IRST OF ALL, I SHOULD SAY that the inspiration came from this post on reddit. It describes a simple plan to introduce Gregorian chant in a family.
If you eat a meal in common with a few other people, whatever the arrangement, then maybe this plan will work for you.
Sometimes it is hard to remember to say Grace after Meals, but it is a worthwhile habit. You don’t have to wait until everyone has finished their meal, whenever you remember is good.
The word “grace” comes from “gratias” which means “thanks”. You could take the opportunity to give thanks for particular blessings from the day which leads nicely into a thanksgiving prayer after meals like this one:
We give thee thanks, Almighty God, for all thy benefits, thou who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
or any other prayer of your choice.
Then here is an opportunity to sing something. It’s just one idea – maybe there’s another time that you’re all together that might suit you better, but for some families meal times are the main time for praying together. Whatever works for you. The main thing is to have a time to sing every day.
Choose a piece. The Salve Regina is a popular choice. We know it well as the Hail Holy Queen said at the end of the Rosary.
The reddit article mentions the Parish Book of Chant and the Liber Brevior. It recommends printing off the relevant page and adding the English yourself. However, there is a handy, small, little known book called A New Book of Old Hymns which has the English translation right up there with the chant. I know some prefer to relegate the translation to a less conspicuous place, but this was typeset when I was new to Gregorian chant and having the translation there was important to me.
If you would like to print out a page out of my book, feel free! I have avoided making the pdf easily available in the hope that more people would buy the book, but I know being able to print pages for things like this is incredibly handy.
* * PDF: A New Book of Old Hymns, Fourth Edition 92 pages in Latin and English.
And if you like the book, it is available spiral bound, paperback or large print.
