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Views from the Choir Loft

Sacra Liturgia 2015 — Update II

Fr. David Friel · June 3, 2015

UESDAY was another day filled with excellent lectures at Sacra Liturgia USA 2015. In addition to the lectures, the liturgies have been most rewarding, and the hospitality of St. Catherine of Siena Parish, in the care of the Dominicans, has been first-rate.

The morning’s first lecture was delivered by Rev. Thomas Kocik, former editor of the journal Antiphon. The title of the talk was simply, “The Reform of the Reform.” Father Kocik’s fundamental assertion was that any authentic reform of the reform must begin with the Extraordinary Form as the point of departure, not the Ordinary Form.

In the course of his presentation, Father Kocik also listed a number of practical ideas for how a priest might transform his celebration of the Ordinary Form. Among his ideas were these:

1. Use the rite of blessing for water, with the proper chants, in place of the Penitential Act.

2. Employ the proper chants during each of the processions.

3. Chant the orations, prefaces, & the Gospel.

4. Use incense on every Sunday & solemnity, not just on special occasions.

5. Omit the intercessions on weekdays.

6. Opt for a silent preparation of the gifts.

7. Do not neglect the Latin language.

8. After catechesis, introduce the celebration of Mass ad orientem. [In the interim, consider using the “Benedictine arrangement.”]

9. Wear black vestments for funerals, All Souls Day, and other Masses for the Dead.

10. Do not omit the optional sequences.

11. Occasionally use the Gradual instead of the Responsorial Psalm.

12. Utilize the full complement of Votive Masses in the Missal.

13. Use the Roman Canon.

14. Bow your head at the names of the Trinity, the BVM, and the saint of the day.

All of these suggestions, of course, fall within the bounds of current liturgical law and require no special permission. Many priests have already taken some or all of these steps toward bridging the gap between the Ordinary & Extraordinary Forms.

Dr. Margaret Hughes (sister of fellow blogger David Hughes) gave a marvelous presentation entitled “The Ease of Beauty: Liturgy, Evangelization, and Catechesis.” Her paper gave evidence of her mastery of philosophy and bore the mark of her specialization in the philosophy of Joseph Pieper.

Among her many salient points, Dr. Hughes proposed that resting in what is good is the truest, fullest way of being active. She also said that “beauty is a harmonious meeting of the objective and subjective.” Of course, the experience of beauty in life should remind us that we are wayfarers on a journey, en route to the vision of total beauty.

Mr. Gregory Glenn is the founder & Pastoral Administrator of the Cathedral of the Madeleine Choir School in Salt Lake City, UT. He gave an engaging and humorous lecture outlining the history of how his choir school came into existence and how it has come to flourish. I am in awe of what he and his helpers have accomplished. Mr. Glenn did not inherit a well-established institution, after all; he forged the choir school, rather, from nothing and shaped it into a seedbed for world-class art.

In passing, Mr. Glenn pondered how some people can complain that it is too difficult for children to learn a Gregorian Mass ordinary. He offered a fascinating statistic that there are only 283 words in the Latin ordinary. Surely, children are capable of approaching such a limited number of vocabulary words.

Several other wonderful presentations have been made so far. I sincerely hope that the ideas being shared this week with conference attendees will lead to liturgical revitalization at the grassroots level in the communities we serve.

682 Sacra

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Ad Orientem, Authentic Liturgical Renewal Reform, Beauty, Catholic Youth Choirs, Latin, Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Omitting The Sequence On Pentecost, Propers, Reform of the Reform, Sacra Liturgia Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Re: Low Mass: “It is desirable that in read Masses on Sundays and feast-days, the Gospel and Epistle be read by a lector in the vernacular for the convenience of the faithful.”

— 1958 document, issued under Pope Pius XII

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