Happy St. John's Day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD0Bz5RrNRc

On the Feast of Stephen

Along with Good King Wenceslaus we are invited, on this feast of Stephen, to reflect on our diakonia, our service, to our sisters and brothers.  As one of the first deacons of the Church, St. Stephen becomes a model for the giving of oneself to others.

From today's office of readings:

Yesterday we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal King.  Today we celebrate the triumphant suffering of his soldier.  Yesterday our king, clothed in his robe of flesh, left his place in the virgin's womb and graciously visited the world.  Today his soldier leaves the tabernacle of his body and goes triumphantly to heaven.

Our king, despite his exalted majesty, came in humility for our sake; yet he did not come empty-handed.  He gave of his bounty, yet without any loss to himself.  In a marvelous way he changed into wealth the poverty of his faithful followers while remaining in full possession of his own inexhaustible riches.

And so the love that brought Christ from heaven to earth raised Stephen from earth to heaven; shown first in the king, it later shone forth in his soldier.  His love of God kept him from yielding to the ferocious mob; his love for his neighbor made him pray for those who were stoning him.  Love inspired him to reprove those who erred, to make them amend; love led him to pray for those who stoned him, to save them from punishment.

Love, indeed, is the source of all good things; it is an impregnable defense, and the way that leads to heaven.  He who walks in love can neither go astray nor be afraid:  love guides him, protects him, and brings him to his journey's end.

Christ made love the stairway that would enable all Christians to climb to heaven.  Hold fast to it, therefore, in all sincerity, give one another proctical proof of it, and by your progress in it, make your ascent together.

(Fulgentius)

Hodie Christus Natus Est

O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

O Emmanuel, God with us, our King and lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their Savior: come to save us, O Lord our God.

O Rex Gentium

O King of all the nations,
the only joy of every human heart;
O Keystone of the mighty arch of man,
come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.

O Radiant Dawn

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death. O Come Emmanuel

O Clavis David

O Key of David, and Scepter of the House of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens; Come and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israël, qui aperis, et nemo claudit, claudis, et nemo aperuit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse, who stood as a sign for the people, before you kings shall remain silent, and to you the gentiles shall make supplication: come to deliver us, and delay not.

O Adonai

O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave im the holy law on Sianai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free.

O Antiphons

"O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet gentle care.  Come and show your people the way to salvation." 

The “Seven Marian Antiphons” are a setting of the “O Antiphons” of the Roman Catholic liturgy which are short verses sung before the Magnificat for Evening Prayer of the seven days preceding the vigil of Christmas.  Called the “O Antiphons” because each begins with the interjection “O”, their opening words are: O Sapientia, O Adonai, O Radix Jesse, O Clavis David, O Oriens, O Rex Gentium, O Emmanuel.  Each is addressed to Christ under one of his Scriptural titles and each concludes with a petition to the coming Lord.  An interesting acrostic occurs when the first letter of each invocation is taken in reverse order: ERO CRAS.  The phrase spells out the response of Christ to the heartfelt prayer of his people:  “Tomorrow I will be there.”  In the ninth century, the antiphons were reworked into the familiar hymn: Veni, Veni, Emmanuel (O Come, O Come Emmanuel)

 Background information

The Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) is a collection of prayer services which take place at various times throughout the day.  The idea is the sanctification of all time.  Clerics in the Catholic Church make a promise to pray the hours at the time of their ordination. 

Prior to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council the Divine Office had a primarily monastic form.  The various hours of the day (e.g., Lauds, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, etc.) were solemnized by the chanting of psalms, the proclamation of Scripture, and the chanting of various Scriptural canticles.  Prayers for the needs of the Church and the world are included in some of the Hours.

In the Vatican II reforms, the Office was simplified for use by the diocesan clergy.  However, the structure was maintained: Invitatory, Hymn, Psalmody, Scripture, Responsory, Magnificat with its antiphon, Intercessions, The Lord’s Prayer and Concluding Prayer and Blessing.  Night Prayer also includes a concluding Marian Hymn (e.g., Salve Regina, Regina Coeli, Ave Maria).

The last several years have seen an increase in communal celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours, especially Morning and Evening Prayer.  Many parishes offer Vespers to celebrate special occasions.  (In Winona, we celebrate Morning Prayer on the three days of the Paschal Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday) on which Masses other than those prescribed for the Triduum are forbidden).  Parish vespers often follow a more ceremonial form of the Office which is rooted in the Cathedral Vespers of ancient times.  This often includes an opening light ceremony (Lucenarium) and thanksgiving for the light and the use of incense and more formal vestments.

May they rest in peace

For those killed at Newtown, Connecticut.  The beautiful Lux aeterna by Nadia Boulanger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh6oPghFnt0

Gaudete Sunday

Gaudete in a time of sadness.  My homily for the Third Sunday of Advent.

On Friday, as I made my way to St. Cloud to take my mother Christmas shopping (don’t all you mothers wish you had a son like me?) I began to hear the reports of the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.  I realized rather quickly that my original homily, focused as it was on the call to rejoice would not be quite right in the aftermath of such violence and loss of innocent life. 

            And yet we have these beautiful readings which call us to rejoice – even when we may not feel like rejoicing.  Even when our feelings may be more in line with a short Latin poem that a friend of mine composed:  Nocte fletuum angelis./Mundi frangitur./Vocis voces in caelis/Clamant malum lucem extinguitur.  Translated into English it means: Night of weeping angels./The world is shattered./Resounding voices in heaven/Cry out: Evil has extinguished the light.  It easy, in the face of such horror to feel that evil is triumphant and that the light has been extinguished.  So what can we say?  How should we respond? And what is God saying to us today through our Scriptures?

            St. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, the source of today’s second reading from prison.  One would not think this would be an occasion for rejoicing.  And yet, not only does Paul encourage us to rejoice, he wants us to rejoice in the Lord always, and then he says, “again I say, rejoice.”  Where did Paul, in the midst of his suffering and trial, get the urge to rejoice?  It comes in the next sentence:  The Lord is near.  For Paul, who was expecting the Lord’s return in short order, the fact that the Lord was near overcame the sufferings of the present and infused his heart with joy. 

            What about the prophesy of Zephaniah that contains our first reading – that exhilarating call to rejoicing that seems so full of hope and excitement and which is set so stunningly  by Handel in his “Messiah?”  Zephaniah’s times were not easy.  The kingdom to which his prophesy is addressed had fallen into complete moral and spiritual decay.  The king had entered into an alliance with the Assyrians which included acceptance of their gods.  So Zephaniah is faced with rulers who act like foreigners.  He could see the fraud, violence and complacency that accompanied the disintegration of the political leadership.   Added to the political turmoil was an increasing belief among the people that God was powerless to act.  That their situation in life had become permanent. 

            When we read the entirety of Zephaniah’s prophesy we encounter his catalogue of accusations against the rulers of his day.  And then he ends his prophesy with the bold call to rejoice and shout for joy.  Why?  Because the Lord is in their midst and he comes to bring them forgiveness and comfort.  In other words, the dire situation in which they live is not the end of the story – that God can and will act on behalf of the people.

            That is the message for us on this Gaudete Sunday (the Sunday of rejoicing) as we face yet another senseless act of violence.  That we are not alone, that the light is not extinguished, that our God is with us.  That is the constant theme of this Advent and Christmas season – that our God has come to us with salvation, forgiveness and strength.  That is the message of the Advent wreath whose candles we light one by one.  That is the message of the Scripture and song that we share during these weeks when not only do the nights seem long and cold but tragedy, once again, visits our land.

            In the aftermath of the shootings at Columbine, Archbishop Charles Chaput, who was then the Archbishop of Denver wrote to his people of his feelings and experience in the wake of that tragedy.  He writes:  “The impact of what happened this past week in Littleton, however, didn't fully strike home in my heart until the morning after the murders, when I visited a large prayer gathering of students from Columbine High School, and spent time with the families of two of the students who died. They taught me something.  The students who gathered to pray and comfort each other showed me again the importance of sharing not just our sorrow, but our hope. God created us to witness His love to each other, and we draw our life from the friendship, the mercy and the kindness we offer to others in pain. The young Columbine students I listened to, spoke individually -- one by one -- of the need to be strong, to keep alive hope in the future, and to turn away from violence. Despite all their confusion and all their hurt, they would not despair. I think I understand why. We're creatures of life. This is the way God made us: to assert life in the face of death.”

            In our Gospel, John the Baptist responds to the questions of those who came to him about how they should order their lives.  He gives each group some rather practical advice.  Archbishop Chaput did the same:  “We need to change. But societies only change when families change, and families only change when individuals change. Without a conversion to humility, non-violence and selflessness in our own hearts, all our talk about "ending the violence" may end as pious generalities. It is not enough to speak about reforming our society and community. We need to reform ourselves.”

            And so, what I learned from the Scriptures is that rejoicing is necessary to hope.  That in the darkness and the violence we need not a giddy, superficial joy but a deep down recognition that God has not abandoned us, that God, in fact, grieves with us – he too, lost a Son in an act of violence and hatred.  I learned that in the midst of darkness there is light – the light of the resilience of the human spirit, but even more the light of Christ whose presence among us we are preparing to celebrate.  I learned that when the evil seems to have extinguished the light that I need to rejoice even more.

Happy St. Juan de la Cruz Day

"In the evening of life we will be judged on love alone"

Santa Lucia

From Thomas Merton:

Lucy, whose day is on our darkest season,
(Althought your name is full of light,)
We walkers in the murk and rain of flesh and sense,
Lost in the midnight of our dead world's winter solstice
Look for the fogs to open on your friendly star.

We have long since cut down the summer of history;
Our cheerful towns have all gone out
    like fireflies in October.
The fields are flooded and the vine is bare:
How have our long days dwindled,
    now the world is frozen!

Locked in the cold jails of our stubborn will,
Oh hear the shovels growling in the gravel.
This is the way they'll make our beds for ever,
Ours, whose Decembers have put out the sun:
Doors of whose souls are shut against the summertime!

Martyr, whose short day sees our winter and our Calvary,
Show us some light, who seem forsaken by the sky:
We have so dwelt in darkness that our eyes are screened
    and dim,
And all but blinded by the weakest ray.

Hallow the vespers and December of our life,
    O martyred Lucy:
Console our solstice with your friendly day.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

From the blog of Bishop Flores of Brownsville, Texas:

These are intense days of devotion and prayer in the United States, and certainly here in the Rio Grande Valley. On December the 8, we celebrated the Immaculate Conception, Patronal Feast of our Cathedral here in the Diocese of Brownsville, and since 1847, patroness of the United States. And yet four days later, on December 12 we celebrate the great feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. The two feasts are deeply connected in the mystery of faith. On December the 8 we recall the truth that God chooses to give the full gift of grace on his own initiative, to prepare Mary from the first moment of her conception for her mission. On December 12, we are given a vivid reminder of what that mission entails. The Virgin's presence announces that the Lord is coming to be with his people, to free us from death, darkness and sin.

On December 12, I wish I could be everywhere at once in the Rio Grande Valley; the processions, the Masses in all the parishes, in small mission chapels, and at the Basilica; las Mañanitas, the menudo and hojarascas-- it's everwhere. And it is for everyone: families, the elderly, small children in costumes; laughing, singing, high school students playing in mariachi bands, fireworks. It is joyous, reverent and a full display of the mystery of faith alive in our land. This feast is a singular grace for our diocese and our nation, worthy of a special place in the hearts of all Catholics in the United States.

There are so many reasons for this exuberance. And yet in the end they are all one simple reason keenly felt by all of us who celebrate her day. The Virgin, in her very person, -- because her person bears the Son of God-- appears in 1531 as the gentle voice announcing to a good but labored soul that heaven is kind and very close, and that the darkness will not have its way forever. There was much blood spilled in the Americas both prior to the arrival of the Spanish Empire, and after. Human sacrifice gave way to a conquest that was in many ways brutal. It was hard in those days to believe in the triumph of light over darkness, mercy over vengeance, reconciliation over recrimination. But somehow, in the Virgin's appearing, in the image of the innocent one already bearing the Son of God in her womb, the announcement of mercy went forth and was joyfully received.

This is the cause of our joy: God has appeared in our land; he has taken flesh from the Virgin; and we need not fear that the darkness will in the end prevail. She comes as the breeze that announces that the springtime of the human race is possible by the grace of God's favor. The Gospel brings this springtime, and for us in the Americas, Our Lady left us the Gospel written as an image on Juan Diego's tilma. The Gospel was the hope of the peoples of the Americas when the Virgin appeared, and it is the hope of our future as a people. There is urgent need for this hope. We in the Valley know too well that much blood is spilled senselessly for power, greed, vengeance, and drugs. A new sort of cult of death menaces our children. Our Lady of Guadalupe, and the Christ she bears forth to our world show us the way out of this encroaching despair.

Perhaps it is time to designate Our Lady of Guadalupe as Co-patroness of the United States. Most recently I read a post by Cardinal Mahony encouraging this prospect: http://cardinalrogermahonyblogsla.blogspot.com/2012/12/our-lady-of-guadalupe-patroness-of-usa.html. Together with the Immaculate Conception on December 8, and Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12, we could as Catholics in the United States renew our appreciation for the way grace works in us by contemplating the Mother of God under these two magnificent invocations. For us also, grace is given by God's wise design to both make us holy, and to send us forth to announce that the long reign of sin is ending. The one follows upon the other. There is no evangelization without holiness; and grace is given so as to be shared with a world that dwells in darkness and under the shadow of death.

Our Lady Conceived without sin, pray for us that no sin impede our reception of your Son into our lives!

Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray that having received him, we be worthy bearers of your Son to others!

Happy St. Damasus Day

Today is the Feast of St. Damasus.  His election took place in chaos betweeen competing factions within the Roman Church.  His 18 year reign saw some significant changes in the life of the Church.  Among his "claims to fame" is his invitation to St. Jerome to translate the scriptures from Greek to Latin.  It was also during his reign that the canon of the Bible was established.

He was instrumental in translating the liturgy from Greek to Latin which had become the common language of the people. 

He fought against heresies.

He promoted veneration of them martyrs including composing epigrams to decorate their tombs.

He wrote the following for his own tomb:

"He who, walking on the sea, could calm the bitter waves,
who gives life to the dying seeds of the earth;
He who was able to loose the mortal chains of death, ...

and after three days' darkness
could bring again to the upper world
the brother for his sister Martha:
He, I believe, will make Damasus rise again from the dust."

 

All in all he was a "good shepherd" and today we heard the parable of the shepherd who goes after the lost sheep.  An appropriate Gospel for the day.

Being a Friend

There are many resources to help guide our Advent reflections.  Among them is the popular "Magnificat" magazine.  In the special Advent issue, Heather King offers the following reflection on today's Gospel about the curing of the paralyzed man.

"The forgiveness of sins, the parable of the paralytic at Capernaum tells us. is deeply connected to physical healing.  What most needs healing, the parable tell us, is the sense of guilt that drives our actions, choices, and relationships.  But maybe what the parable really tells us is how to be a friend.  Christ always seems especially partial to those who are willing to risk ridicule in a crowd.  Here, the inventive friends are so intent on the healing of their paralytic pal that they clamber up to the roof, perhaps against his protestations -- "Come on, fellas, people are gonna think we're crazy!" -- and lower him down.  It's thus the friends, with their bold, confident trust in Christ, who are the real stars of the story.  It's the friends to whom Christ says, "As for you, your sins are forgiven."  He goes on to heal the paralytic physically, but the deeper miracle has already occurred.  How often we assure a troubled friend, "I'll pray for you," then go about our business.  How often we are stopped from true prayer by the "derisive crowd" in our own mind.  To love one another as Christ loved us is to grab hold of our friend's stretcher, climb on the roof, and say, "Jesus, here, over here!  My friend has been stuck in pain for so long!  Please help."

St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

Although it is not celebrated this year because it falls on the Second Sunday of Advent today is the feast of St. Juan Diego to whom Mary appeared as Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The Collect for the feast:

O God, who by means of Saint Juan Diego
showed the love of the most holy Virgin Mary for your people,
grant, through his intercession,
that, by following the counsels our Mother gave at Guadalupe,
we may be ever constant in fulfilling your will.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

Second Sunday of Advent

From "The Deacon's Bench" blog. A homily for the Second Sunday of Advent.

This past Wednesday, the music world lost a giant: jazz legend Dave Brubeck. He died the day before his 92nd birthday. If you read his obituary in the New York Times, you learned that he was the first jazz artist to sell a million records; that he was only the second one, after Louis Armstrong, to make the cover of TIME magazine; and that his recordings and performances were treasured by millions around the world.

What you would not have learned about, though, was his faith. Somehow, the newspapers left that out. The fact is: late in life, Dave Brubeck became a Catholic. He didn’t like to call himself a convert, since you have to have something to convert FROM, and he had no real belief for much of his life. But at a particular moment in his life, this man who gave so many so much to hear, heard something himself. And it changed everything.

It began a little over 30 years ago, when Brubeck was commissioned to write a Mass. Not just any Mass. A jazz Mass, using all the musical tools he had mastered. Though his background was Protestant, he thought it would be an interesting challenge. He worked on it for a few months and after it was completed, and had its first performance, a priest told him how much he loved the music. But the priest said that he was puzzled because it didn’t include the Our Father.

Brubeck didn’t realize the oversight, but said he’d already completed the composition and didn’t want to disrupt the musical flow by writing something new. So he decided to just let it go. But a few days later, while on vacation with his family, Brubeck awoke in the middle of the night, astonished. Music was swimming in his head. The entire Our Father had come to him in a dream, complete with orchestra and chorus. He climbed out of bed, made his way to a desk, and wrote it all out. As he told an interviewer years later:

“Because of this event I decided that I might as well join the Catholic Church because someone somewhere was pulling me toward that end.” He was baptized in 1980.

Advent reminds us: we are all being “pulled toward that end,” all of us are being drawn to God. We are being called—called to follow, called to change. Called, like Dave Brubeck, to hear something new.

John the Baptist today gives us a powerful example.

“The word of God came to John in the desert,” Luke wrote. “John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins…”

Like Dave Brubeck, John heard. He listened. And he couldn’t keep it to himself. He shared it with the world.

This is a gospel, in part, about keeping our ears and hearts open to the word of God, and then responding.

Dave Brubeck heard music. So, in his way, did John the Baptist.

A popular song this time of year asks us, “Do you hear what I hear?” This second Sunday of Advent, we might ask ourselves: what are we hearing? There’s so much battling for our attention—I don’t need to list it for you. Just turn on the computer or visit the shopping mall.

But some of it is within ourselves. The noise of our own self-interest, the clamor of our sin. Sometimes we can’t hear because we are so busy listening to ourselves.

Advent says: hush. Listen. Do you hear what I hear? The word of God is coming to us. The word that is His gospel – and the Word that is His Son.

Which is why this season is so important: we need to make ourselves ready to receive what God is offering. John cries out, “Prepare the way of the Lord!” Make low the high mountains of our pride. Straighten the crooked roads of ego and selfishness. Fill the valleys of our despair or fear.

The call of Advent is a call to conversion. It proclaims the path to a different way of living. It points us toward a star, and a manger—and beyond that, to the cross.

But it points, ultimately, to our salvation, and to a hope that will never die.

Dave Brubeck gave his unique jazz Mass a name. He called it: “To Hope.” This time of year, in between office parties and family reunions, we might think of that as a toast –to health, to happiness, to prosperity, to hope. But it is also a verb. “To hope” is the Christian way of living.

In the vocabulary of this season, it is all that and more. It is a direction. Advent calls us to follow that direction. Look for the signs. Listen. The word of God is pointing the way:

To life.

To salvation.

And yes: to hope.

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

An anonymous 13th century poet wrote this beautiful "Hymn to the Virgin." It was famously set to music by Benjamin Britten when he was only 16 years old and it remains one of his most accomplished works.

Of one that is so fair and bright Velut maris stella [like the star of the sea],
Brighter than the day is light, Parens et puella: [mother and girl]
I cry to thee, thou see to me, Lady, pray thy Son for me, Tam pia, [how holy]
That I might come to thee Maria.

All this world was forlorn Eva peccatrice [Eve, the sinner],
Till our Lord was y-born De te genetrice [from you was born]
With ave it went away Darkest night and comes the day Salutis [health];
The well springeth out of thee, Virtutis [virtue].

Lady, flower of everything, Rose sine spina [rose without thorns],
Thou bear Jesu, heavens king, Gratia divina [by divine grace]:
Of all thou bearst the prize, Lady, queen of paradise Electa [chosen]:
Maid mild, mother es Effecta [it is accomplished].

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YxGReDqUWw

Happy St. Nicholas Day a day late

St. Nicholas is a favorite of many in the early part of the Advent season.  Many legends and traditions have grown up around this saint.  In my home while growing up St. Nicholas would appear on the evening of December 6 and bring us fruit, nuts and candy.  It was always an exciting day.

When I was in seminary there were a number of Byzantine rite students living at the North American College.  St. Nicholas Day was always a special celebration.  Those of us willing to attend Divine Liturgy were also invited to the grand dinner afterward.  At the dinner there was a special song we sang to St. Nicholas.  I have the words around somewhere but even when I can't find them I hum it as part of my own personal celebration.

Happy St. Ambrose Day



Today we remember St Ambrose of Milan (340? - 397), Bishop and Doctor.- He was born in Trier (now in Germany) between 337 and 340, to a Roman family: his father was praetorian prefect of Gaul. Ambrose was educated at Rome In about 372 he was made prefect of Liguria and Emilia, whose capital was Milan.

In 374 the bishopric of Milan fell vacant and when Ambrose tried to pacify the conflict between the Catholics and Arians over the appointment of a new bishop, the people turned on him and demanded that he become the bishop himself. He immediately gave his money to the poor and his land to the Church He was assiduous in carrying out his office, acting with charity to all: a true shepherd and teacher of the faithful. He defended the rights of the Church and attacked the Arian heresy with learning, firmness and gentleness. He also wrote a number of hymns which are still in use today.

Ambrose was a key figure in the conversion of St Augustine to Catholicism, impressing Augustine (hitherto unimpressed by the Catholics he had met) by his intelligence and scholarship.

(from the Doylesford Norbertine website)

In the liturgical life of the Church there are several rites which celebrate the liturgy in ways different from the Roman Rite.  One of these is the Ambrosian Rite which is centered in the Archdiocese of Milan.  The structure of the Mass is very similar to that of the Roman Rite but has a body of chant that is unique and beautiful.

I visited The Basilica of St. Stanislaus Kotska in Winona today in prepration for the Mass of Elevation in a few weeks.  I took a few pictures but can't figure out how to get them off my phone.  Will work on that in the coming days so check back and see the crest, the umbrellino, the tinntinabulum and more. 

Feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Today is the feast of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross who was Edith Stein in secular life.  She was an atheist philospher who came to the Gospel through her studies. She entered the Carmelite order and was put to death at Auschwitz.

"In order to be an image of God, the spirit must turn to what is eternal, hold it in spirit, keep it in memory, and by loving it, embrace it in the will."
~ Edith Stein

We Give Thanks and Praise

The NPM convention is coming to an end. At least for me.  I will be heading home tomorrow.  It has been a good experience and I feel like I have a better feel for what has been happening in the world of church music.  As often happens there were far more workshops I would have liked to attend than there was opportunity. 

Tonight we gathered for Eucharist.  The music was wonderful, as one might expect.  It is particularly moving that the whole assembly would sing in parts.  It makes for a great sung prayer.  The Eucharistic Acclamations came from Christopher Pardini's New Century Mass.  They were festive and easy to pick up.  I also liked Michael Joncas' communion song, "Sacramentum Caritatis." The refrain was in Latin and while perhaps a little long was easily singable and by the last couple of verses I was able to sing it by memory. 

I am glad I was able to be a part of this convention and I am sure that it will enliven my ministry both in the parish and in the diocese.

NPM Day 2

Today was another fun day at the National Meeting of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.  We began with morning prayer.  Today is the memorial of St. Scharbel. Following the example of the fifth-century St. Maron, Sharbel lived as a hermit from 1875 until his death. His reputation for holiness prompted people to seek him to receive a blessing and to be remembered in his prayers. He followed a strict fast and was very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. When his superiors occasionally asked him to administer the sacraments to nearby villages, Sharbel did so gladly.

The reading was sung in Arabic. 

The Plenum (keynote) of the day was Fr. Michael Joncas speaking on the connections between liturgy and life.  He took as his basis the hymn O sacrum convivium.  O sacrum convivium! in quo Christus sumitur: recolitur memoria passionis ejus; mens impletur gratia; et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. (O sacred banquet! in which Christ is received, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory to us is given. Alleluia.)

He spoke about the life of the disciple as memory (the memory of his Passion is renewed), present life (the mind is filled with grace), and future (a pledge of future glory to us is given).  He linked these to quotes from the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican II.

I went to workshops on the use of technology and music for the RCIA.  Tomorrow is the day in which the publishers present their "showcases" which highlight a lot of their new music. Should be fun - lots of singing.

Day 1 - NPM convention

Yesterday was Day 1 of the National Convention of the National Asssociation of Pastoral Musicians.  This organization has 7,500 members with 67 chapters and 2,000 parishes represented.  The National Convention brings together over 2,000 members to learn, sing and pray. 

The events started in the morning with various tours of local interest.  I had not signed up for any so spent a quiet morning in my hotel.  The first event I attended was a showcase by Tony Alonso and Marty Haugen about a new collection of psalms they had put together. Containing new and old music it sets psalms for the various Sundays of the year but also for the responsorial psalms for the solemnities and feasts.  It includes psalms that are not set often so should be a good resource for use on those days, especially.

The keynote was by Fr. Ronald Raab who works in a parish in downtown Portland.  The parish has a strong social justice outreach to respond to the needs of its community.  Fr. Raab took each of the four parts of the Mass and reflected on our call to holiness as it is revealed in his community.  It was very inspiring and moving.  One moment that really caught my attention was his sharing about a litany that his community uses on the streets of the neighborhood when a murder takes place.  It is a prayerful witness and as he says, "a prayer that we never have to use this litany again."  What a different experience from my own.

In the afternoon I took part in a reflection on the new translation of the Roman Missal with Cardinal DiNardo, Msgr. Richard Hilgarten (ex. director of the Secretatiate for Divine Worship of the USCCB) and Fr. Robert Webster.  It was designed for and primarily attended by clergy so offered a unique perspective.  It was organized around the questions, "what went well?" "what surprised?" "what challenged?"  Not the kind of presentation that looked for solutions so it is hard to summarize but it was interesting.

Today, we begin with Morning Prayer and then a keynote by Fr. Michael Joncas entitled: "Disciples at Worship: Connecting Liturgy and Life."

National Association of Pastoral Musicians

I am in Pittsburgh for the National Convention of the NPM. It is five days of workshops, speakers, special interest sessions and concerts.  I am looking forward to updating my knowledge and understanding of what is new and trending in the area of liturgical music.  I know several of the speaker so it should be a good week.  I will update as possible as we go along.

Happy Sunday!

I got  up early this morning (5 a.m.!) to see our Jr. High students off on their mission trip.  As I watched the activity around the bus and all of the food and drink that was being packed I thought of today's Gospel.

"Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.  He instructed them to take nothign for the journeybut a walking stick - no food, no sack, no money in their belts.  They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic."

There is a tale of among the Hasidim that challenges our tendency to weigh ourselves down on our journey. 

An American tourist visited the home of a famous Polish rabbi.  The visitor was astonished that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books, plus a table and a bench.  “Rabbi,” asked the tourist, “where is your furniture?”  “Where is yours?” inquired the rabbi.  “Mine,” replied the puzzled American.  “But I am only passing through.”  “So am I,” said the rabbi, “so am I.”

The Feast of Blessed (soon to be Saint) Kateri Tekakwitha

Today is the Feast of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the lily of the Mohawks.  I visited her tomb several years ago in Northern New York.  Found in a small side chapel of a simple mission church. 

Blessed Kateri will be canonized by Pope Benedict on October 21 of this year.  I wish I could be in Rome for the celebration which should be colorful to say the least.

St. Jean de Brebeauf one of the North American Martyrs wrote the lovely Huron Carol.  Here are two versions.  One is a version in the original (now extinct) language of the Mohawk, Wendat (Wayendot).  The other is in English in a lovely setting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=znsKhhRSx5g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3D-m-PwKVsM

The "God Particle" in sound

Over at the Pray Tell blog Fr. Anthony Ruff has posted some examples of "sonification" of the Higgs Boson.  It is a tool used by researchers to add another layer to their analysis.  Check out the article and the sound clips.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10385675

Here is the musical notation and some "arrangements."  What do you think?  I find them rather interesting.

http://news.discovery.com/space/listen-to-the-higgs-boson-120710.html

An interview with Fr. Jeremy Driscoll, OSB

Here is an interveiw with Fr. Jeremy Driscoll who is a professor at the Pontifical Atheneaum of St. Anselm in Rome.  San Anselmo (as it is called) has both a faculty in Sacramental Theology and the Pontifical Liturgical Institute.  It is a good little primer on some of the issues around which there is some contention today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nkoaLfR_iCg

Eucharistic Procession

When I was a kid, the Catholic Community of St. Cloud, Minnesota, celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi with a major procession which began at the park near the hospital and ended at the track next to the North gymnasium of Cathedral High School where we had benediction.  Along the way people would decorate their houses, sometimes rather elaborately.  We had a band playing as we sang hymns, the Knights of Columbus serving as an honor guard and the Bishop carrying the Blessed Sacrament under a beautiful canopy. 

During our Turning Our Gaze to Christ event a few weekends ago we processed with the Blessed Sacrament along Center Street in Rochester, Minnesota as we moved from morning Mass at St. John the Evangelist Parish to the Civic Center where the event was to take place.  A small room was set aside for adoration throughout the event.  It was a great witness of faith to the city.

Back again

Sorry for the long delay in updating posts.  Life and liturgy intervened.  We had a wonderful Easter season and are now settling into the more relaxed summer reality.  The Diocese of Winona celebrated the ordination of Fr. Jason Kern on the Feast of the Sacred Heart at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Winona.

Christ is Risen! Indeed, He is Risen! Alleluia!

A Blessed Easter to All.  We had lovely liturgies this Triduum.  Five baptized and five more received into the Church on Holy Saturday.  It was our first attempt at a bilingual Vigil and I thought it went very well.  Actually, we snuck a little Latin in there so it was really a "trilingual" liturgy.

My friend, Mark Brinkman, is a Christian music writer.  He has a song that has a couple of lines that sum up what today is about.  The song (which you can find on YouTube) is called: From the 3rd Day On.



From the 3rd day on. . .Christ is risen!!
From the 3rd day on. . .He is alive!!
From the 3rd day on. . .We are forgiven!!
Make sure you're living. . .From the 3rd day on.

Good Friday

It has been a quiet day so far.  The sun is shining and a light wind blowing.  Not exactly what Minnesotans expect on an early April Good Friday. 

Our first service was lovely.  The children's choir led the music.  I am always inspired by the veneration of the cross.  As I spend more time in a parish I become more aware of the various crosses that people carry in their lives.  As they venerate the cross I see the devotion in their eyes and it is always moving.

We have members of our RCIA group carry in a large cross.  It takes several to manage it.  They then hold it as people venerate it.  I think it is a nice way for them to connect with the Paschal Mystery as we move through the Triduum.  They are also among those whose feet we wash on Holy Thursday.

Here is a link to the text which will be used at the Stations of the Cross in Rome this year.  They were written by a married couple.  It is always fascinating to reflect on these each year as someone different is assigned the writing each year.  Last year I believe it was a cloistered nun.

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2012/documents/ns_lit_doc_20120406_via-crucis_en.html

An incredible proclamation of the Passion

Trinity Church on Wall Street has a tradition of fine music.  On Palm Sunday they presented an improvised chanting of the Passion according to Mark.  It is an incredible experience.  Wouldn't I love to be able to do something like this?
http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/news/blogs/in-the-moment/when-performance-becomes-listening

Mass of the Lord's Supper

My Holy Thursday liturgy is finished and the Spanish Mass is just starting.  It was a beautiful celebration in our own simple way.  All week I was struck by the idea that perception is important to us when we look at an event.  I spoke tonight about the story of the Passover from the Jewish perspective and from the Egyptian perspective - liberation and horror.  I spoke about the perception that Paul must have faced as he spoke and wrote about the Last Supper of Jesus and what it means to us - perplexity and comfort.  I spoke about the washing of the feet from the perspective of Peter and our own understanding - incredulity and challenge. 

When we hear these stories we hear them within our own lived context and experience.  It is a context of faith.  In light of the challenges to our faith in these days and the choice of so many to discard the practice of their faith, how can we reinvigorate these stories which captured the imagination of people for millennia?  What is the word the the Lord is speaking to us today that needs to be passed on?

May this Triduum be a time of blessing for you as we delve deeply into the Paschal Mystery.

The Triduum Begins

Sr. Thea Bowman on Holy Week

Let us resolve to make this week holy by claiming Christ’s redemptive grace and by living holy lives.

The Word became flesh and redeemed us by his holy life and holy death. This week especially, let us accept redemption by living grateful, faithful, prayerful, generous, just and holy lives.

Let us resolve to make this week holy by reading and meditating Holy Scripture.

So often, we get caught up in the hurry of daily living. As individuals and as families, reserve prime time to be with Jesus, to hear the cries of the children waving palm branches, to see the Son of Man riding on an ass' colt, to feel the press of the crowd, to be caught up in the "Hosannas” and to realize how the cries of acclamation will yield to the garden of suffering, to be there and watch as Jesus is sentenced by Pilate to Calvary, to see him rejected, mocked, spat upon, beaten and forced to carry a heavy cross, to hear the echo of the hammer, to feel the agony of the torn flesh and strained muscles, to know Mary’s anguish as he hung three hours before he died.

We recoil before the atrocities of war, gang crime, domestic violence and catastrophic illness. Unless we personally and immediately are touched by suffering, it is easy to read Scripture and to walk away without contacting the redemptive suffering that makes us holy. The reality of the Word falls on deaf ears.

Let us take time this week to be present to someone who suffers. Sharing the pain of a fellow human will enliven Scripture and help us enter into the holy mystery of the redemptive suffering of Christ.

Let us resolve to make this week holy by participating in the Holy Week services of the church, not just by attending, but also by preparing, by studying the readings, entering into the spirit, offering our services as ministers of the Word or Eucharist, decorating the church or preparing the environment for worship.

Let us sing, "Lord, have mercy," and "Hosanna." Let us praise the Lord with our whole heart and soul and mind and strength, uniting with the suffering church throughout the world -- in Rome and Ireland, in Syria and Lebanon, in South Africa and Angola, India and China, Nicaragua and El Salvador, in Washington, D.C., and Jackson, Mississippi.

Let us break bread together; let us relive the holy and redemptive mystery. Let us do it in memory of him, acknowledging in faith his real presence upon our altars.

Let us resolve to make this week holy by sharing holy peace and joy within our families, sharing family prayer on a regular basis, making every meal a holy meal where loving conversations bond family members in unity, sharing family work without grumbling, making love not war, asking forgiveness for past hurts and forgiving one another from the heart, seeking to go all the way for love as Jesus went all the way for love.

Let us resolve to make this week holy by sharing holy peace and joy with the needy, the alienated, the lonely, the sick and afflicted, the untouchable.

Let us unite our sufferings, inconveniences and annoyances with the suffering of Jesus. Let us stretch ourselves, going beyond our comfort zones to unite ourselves with Christ's redemptive work.

We unite ourselves with Christ's redemptive work when we reconcile, when we make peace, when we share the good news that God is in our lives, when we reflect to our brothers and sisters God's healing, God's forgiveness, God's unconditional love.

Let us be practical, reaching out across the boundaries of race and class and status to help somebody, to encourage and affirm somebody, offering to the young an incentive to learn and grow, offering to the downtrodden resources to help themselves.

May our fasting be the kind that saves and shares with the poor, that actually contacts the needy, that gives heart to heart, that touches and nourishes and heals.

During this Holy Week when Jesus gave his life for love, let us truly love one another.

Entering Holy Week

Holy Week has arrived.  As we enter the week in which we commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus we pause to remember what it is all about.  This video is from Busted Halo, a great site for young adults.

Sir, We would like to see Jesus

In today's Gospel, some Greeks came to Philip with the request, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus."  Who introduced you to Jesus?

The Gloria in Ritual Masses

As we continue to get acquainted with the new Roman Missal we uncover more changes to the way we celebrate the liturgy.  It is good to see that so many of those who plan liturgy are carefully reading the rubrics of the Missal and discovering the change there.  Jerry Galipeau commented on this at his "Gotta Sing, Gotta Pray" blog. 

As many of you know, I volunteer on the liturgy committee at my parish, Saint James, on the near South Side of the city of Chicago. We had our final "touching bases" meeting last night, talking about some of the details of our Triduum liturgies.

Something really struck me during the meeting, and it did not have to do with the actual words in the new English translation at all. At several points during the meeting (in discussion about the "stripping of the altar" and the incensation of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday), people kept asking, "Well what does the new Missal say?" I kind of sat there chuckling to myself because, at least in my past experience, very few people would say things like, "Well, what does the Sacramentary say?" The questions usually asked at liturgy committee meetings were along the lines of, "Well, what did we do last year?" I have been in parishes, my own present parish included, where some kind of innovation during the Triduum developed over time and most people just assumed that the practice was embedded in the liturgical books. Case in point for me is the "stripping of the altar." The first time I attended Triduum at my parish, this "stripping" actually took on more significance than the footwashing (actually we washed hands that year-thank God that misguided practice was short-lived!) During the stripping, there was a song of lament sung and a dramatic reading of a psalm. I sat there and kind of wondered where it all came from. The answer was two-fold. There had been some innovation with the "stripping" in the parish in the past, as well as in the past life of the director of worship. The two strands came together and the result was something never envisioned in our current liturgical books.

So, I do think that the advent of The Roman Missal, Third Edition has been a good thing for liturgy committees like ours at Saint James. We are actually looking at the Missal as a primary source, the first place we go for answers, rather than to a history of liturgical innovations that may have meant that we strayed from the intentions of the official liturgical books.

Hardly a week goes by that I don't get a call in the office about some change or another.  This week it is the use of the Gloria at Confirmation.  In fact, I had just reviewed the recent Newsletter of the Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship where they give an update on this question.

In the Roman Missal, Third Edition, the rubrics call for the Gloria more frequently than before. Nine out of the ten Ritual Masses prescribe the Gloria, the only exception being the Mass for the Institution of Lectors and Acolytes. These Masses are all treated as if they were Feasts, and the Gloria is used for them even when celebrated during Advent or Lent. Thus for example, Masses for Confirmation, Holy Orders, or Marriage would include the Gloria, even when they occur during Advent or Lent. (It should be noted, though, that Ritual Masses are prohibited on Sundays of Advent and Lent.)

So, both Confirmation and Marriage both include the Gloria in a sung or recited form. 

The mornings of the Triduum

What does your community do on the mornings of the Triduum.  Most parishes have a regular and faithful group who comes for daily Mass and they miss gathering on those days.  Our parish has begun doing Morning Prayer on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning.  We use the format found at ebreviary which is simple to use and is available in easy to print format.  We sing the opening hymn and recite the psalms and other prayers.  A community might also want to sing the Canticle of Zechariah.  I encourage you to give it a try.  It is a wonderful way to introduce this official prayer of the Church into a parish community.

The Prefaces for Lenten Sundays

The Missal contains special prefaces for the Sundays of Lent.  They are found with the other presidential prayers for the Mass.  On the third, fourth and fifth Sundays the prefaces are based on the Gospel readings for Year A which are also read when there are scrutinies as part of the RCIA. 

On those Sundays in the other years one of the prefaces for Lent are used instead of these Gospel-specific prefaces.  Or you may want to take the opportunity to use one of the Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation.

Also, although they are optional on weekdays, the Prayer over the People are to be used as part of the Final Blessing and Dismissal on the Sundays of Lent. 

Where can I find that in the Missal?

As we continue to become familiar with the new translation and layout of the Roman Missal we are discovering that some things are not in the places we have come to expect them. 

For example, many of the date or feast specific prefaces are found with the other presidential prayers for that Mass.

Today a pastor called wondering about where to find the Sprinkling Rite which can replace the Penitential Rite.  It is found in an appendix in the back of the Missal beginning at page 1453.  (Isn't it nice to have the pages match in all of the editions of the Missal?)

Singing the Paschal Proclamation (Exsultet) Redux

There has been a lot of interest in my post on singing the Exsultet.  More pageviews than any other post.  So, I thought I would add the links to two resources to help in this endeavor.

The National Association of Pastoral Musicians has a webpage with both PDF files and sound files.

http://www.npm.org/Chants/proper.html

ICEL has PDF files with the chants.

http://www.icelweb.org/musicfolder/openmusic.php

I hope these links assist in your preparation. 

Bishop Aquila of Fargo, North Dakota Receives Papal Praise for Restoring the Traditional Order of the Sacraments of Initiation

Rome, Italy, Mar 8, 2012 / 03:58 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Samuel Aquila of Fargo said he is delighted to have first-hand papal approval for changing the order by which children in his diocese receive the sacraments.

“I was very surprised in what the Pope said to me, in terms of how happy he was that the sacraments of initiation have been restored to their proper order of baptism, confirmation then first Eucharist,” said Bishop Aquila, after meeting Pope Benedict on March 8.

Bishop Aquila was one of five bishops from North and South Dakota to meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican as part of their March 5-10 “ad limina” visit to the Rome.

Over the past seven years the Diocese of Fargo has changed the typical order of the sacraments of initiation. Instead of confirmation coming third and at an older age, it is now conferred on children at a younger age and prior to First Communion.

Bishop Aquila said he made the changes because “it really puts the emphasis on the Eucharist as being what completes the sacraments of initiation” and on confirmation as “sealing and completing baptism.”

When the sacraments are conferred in this order, he said, it becomes more obvious that “both baptism and confirmation lead to the Eucharist.” This sacramental assistance helps Catholics live “that intimate relationship of being the beloved sons and daughters of the Father in our daily lives,” he added.

The Bishop of Fargo said the changes have also distanced the Sacrament of Confirmation from “some false theologies that see it as being a sacrament of maturity or as a sacrament for ‘me choosing God.’”

Instead, young people in Fargo now have “the fullness of the spirit and the completion of the gifts of the spirit” to assist them in “living their lives within the world,” especially “in the trials they face in junior high and high school.”

Bishop Aquila explained his theological thinking to Pope Benedict during today’s meeting.

In response, he said, the Pope asked if he had “begun to speak to other bishops about this.” He told the pontiff that he had and that “certainly bishops within the Dakotas are now really looking towards the implementation in the restoration in the ordering of the sacraments.”

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity

Today we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, a noble woman and her servant.  The Acts of the martyrdom of these two courageous women is fascinating.  One unique feature is that a portion of the Acts is written in Perpetua's own words.  Here is an excerpt from that section.

"The day before we fought, I saw in a vision that Pomponius the deacon had come hither to the door of the prison, and knocked hard upon it. And I went out to him and opened to him; he was clothed in a white robe ungirdled, having shoes curiously wrought. And he said to me: Perpetua, we await you; come. And he took my hand, and we began to go through rugged and winding places. At last with much breathing hard we came to the amphitheatre, and he led me into the midst of the arena. And he said to me: Be not afraid; I am here with you and labour together with you. And he went away. And I saw much people watching closely. And because I knew that I was condemned to the beasts I marvelled that beasts were not sent out against me. And there came out against me a certain ill-favored Egyptian with his helpers, to fight with me. Also there came to me comely young men, my helpers and aiders. And I was stripped naked, and I became a man. And my helpers began to rub me with oil as their custom is for a contest; and over against me saw that Egyptian wallowing in the dust. And there came forth a man of very great stature, so that he overpassed the very top of the amphitheatre, wearing a robe ungirdled, and beneath it between the two stripes over the breast a robe of purple; having also shoes curiously wrought in gold and silver; bearing a rod like a master of gladiators, and a green branch whereon were golden apples. And he besought silence and said: The Egyptian, if shall conquer this woman, shall slay her with the sword; and if she shall conquer him, she shall receive this branch. And he went away. And we came nigh to each other, and began to buffet one another. He tried to trip up my feet, but I with my heels smote upon his face. And I rose up into the air and began so to smite him as though I trod not the earth. But when I saw that there was yet delay, I joined my hands, setting finger against finger of them. And I caught his head, and he fell upon his face; and I trod upon his head. And the people began to shout, and my helpers began to sing. And I went up to the master of gladiators and received the branch. And he kissed me and said to me: Daughter, peace be with you. And I began to go with glory to the gate called the Gate of Life.

And I awoke; and I understood that I should fight, not with beasts but against the devil; but I knew that mine was the victory.

Thus far I have written this, till the day before the games; but the deed of the games tehmsleves let him write who will."

Singing the Exsultet

In just a few short weeks we will have arrived at Easter.  A highlight of the Easter Vigil is the singing of the Exsultet.  This long poem is a hymn to the candle and the light and celebrates, among other things, the bees who have given their wax to the creation of this pillar of light. 

The Exsultet is not easy to sing.  And especially, with a new translation this year, it is even more important that those who will be singing the Exsultet prepare themselves carefully.

In the recent issue of Pastoral Liturgy (published by LTP) Fr. John Mark Klaus, TOR, offers some practical suggestions for those preparing this important task:

• Listen to a recording.  LTP has a set of CDs with all of the chants of the Missal in two volumes.  The National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) also has sound files which can be used as an aid in preparation.
• Begin practicing the Exsultet early.  Take one section each week.  This will not only help with learning but will help increase stamina which is necessary for effective singing.
• Find a good pitch in the middle of your voice range.  This might not be the pitch which is found in the Roman Missal.  As a bass I would not be able to sustain the higher register so I take it down to a pitch that is more comfortable and sustainable.

The Liturgical Press has published a beautiful book with the Exsultet and illuminated pages.  It is a beautiful, worthy book.  I will be using mine to prepare the Exsultet by meditating on both the music and the illuminations.  Here is the link to a sample of the pages.

http://litpress.org/excerpts/9780814633649.pdf