SACRED, BEAUTIFUL, & UNIVERSAL: Colloquium XIX from Corpus Christi Watershed
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Video clips to watch on Sacred music
True Liturgical music unites us and helps us to become better than we are.
http://www.gloria.tv/?media=60058
http://www.gloria.tv/?media=65189
http://en.gloria.tv/?media=66068
(http://vimeo.com/8941838)
http://www.gloria.tv/?media=60058
http://www.gloria.tv/?media=65189
http://en.gloria.tv/?media=66068
(http://vimeo.com/8941838)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Beauty of Procession in Mass
(in response to the question in witnessing Procession from musicasacra forum)
At the Potifical Mass, the Introit was sung after the Procession, not at the Procession. People who don't want to sing and don't want to be distracted in witnessing the Procession should be allowed to do so.
Many people in pews in our local parish already told me that there are too many songs they have to sing in Mass. And when my friends came to Traditional Mass, they were so relieved that they dodn't have to sing so many songs and get distracted by trying to sing all those songs, (because they've been told by the pastor and music directors that if they don't sing, they are not participating), and finally be able to focus on Mass. Many people in pews have to miss other important parts of the Mass, because they have to bury their faces in hymnals and struggle with songs. If 'hymns' are optional in Mass and not required parts, according to the Church's instruction, people should also have an option to sing or not. No Catholics should be forced to sing the parts that are not part of the Catholic Mass.
If one wanted to have more congregational singing, why not help them to sing more their parts of the Mass, "Responses" and "Ordinary parts" (especailly those in Latin as the Church instructed). They will be able to memoriaze them in time and won't need hymnals soon. And once they learn, they will be glad that they can sing the parts of the Mass, and truly participate in Mass, not just participate in singing. Whether hymns are licit or wisely chosen, hymns, especially those that are not liturgical, but individual devotional hymns, have been overused in Mass, and the Catholics in pews start to feel that more and more. I think those hymns and other songs can be sung more in adoration or in other times outside the Mass.
At the Potifical Mass, the Introit was sung after the Procession, not at the Procession. People who don't want to sing and don't want to be distracted in witnessing the Procession should be allowed to do so.
Many people in pews in our local parish already told me that there are too many songs they have to sing in Mass. And when my friends came to Traditional Mass, they were so relieved that they dodn't have to sing so many songs and get distracted by trying to sing all those songs, (because they've been told by the pastor and music directors that if they don't sing, they are not participating), and finally be able to focus on Mass. Many people in pews have to miss other important parts of the Mass, because they have to bury their faces in hymnals and struggle with songs. If 'hymns' are optional in Mass and not required parts, according to the Church's instruction, people should also have an option to sing or not. No Catholics should be forced to sing the parts that are not part of the Catholic Mass.
If one wanted to have more congregational singing, why not help them to sing more their parts of the Mass, "Responses" and "Ordinary parts" (especailly those in Latin as the Church instructed). They will be able to memoriaze them in time and won't need hymnals soon. And once they learn, they will be glad that they can sing the parts of the Mass, and truly participate in Mass, not just participate in singing. Whether hymns are licit or wisely chosen, hymns, especially those that are not liturgical, but individual devotional hymns, have been overused in Mass, and the Catholics in pews start to feel that more and more. I think those hymns and other songs can be sung more in adoration or in other times outside the Mass.
How can we come to an experience of God?
Credo: Trite music blocks our ears to the divine in the liturgy
Our worship enables us to enter another time and another dimension - a realm of experience beyond our ordinary human experience
John Shepherd
How can we come to an experience of God? It’s a challenge, because no matter how much we read the Bible, study theology, formulate creeds, devise systems of belief and draw up rules for best Christian practice, all these efforts are only partial, tentative explorations into a dimension that lies beyond any definitive grid we could ever hope to impose.
Which brings us to the worship of the liturgy, for it is in worship that we are immersed in the experience of God. It is here that we engage with the living God.
It is in the liturgy that we are able to enter into another consciousness, probe a deeper reality, strive for a sense of transcendence which lifts us above the mundane, and in the words of psalmist, sets us on a rock that is higher than ourselves. Our worship enables us to enter another time and another dimension — a realm of experience beyond our ordinary human experience, beyond all our known thoughts and understandings.
In monastic terms, the liturgy is the path towards an exalted “ecstasy”, a flight into the cloud of unknowing, the place where God is, and where the true contemplation of the creative stillness of God is possible.
And this is a reality which is beyond the ability of historians, theologians, linguists, biblical scholars or even pastoral liturgists to express. Their contributions may even hinder rather than help. The intensity and intangibility of this experience can only be expressed through the arts.
This is why music of quality is a critical element within the life of the Church. It is a necessity, not a luxury. It is neither a frivolous confection nor an elitist distraction from the real business of faith. Music of quality, in the context of worship, does not entertain or divert. It reveals.
By means of evolving harmonies, rhythms, textures, modulations, orchestrations, melodies, counterpoints, imitations, this rich art form has the potential to create an aural environment which enables us to contemplate the mystery of God.
Music of this calibre draws us into an engagement so profound that its sense can never be exhausted. Any work of art, be it sculpture, painting, literature, poetry or music, whose implications are immediately obvious and can instantly be grasped can never enlist our imagination, and so cannot equip us for mystery; and what cannot equip us for mystery cannot equip us for God.
This is why the Church should have no truck with banality. Yet, sadly, this is not universally the case. Too often, in a quaintly deluded attempt to achieve so-called relevance with a largely unidentified and notional constituency, the words of worship are denuded both of intellectual challenge and poetic imagery, and the music of worship is reduced to the most basic and arid of formulae. This toxic combination has achieved what many thought impossible. The emptying of our churches of those with minds to think, and emotions to inspire.
The power of liturgy was unerringly expressed by the prophet Job (iv, 15): “A spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.” Yet this power can all too easily be surrendered in favour of pedestrian prose and incompetent music. Badly constructed melodies and harmonies can only ever be transitory simply because they are musically inept. Rhythmic patterns devoid of subtlety, trite words incapable of stimulating any kind of imagery constitute some of the most powerful impediments to the possibility of encountering the divine within the context of the liturgy.
Not only does this behaviour testify to technical deficiency (an odd concept in itself for the Church of God to endorse), it offers nothing but spiritual impoverishment to a world clamouring for spiritual fulfilment.
And it goes without saying that the last refuge for those who deny the possibility of a depth of experience of this dimension will always be the accusation of elitism.
True art transcends the ordinary. It invites us to contemplate a presence beyond itself. It entangles us in the divine web of ultimate reality, and so creates an aural environment in which we can experience, in the words of Anselm of Bec, the presence of “that than which nothing greater can be thought”.
The Very Rev Dr John Shepherd is Dean of Perth, Australia
Our worship enables us to enter another time and another dimension - a realm of experience beyond our ordinary human experience
John Shepherd
How can we come to an experience of God? It’s a challenge, because no matter how much we read the Bible, study theology, formulate creeds, devise systems of belief and draw up rules for best Christian practice, all these efforts are only partial, tentative explorations into a dimension that lies beyond any definitive grid we could ever hope to impose.
Which brings us to the worship of the liturgy, for it is in worship that we are immersed in the experience of God. It is here that we engage with the living God.
It is in the liturgy that we are able to enter into another consciousness, probe a deeper reality, strive for a sense of transcendence which lifts us above the mundane, and in the words of psalmist, sets us on a rock that is higher than ourselves. Our worship enables us to enter another time and another dimension — a realm of experience beyond our ordinary human experience, beyond all our known thoughts and understandings.
In monastic terms, the liturgy is the path towards an exalted “ecstasy”, a flight into the cloud of unknowing, the place where God is, and where the true contemplation of the creative stillness of God is possible.
And this is a reality which is beyond the ability of historians, theologians, linguists, biblical scholars or even pastoral liturgists to express. Their contributions may even hinder rather than help. The intensity and intangibility of this experience can only be expressed through the arts.
This is why music of quality is a critical element within the life of the Church. It is a necessity, not a luxury. It is neither a frivolous confection nor an elitist distraction from the real business of faith. Music of quality, in the context of worship, does not entertain or divert. It reveals.
By means of evolving harmonies, rhythms, textures, modulations, orchestrations, melodies, counterpoints, imitations, this rich art form has the potential to create an aural environment which enables us to contemplate the mystery of God.
Music of this calibre draws us into an engagement so profound that its sense can never be exhausted. Any work of art, be it sculpture, painting, literature, poetry or music, whose implications are immediately obvious and can instantly be grasped can never enlist our imagination, and so cannot equip us for mystery; and what cannot equip us for mystery cannot equip us for God.
This is why the Church should have no truck with banality. Yet, sadly, this is not universally the case. Too often, in a quaintly deluded attempt to achieve so-called relevance with a largely unidentified and notional constituency, the words of worship are denuded both of intellectual challenge and poetic imagery, and the music of worship is reduced to the most basic and arid of formulae. This toxic combination has achieved what many thought impossible. The emptying of our churches of those with minds to think, and emotions to inspire.
The power of liturgy was unerringly expressed by the prophet Job (iv, 15): “A spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up.” Yet this power can all too easily be surrendered in favour of pedestrian prose and incompetent music. Badly constructed melodies and harmonies can only ever be transitory simply because they are musically inept. Rhythmic patterns devoid of subtlety, trite words incapable of stimulating any kind of imagery constitute some of the most powerful impediments to the possibility of encountering the divine within the context of the liturgy.
Not only does this behaviour testify to technical deficiency (an odd concept in itself for the Church of God to endorse), it offers nothing but spiritual impoverishment to a world clamouring for spiritual fulfilment.
And it goes without saying that the last refuge for those who deny the possibility of a depth of experience of this dimension will always be the accusation of elitism.
True art transcends the ordinary. It invites us to contemplate a presence beyond itself. It entangles us in the divine web of ultimate reality, and so creates an aural environment in which we can experience, in the words of Anselm of Bec, the presence of “that than which nothing greater can be thought”.
The Very Rev Dr John Shepherd is Dean of Perth, Australia
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Pontifical Mass at the National Shrine in DC, Sat. 4/24/10 at 1 PM
Frankly I didn't think the huge shrine would be so filled today. When my family got there about 12:15, it was already packed, and it was hard to find a pew.
It is almost impossible to describe the beauty and sacredness of today's Mass with words (especially with my limited English).
It was the most beautiful Mass I've ever been. And although I hope there will be more, this might have been my 'once in a life time' one, and it was truly a blessing for me that I was able to be there.
The procession was magnificent, worthy of Christ's Holy Sacrifice and His Church Miliitant leading us to His Holy place with the help of the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering. And I'm very grateful that I was able to witness that.
The bishop's homily was very comforting to us especially during the time when our Church is persecuted so harshly these days. He reminded us, "Suffering only reveals Christ." I think I witnessed that today.
There was a elderly Afro-american lady in front of me. While her friends might be singing sprituals or gospel music in their worship services, here she is all alone listneing to Latin prayers and praying so eagerly. Especially during Agnus Dei, listening to beautiful heavenly choir's singing, she was praying so hard, I could feel the intensity of her prayers. Her hands were tremblinsg. She was praying with Christ, for our sins, sins of the world, and for our Church and our Pope. Often times people around me during Mass distracts me easily, but this time I was so inpired. I wanted to pray with her eagerly like her. We became one mystical body of Christ through prayers, one race through Christ, and one family through our Church. (We didn't need to sing ' We are one body...' with guitar chords, or hear prayers in different languages to remember what different races we are. Only thing remains with us is that we all are the children of God through Chirst and His Church Universal, because the Beauty and the Holiness of the Mass reminds us of that.)
The Mass was absolutely the Sacrifice of Triumph and Victory of our Church and our faith. I will remember this Mass for a long time, and hopefully my kids will never forget this beautiful Catholic Worship they experienced today, and each one of them will always be proud of being a Catholic.
-Today I was truly remionded that life is full of joy, not because we have many 'fun activities,' but because we get to find the ways to be close to God and receive so many Graces and can share them with others.-
It is almost impossible to describe the beauty and sacredness of today's Mass with words (especially with my limited English).
It was the most beautiful Mass I've ever been. And although I hope there will be more, this might have been my 'once in a life time' one, and it was truly a blessing for me that I was able to be there.
The procession was magnificent, worthy of Christ's Holy Sacrifice and His Church Miliitant leading us to His Holy place with the help of the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering. And I'm very grateful that I was able to witness that.
The bishop's homily was very comforting to us especially during the time when our Church is persecuted so harshly these days. He reminded us, "Suffering only reveals Christ." I think I witnessed that today.
There was a elderly Afro-american lady in front of me. While her friends might be singing sprituals or gospel music in their worship services, here she is all alone listneing to Latin prayers and praying so eagerly. Especially during Agnus Dei, listening to beautiful heavenly choir's singing, she was praying so hard, I could feel the intensity of her prayers. Her hands were tremblinsg. She was praying with Christ, for our sins, sins of the world, and for our Church and our Pope. Often times people around me during Mass distracts me easily, but this time I was so inpired. I wanted to pray with her eagerly like her. We became one mystical body of Christ through prayers, one race through Christ, and one family through our Church. (We didn't need to sing ' We are one body...' with guitar chords, or hear prayers in different languages to remember what different races we are. Only thing remains with us is that we all are the children of God through Chirst and His Church Universal, because the Beauty and the Holiness of the Mass reminds us of that.)
The Mass was absolutely the Sacrifice of Triumph and Victory of our Church and our faith. I will remember this Mass for a long time, and hopefully my kids will never forget this beautiful Catholic Worship they experienced today, and each one of them will always be proud of being a Catholic.
-Today I was truly remionded that life is full of joy, not because we have many 'fun activities,' but because we get to find the ways to be close to God and receive so many Graces and can share them with others.-
Monday, April 19, 2010
Schola Calendar: May
Traditional Mass on May 9.
Time: May 9th (Sunday) 3PM (we will decide what time we will meet for practice there. Maybe about 2:15?)
Location: Saint Joseph's Church, on the east side of York (just three turns off of I-83).
Music list
Before Mass: Salve Regina (Solemn tone ) and/or Salve Mater
Kyrie xi
Gloria viii
Credo i
Sanctus viii
Agnus viii (or iv if we don't have time to learn viii)
Psalm tone propers (or Daniel Page can sing these)
http://www.renegoupil.org/chants/417/files/590/
Jesu dulcis (communion hymn)
Regina caeli
From Daniel Page's email:
"The Mass is at 3:00. The priest is an incredibly kind, Capuchin Franciscan. He sings the Mass extremely well—hardly anybody in his order cares about the EF, but he has discovered it on his own and learned from the FSSP priest in Harrisburg. He will be going to a workshop at Saint John Cantius in June. He sometimes has seminarians from Mount Saint Mary come so that he can have Solemn High Mass, which is wonderful. He started saying an extra EF Low Mass every weekday at 6 am during Lent and decided to keep going indefinitely! Unfortunately, he will be transferred someplace else this summer, so the sung Mass in York (twice/month) will probably stop. Saint Joseph’s is a not very attractive modern church, but an ok place to sing in. The Mass on the 4th Sunday is in the downtown church, which is beautiful (altar rail, etc.) and has amazing acoustics."
At OLPH (practice on Mondays at 7:30)
Saturday Mass (8:15AM) (Warm - up starts at 7:40)
May 1, 15, 29
Kyrie XVII
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Salve Regina (Solemn tone, May 1 and 15)
Panem de Caelo (May 29)
Regina Caeli (May 1 and 15)
Salve Regina (Simple tone, May 29)
At Resurrection Church (practice on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM)
Satruday Mass (9AM) (Warm-up starts at 8:30)
May 8, 22
Kyrie XVII
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Salve Regina (Solemn tone, May 8)
Salve Mater (May 22)
Regina Caeli
At St. Martin's (Little Sisters of the Poor)
May 16, Sunday, 10:30 (warm-up at 10AM)
Entrance: Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise (188. vs. 1, 2, 3)
Gloria (858)
Responsorial Psalm:
The Lord is King, the most high over all the earth
Offertory : Proper (schola)
Sanctus (859)
Mysterium Fidei
Mortem tuam annuntiamus Domine,
et tuam resurrectionem confitemur, donec venias
(We proclaim Thy death, O Lord, and we confess Thy resurrection, until Thou comest.)
Doxology: Amen
Agnus Dei (862)
Communion Proper (schola)
Communion Thanksgiving Hymn: Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (751)
Recessional: Regina Caeli (174)
Children's Schola (practice on Mondays at 1:30 at OLPH)
First Friday Mass, May 7
OLPH 8:15 AM (warm up starts at 7:45 AM)
Regina Caeli(prelude)
Kyrie XVI
Gospel Accl.
Star Above the Ocean
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Salve Mater
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Schola Calendar: April
At OLPH (practice on Mondays at 7:30)
Saturday Mass (8:15AM) (Warm - up starts at 7:40)
April 17
Kyrie XVII
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Gustate et Videte
Regina Caeli
At Resurrection Church (practice on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM)
Satruday Mass (9AM) (Warm-up starts at 8:30)
April 10, 24
Kyrie XVII
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Gustate et Videte
Regina Caeli
At St. Martin's (Little Sisters of the Poor)
April 18, Sunday, 10:30 (warm-up at 10AM)
Entrance: The Day of Ressurection (172)
Gloria (858)
Responsorial Psalm:
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Offertory : Proper (schola)
Sanctus (859)
Mysterium Fidei
Mortem tuam annuntiamus Domine,
et tuam resurrectionem confitemur, donec venias
(We proclaim Thy death, O Lord, and we confess Thy resurrection, until Thou comest.)
Doxology: Amen
Agnus Dei (862)
Communion Proper (schola)
Communion Thanksgiving Hymn: I Know that My Redeemer Lives (621)
Recessional: Regina Caeli (174)
Saturday Mass (8:15AM) (Warm - up starts at 7:40)
April 17
Kyrie XVII
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Gustate et Videte
Regina Caeli
At Resurrection Church (practice on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM)
Satruday Mass (9AM) (Warm-up starts at 8:30)
April 10, 24
Kyrie XVII
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Gustate et Videte
Regina Caeli
At St. Martin's (Little Sisters of the Poor)
April 18, Sunday, 10:30 (warm-up at 10AM)
Entrance: The Day of Ressurection (172)
Gloria (858)
Responsorial Psalm:
I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Offertory : Proper (schola)
Sanctus (859)
Mysterium Fidei
Mortem tuam annuntiamus Domine,
et tuam resurrectionem confitemur, donec venias
(We proclaim Thy death, O Lord, and we confess Thy resurrection, until Thou comest.)
Doxology: Amen
Agnus Dei (862)
Communion Proper (schola)
Communion Thanksgiving Hymn: I Know that My Redeemer Lives (621)
Recessional: Regina Caeli (174)
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