Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”
Our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, seems to be less interested in the Liturgy than his immediate predecessor. Some are asking, “What will become of the Liturgical movement called for by Pope Benedict and popes before him?”
It seems to me, sometimes the choice of a Pope is obvious.
Like many of you, I read voraciously about sacred music, liturgy, and music in general . . .
We live in an age where false information can be “dressed up” and disseminated via the internet with the click of a button.
This blog entry starts out “negative” but ends “positive.” Sadly, most people will not read the entire thing, so they’ll miss the positive section. Will you?
Is it allowed to use an American Flag as an Altar Cloth at Mass? That is, an Altar Cloth decorated with the stars from the American flag?
“. . . in many instances one feels that the rhyme has shaped the thought rather than the other way around.”—Rev. Francis J. Guentner, S.J.
“Catholics in America have been the heirs of a sentimental and subjective hymn tradition that, for some reason or other, has taken a deep and fast hold on the fancy of the average person.” —Rev. Francis Brunner, C.Ss.R.
While it is interesting to read about how the organ was used in earlier times, this can be quite shocking!
“Say not only prayers of petition, for that is the way of the greedy. Let us pray always for resignation to the will of God. That is the prayers of the saints.” —Bishop Fulton J. Sheen
Each and every week, thousands of Catholics play “Spin the Wheel for Hymns” instead of using the sacred and ancient texts prescribed by the Church. What does this have to do with a rich man born without legs and arms?
“One is not only appalled by the banality of that English translation, but what strikes one so forcibly is the damage done to the very content of the Latin prayers in what is supposed to pass as a translation.” (1990 article by Msgr. Schuler)
Click here to go back to the Exsultet Website. Click here to learn more about the Vatican II Hymnal.
Tozer: “I have, on the other hand, retained several more or less traditional tunes, absolutely valueless and without merit from a musical point of view, but which seem to have become a necessity if a book is to appeal — as I hope this one will — to the varied needs of various churches.”
The following letter was printed in the “Sacred Music Journal” (Winter of 2002). I was shocked when I first read it. It concerns a conductor famous for his performances of the works of William Byrd.
