority of attendees were people of my own generation. Indeed, Pope Benedict noted the demand for greater use of the 1962 missal was not just made by those who grew up with it, but by younger generations who felt an attraction to it and found in it a “a form of encounter with the mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist which suited them particularly well.”

The moment Mass began, I was swept into this very mystery in more ways than one.

Being completely unacquainted with this form of the Mass, I stumbled through the Missal, trying to follow in Latin and translating in English. I began to grow a bit frustrated. I knew the new rite like the back of my hand, and now I felt like many a convert must feel when attending their first Mass: confused.

In a time and age when we like to have control of our surroundings, I didn’t like the feeling of not knowing what to do. I was unused to surrendering, but that was exactly what I needed to do.

I closed the Missal and put it aside. I decided to just experience the Mass. That’s when it all changed.

As I listened to prayers chanted in Latin, saw trails of incense floating in the air, and observed the priest offer up the Mass, I realized, this is exactly how centuries of Catholics celebrated Mass. Suddenly, I felt transported outside the constraints of time and space.

I always knew we Catholics are united in the Eucharist, but now, at Latin Mass, the term “universal church” carried a fuller, deeper meaning.

At a Mass like this one, St. Therese of Lisieux or Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati recited the same Credo, prayed the same Pater Noster, responded with the same “et cum spiritu tuo.” Now, more than ever, I felt united with the communion of saints: I was praying in the same language they prayed in. They no longer seemed so distant.

As I continued to enjoy the mystery of it all, no greater sense of surrender came than at the time of Communion. In Latin Mass, it is tradition to kneel for Communion and receive the host on the tongue.

I was in a bit of a panic. I had only been taught to receive Communion by hand. And here, there was no option for reception of Communion. I couldn’t have things “my way” as if Mass were a fast-food joint.

As I made my way down the center aisle toward the altar, I felt as jittery as a bride on her wedding night, receiving her groom for the first time. And that’s exactly what was happening: I was receiving the Bridegroom in a way I had not experienced.

At that moment, I stopped thinking and let my focus be on Him alone. I refused to worry about my surroundings, or whether I knew what I was doing. “Let go and let God,” was on my mind and I did the only thing I could do: submit.

And I did. It was not the awkward situation I thought it would be, and the feeling of surrender from that first experience was so liberating that I find that this is how I now prefer to receive communion.

I returned to Latin Mass in the weeks that followed, being attracted to the indescribable beauty of tradition, sacred music, and reverence.

Slowly but surely I am learning the prayers and responses, my Latin vocabulary increasing with each new visit. I am learning deeper truths about the celebration of the Lamb’s Supper. I also now know why the priest in my Children’s Missal was “facing the wrong way,” as I had observed as a child.

I cannot say whether or not I will become a traditionalist Catholic; I am in no way foregoing the novus ordo which has brought Mass to the nations in the language they know. I can say, however, that attending Latin Mass is a bit like finding a hidden treasure box and discovering all the beauty that lies within. It is in every way extraordinary.

There is also a Spanish version of the article available.

Regina Magazine, an online periodical dedicated to cultural topics surrounding the beauty of the Catholic faith and traditions, recently featured an interview with Dr. Joseph Shaw, chairman of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.

Just in time for the feast of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, our friend Sancrucensis has posted some photos of a ceremony of Solemn Profession of Vows recently held at his monastery, Stift Heiligenkreuz (the Abbey of the Holy Cross) in Austria, the oldest continuously occupied Cistercian house in the world. They are also quite well known for their very successful and well-regarding recording of Cistercian chants, Chant: Music for Paradise. The website of the abbey has several more photos available of the same ceremony. NLM is happy to offer our congratulations and best wishes to the whole community - ad multos annos!

Jeff Ostrowski has a superb collection of scanned books on Gregorian Chant which are available for free download to all. You will find the St Jean de Lalande Library of Rare Books at the Corpus Christi Watershed. This is an amazing resource which I am sure will be very useful for choir directors and singers.

In particular, there are a large number of Chant accompaniments available there. One of the main reasons that Chant sometimes fails to take off in parishes is a lack of written chant accompaniments. This collection goes some way to address that problem, and I know that it is one area which Musica Sacra Scotland hopes to address on National Music Day.

Andrea di Bartolo, Coronation of the Virgin

Today, on the calendar of the modern Roman Rite, is the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, which we also bring to mind every time we pray the Fifth Glorious Mystery. It is worth our while to ponder why she is, and is called, our Queen. We will find, as well, that there is an intimate connection with the mystery of her Immaculate Heart, which we celebrate today on the calendar of the usus antiquior.

Always feeling much safer when relying on a worthy authority, in this case I am happy to lean on Blessed Columba Marmion, who writes in his Rosary meditations:

The annual conference of the Australian Catholic Students Association (ACSA) took place this year in Brisbane on the 5th, 6th and 7th of July. The conference theme was Foundations of the faith, which was inspired by the current Year of Faith. The principle guest speakers were; Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Bishop McGuckin of Toowomba, Professor Greg Craven from the Australian Catholic University and Dr Ryan Messmore, the president of Campion College (Australia’s only liberal arts college).

When I was at the Sacra Liturgia 2013 conference in Rome, we had two Latin Masses and two Solemn Vespers all with a wonderful choir leading the congregation in chant. This was a congregation that knew their chant. Many were experienced in leading and teaching and I'm guessing that pretty much all would be in accord with the idea that Latin is the norm for the Mass and that chant and polyphony are the highest forms in which it should be sung. Not surprisingly many people joined in. What was surprising though, given the company, was how poorly the congregational members (which included me!) managed to unify their voices with each other and the choir. We really were a fragmented collection of individuals, so much so that one of the speakers - a Benedictine - remarked upon it. One wonders if this is the reason that some communities request that members of the congregation request that guests do not join in the singing of the liturgy, even for which it would be generally encourage, say the Ordinaries of the Mass. 

Exciting! Another report of an EF nuptial Mass. From our reader: My wife and I were married on Saturday, August 3rd in Calgary, AB at St. Anthony’s Parish. Fr. Robert Novokowsky (celebrant), Fr. Antony Sumich (deacon) and Adrian Debow (sub-deacon) were the ministers for the Mass. The fathers are FSSP priests and Adrian is at the FSSP seminary in Nebraska.

Around this time of year choir directors tend to start thinking about December, choosing carols and planning Christmas music lists. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the height of the summer is always a strange time to be looking ahead to Christmas, and as I write, appositely enough from Bethlehem in the middle of a choir tour to Palestine, the dusty heat makes snow seem unimaginable. However, the idea of a cold and icy landscape still serves in a figurative sense, representing the world before Christ.

One of the most well-known Christmas texts, 'O magnum mysterium', has inspired many composers for centuries and there are several beautiful settings in the repertoire, notably by Victoria, Gabrieli and Poulenc. Another one which I recently came across is by Frank La Rocca, the Emeritus Professor of Music at California State University and a leading Catholic composer. His is a very powerful contemporary setting, immensely beautiful and of great integrity. There is a very strong sense in his music that his primary focus is to serve the text and illuminate its meaning, rather than use choral effects for their own sake, a route sometimes taken by other modern composers.

His paper The Apologetics of Beauty, which focuses on his 'O magnum mysterium', attempts to answer the question of what defines the concept of beauty in sacred music. He writes:

1. That which arouses in the beholder a longing for the transcendent; that which serves as a bridge from the material to the spiritual world to unite us to the transcendent.

2. That work of art which possesses attributes of harmony, integrity, proportion and clarity appropriate to its subject.

Ave Maria by Robert Parsons (excerpt)

In the same paper he goes on to talk of the kreuz motif which was used by J.S.Bach as a melodic representation of the Cross. This is a musical shape generally built around four consecutive notes, the second of which is lower than the first, the third rising above both, and the fourth returning to the original pitch of the first note. There are many variations of this musical shape, and a possible precursor to Bach's kreuz motif can be found in the extended Amen of the beautiful Ave Maria by the Tudor composer Robert Parsons. This contains a series of melodies which bear a cruciform resemblance, perhaps intended as a sign of the cross at the end of the prayer. La Rocca's use of this device in his setting is a very powerful way of turning our mind to Christ's ultimate purpose on earth. Below is the first page of his piece with the cruciform melodies marked:


You can listen to the piece beautifully rendered by the Artists Vocal Ensemble directed by Jonathan Dimmock in the YouTube clip below. This comes from a CD of works by Frank La Rocca entitled 'In This Place' which was described by American Record Guide as containing 'luminous sacred introspection, transcendental effect, and breathtaking beauty'. You can buy the CD from Amazon, and Frank La Rocca's website is here.

My interest in the 1961 revision of the Pontificale Romanum began with the blessing of the bells. Several years ago, I was asked to serve as Master of Ceremonies for such a blessing; never having seen one before, much less served one, I turned to the tried-and-true Catholic Encyclopedia for more information. Its article on bells was written by Fr. Herbert Thurston, S.J., better known, and by many disliked, as the reviser of Fr. Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints. It contains an interesting discussion of the traditional term “baptism of the bells” for the ceremony by which they are blessed. (Emphases mine.)

Since the beginning of the sixteenth century, there has been much purposeless controversy over the … so-called “baptism” of the bells. Protestant critics, following the lead of Luther himself, have professed to find in the rite not only superstition but a profanation of the sacrament. But one might as well be scandalized at the ceremonial usually followed in the launching and christening of a ship. The phrase “baptism of bells” is merely popular and metaphorical. It has been tolerated, but has never been formally recognized by the Church. (Benedict XIV, Instit. 47, n. 33). Every Catholic child is aware that the essence of the Sacrament of Baptism consists in the form: “I baptize thee etc.”, but no properly authorized ritual for the blessing of the bells is known to have contained any phrase which can be regarded as an equivalent or parody of these words. … On the other hand, the ceremonial of the Church is often imitative. The rite for the blessing of palms closely follows the arrangement of the variable portions of the Mass. The order for the coronation of a king copies so nearly that for the consecration of a bishop that Anglican writers recently (i.e. in 1907) contended the king is a “spiritual person” invested with episcopal powers. Hence it would not be surprising that in the (blessing of a bell) certain resemblance should be traced to details in the ritual of baptism. Exorcisms are used, and water and salt and unctions with the holy oils; the bell receives a name, and formerly, at least, the name was suggested by a “godfather”. But for all the controversy the resemblances are really very superficial. … That the ritual for the blessing of bells, which has thus been in use in the Church for nearly twelve hundred years, was framed with any design of imitating the ceremonies of baptism seems highly improbable for many reasons. First there is no triple immersion, nor strictly speaking any pouring of water. The bell is “washed” by the bishop and his assistants, just as the altars are washed on Maundy Thursday. Further there is nothing whatever to recall the ephpheta ceremony, yet this is the one detail in the rite of baptism which would seem in place if the ritual were transferred to a bell.

(Apropos of the way different rituals imitate each other, it may also be noted that the traditional rite for the consecration of nuns has a number of very notable points in common with the rite of ordination of priests, and yet has never been mistaken for a priestly ordination.)

Three bells set into place for their ‘baptism’ in the church of Saint John the Baptist in Mollau, France, in 1949. Note that the name to be given to each bell is written above it on the decorated arch from which it is hung.

The revisers of the Pontifical, Frs. Annibale Bugnini and Carlo Braga, published a series of notes on their work; both of them were of course very much involved in the creation of the Novus Ordo after Vatican II. The section on the blessing of the bells makes for an interesting contrast with what Fr. Thurston writes above. (Emphases mine.)

The rite has undergone no essential variants. … The seven penitential psalms, which opened the function, have been omitted. The washing of the bells, which was suggested by the medieval concern to structure the consecration of a bell like a baptismal rite, has also been abolished. There remains, on the other hand, the sprinkling of the bells, accompanied by the singing of Psalm 28, which is done responsorially.

The notes go on to mention that the oil of the infirm is no longer used on the bells, an element introduced in the Middle Ages because one of the purposes of a bell “is” (not “was”) to announce an impending death. No mention is made of the change to the blessing of the water, the shortening of the prayers, or the abolition of the Gospel at the end. The incensation of the bell is mentioned as if the manner of incensing it had not been completely altered in the 1961 revision. It may be further noted that the “seven penitential psalms, which opened the function” in the Pontifical of Clement VIII, were not in fact the penitential psalms, although two of them also are among the penitential psalms. It is difficult to see how the sprinkling of the bells “remains” in the ceremony, since it was not there in the first place.

Likewise, no mention is made of the reason why Psalm 28 and its antiphon, “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of majesty hath thundered, The Lord is upon many waters.” are sung during the blessing of a bell. They occur in this ceremony as far back as the Pontifical of Archbishop Egbert of York (732-66 A.D.), and always accompany not the washing, but the anointing of the bell, seven-fold on the outside, and four-fold on the inside. The seven anointings correspond to the seven occurrences of the words “vox Domini – the voice of the Lord” within this psalm; indeed, the 10th-century Pontifical of Mainz directs the bishop to make each one of the seven crosses exactly as these words are being sung during the psalm. The rubrics of subsequent Pontificals (Durandus, Piccolomini-Burchard, Clement VIII) are uniform in mandating seven crosses on the outside and four on the inside. Fr. Thurston does not overstate the case when he says that the ritual of the blessing of bells in its substance goes back twelve-hundred years. Unfortunately, the practice of mangling the source materials like this when revising the liturgical books would become even more common in future years.

An illustration of the blessing of a bell from a medieval Pontifical.

Because of work commitments, I was in the end unable to serve as MC or even be present for the aforementioned blessing of bells. While making his arrangements and asking the bishop, the organizer of the ceremony had not known about the 1961 revision, which was, after all, only in use for perhaps a bit more than a decade. Once he had gotten everything ready, set the date and made the announcements, the elderly bishop in question, a canonist, insisted upon the letter of the law, and would only use the 1961 Pontifical. Although certainly a good man and a friend of the traditional rite, he was quite deaf, and not very keen on taking orders. (On other occasions, he had been known to more or less throw his crook to the MC when he was finished with it, or thought he was. The crook should always, of course, be thrown directly at the crook-bearer.) As described to me afterwards by some of the people present, it was a total disappointment, although it may have been a bit of an exaggeration to say, “Rosaries have been blessed with greater solemnity.”

Certainly a sign of the continued movement towards tradition among new and future clergy is the increase in workshops and classes dedicated to teaching seminarians and priests the usus antiquior (for example, the expressed desire of Bishop Morlino that all the seminarians in the diocese of Madison learn to celebrate the TLM, or the liturgical practicum in the EF offered by the Pontifical College Josephinum).

A recent announcement in the Archdiocese of Detroit offers news of the same:

Fr. Dan Jones, Professor of Patristics at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, announced on August 23, 2013 that the Seminary has invited the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius of Chicago to offer a workshop on celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

Fr. Jones said that the Canons Regular have been invited because they have a particular charism for the restoration of the sacred in the Latin rite and "an expertise both in celebration of the EF and in the training of others to celebrate it." [...]

The workshop will be held at the Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Thursday Oct. 10th - Sunday Oct. 13th, and that seminarians in their third and fourth years of Theology at the Seminary (T3 and T4), as well as the priest faculty from the Seminary and priests serving in the Archdiocese of Detroit are invited to participate.