HE EVIL OF OWNING slaves was not strictly speaking a “Southern vs. Northern” conflict in the USA. Even after the Civil War began (12 April 1861), slaves were bought and sold in the nation’s capital, literally across from the White House. The EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION of 1863 freed only some—not all—of the slaves in the United States. While I respect the United States CONSTITUTION, it contained reprehensible sections. To see for yourself, Google “fugitive slave clause” and “three-fifths clause.” Abraham Lincoln believed African-Americans must never be allowed to vote, serve on juries, hold office, or intermarry with whites. Lincoln came to believe that the slaves should be freed—but after they were freed, he said they must be deported to the Chiriquí province of Panama (which some referred to as “LINCONIA”).
What’s Your Point, Jeff? • I’m trying to remind readers that some crazy stuff happened throughout history. In spite of what some claim, we should avoid pretending to know how we would have acted, had we lived during those times.
Change for the Sake of Change • On this blog, we have often pointed out the ‘hysteria’ or ‘frenzy’ or ‘delirium’ embraced by many church leaders during the 1960s. Even the great FULTON J. SHEEN got caught up in the 1960s zeitgeist (for a time). In those days, the slogan was: Change for the sake of change! Sadly, things got out of hand.
A Crucial Witness • FERDINANDO CARDINAL ANTONELLI (1896-1993) was the “prime mover” of the 1960s liturgical reform. In secrecy—never a good idea!—Antonelli had drawn up the MEMORIA SULLA RIFORMA LITURGICA (1948) with the help of a few collaborators. On 4 October 1962, the pope named Antonelli as “Secretary General of the Conciliar Commission on the Sacred Liturgy.” All of us, I’m sure—especially when we’re young—have been part of exciting enterprises that turned sour. We have the best of intentions, but we eventually find out we’re not as brilliant as we’d thought. We eventually learn that a ‘committee’ is not a panacëa for all problems. We eventually find out that everyone who came before us was not a dummy. Because Cardinal Antonelli kept diaries from 1915-1993, we can see in real time how alarmed he became when the pernicious schemes of certain reformers began to dawn on him. Antonelli constantly spoke of the disturbing, ill-considered, disorganized, and hasty way the CONSILIUM made momentous decisions. Consider a few excerpts from Cardinal Antonelli’s diary in 1967, and please remember (!) that these comments were written by one of the most enthusiastic crusaders for liturgical reform:
“Often the schemata arrive just before the discussions. Sometimes, and in important matters, such as the new anaphoras [Eucharistic Prayers], the schema was distributed the evening before the discussion was to take place. Cardinal Lercaro is not the man to direct a discussion. Father Bugnini has only one interest: press ahead and finish. The voting system is worse. It is ordinarily done by a show of hands, but nobody counts who has raised a hand and who has not. Nobody says so many approved and so many said no. It is disgraceful. Although the question has been asked several times, nobody has succeeded in ascertaining whether the necessary majority must be absolute or two thirds of the votes. […] Then in the subsequent debates, appeal is often made to positive votes, without anybody being able to prove that a given vote had actually been positive. […] I ask myself: how can one give an opinion on these questions, some of them grave, when the text is changed at the last minute and presented as the meeting ends? This cannot be taken seriously…”
Gregorian Chant Too Flamboyant? • The 1970s must have been a confusing time. It’s as if people felt ’emboldened’ to shock and scandalize. Richard Cardinal Cushing made a show of pretending he couldn’t understand what was going on because the council was conducted in Latin. The truth was, as a student, Cushing had received honors for his Latin and Greek. In 1977, Dom Gregory Murray—who published many articles about Cantus Gregorianus during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s—basically admitted that he hated (!) plainsong:
“After long years of experience and careful study, I now see clearly that the need for reform in liturgical music arose, not in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but a thousand years earlier—in the eight and ninth centuries, or even before that. The abuses began, not with Mozart and Haydn, but with those over-enthusiastic medieval musicians who developed the elaborate and flamboyant Gregorian Chant.”
Consider This Example… • The council fathers would not have approved liturgical changes if they’d been told the actual results which would be ramrodded through a few years after Vatican II ended. They erroneously believed that minor changes would be enacted by the Congregation for Sacred Rites—but that’s not how things turned out. I repeat: there’s no way the council fathers would have given their “green light” if they’d been told that sweeping changes would be made to the Mass by a handful of clerics—in a hurried and haphazard way—and many of the changes were made without any justification whatsoever. Consider the magnificent prayer which comes after the OUR FATHER at Mass. Using the final words (“Sed líbera nos a malo”) as a springboard, this prayer is one of my favorites:
“Deliver us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all evils—past, present, and to come—and by the intercession of the Blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and of the holy Apostles, Peter and Paul, and of Andrew, and of all the Saints, mercifully grant peace in our days, that through the assistance of Thy mercy we may be always free from sin, and secure from all disturbance.”
Past, Present, and to Come • If you examine this PDF chart, you can see what was done to the prayer. Why did the reformers who came after Vatican II eliminate the wonderful “past, present, and to come” language? Some believe it was done because “past” evils refer to sins—and some reformers tried to eliminate references to sin. The reformers also inexplicably deleted all the language which spoke of the saints (Mary, Peter, Paul, etc.) interceding for us before the Throne of God. Needless to say, messing around with the ancient Mass texts has “unintended consequences.” Consider the ancient hymn for the feast of All Saints (November 1st). For hundreds of years, it was called CHRISTE REDEMPTOR OMNIUM, but Pope Urban VIII changed its name to PLACARE CHRISTE SERVULIS. That hymn, which is treated in a splendid way by the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal, seems to ‘reflect’ or ‘mimic’ or ‘resemble’ the prayer we’ve been discussing. Do you agree with me?
Live Recording • The Catholic Church teaches the intercession of the saints, and we often sing hymns reflective of this theology. Each day, I invoke the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. [You can see images of them if you click here and scroll down.] Here’s a live recording of our volunteer choir singing CHRISTE REDEMPTOR OMNIUM last Sunday:
Shared Melodies • We have often spoken of the fabulous “shared tune” technique used in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. This technique means once you teach your choir an SATB hymn, you can get more bang for your buck by using it with other texts. One example would be “O Lux Beáta Cǽlitum,” for the Feast of the Holy Family, married to ALTONA: (PDF). Another example would be the Latin version (PDF) of “Christe Redémptor” married to ALTONA. [Remember, the ancient hymn “Christe Redémptor Ómnium” had its title changed by Pope Urban VIII in 1629AD to “Placáre Christe Sérvulis.”] Here’s our volunteer choir singing the Latin version:
Some Really Good News! • In spite of all the bad, scandalous, horrific news we hear about, there’s also some really good news. Many faithful Catholics still exist, and try each day to grow in holiness. It cannot be denied that those who tried to murder sacrality in the 1960s era failed. Many holy priests are out there. Many holy religious are out there. Many holy lay Catholics are out there, and can be found in abundance! Dr. Tappan agrees with this and mentioned it as part of his open letter. The ancient, reverent, and traditional Catholic practices are thriving if we compare our times to the 1980s. Moreover, technology has opened up countless avenues for the conscientious choirmaster. Here at Corpus Christi Watershed, we have a billion more discoveries and resources we can’t wait to share with you! To give just one tiny example, here’s an organ interlude written by William Boyce (d. 1779), a composer whose hymn tunes were included in the Brébeuf Hymnal. Unless I’m mistaken, it can be played on organ manuals alone:
May God be praised for allowing us to help—in a small way—musicians the world over!
Rude Priests, Deacons, Parishioners, Etc.
BELIEVE THERE’S ONE major obstacle standing in the way of the conscientious choirmaster: demoralization. Musicians tend to be sensitive and melancholic. When they’re treated with contempt, they tend to dwell on that pain. Sometimes, priests are rude. Maybe they don’t intend to be rude; maybe they are struggling (as Saint John Bosco did) to treat everyone equally. Saint John Bosco said that a priest who’s perceived to show favoritism toward someone can cause grave harm, especially to young boys. Priests are called upon to ‘mingle’ with thousands of souls, which must be exhausting. Nevertheless, perhaps priests could occasionally issue a ‘blanket apology’ from the pulpit, letting folks know they’re not perfect and asking forgiveness if anyone has felt snubbed by them. But it’s not just priests who can sometimes treat musicians with disrespect! It might be a seminarian, principal, parishioner, deacon, or chorister. These insults tend to cause musicians tremendous pain. Readers probably understand all too well how frequently musicians are treated with injustice.
How Can One Cope? • I wish I had a way to remove all the pain. If I knew of something like that, I would share it with you. In the articles I’ve written over the last 10 years, I have attempted to share suggestions that might help. Having loving and sympathetic friends can help ease the pain. Praying the “Litany of Humility” by Cardinal Merry del Val can help. Trying to cultivate a sense of humor can help, too. I wish readers could meet Father Robert Skeris, the most joyful and hilarious man of my acquaintance. These are just a few examples of techniques I’ve tried to share over the years.
Manliness • When it comes to people who behave in an unchristian manner, this can be found within Ordinary Form parishes and also Extraordinary Form parishes. Since the 1990s, I have been heavily involved in TLM parishes all over the world. I’ve noticed something strange: the self-same people who are the most judgmental towards others (and the most pharisaical) without exception have the most disorder in their own personal lives. Indeed, many are living immoral lives. In some TLM parishes, I have observed a “crisis of manhood” which is disturbing. I’m talking about cowards who brag to everyone about how manly they are. Yet, these same men beat their wives and abuse their children. It’s appalling! And these same men spend every waking moment recording themselves (“selfie”) and posting their “hot takes” online—similar to what a teenaged girl might do. Just to be absolutely clear: a real man would never do any of those things. My brothers and I had the blessing to watch our father react to stressful situations. The “manly” thing to do (although it seems contradictory) is often to control one’s emotions.
Go Forward Bravely! • I’m not sure anyone cares about my advice, but I’ll provide it just in case. My advice is to go forward bravely! Don’t allow others to tear you down. Never doubt that 100 million people will try to break your spirit. But we are called to serve God the same way the saints—our “older brothers and sisters in the Faith”—served God: bravely! If your spirit feels truly broken by the derision of others, I would strongly recommend reading excerpts from the life of Saint Isaac Jogues and his companions.
