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.”
“We had in the Church when I was growing up . . . there was a kind of special language we used in Church, and I was sorry to see it go . . . There wasn’t anything wrong with that. It was a language we used in talking to God.” — Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke
On 13 June, Pope Francis announced the imminent release of an encyclical written “with four hands.” (No, this is not a Schubert Sonata for four hands!)
“My father had no job and a daily passion for beer. The situation was hopeless for both him and his seven children. When I was 11 years old, Catholic Charities intervened. They split us up, and sent five of us kids to foster homes, and my older brother Mike and I to Boys Town.”
For a long while I’ve been ruminating on the nature of the Liturgy, Scripture as found in the Mass Propers, the Golden Calf narrative (thanks to Ratzinger’s Spirit of the Liturgy), Good Friday tradition, and episcopal authority. Here are some semi-organized thoughts on the matter.
“During the boy-scout hand-shake (Sign of Peace), the lady with whom I shook hands accused me of trying to steal her bracelet.” — Msgr. Francis P. Schmitt, writing in 1965
I have an important question, but nobody seems to care. It has to do with the famous: “When it falls on a Saturday or a Monday, the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated.”
Yet another training video, this time simpler than ever.
“The Problem Is Not That We Are Sinners”
… one week at a time. Some families are keen to teach their children good hymns, but don’t know where to start.
Fr. Pierre Paul is well-known to Church musicians everywhere due to the amazing progress he has personally overseen with the Vatican choirs.
“A real tradition is not the relic of a past that is irretrievably gone; it is a living force that animates and informs the present” –Igor Stravinsky
“Gregorian Chant is apt to remain the singing voice of the Church for a good many years to come.” — Fr. Malone, writing in 1962.
Vatican II presents a mystical, contemplative, symbolic vision of liturgy, the celebration of which John Paul II said “must be characterized by a profound sense of the sacred.” Is it what you experience at your local parish?
“It is true that the use of the ancient psalm tones for texts in English has been a matter of recent debate, some asserting that it is not possible to fit the cadences of the Gregorian tones . . .”
This timeless text is the high point of this liturgy.
