The following came from Sister Anne Flanagan, FSP
[“FSP” stands for Filiae Sancti Pauli.]
EAR JEFFREY: Blessed James Alberione exhorted his followers : “Hymns should primarily be expressions of faith, and deep faith.” But Saint Ambrose is said to have added: “The voice sings in order to enjoy, while the mind exercises itself in deepening its faith.” (I would be indebted to anyone who could please locate the source of this quote, which appears in the FOREWORD of our 1980 community hymnal!) Both criteria are more than admirably satisfied when the ancient Eucharistic hymn, Sancti Venite (“Come, All Ye Holy”) attributed to Saint Sechnall of Dunshaughlin (d. 447AD) is sung to FORTESCUE, a new composition for four-part voices found in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal, which my community has adapted for three-part women’s voices on Holy Thursday. It fulfills Blessed Alberione’s vision for sacred music, as communicated to the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master in 1947: “Well-prepared hymns, when well sung, uplift the sentiments [of the heart] and lead them to God.” We were so grateful when permission was granted by the copyright holders to include FORTESCUE in the new hymnal I’m working on for our North American province (Daughters of Saint Paul).
To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.
On 3 June 2024,
Jeff Ostrowski replies
to Sister Anne Flanagan:
EAR SISTER: I’m so glad to hear from you, and I’d like to thank you for the wonderful example you give the world by your religious life! I realize the Catholic Church has problems, yet how wonderful it is to know that Almighty God never ceases to call men and women to his service in a special way (as He has done with you and others). I was thrilled to see from your biography that singing is such a huge part of your life and vocation. I’m also delighted that you fell in love with FORTESCUE. It was named in honor of FATHER ADRIAN FORTESCUE—considered by some the preëminent scholar of the 20th century—because it was he who composed an English translation that matches perfectly the original Latin. Father Fortescue died in 1923, the same year as Abbat Joseph Pothier, the greatest Gregorianist since Guido d’Arezzo. Before leaving for the hospital (where he died of cancer), Dr. Fortescue entered his little church for a long and final farewell and was seen to kiss fervently the Altar on which he’d so often offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, about which he’d written so profoundly. For the record, if you’re interested to see a manuscript from the seventh century containing that text, click here.
I was in Los Angeles for ten years, but never had an opportunity to teach FORTESCUE to my choir, which consisted 100% of volunteers. They preferred a melody called CHRIST IST ERSTANDEN, which I’m told is the Church’s oldest vernacular melody. (Some books also refer to it as “Christus Ist Erstanden”.) Indeed, at my final Mass in Los Angeles—which interestingly fell on the feast of Corpus Christi—my choir lovingly sang that very melody. Below is a ‘live’ recording from that Mass:
To access this hymn’s media in the Brébeuf Portal, click here.
