E ARE NOT pollyannaish when it comes to the current crisis of the Church. Like you, our hearts break reading headlines of church leaders who make scandalous statements, persecute their flocks, and mock the words of JESUS CHRIST. At the same time, we must remember that our Lord Himself was betrayed by the highest church leaders of His time: Annas and Caiaphas. Our Lord said (Mt 18:7): “Scandals must come: but woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh.” Indeed, it was ever thus. For example, during the 16th century, some of the bishops convened rival councils (against the Council of Trent). There were long periods in our history when nobody knew who the real pope was. Pope Stephen VI actually dug up his dead predecessor and put his corpse on trial, having a deacon pretend to be the “voice” of the dead corpse. These are just a few examples.
Difficulties Detailed Daily • But should we really despair? Think of the advantages we have: electricity, internet, running water, air conditioning, modern medicine, automobiles, planes, and so forth. Surely—if we work together—we can bring the sacred music revolution to fruition, in spite of the difficulties detailed daily in the newspapers. And let’s refrain from attacking our predecessors, when we realize the advantages we have over them thanks to technology. For example, the NOH has several typos of this this coming Sunday’s Introit. The ending of the Glória Patri is wrong, a quarter bar was missing, and there were a few other errors. You can download my corrected score if you’re so inclined. Regarding the “PURE VATICANA” scores, I’m working on a complete book. [I have spoken about this project before.] It’s still in production but we make progress each day. Over the next few weeks, I hope to release an updated DRAFT COPY. I’m really excited about this book, and wish it were already complete—but I suppose “patience is a virtue.”
This morning, I prepared a rehearsal video of the Introit (“Quasi Modo”) for this coming Sunday:
M And here is the URL for direct access.
Still Hoping • I’m still hoping one of our readers can help me obtain a physical copy of NOH VOLUME TWO. I’m desperately in need of this book! (I also need VOLUME EIGHT.) Please don’t email me telling me about libraries that have it—I need a physical copy.
