VEN IF SOMEONE commits sin in an isolated and remote forest, it doesn’t matter. God sees everything. Whether one’s work ends up popular makes no difference (ultimately) so long as the work was offered to God. It’s important to make the Sign of the Cross frequently, offering one’s day to God over and over again, and remembering we’ll be held accountable for how we spend every moment of our life. That being said, it can be frustrating to see valuable church projects overlooked. And it can be exceedingly frustrating to see music of inferior quality promoted by those who know better.
9 November Chart • Those who came together to produce the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal spent more than half a decade in the ‘research’ phase. Countless comparison charts were drawn up, especially of English translations for ancient Latin hymns. I was recently granted permission from SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS to share with our readers an example of one of these charts. It is for the Vespers Hymn for 9 November (Dedication of the Lateran Basilica):
* PDF Download • COMPARISON CHART—[20 versions]
—“Cæléstis urbs Jerúsalem” and “Urbs Jerúsalem beáta.”
Examining that chart will give one a tiny inkling of the immense research required before the Brébeuf Hymnal went to print.
Music List • Readers have expressed interest in examining the “music list” I prepared for this coming Sunday. The COMMUNION is particularly beautiful, as it contains verses from Urbs Jerúsalem Beáta. Specifically, it refers to Christians who get to heaven as ‘living stones’ of Jerusalem: “Stones hewn by the chisel and polished by the countless blows of the Divine Master form this edifice.”
Terríbilis Est Lócus • The mansion of the LATERANI at Rome was the popes’ residence for a thousand years. The church there is still Rome’s cathedral church—“Mother and Head of all churches of the City and of the World,” says the inscription over the entrance. It is dedicated to Our Holy Savior, but has long been commonly known as “Saint John Lateran” owing to its famous baptistery of Saint John the Baptist. The pope’s ‘cathedra’ (episcopal chair) stands in the apse. The feast basically reminds us that a Catholic Church is unlike any other place, since inside it the SECOND PERSON OF THE BLESSED TRINITY becomes present.
Additional Titles for this feast:
Die 9 novembris • In Dedicatione Basilicae Lateranensis
Dedicatio Basilicae Lateranensis, 9 novembris
Die 9 novembris • In Dedicatione Archbasilicae Sanctissimi Salvatoris
The Dedication of the Archbasilica of Our Holy Savior
In Dedicatione Basilicæ Ss. Salvatoris
November 9 • Dedication of the Church of our Savior
Dedication of Our Savior’s Church
Older liturgical books—such as Catholic Almanac & Laity’s Directory (Baltimore)—call it: “Dedication of St. Saviour’s.” We recall that “saint” means holy.
