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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

This wonderful Bishop’s letter on the Blessed Sacrament

Veronica Brandt · June 28, 2014

This wonderful Sacrament A pastoral letter from the Bishop of Parramatta for Corpus Christi 2014 HE FEAST DAYS ARE FLYING thick and fast. Today is the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and here I am writing about Corpus Christi which seems so long ago.

There is a link between the two, as we see in the Divine Office taking us back to the office hymn tune for Christmas, drawing the parallel between adoring Jesus in the arms of His Blessed Mother and Jesus in the hands of the priest.

Last Sunday, however, I had the pleasure of reading the pastoral letter: This Wonderful Sacrament by Bishop Anthony Fisher OP of Paramatta.

A few things stand out:

  • The opening story – read it – child-like faith in the True Presence
  • Preparation before communion – including confession and the hour’s fast
  • Kneeling – defended with an example from C S Lewis’ Screwtape Letters
  • Encouraging adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during the day and early evening

In the written version we see the subheadings taken from liturgical Latin, the hymn O sacrum convivium and the prayers at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. No direct mention of sacred music, but the emphasis on reverence is there.

There is reason for hope.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: reverent and welcoming Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

23 May 2022 • FEEDBACK

From a reader: “I wasn’t looking for it. But, I stumbled across your hand-dandy arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon. Jeff, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread! I had to play a wedding on Saturday. The bride requested the Canon. There were 11 bridesmaids! The organ loft is a football field away from the communion rail. It’s so difficult to play and keep checking the mirror. Your arrangement is absolutely genius. One can skip and choose which variations to use. The chord names are handy so that when my eyes are off the music, I always know where I am at. A thousand times thank you for sharing this arrangement!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In my capacity as the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, I continue to remind all that the celebration toward the East (versus orientem) is authorized by the rubrics of the missal, which specify the moments when the celebrant must turn toward the people. A particular authorization is, therefore, not needed to celebrate Mass facing the Lord.”

— ‘Robert Cardinal Sarah, 23 May 2016’

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