Please pray

for the repose of the soul of  Michael Dubruiel, husband of Amy Welborn. And pray for Amy and her children.

Chant from the ground up

One of my other recent projects that has kept me from regular blogging was the organisation of a neighbourhood ‘chant’ group. Since attending the Sacred Music Colloquium 2008, I wanted to spread knowledge of chant to other Catholics. Thankfully, South Bend, IN is not wanting for Catholics, though it is wanting for chant opportunities.

Now, I’m talking very small steps here. I began simply by inviting some of my friends from my local parish, which would not traditionally be understood as traditional, as well as other friends near my neighbourhood. There are about twelve of us and we will soon be having our fourth meeting. The goals are small: to chant vespers prayerfully, praise God in doing so, and introduce more Catholics to an inestimable treasure of the church. 

At our first gathering, we sang compline which, except for the Salve Regina, was entirely in English. I used a simple setting I received at the Sacred Music Colloquium. After that, I took some time to put together a ‘Vespers for the Pauline Year.’ The general format is of the new breviary, with three psalms and the hymn at the beginning. The antiphons are in Latin, and borrowed from the old calendar’s Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, as well as the Feast of St. Paul (which is the day immediately following Sts Peter and Paul in the old calendar).  The psalms themselves are in English, the Our Father in English, and the Magnificat in Latin. For those interested, I would be happy to share this via e-mail, with the caveat that this is my first pointing of psalm texts (simply send me an e-mail request).

Compline, at our first meeting, went really well. The group is mixed musically – we’ll not be a schola anytime soon, but that’s not really the goal. One member has a degree in vocal performance, while most of the rest of us are really in various levels of the amateur category. None other than myself really knew how to read chant notation to begin with, so it is instructional as well. 

Our next meeting which was our first attempt at the full Vespers was a bit more halting. But the session after that we definitely made significant progress. As anyone who has played or sung in an ensemble knows, there is such a difference in singing by oneself compared to lending your voice to the whole. And of course, the same can be said for praying where two or more are gathered.

And so in some small way, I hope, and hope that our little group, can contribute to the growing resurgence of chant. I will have more posts as our group continues.

Poetry

One of my side projects…

The bead counters number less and less
On Sunday mornings, I would confess
A longing for the summer sun. Its light
On green gilded boughs encountered
We mark the seasons turn from green to gold
While rays, and leaves, and snow fall amongst us.

And when it all is done, it starts again
There is no death knell rung for nature’s end
Before the robin’s carillon call is sung
Again. For beauty is in eternity
And the memento mori of a leafless tree
Serves to remind us of the fruits to come
A spotless apple and a perfect plum
Dripping in a sun-tipped Tuscan dawn.

For in that ancient sacrifice is life,
Post-mortem, more eternal than summer’s day
In the even pulse of neume to neume
Beats the heart and breathes the lung of body
Resurrected. There is no beatification of
Death. No praise of this darkened end.
For there will be no end of Sunday morn
As the psalms are sung for eternal dawn. 

See here for some context.

It’s been awhile…

since my last post. Partially due to my work schedule, and to some other side projects I’ve been working on, I simply haven’t had the time to write any kind of meaningful posts. But I’m hoping to start back up again, with perhaps a slow and hopefully steady pace. 

Upcoming posts will include some poetry, a look at Anne Rice’s Christ the Lord novels, and some detail about a chant project.

Additionally, I would like to say thanks to those who left some comments during my hiatus. Insight from readers is always very much appreciated.

First Things on Art

See the article here.

A must read – the Pope on Culture

Please check out the Address by the Holy Father to the world of Culture.

Here are some excerpts:

I would like to speak with you this evening of the origins of western theology and the roots of European culture. I began by recalling that the place in which we are gathered is in a certain way emblematic. It is in fact a placed tied to monastic culture, insofar as young monks came to live here in order to learn to understand their vocation more deeply and to be more faithful to their mission. We are in a place that is associated with the culture of monasticism. Does this still have something to say to us today, or are we merely encountering the world of the past? In order to answer this question, we must consider for a moment the nature of Western monasticism itself. What was it about? From the perspective of monasticism’s historical influence, we could say that, amid the great cultural upheaval resulting from migrations of peoples and the emerging new political configurations, the monasteries were the places where the treasures of ancient culture survived, and where at the same time a new culture slowly took shape out of the old. But how did it happen? What motivated men to come together to these places? What did they want? How did they live?

…

Our present situation differs in many respects from the one that Paul encountered in Athens, yet despite the difference, the two situations also have much in common. Our cities are no longer filled with altars and with images of multiple deities. God has truly become for many the great unknown. But just as in the past, when behind the many images of God the question concerning the unknown God was hidden and present, so too the present absence of God is silently besieged by the question concerning him. Quaerere Deum – to seek God and to let oneself be found by him, that is today no less necessary than in former times. A purely positivistic culture which tried to drive the question concerning God into the subjective realm, as being unscientific, would be the capitulation of reason, the renunciation of its highest possibilities, and hence a disaster for humanity, with very grave consequences. What gave Europe’s culture its foundation – the search for God and the readiness to listen to him – remains today the basis of any genuine culture.

Well, there are at least twelve people…

standing up for true beauty in art outside Paris. And a handful of disgusted tourists who can also tell art from, well, not art…

Here’s the key quote:

“I paid to see all of Versailles,” said Sylvie Guérin, an administrative technician from Montreal. “I didn’t come here to see a red lobster that I can buy in a gas station in Quebec to go in my pool.”

Also, check out why Pope Benedict loves France over at Rocco’s. Hat tip to TLM in Maryland.

The committee

In the Catholic blogosphere, few bureaucratic institutions are more maligned than the liturgy committee.

I am a member of one.

But folks, I am here to tell you that there is something worse than the liturgy committee. 

The Parish Pastoral Council. They have asked the liturgy committee, and other committees in the parish to make suggestions on how to have a shorter mass (50 minutes) rather than an hour, due to the ‘unanimous suggestions pouring in.’ If they are receiving such suggestions, is this not a good opportunity for catechesis on the importance of the mass? A time for shepherding perhaps?

It makes me sick. 

Now our parish isn’t an overly traditional one (there aren’t many in the area), and while there are a lot of things I would like to change, the person in charge of the music and liturgy at our parish strives for excellence; she takes pride in her work and no one could question her commitment. We have nice masses, but we don’t have missa cantatas. The typical mass at our parish lasts but an hour.

An hour.

50 minutes…

You have got to be kidding me. Is this a church, or a social club?

—We like the welcoming atmosphere and community, but could we have a little less mass?—

—Can you not watch one hour with me?—

In the meantime…

While I’m away, I thought I would point you, kind reader, to two TLM blogs. One I have had in my sidebar for sometime – TLM in Maryland. Recently (well, it’s getting so it’s not so recent) there was a great post on that site pointing out resources on the Jubilate Deo chants (the ones every Catholic should know) – if I only I had known about these resources when I was struggling to teach myself how to chant! Pay particular attention to the Adoremus hymnal links – here you can see and listen to many of the chants included in Jubilate Deo – here’s the post. 

And I’ve recently found the TLM in Michiana blog. Michiana is of course that intersection of northern Indiana and southwestern Michigan that includes St. Joseph, Niles, South Bend(!), and maybe Ft. Wayne. For those interested in the Latin Mass in this area, this is the blog to check out. This weekend, my wife and I actually went to mass in the extraordinary form at St. Patrick’s in South Bend. It was her first EF mass, and my third (the other two were part of the Colloquium). While we normally attend another parish (ordinary form) in South Bend, we wanted to see the Gregorian mass in beautiful St. Pat’s, an old Irish parish that retains its high altar. I prefer St. Hedwig’s, being Polish, which is all of a block away, but they tragically removed their high altar some time ago. Needless to say, it was a beautiful mass. A question though – in a missa cantata, isn’t it allowed and expected for the congregation to sing the ordinary? I came prepared with our Parish Book of Chant and identified the Orbis Factor Mass XI, but I think we were the only ones singing outside the choir, and in very hushed voices. Should we not have sung?

Work is…

getting in the way of blogging. Hope to resume more frequent posting soon. Don’t give up on me please!

Ritual for a feeling

Have any of you been following the Sally Quinn affair? I had not heard about it before – but I found my way to the Washington Post’s religion section “On Faith.” Almost all the panelists there are describing, defending, or otherwise commenting on fellow panelist and non-Catholic Sally Quinn and her reception of Holy Communion at Tim Russert’s funeral. Since I have not really followed it, nor do I want to make any snap judgements, I only want to focus on the piece “Rituals and the Modern Search for Meaning” by Rabbi Irwin Kula. (It’s the most interesting of the articles – the others are particularly disappointing, and I do feel entirely comfortable making that judgement.)

Rabbi Kula suggests the following:

For people like Sally Quinn, religious rituals and practices are, with the best of intention, resources that can be used to create personal meaning and connection independent of their metaphysical contexts and belief structures. They are personal tools of meaning that one can choose to use as one feels appropriate to deepen one’s own self awareness and one’s own capacity for compassion and empathy. Obviously, from a traditional perspective this transformation of ritual and practice into a personal resource disconnected from any specific religious authority and any particular historic community is offensive and threatening.

In essence, the Rabbi has identified a growing tendency outside of mainline religious beliefs whereby people ’shop’ around for the rituals they like, regardless of their proper context, and take them for their own use because it makes them ‘feel better.’ There is perhaps more bitterness in that last sentence than I quite intend, but the main point is that the ritual or practice is divorced entirely of its intended meaning for the sole purpose of making the ‘celebrant’ feel better about his or herself. In the end, one is left with an empty ritual or a meaningless mantra to the cult of the individual.

I think this is a dangerous trend not just outside mainstream tradition, but even within Christianity. Oftentimes when the liturgy is debated, one hears arguments such as “it makes people feel more at home and in community” or “Joe and Mary Catholic couldn’t possibly understand the meaning of this or that phrase because it’s not in their everday speech.” Obviously in these instances, we’re not dealing with a usurped ritual, but we are talking about an emphasis on personal feeling. As humans, we do long for happiness, but as Christians we know that happiness is found only in God. The rituals we practice are intended to elevate our thoughts and lead us to God. And yes, in finding God we find happiness, but the ritual itself shouldn’t be centred on making one feel a transitory good feeling inside. 

If the ritual, or the liturgy in this case becomes focused on providing a fun musical concert, or an entertaining sermon, then we are left with an empty shell, devoid of its proper context and focus. Once the good feeling subsides, people are left trying new mantras or casting new spells. Simply put, it’s spiritual consumerism.

Another panelist, Susan K. Smith, who is a protestant pastor offers these absolute nuggets of wisdom in defending Sally Quinn (and attacking the Catholic Church):

A ritual that makes anyone feel ashamed or frightened or worried cannot be pleasing to God.

On the other hand, a ritual that invites anyone who wants to get close to God has to make God smile.

That’s cute, isn’t? Given these guidelines, there better not be any preaching against sin – cause that could be scary and give one a stomach ache. Here too we see this emphasis on feeling good at all costs. I’m certainly not saying that one shouldn’t be, as Jesus was, welcoming to the tax collector and the prostitute. But the purpose in welcoming them is, as Jesus said, for them to go and sin no more. We can’t offer a transitory good feeling; we need to point the penitent to the true happiness found in God. Any ritual that does not point to God, or one that is divorced from that context, is a meaningless mouthing of words aimed at the worship of self.

The Travel Channel for Catholics!

From the inbox – despite my predilection for a revival of more traditional Catholic art forms, one of my interests is seeing how Catholics can use media, new and otherwise, to spread the faith. I received an interesting e-mail maybe about a week ago; I apologise for my delay in posting this, but in general, I’m slouching a bit on my blog posts. Work has been taking up much of my time lately. The following is from the press release:

Diana von Glahn uncovers the treasures of Catholic shrines, places of pilgrimage, and historic sites throughout the United States in The Faithful Traveler, a unique travel series. Each show explores a new location, discovering its history, architecture, art, tradition, and theological background. 

The Faithful Traveler strikes the perfect balance between entertainment, education, and inspiration. The show’s high production values and vibrant, entertaining presentation will appeal to viewers of all ages. It will provide travelers with the motivation and information necessary to assist them in their own travels, and will enable armchair travelers to see these magnificent locations from the comfort of their homes. 

You can visit the web site here and take a preview of the show: www.thefaithfultraveler.com. In the couple’s first episode, they visit the Miraculous Medal Shrine in Philadelphia. Also at the site, there is a map of all the holy places about which they want to do episodes. It’s pretty ambitious! However, for what it’s worth, they need to add the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Indiana, St. John Cantius in Illinois, and the Basilica of St. Josaphat in Wisconsin. That being said – this is definitely worth a look, so please visit their site.