Catholic musicians gathered to blog about liturgy and life
Over at CCWatershed, Jeff Ostrowski has news about an upcoming event.
In case the idea of liturgical extravaganzas emanating from L.A. give you the willies, be not askeered –
this promises to be nothing like the famous Rel. Ed. congresses.
I noticed in the lovely Introit hymn Kathy Pluth provided for the new memorial of Pope St. John Paul, one line would be completely indecipherable…
And made His gifts in him increase
… and the whole rather confusing, were it not for her utilization of the venerable custom of capitalizing personal pronouns referring to the Godhead, members of the Trinity, the Church as Bride of Christ, etc.
Quick poll, do you use this method to render a bit of extra reverence to the Lord?
If so, in conversational writing, (bloggage, memos to your pastor,) and/or more formal matters, (essays for publication, poetry, hymns.)
I had a third grade child once tell me how happy he was that I had gone through all copies of a psalm we were singing from The Dread Gather and “corrected” the psalm verses, because “it makes God important.”
I’m curious, does anyone know when and why this stopped being the general custom of the Church, at least in English?
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy on the Vatican website observes the tradition. Paul VI, or the Vatican on his behalf, does in Humanae Vitae, but not in at least one motu proprio, St John Paul not at all, I think, (please correct me if that’s wrong.)
I was going to check a few hymnals, and then I remembered that GIA tried to excise all male pronouns anyway….
I was amused at the conceit, and so intended to post a link to a quiz at EpicPew with that title when I saw it.
However, upon completion of the quiz, the song, (not a hymn,) that it assigned me was so dreadful, and every single possible alternative offered so shudder-inducing, that I will not, (but it will be easy enough to google if it interests you.)
When I’ve recovered I may go back and take it again, and see if it’s my own fault, if the suggestions for some better person might be finer hymns.
But the question intrigues me.
Weekday Mass of late has featured both the spoken propers and a hymn or two, (and then, mirabile dictu, the Marian antiphon to close!)
Anyway, I’m feeling warm fuzzies regarding hymn singing and I’m curious – what hymn is your heart singing?
Not “do you like,” not which tune sets your soul dancing, but which text best expresses the feels you’re feeling – and is it always the same one?
Mine is My Song is Love Unknown, but only the first 2 verses most of the time, and to some joyous, mystical tune that I can’t actually hear – somehow it is ebullient, lit by fireworks rather than candles. (Very unsuitable, I know. It just makes me so danged happy.)
So what’s yours?
The blogging priest at WDTPRS has a post with pictures from a Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form at Philadelphia’s seminary.
It seems,
The seminarians have been asking the rector for a TLM, so he agreed!
Anyone recognize the celebrant?
Anyway, the rector at Charles Borromeo, who was asked and acquiesced to the seminarians’ rightful aspirations, the Most Rev Timothy Senior, “is a classically trained pianist.”
Anyone else wonder if these things might be related?
Experiencing Beauty gives us a taste for Truth, experiencing Truth gives us a longing for Beauty.
A column by Hilary Cesare at Ignitum Today about what so many Catholic are missing in their worship, (hint, it begins with “prop” and ends with “ers,”) and some suggestions about how they might get started.
Have You Been Missing Out on a Centuries-Old Catholic Musical Tradition?
Some of the most divisive conversations amongst Catholics today arise over music at Mass. Most arguments revolve around the style of music or the instrumentation. However, these arguments generally don’t focus much on the texts of the music. The majority of us have grown up in parishes that are unaware of or lacking an essential part of Church’s musical heritage: The Propers. We should stop asking “Is the music religious?” but rather, “Is the music (and its text) liturgical?” The Church assigns specific chants/texts to each day of the liturgical year, just as she assigns certain readings & psalms to each day of the year. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says that these scriptural, liturgical texts (called “the Propers”) are the ideal and most desirable thing to be sung at Mass.
We are accustomed to the readings, responsorial psalm, and Alleluia verse changing each week in the Missalette. The scriptural texts of the Mass Propers also change daily and allow us to more fully participate in the liturgical day being celebrated. There are three times when the Propers are sung at a Novus Ordo Mass
(A little quibble, the Gradual can be sung, of course.)
(Oh, and I don’t know Hilary but I’ve chosen, among other labels, “youth” because… well, to me everyone is.)
Who knew that Harper Lee’s characters had entered the fray regarding how the Almighty should be worshipped in song!
I’m not sure if this flouts copyright law, so rather than post the entire section that tickled me, I link
she went down the aisle to corner Herbert, who had remained behind to shut the windows. Dr. Finch was faster on the draw:
“—shouldn’t sing it like that, Herbert,” he was saying. “We are Methodists after all, D.V.”
“Don’t look at me, Dr. Finch.” Herbert threw up his hands as if to ward off whatever was coming. “It’s the way they told us to sing it at Camp Charles Wesley….The music instructor… taught a course in what was wrong with Southern church music. He was from New Jersey,” said Herbert….
“He said we might as well be singing ‘Stick your snout under the spout where the Gospel comes out’ as most of the hymns we sing. Said they ought to ban Fanny Crosby by church law and that Rock of Ages was an abomination unto the Lord….He said we ought to pep up the Doxology.”
Peppy…
An article in the Catholic Stand, (a new-to-me website, but I’m always the last to know….) which includes an interview with our Kathy Reinheimer. (Many of the Chant Cafe’s readers will know her from Colloquia.)
Go read it all, but this struck me, what with all the conversation of late about church musicians abruptly fired/forced out.
[Kathy:] “I am seeing bright spots of scholae popping up all over the country.”
HL: “It still depends on the local bishop.”
Kathy: “My choir… operates at the pleasure of the bishop even though we are an independent 501c3, all he would have to do is send out a notice to all the parishes that Regina Pacis is no longer welcome and we would be done, just like that. Bless his heart he has chosen to not do that, but there are other places that have not been as fortunate.
We must remember to count our blessings, making our prayers of thanksgiving not just petition, (I am speaking to myself here…)
