Chant Café

Many of the debates which are going on in the Catholic Church today have as their root the interpretation of Vatican II, the last ecumenical council.  Yet, how many people have really delved into Vatican II, into the texts themselves, the theological and historical context of the Council, and the thorny questions of its interpretation.  At my parish, Prince of Peace in Taylors, SC, we just finished a series on Vatican II.  Often church musicians need resources to learn more, not just about the liturgical and musical questions which effect their daily life, but also the theological background around which some of those questions must be considered.

For the next seven Mondays, each week we offer a link to a talk given by me about Vatican II on the following topics, along with the discussion afterwards:

The Catholic news of the week was the biennial Seek conference of Focus, the highly successful college missionary program, held in San Antonio, which drew over 13,000 young people from all over the country.

Just heard an amazing stat abt last night at #seek2017: 4400 confessions by 240 priests in 4 hours #praiseGod #amazinggrace @SEEKConference pic.twitter.com/F55TXgF3vS

— ChurchPOP (@Church_POP) January 6, 2017

Besides organized talks, adoration, confession, concerts, fun times, and Masses, there were well-attended Liturgy of the Hours services held in the hallways of the conference hotel.

A priest writes:

On Twitter, I posted that after hearing two hours of the most intense confessions of my life, I felt exhausted, but also more alive than I had ever felt before. As a priest, I’ll say that we can often tell when a conversation or encounter is particularly important, but it has never before been so clear to me — confession after confession, conversation after conversation — that the Lord was actively changing the lives of the students I was speaking to, powerfully and in real time. Clear moments of conversion were showing themselves, over and over, penitent after penitent, in the confessional. – See more at: http://aleteia.org/2017/01/08/hearts-afire-catholic-college-students-encounter-christ-at-seek2017/?ru=b28e9f2a3c45a72602c255e91b1df657#sthash.5yP8QIeQ.dpuf

A successful program always has small (and sometimes wonderful) glitches.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please refrain from getting in line for confession because the long line is now a fire hazard” #SEEK2017 #goals

— Ellen Schroll (@ellen_schroll) January 6, 2017

By now many of our readers will have seen footage of an unfortunate musical act gone wrong recently in front of a live audience.

Besides revealing the unfortunately canned character of much of the pop world’s “live”performances, it sets in relief the amazing accomplishments of those who work week in and week out without props, recordings, lip synch, producers, or any other safety nets: Church musicians.

Recorded music is banned in liturgy by law, and so it must be live, performed in the here and now. The Director of Music is thus ordinarily all things, like Quincy Jones: producing the album, engaging (or being) the musicians, coaching (or being) the vocalists, curating the selections, communicating professionally with everyone, and above all making dozens of both planned and on-the-spot judgments involving musical quality and timing.

The difference is that for Quincy Jones, he can always do another take.

What happened last night is what understandably happens outside the studio, outside of controlled conditions–and what so altogether rarely happens at Mass that it is astonishing.

I’ve sometimes heard complaints from clergy about Music Director salaries in the US, and although I do sympathize with those responsible for attending to the many different needs of a parish, I think this must be considered: a DM is responsible for executing hours of live music every week (to say nothing of what is required during Holy Week), often with limited resources, and often with amateur musicians.

Last night we saw how an army of truly overpaid professionals can monumentally destroy a musical moment. The arduous and ordinarily seamless work of parish musicians, without the flash and props and certainly without a soundtrack, should be commended and compensated.

The proclamation of the date of Easter and the other moveable feasts on Epiphany is one of the many things that was a practical necessity in time of old, but is kept within liturgical use (similar to candles providing light at Mass). It is something that any parish can use this Sunday after the gospel.

There are two scores in the file, depending on which day your Diocese celebrates the Ascension.

But I began by suggesting your own recitation, and the Church rewards it today with her own spiritual support. The Manual of Indulgences reminds us that (under the usual conditions):

A plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful devoutly assist either at the recitation or the solemn singing of

1. the Veni Creator, either on the first day of the year to implore divine assistance for the course of the whole year, […]
2. the Te Deum, on the final day of the year, to offer thanks to God for gifts received throughout the course of the entire year.