Music - the HANDmaid?

Ever so often, someone tells me that music is just the handmaiden of the liturgy - a phraseology with which I take great exception.

But there is one church where music is thought of as the hand of God. I remember when this organ was installed - it made the cover of the American Organist magazine (I don't recall the magazine's title - it's gone through several incarnations over the years).

This is not for the faint of heart, mind you. So take a puff on your inhalor, make sure you've got nothing in your mouth which can be spewed onto your monitor, and click this link. There is a translator somewhere on the web site, in case the link I've given doesn't do the automatic translation (which is not so hot, but better than trying to decipher it from the French - unless you're good at reading French, which after many years from high school, I'm not).



http://www.notredamedesneiges-alpedhuez.asso.fr/

SteveO

It's been a short day off!

You know...you only have to take 24 hours off to get a LOT of emails from the boss. And they were all great emails, too. Here's a listing of the really great stuff:



1. Yes to the weekly 'leaflets' listing all the music, etc.



2. The Vigil of Pentecost will be the VIGIL OF PENTECOST - not an anticipated Mass. Finally - it's the 2nd time in 42 years that I get to experience this wonderful liturgy, and done right to boot. All the other parishes, the priests could have really cared less. And with the sequence - although it may be truncated. There's a nice strophic setting to O Filii et Filiae that I may use.



3. Corpus Christi Masses will be IN LATIN. Pinch me. Now. Have I died and gone to heaven or what? Oh - no, that couldn't be. It's much too humid here to be heaven.



As with all parishes, there are many things which need to be accomplished here, and as usual, my motto of "educate, educate, educate...and when you get tired of that, educate, educate, educate" will still be in force. The leaflets will help with some of that. Of course the first test will be to see how the ushers deal with this new routine. But they're really nice people (mostly men, but a few women as well), and they are good at what they do.


Be still my beating heart (on second thought - keep on beating, heart, wretched and vile thing be ye): if I'm able to muster the vocal and instrumental forces, our All Souls' Day Mass (7pm) will include the Faure "Requiem" - complete with the Dies Irae. The parish has black vestments. The altar is one which can be moved - so "ad orientem" here we come!!! Yeeeeeeeeeeeeehaw, he says, with his best drawl.



Another bonus for working here at the parish - our associate Pastor, Fr. Tung Trang, loves to fish and shrimp. Both are in great supply here. Except for the deveining and head/leg amputation part, Friday nights just got a whole lot better than my usual catch of the day (Mrs. Paul's).....

Upcoming: "graduation", VBS (a real Catholic version!!!), and other stuff.

Okay folks. Enough for tonight. Early day tomorrow....Morning Prayer and Mass... such a life. How long can I continue to be so blessed?



SteveO

ALL THIS TALK ABOUT SWINE FLU...

...makes me wonder if it will deter a few people from trying to grab one-another's hand during the Lord's Prayer.



Peace,
BMP

Surviving the first two weeks

Well. Here is a short version of the past weekend. I had prepared a nice travelogue and description of the parish and liturgies, and then decided to do a preview. However, I messed all that up after the preview and ended up with an empty screen, so now we get the short version. More will appear later!

Prelude
Improvisation on "Duke Street"
(Introduction, Chorale, Bicinium, Trio, Trumpet Tune)
Processional Hymn - "Jesus Shall Reign" (Duke Street)
Ordinary: "Heritage Mass" (Alstott)
Psalm: tune from Missalette (Joncas - ackward, but we made it work)
Alleluia: "traditional" Gregorian
Offertory Hymn - "At the Lamb's High Feast" (Salzburg)
Communion Hymn - "Shepherd of Souls" (St. Agnes)
Post-Communion - "Regina Coeli" (Mode V)
Recessional Hymn - "Hail, the Day That Sees Him Rise" (Llanfair)
Postlude - "Prince of Denmark's March" (Jeremiah Clarke)

Christ the King Church and School
Corpus Christi, TX

SteveO

YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM MASSACHUSETTS WHEN...

Another one sent to me by Rich that I couldn't resist. Snarky remarks mine. Some of these pertain to us Rhode Islanders as well.

You know you're from Massachusetts when...
1. The Red Sox World Series win was, and will always be, one of the greatest moments in your life.
1A. The playoff win over the Yankees after being down 3 games was bigger than the Series win.
(As much as I like #1, #1A DEFINITELY holds true.)
2. The guy driving in front of you is going 70 mph and you're swearing at him for going too slow.
(In RI, it's swearing at the guy in front of you for doing merely the speed limit, or 10 under.)
3. When ordering a tonic, you mean a Coke. (That threw me a curve in my Berklee days.)
4. You went to Canobie Lake Park or Water Country as a kid.
5. You actually enjoy driving around rotaries. (I get the biggest kick out of the dame in the GPS who blatantly says "roundabout" when she means "rotary".)
6.. You do not recognize the letter 'R' as a part of the English language.
7. Your social security number starts with a zero. (Zip codes too!)
(#'s 6 and 7 also pertain to Rhode Island.)
8. You can actually find your way around the streets of Boston.
9. You know what a 'regular' coffee is. (Same as RI)
10. You keep an ice scraper in your car year-round. (I keep one in my personal van because I forget to remove it when winter is done. I keep one in my Schwan's truck as a "CSM's Secret Weapon" - I use it to grab hard-to-reach products.)
11. You can tell the difference between a Revere accent and a Dorchester accent.
12. Springfield is located 'way out west.' (The RI version is that going to Providence from Woonsocket and vice versa means you have to bring your luggage.)
13. You almost feel disappointed if someone doesn't flip you the bird when you cut them off or steal their parking space. (I guess that means you can't flip'em back!)
14. You know how to pronounce the names of towns like Worcester, Billerica, Gloucester, Peabody, and Haverhill. (You can tell a non-Rhode Islander when people pronounce "Pawtucket" as it is spelled. The proper RI pronunciation is "P'tucket", like in "P'sghetti".)
15. Anyone you don't know is a potential idiot until proven otherwise. (To me, that's the other driver.)
16. Paranoia sets in if you can't see a Dunkin Donuts or CVS Pharmacy within eye shot at all times. (Not me. I don't drink coffee. Maybe an occasional orange coolata or an ultimate chocolate milk from the cooler.)
17. You have driven to New Hampshire on a Sunday just to buy alcohol. (or cigarettes - NH has the lowest state cigarette tax in New England. RI and MA, on the other hand, are duking it out to see who has the worst state cigarette tax in the country. Therefore, the constant cigarette tax hikes are no longer a safety issue. It's a revenue thing, just like many of RI's ridiculously low speed limits.)
18. You know how to pronounce Yastrzemski. (also a RI thing)
19.. You know there's a trophy at the end of the Bean Pot.
20. You order iced coffee in January. (also a RI thing)
21. You know that the Purple Line will take you anywhere.
22. You love scorpion bowls.
23. You know what they sell at a Packie. (also a RI thing)
24. Sorry Manny, but number 24 means DEWEY EVANS.
25. You know what First Night is. (also a RI thing)
26. You know at least one guy named Sean, Pat, Whitey, Red, Bud or Seamus. Bonus: You know how to pronounce Seamus. (I don't know any Seamus, but I do know a Shamus.)
27. McLobster = 3-D McCrap
28. You know at least 2 cops in your town because they were your high school drinking buddies.
29. You know there are 6 New England states, but that Connecticut really doesn't count.
30. You give incomprehensible directions to tourists, feel bad when they drive off, but then say to yourself , 'Ah, screw them.' (My idea of directions is "Just keep going straight. Don't worry about that rock wall at the end. It's not really there!)
31. You know at least one bar where you can get something to drink after last call.
32. You hate the Kennedys, but you vote for them anyway.
33. You know holding onto the railing when riding the Green Line is not optional.
34. The numbers '78 and '86 make you cringe. ('75 also)
35. You've been to Goodtimes
36. You think the rest of the country owes you for Thanksgiving and Independence Day. (...and they DO)..
37.. You have never actually been to 'Cheers.'
38. The words ' WICKED' and 'GOOD' go together.
39. You've been to Fenway Park .
40. You've gone to at least one party at UMass.
41. You own a 'Yankees Suck' shirt or hat. (I don't, but I do own a shirt that says "I support two teams, the Red Sox and whoever beats the Yankees" and a hat with what looks to be the "NY" logo, but it's "YH", which stands for "Yankee Hater".)
42. You know what a Frappe is. (also a RI thing)
43. You've been to Hempfest. (WTF?)
44. You know who Frank Averuch is.
45. You know Frank Averuch was once Bozo the Clown
46. You can complete the following: 'Lynn, Lynn .......'
47. You get pissed off when a restaurant serves clam chowder, and it turns out to be f******' Snows, or worse, Manhattan style. (I don't eat clam chowder. Fried clams, yes. Clam cakes, yes. Clam chowder, no.)
48. You actually know how to merge from six lanes of traffic down to one. (Most Rhode Islanders don't. They back up traffic for five states before the required merge instead.)
49. The TV weatherman is damn good if he's right 25% of the time. (also a RI thing)
50. You never go to Cape Cod,' you go 'down the Cape '. (also a RI thing)
51. You think that Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon are more evil than Whitey Bulger.
52. You know who Whitey Bulger is. (also a RI thing)
53. You went to the Swan Boats, House of Seven Gables, or Plymouth Plantation on a field trip in elementary school.
54. Bobby Orr is loved as much as Larry Bird, Tom Brady, and Ted Williams.
55. You remember Major Mudd.
56. You know what candlepin bowling is. (Although I'm from a state where there are no candlepins, I am a longtime HUGE fan of candlepin bowling. Longtime favorite bowlers are Tom Olszta, Paul Berger, the Morgan brothers - Mike Morgan, and the late Tom Morgan - and the late Stasia Czernicki.)
57. You can drive from the mountains to the ocean all in one day.
58. You know Scollay Square once stood where Government Center is.
59. When you were a kid, Rex Trailer was the coolest guy around.
60. Speaking of which.... You can still hum the song from the end of Boom Town (I very vaguely remember Boomtown. I think I was about three or four years old when I saw it last.)
61. Calling Carrabba's an 'Italian' restaurant is sacrilege.
62. You still have your old Flexible Flyer somewhere in your parents' attic.
63. You know that route 128 is some kind of strange weather dividing line. snow/rain
64. The only time you've been on the Freedom Trail is when relatives are in town.
65. The Big Dig tunnel disaster wasn't a surprise.
66. You call guys you've just met 'Chief' or 'Boss.' (also a RI thing - "Governor" is another one, especially if the person you're calling "Governor" was never involved with politics.)
67. 4:15pm and pitch black out means only 3 more shopping days until Christmas.
68. You know more than one person with the last name Murphy. (also a RI thing - I once had a pastor named "Murphy", and I currently have a customer named "Murphy".)
69. You refer to Savin Hill as 'Stab 'n Kill.' (LOL - never heard of that, but Providence is famous for "stab 'n kill", as well as "shoot 'n kill".)
70. You've never eaten at Durgin Park, but recommend it to tourists.
71. You can't look at the zip code 02134 without singing it. (Ah, yes, from "ZOOM!")
72. You voted for a Republican Mormon as Governor just to screw with the rest of the country.
73 11 pm ? Drunk? It means one thing: Kowloons!
74. 2 am ? Drunk? It means one thing: Kelly's! The one on Revere Beach not the one on Route 1. (You can tell you're NOT from New England when you call it "US 1".)
75. 5 am ? Drunk? It means one thing: You wish you had a blanket in your back seat.
76. You know that P-Town isn't the name of a new rap group. (For those who don't know what P-Town is, it's short for Provincetown, the farthest point on Cape Cod. Sadly, it's the east coast social equivalent of San Francisco.)
77. People you don't like are all 'Bastids.' (In RI, they're simply @$$holes!)
78. You took off school or work for the Patriots first Super Bowl Win Parade.
79. You've called something 'wicked pissa'.
80. You'll always get razzed for Dukakis.
81. Saturday afternoons meant Creature Double Feature with Dale Dorman. (also a RI thing)
82. Sunday mornings meant the Three Stooges on Channel 38. (also a RI thing)
(Note on #'s 81 and 82 - in RI, you can't get the Boston channels anymore. The damn cable company here dropped them a few years back.)
83. You've slammed on your brakes to deter a tailgater. (Nah, my way of pissing off a tailgater is simply doing the speed limit - which for me is rare unless there's a speed trap.)
84. No, you don't trust the Gorton's Fisherman.
85. You know that Papa Gino's usually has a jukebox. (also a RI thing)
86. You think Aerosmith is the greatest rock band of all time (Nah - Raspberries, hands down!)
87. Your town has at least 6 pizza and roast beef shops.
88.. You know at least three Tony's, one Vinnie and a Frankie.
89. 20 degrees is downright balmy as long as there is no wind - then it gets wicked cold.. (also a RI thing)
90. You were very sad when saying goodbye to the Boston Garden .
91. Thanksgiving means family, turkey, High School football, and the long version of Alice 's Restaurant. (the only Arlo Guthrie song I like)
92. You know the guy who founded the Boston Pops was named Athah Feedlah.
93. You know what the Combat Zone is.
94. You actually drive 45 minutes to New Hampshire to save $5 in sales tax. (That's because if you drove to RI thinking you're going to save on sales tax, you're completely out of your cotton pickin' mind. The sales tax in MA is 5%. In RI it's 7%, and our meal tax is 8%. And we have the colossal nerve to talk about "Taxachusetts"!)
95. You've pulled out of a side street and used your car to block oncoming traffic so you can make a left. (also a RI thing)
96. You've bragged about the money you've saved at The Christmas Tree Shop.
97. You've been to Hampton Beach on a Saturday night.
98. Playing street hockey was a daily after school ritual. (also a RI thing, especially north and west of Providence.)
99. Hearing an old lady shout 'Numbah 96 for Sioux City!' means it's time for steak.
100. You remember Jordan Marsh, Filene's, Grants, Bradlees, Caldor, Zayres (I also remember Ann and Hope, Coats Field, Mammoth Mart, Ames, and a truckload of drive-in theaters.)

Peace,
BMP

PONCHO LADIES NEW MOVIE

Poncho Ladies Invade Santa Barbara

Rated R - Coming soon to a sanitarium near you!

Here's the trailer!

Enjoy!
Peace,
BMP

THE PONCHO LADIES ARE AT IT AGAIN!

RSCT to the Catholic Caveman. Story from the California Catholic Daily, from - where else? - California, nutcase prelate capital of the USA.

Sometime on Sunday, April 19 (Low Sunday, as in "how low can they go?"), somewhere in Santa Barbara, four women were “ordained” as “bishops” by the group Roman Catholic Womenpriests (Poncho Ladies) USA. The exact time and place of the event was intentionally kept secret (for reasons of guilt, shame, etc., obviously), a spokeswoman for the group said.

“One of the major reasons for not revealing the place is that we wanted a prayerful, quiet, non-media event,” (free from protesters, hecklers, and snarks) said Womenpriests national spokeswoman Bridget Mary Meehan in an email to California Catholic Daily. “Our focus is not on the bishops ordinations but on servant leadership to the Catholic community.” Meehan was one of the four women “ordained” as a “bishop” on April 19. (Kudos to the California Catholic Daily for the use of quotes in this last sentence, as there is no such legitimate event in the Roman Catholic Church.)

In a statement provided to California Catholic Daily, Roman Catholic Womenpriests USA did not even name the city in which the “ordinations” (play dates) occurred. But a separate news release from CORPUS, which describes itself as “the national association for an inclusive (now there's a blatantly over-misused word if I ever heard one - "inclusive") priesthood,” identified the city as Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara “ordinations” represented the latest in a series of acts of defiance against the Vatican on the subject of women priests. On May 29, 2008, the Vatican declared that any women who attempt “ordination” or any bishops who attempt to “ordain” women are automatically excommunicated from the Church by their actions. The decree from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was absolute, universal and immediately effective. (Go CDF!)

“Roman Catholic Womenpriests USA is pleased to announce the ordinations of Joan Mary Clark Houk, Andrea Michele Johnson, Maria Regina Nicolosi and Bridget Mary Meehan as Roman Catholic bishops,” said a statement dated April 21. “These ordinations took place on April 19, 2009 in California. Officiating at the ceremony were Bishops(-wannabe): Patricia Fresen and Ida Raming from Germany and Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger from Austria.”

Joan Mary Clark Houk will serve as “bishop” in the Great Waters Region, one of six Womenpriests regions in the U.S. According to the group’s statement, Houk has been married for 48 years, and has six children, eight grandchildren and a great-grandchild. (Those poor descendants!) She had the words “Faithful Servant” inscribed on her (gumball machine) “bishop’s ring,” the statement said. Houk received a Masters Degree in Divinity from the University of Notre Dame (aka "Notre Shame" or "Notre Damned", home of the infamous forthcoming Obama scandal), according to a biography on the Womenpriests website.

Andrea Michele Johnson of Annapolis, Maryland, was “elected to serve as bishop for the Eastern Region,” according to the group’s statement. Johnson, married for 39 years and the mother of three, “was pastoral minister (Please, Lord, not one of THEM!) in a priestless Catholic parish in the mid-1980s and also served as a former director of the Women’s Ordination Conference,” said the statement. “Andrea currently works in hospital chaplaincy.” (Would she be the mental patient there?)

“Maria Regina Nicolosi was elected by the members of the Midwest Region to be their bishop,” said the statement. “Regina was born in the Rhineland, Germany, close to the Abbey of St. Hildegard and before she moved to the USA, she was a teacher. After raising her family, Regina worked as a senior housing manager and a nursing home chaplain. Currently, she celebrates Eucharist with small faith communities and has served as the program coordinator for the Midwest region. In this role she has helped prepare several women for (their play dates) priestly ordination. Regina is married and has four children and eight grandchildren. She and her husband Charles live in Red Wing, MN.”

Bridget Mary Meehan will serve as “bishop” of the Southern Region, where she “presides at inclusive liturgies and sacramental services for vibrant faith communities in Sarasota, Florida and Falls Church, Virginia,” according to the statement. “For fifteen years, Bridget Mary served as a pastoral associate at Ft. Myer Chapel in N.VA. She is the author of eighteen books including Praying with Women of the Bible, Praying with Visionary Women, and co-author of Praying with Celtic Holy Women(, as well as 157 Ways to Twist the Catechism).”

Another day, another game of "Pretend". Ho-hum!
Peace,
BMP

THE NOTRE DAMNED FIASCO

Paul Nichols, our favorite Catholic cartoonist, gives us this appropriate logo.



"Notre Damned" is an even better name. This Jenkins character really damned that whole school by honoring President Obama. Yes, Obama may be President of the United States, but he is also the most blatant pro-abortion President in U.S. history.

And with Georgetown covering the Holy Name of Jesus (IHS) per request of the White House, one can only imagine how much ass-kissing Notre Damned will do - in addition to allowing the prez to speak and handing him an honorary degree.

This calls for two more WTF awards (to the presidents of GeorgeGorge and Notre Damned for their blatant ass-kissing)!
Peace,
BMP

TONIGHT ON NBC

My day job (logo above) will be featured on


tonight at 9:00 PM Eastern Time on NBC. If you're not a Schwan's customer yet, you'll want to be after this! This is a two-hour episode, and we're scheduled to be featured on the second hour. This might also change the way I do my job for Schwan's - who knows?

Who will the Donald boot tonight? Tune in!
Peace,
BMP

ON MAY 16

This is where I'll be interviewing:


Organ: a two-manual, 20-rank Austin.
More later!

Peace,
BMP

DON'T DO THIS AT CHURCH

Blog edition!

RSCT to Rich at Catholic Lite, who sent me via e-mail this example of what NOT to do at church. This is NOT for the faint of heart. This is more or less a blatant thrashing of the Exsultet, and published by guess who.

Peace,
BMP

FROM THE CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED

...home of the



I got this wonderful letter via snail-mail from the Director of Communications over a week ago, and would like to share it with our readers.

Dear Brian Michael Page,

Greetings in our Savior, Jesus Christ.
My name is Hillary Johnston, and I am Director of Communications at Corpus Christi Watershed, a 501 (c) 3 public charity.
I just wanted to let you know how much we appreciate your magnificent contributions to the Chabanel Responsorial Psalm project.
It is only thanks to your generous Psalm contributions that so many musicians are now coming to our site. Your contributions are truly artistic and appropriate settings of the Holy Texts at Mass.
Now that the project has "taken flight", I as Director of Communications will be assisting Jeff Ostrowski on a regular basis in promoting the Chabanel Psalms Website. Promotion will consist of simply letting as many Catholics and Catholic publications know about this free resource.

Sincerely,
Hillary Johnston

I am honored, flattered, and humbled to know that there is a source that actually appreciates my work for the Lord. I'm also honored, flattered, and humbled to know that there is a source where many composers have added many quality musical settings of the Psalms that are also faithful to the translations in the Lectionary.

Peace,
BMP

A COMMERCIAL FOR THE TIMES

I just finished recording a commercial to promote the Chabanel Psalm Project during these times of economic and liturgical turmoil.

Click here and enjoy!
Peace,
BMP

ALLELUIA! CHRIST IS RISEN!

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Happy and blessed Easter everyone!
Peace,
BMP

TODAY I GIVE OUT MY EASTER PRESENT EARLY

Yes, it's the April 2009 WTF AWARD!

This month, it goes to the faculty and staff of Brown University, who voted this week to change the name of Columbus Day to "Fall Weekend" on their calendars. They cited some crap about Columbus coming up north of the Caribbean and mistreating Indians. I don't ever remember reading anything like that in the history books, do you? Is this something a group of professors decided to invent recently? Or is this another attempt by Rhode Island's only Ivy League school (I use the word "school" loosely) to indoctrinate their students with their philosophical bull$&!+? (Ah yes, "philosophical bull$&!+", in lieu of an education, or better still, a very high-priced education!)

I'd give a WTF Award to the RI General Assembly, but I have a policy not to give the award to the same party(-ies) twice in a row. Oh screw it! I'll make an exception! During Holy Week, the legislative monkeys decided to put the following cards on the table: 1) the loophole in RI law that allows prostitution, as long as it's indoors and isn't the result of "human traficking", and 2) the ever-going gay marriage debate. In fact, one representative offered a bill that if the gay marriage debate does fail in favor of righteousness, that gay couples already married in other states can get divorced in RI.

Of course, this comes from a state where 60% of its population is Catholic. We Rhode Islanders shouldn't even be bothered with this kind of crap. But of course, the big argument is, Well, Iowa just okayed gay marriage, and our neighbors to the north and west (Massachusetts, home of Barney Frank, and Connecticut) are already doing it, and of course there's California. Who gives a rat's ass about these other states? I suppose if other states had legislators who jumped a bridge naked, some of our legislative monkeys would too! Don't these @$$&0!*$ ever consider actually LEADING instead of FOLLOWING? I find it hard to believe that many of these jerks were actually elected to their seats. (Of course, many seats in RI are often won with little or no opposition.)

Doesn't it seem funny that some of the most idiotic legislation happens during Holy Week? I'm beginning to wonder if many of our "lawmakers" are the Antichrist.

OK - so two WTF awards are given today. Congratulations, idiots!
Peace,
BMP

MUSIC FOR HOLY MASS

Palm Sunday - April 5, 2009 (Ordinary Form)
Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Providence, RI

10:00 AM Mass - The Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, Principal Celebrant

Even without the choir (and I'm amazed that they didn't sing this Mass), the music was still of very high quality. There were two cantors (one male, one female - and, thankfully, without all that needless wing-flapping!), plus organist Phil Faraone (one of the best improvisers around, IMO) playing the mighty Casavant. And when I mean "mighty Casavant", I mean that this 1972 monster is one of the world's largest trackers at 125 ranks over four manuals and pedal.

The "Solemn Entrance" option was used at this Mass.

Entrance chant: Hosanna to the Son of David (Mode VII)
Processional: All glory, laud, and honor (St. Theodulph)
Psalm: My God, my God (Peloquin, from Songs of Israel, Volume 1) (absolutely gorgeous!)
Gospel Acclamation: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ (Haugen, from Massive Cremation)
- (the only piece from Cremation that I can stand)
Offertory: Ride on, ride on in majesty (Winchester New)
Sanctus and Agnus VIII
Memorial A and Amen: Danish
Communion: The Palms (J.-B. Faure)
- (My only complaint is that this was accompanied on piano instead of the organ. I didn't know what to expect when I saw Phil go to the piano, but was delighted that it was The Palms and not some instant Sominex love ballad like Roc O'Connor's Jesus the Lord.)
Recessional: To Jesus Christ, our sov'reign King (Ich Glaub an Gott)

Peace,
BMP

SPEAKING OF BIRTHDAYS

Now that it's been known that Massive Cremation turned 25 this year, I find that it's also been known that the Ordinary Form of the Mass turned 40 (RSCT to CUAGuy in our combox, and Fr. Loren in his own post).

However, Gregorian Chant has turned 1,100 this century, thus making it still far longer standing than Massive Cremation and the Ordinary Form.

Oh, BTW - there ARE a number of good musical settings in English in the Ordinary Form (People's, Christian Unity, Danish Amen Mass, Community, City). Unfortunately, they seem to take a back seat to Cremation, Jesuits, Celtic, and other similar dreck.

Peace,
BMP

AN EXCEPTIONALLY CLEAN BLOG

Check out my cuss rating!



Beat that!

RSCT to Fr. Erik, who scored 5.7%.

Peace,
BMP

I JUST READ THE FUNNIEST THING SOMEWHERE TODAY!

Yeah - Massive Cremation's 25th birthday. People are actually celebrating a quarter of a century of liturgies being infested with this "Mass setting!" Someone from a message board that I was booted from (guess which one!) actually wrote that Massive Cremation is the first Mass setting to "bridge the gap between the organ and guitar Masses", and that the Marty-meister "did us a huge service".

Click on the kitty at left for my reaction to that line of BS!

Nothing beats milleniae of Gregorian Chant! Still the official music of the Church, hands down!
Peace,
BMP

A PRO-LIFE DEMOCRAT

I knew there just HAD to be one! It's about time! And close to Washington, too!

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has signed a bill into law banning the use of some state funds for embryonic stem cell research.

The move puts the DNC chairman at odds with President Obama, who signed an executive order earlier this month reversing the Bush administration's ban on federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells.

Kaine approved the Virginia bill on Monday, according to the governor's office, the same day he enacted legislation that would permit "Choose Life" license plates in the commonwealth -- an act that angered state and national abortion rights advocates.

RSCT: The Curt Jester

We need more like this guy!
Peace,
BMP

OUR PRESIDENT'S GEOGRAPHICAL INTELLIGENCE

Yes, folks! Apparently there are at least seven new states in our country that none of us (except the Obaminator) knew anything of.
Peace,
BMP