POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II...

...could happen sooner than some may think

A medically certifiable miracle is required for the late pontiff's canonization.

Domini Sumus has the goods on what could be just that: a medically certifiable miracle. And it happened not far from the CV New England office (er, the desk in the corner of my living room) either.

Peace,
BMP

What does the typical Hypergeek download?

Recently I learned that I was a hypergeek. I like that word. A friend of mine called recently and related that among various magazines that regular people read, she also hides professional journals that she really finds more interesting. I thought that was funny, since shuffled among my Southern Livings and Tastes of Home, there are The Diapason, The American Organist, and the Phi Beta Kappa Reporter. After checking out the write-up’s on Florida’s grooviest vacation beaches in SL and tasty new recipes in ToH when company’s comin’, I become easily and willingly engrossed in a multi-part article on Helmut Walcha, repertoire discussions, registration suggestions, stylistic interpretation discussions and the like, not to mention updates on fellow Phi Beta Kappans and excellent book reviews. Meat and potatoes to the hypergeek, that. Lately, I’ve been enjoying walking the track at the local city park. Instead of watching re-runs of Crossing Jordan and sending out resumes, I set aside a bit of time for walking before I go off to play voice lessons. Recently I discovered a whole world of podcasts – yes indeed, Christus Vincit offers such programming hosted by my colleague Brian, but I never actually realized what a wide variety of podcasts existed. As a hypergeek, I prefer to hunt down interesting lecture podcasts. Nothing like a bit of continuing education while shedding the pounds. I have discovered a whole world of German-language podcasts that last about as long as half of my walking time. Perfect! Two lectures, and it’s time to drive home (and catch up on Crossing Jordan). Yesterday I listened to part two of a very interesting lecture broadcast on the German Southwest Radio (SWR2) delivered by Professor Hubert Wolf on “Archeology in the Vatican: Catholic Book Censorship”. Fascinating! The famous “Index of banned books” was finally made public by John Paul II who allowed researchers a first-time look into what actually was on this list and gave a pretty good idea regarding how books and authors came to be included in it, since the transcripts of the cases were also opened to researchers. The reason there was a list, so Prof. Wolf, was because, with the invention of the printing press, a machine considered by the Church to be able both to do God’s work and the Devil’s work, there no longer was a controllable monopoly on knowledge. Previously, books were very costly and had to be copied by hand, usually by religious, who then meticulously shelved their copies in monastery libraries. The printing press made books available to everyone, or at least to a broader audience of people at relatively low cost. With knowledge now a commodity, the Church was spooked. Enter book censorship and enter Inquisition. Also, enter Martin Luther and big problems for Mater Ecclesia. You see, 1517 wasn’t such a good year for Rome, poor Leo X. Wolf indicates that the Pope and his advisors were hoping that Chuck V, a nasty Hapsburg, wouldn’t become the Holy Roman Emperor. He would be distracted by goings on elsewhere, and even worse, this would mean that the eternal city would be surrounded by rude German-speaking Hapsburgs, who controlled just about everything, or at least almost everything. At any rate, Charles assumed the throne and all hell broke loose. The German nobles all made their own rules whether to reform or not, and Rome fumbled the ball. Oops. So much part one of Wolf’s lecture. Part two was even groovier. Why did certain books make the hit parade, yet others didn’t? Why did Galileo’s writings not make it, yet Copernicus’ did? Why wasn’t Darwin on the list, but Uncle Tom’s Cabin was? Why didn’t Hitler’s Mein Kampf make the list? Fascinating politics. We learn that Galileo found himself in hot water because he claimed that through empirical means, he had determined that planet Earth rotated around the sun. That wasn’t kosher to the red hats on the peninsula. So, he was called in to recant. We would have thought that such a heresy was a shoe-in for the list. Not so. A bit of quick talking got big G. out of a crispy end. It was explained to him that if he would claim his writings were an actual thesis, that is, fact, he’d be dipped in tar and set ablaze to light a Papal cocktail party. But, mincing words and saving the third degree burns, if he’d claim his writings were just hypothesis, that is, conjecture, then he’d be safe and could use the flames just to roast smores. So, Galileo’s writings were just hypothesis, not actual fact. Good thing. Copernicus on the other hand, presented thesis, and ergo, the black list. There was also that passage in the Old Testament about the sun standing still in the sky that left the red hats baffled how some upstart astronomer could be so bold as to postulate the earth had an orbit. Galileo’s findings would upset the Catholic world construct, but since they were merely deemed hypothesis, the scientist was safe. One of my personal favorites is the case of author Heinrich Heine, a German-speaking writer from the 19th century. He commented in one of his books that he found Catholicism to be a good summertime religion, since one can rest and cool off really well in large Catholic cathedrals. Good enough. But then, he went on to notice the confession box over in the corner and called it the “outhouse of the conscience”. A fabulously humorous observation, and a very earthy one at that. I personally don’t have a problem with that name, it is, actually, where Romans dump their sins. Then, on the other hand, neo-traditionalists call confession “giving your sins to Jesus”, so in that sense, I suppose the term could be seen as questionable, since by association in Heine’s metaphor, Jesus could be considered either the toilet seat or the honey bucket underneath it. Heine got listed, poor sot. BUT, he was listed not because he called the confession box the soul’s shit house, but because the text in question had been translated into French, and all good Catholics speak Romance languages and not the barbarian languages like German and English. You see, other German-language writers (all of whom were turned in by Metternich) were tattled on at the same time, none of whom were listed, since their work was never translated into a Romance language. So, learn a lesson: say what you will about the Papa and the Ecclesia, as long as you use a barbaric tongue! So what about Darwin? Darwin’s work was hypothesis and as a scientific hypothesis could be seen to coexist with Creationism. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was on the list for a while. Then it was taken off. The first red hat to read to the book and to list it found it to be socially revolutionary, and he feared that it carried a latent message to Europeans that it would be groovy and swell to overthrow the authority of the Church and the Pope. Slaves in the American South storming Rome to steal the triple tiara. Sheesh! That’s what some fellow red hats also said: “Sheesh!” (Or a good Latin “Eheu!” or its Italian equivalent). A few of the inquisitors stood up and announced they had also read the book and substantiated that it indeed was about the abolition of slavery in the U.S., and that was ok, since slavery isn’t a good thing. Ok, fine. So what of Hitler and Mein Kampf? Not on the list. There was great crying and gnashing of teeth in the Vatican when it came to Hitler’s magnum opus. A whole lot of arguing and postulating and talking and more discussion and more argument. Wolf reports that there is a large file on the book, but that the book never was listed. Why? Get this: because, since all civil authority comes from God, and Hitler was then the German civil authority, it was really beyond the purview of the Church really to say anything against the book as a whole. Nifty syllogism, there, fellas: Power comes from God. Hitler has power. Hitler comes from God. That opens up a big can of worms. At any rate, the Papal encyclical of 1937 “Mit brennender Sorge” (“with burning concern”) dealt with the issue of Hitler and his mess. So indirectly, the Church tried to ban the ideas, but, according the Epistle to the Romans, she (the Church) couldn’t actually ban the book. My thought: way to go, Hitler. Convince the red hats the final solution was just a hypothesis. Neat how we learn from history! Prof Wolf indicated that more research of course would be necessary regarding the Hitler question, since the Vatican opened its censorship files only up to 1939. This means the Pius XII documents are still secret. Wolf hopes that the actions between 1939 and 1958 might be revealed soon so that researchers and historians might soon be able to find out what the outcome of the whole Hitler mess really was, as far as the Church is concerned. John Paul II did much to try to reveal secrets and work for reconciliation. Opening up the Vatican archives on book censorship has given historians a glimpse into composition of the Index and has helped shed light on issues whose facts could heretofore only be guessed. So there you have it: loose weight and learn about esoteric things. Download groovy podcasts and they can make an hour’s walk seem like only 5 minutes. By the way, the program is on SWR2 and is called “Aula”, new each Sunday. It’s worth a download, even if you’re not a hypergeek.

COUPERIN BETWEEN HYMN VERSES - WAY COOL!

Over at Holy Family Church in NYC (aka "The United Nations Parish"), I got to hear something cool. This file will be up for the week at the parish's website.

Paul Murray, the organist/music director at Holy Family, is really good. Often times, the procession itself is longer than the entire entrance hymn, so he's gotta do a little improving between verses. What really interested me in this week's webcast was how he incorporated movement II from Francois Couperin's Mass for the Convents in between verses 2 and 3 during the entrance hymn (When John baptized by Jordan's river, the tune being "Rendez a Dieu" by Louis Bourgeois). Groovy!

Peace,
BMP

LATIN MASS SPOKEN HERE

Here's a Providence Journal Article from 7/8 that I totally missed somehow. This involves my favorite former parish, Holy Name of Jesus in Providence, which has done a Latin Mass since 1978 (Novus Ordo 1978-1993, Tridentine 1993-present).

Source

(emphasis and snarky remarks mine)

PROVIDENCE — As pastor of Holy Name Church on the East Side, the Rev. Joseph Santos admits that he is starting to feel nervous.

After years of advocating for more widespread use of the traditional Latin Mass, which has been offered at Holy Name with the express permission of a series of bishops going back to the Most Rev. Louis E. Gelineau, the priest is about to see his dream fulfilled. Yesterday, Pope Benedict XVI issued his long-awaited document, a motu proprio titled Summorum Pontificum, which authorizes priests to celebrate the once-suppressed Tridentine Mass publicly — without having to get the bishop’s permission. (Ah, but it was never suppressed to begin with, though the bishops didn't want anyone knowing that, which explains why some bishops, despite clarification by the Motu Proprio, are even trying to make up their own rules to set an anti-Motu agenda.)

With the roadblock removed, will priests who have long grown accustomed to the new Mass, sometimes called the Novus Ordo — which was promulgated by Pope Paul VI four decades ago to bring the Mass closer to people in the pews — dare to open their parishes to the old Mass once again? And if so, how popular will it be? (You'll never know until you try.)

Time will tell, but Father Santos says he estimates there are 30 priests in Rhode Island alone who have expressed an interest in bringing the old liturgy to a younger generation who never had the opportunity to experience the old Mass in all its splendor. (My own pastor went to a workshop recently on the Extraordinary Form. It's great that there are priests in my diocese willing to give it a shot. Our bishop, the Most Reverend Thomas J. Tobin, welcomed the Motu Proprio with open arms.) The old Mass is not simply the present-day Mass recited in Latin. It is more elaborate in both words and choreography.

“There are about 20 priests who have asked me to teach it to them, and I think I’m going to get them all together for classes. I find the most interest among our younger priests, which is remarkable because most priests today don’t even get Latin when they go to seminary.” (That's another thing that will need a foot coming down upon by our Holy Father, I fear. With a good amount of bishops who insist that to do the Extraordinary Form requires those well-versed in Latin but yet shows no intention of having it taught to his priests, that is most likely a sign of discouragement.)

Those who follow the Latin Mass, also known as the Tridentine Mass, know that the nation’s Catholic bishops haven’t all been in favor of allowing the rite in their dioceses, even though Pope John Paul II directed them to be open to it. Many have either refused requests for their churches to have the Latin Mass or have strictly limited it, judging that the use of the Tridentine Mass might be used as a rallying point for those broadly opposed to the changes in the church that were ushered in in the early 1960s by the second Vatican Council, known as Vatican II. For many, the new Mass symbolized Vatican II teachings because it was the most visible sign of change.

Here in Providence, Holy Name’s pastor emeritus, the Rev. Joseph T. Gallagher, got permission in 1978 from Bishop Gelineau to celebrate the new Mass in Latin. (With all due respect to Fr. Gallagher, who I know personally, he could have done the Novus Ordo Latin anytime he wanted without permission from the Bishop.) The parish was given approval 13 years ago for the Tridentine rite after a trusted friend of the bishop convinced him that allowing the older rite would provide hope to Catholics who felt alienated from the church. (The Tridentine Mass has now been done at Holy Name under the approval of three bishops - first Gelineau, followed by Bishop Robert E. Mulvee, then Tobin. Their graciousness in letting this happen is extremely commendable.)

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, before he became Pope Benedict XVI, expressed the view that it was a mistake to try to completely suppress the traditional rite. He has suggested that more openness to the rite would restore reverence and show a continuity with the church’s past. It might also bring back Catholics who had always favored the older Mass, he has said. At Holy Name, the attendance at the 11 a.m. Sunday Solemn High Latin Mass has gone from about 125 people as recently as seven years ago to an average of 250 people now from September through June — close to a third of them families with young children and another third older folks who remember the Mass as it once was. (Even in the summer months, when the Latin Mass is Low Mass, the turnout is still quite good. I'd say about 150 in the summer, 225-ish at High Mass the rest of the year, during my tenure as their music director.) Others come for a range of reasons, including curiosity.

Among those at Mass last week were Patrick Fiorillo, 21, a college student from Franklin, Mass., and Edward Evans, 32, who usually makes the trek to Holy Name from Sturbridge, Mass., with his wife, Jennifer, and their three children, Alexander, 5, Amanda, 4, and John Paul, 17 months.

Fiorillo, a student at the University of Hartford, said he knew very little about the traditional rite until a friend invited him to attend a Latin Mass last November in New Haven. (Probably St. Mary's, a parish with very high quality music - run by Dominicans.)

It took some getting used to, Fiorillo said, but by the fifth time there he began to understand and appreciate the Mass in a new way. In the Tridentine Mass, which was codified and promulgated by Pope Pius V in the 16th century after the Council of Trent, many of the prayers are elaborate, emphasizing the sacrificial aspects of Jesus’ death on the cross and man’s need for atonement.

“I just think it offers more, and spiritually it is much more fulfilling,” Fiorillo said. “It goes a lot deeper in many aspects.”

Would he continue to visit Holy Name if he could find another Latin Mass closer to his home? “Yes, if my parish in Franklin began offering it, I would love to go there. But this is a great well-established community here, so I would be definitely coming back here.”

Evans, a systems engineer, said that while he was a lifelong Catholic, he knew little about the Mass until his brother-in-law invited him and his wife to check out an old-rite Mass in Albany, N.Y.

He finds it interesting that the new Mass had been put into place with the idea of making the Mass more accessible and understandable to the people, but thinks the reverse is more true. Unfortunately, he said, the words of the regular Mass have been made to sound so ordinary that the prayers almost sound banal. “There is nothing special, nothing mysterious about it anymore, and people wonder why should they even come.”

It’s not that way with the Latin Mass, he said. “Once people experience it I think they’ll want to come. Here there is more a feeling of being with God.”

I'm very thankful that 1) When I left Holy Name, Fr. Kevin Fisette (the pastor at the time - a wonderful priest, pastor, employer, and friend) hired someone that could keep a good thing going (and even expand on it), in the persona of Jacob Stott; and 2) When Fr. Fisette was assigned to St. Leo the Great in Pawtucket, Fr. Santos kept that good thing going.

Peace,
BMP

DO I SENSE A DISOBEDIENT BISHOP?

This directive from Bishop Cooney of Gaylord, MI, in spite of the directives pointed out in the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (RSCT to Fr. Rob Johansen):

At a gathering of priests of the Gaylord Diocese in late June (on the eve of the MP's release), the bishop of Gaylord, Patrick Cooney, issued a directive stating:

Until other law is promulgated, all liturgies in the Diocese of Gaylord are to be celebrated entirely in English by the presiding celebrant.

It then goes on to say:

The use of other languages in songs and hymns...can be used occasionally, but must never overshadow the use of English.

Any variance from this policy must be requested on an individual basis from the Bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord using the form that can be obtained from the Secretariat for Worship & Liturgical Formation or the Office of the Bishop.

This Policy takes effect immediately. [Bold text in original.]

The form mentioned above asks the person making such a request to explain the "reason for requesting this variance from Diocesan Policy on the Use of the Vernacular when Celebrating Liturgy."

(Scans of these documents can be downloaded here, here, and here.) (note from BMP: these are .tif images)

So, let's see... we have liturgy documents saying that the use of Latin is to be preserved, a Motu Proprio stating that the Extraordinary Form of the Mass was never done away with, but a bishop who disregards these points from the Second Vatican Council, and Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. This to me says disobedience by the Bishop of Gaylord to the Church he is a servant of. The double standard, of course, is that if you do a Latin Mass in the Gaylord Diocese (even in the Ordinary Form) without permission, you're in disobedience to the Bishop there.

BTW, according to MassTimes.org, St. Joseph's in Traverse City (in the Gaylord Diocese) has a Spanish Mass. But that's ok (and Latin isn't)??? I have a big frickin' problem with that!

Supplementary RSCT's to Fr. Z and Gerald.
Peace,
BMP

ALL STYLES OF MUSIC IS OK AT HOLY MASS???

Jeffrey Tucker at NLM found this (Arlington) Catholic Herald article. Man, is it ever easy to tell which big name union would endorse such bull$&!+ and write it off as "diversity". Diversity my @$$!

Mr. Tucker said it right when he said:
The problem is that this is contradicted at every point by the whole of Church teaching on music. Personally, I find it incredible that that a central mandate of the Second Vatican Council, so clearly stated in the conciliar documents, could be so easily passed over: namely, that Gregorian chant and polyphony are uniquely suited to Roman Rite worship. Paul VI reinforced this and mandated chant in strong terms. John Paul II further stated that the closer a piece of music approaches the sensibility of chant, the more appropriate it is. Benedict has said the same and more.
But instead of listening, we just sort of make things up as we go along, acting as if the choice of liturgical music is akin to the choice of which radio station we want to listen to.

Peace,
BMP

THE EXPANDED PENTECOST VIGIL

Has anyone done this? I just finished reading Gary Penkala's CNP article on the Pentecost Vigil, which can be expanded to compliment the Easter Vigil. Apparently such a Mass has been celebrated in St. Peter's Square by the Pope for quite some time. Gary has an outline of how it was done there in 1993 by Pope John Paul II.

I wonder if it's still the same way under Pope Benedict XVI. :-)

Peace,
BMP

ICEL/USCCB STRIKES AGAIN

Fr. Tim Finigan got a little slap from the folks over at ICEL over exposure of the January 2006 proposed translation of the Mass. Apparently, posting the translation on his blog is a "violation of ICEL's copyright".

Being the obedient priest that he is, Fr. Finigan removed the translation from his blog, and made it clear in his reply to the ICEL crew, but not without giving them a little slap of his own. KUDOS, Father!

Full text of letter from ICEL's Peter Finn and Fr. Finigan's reply here.

Coincidentally, the USCCB forbids use of the New American Bible for podcasting (remember - the USCCB and ICEL went hand and hand for a few decades now). This includes the Lectionary readings (the Psalms in the Lectionary are copyright ICEL; much of the rest of the Lectionary is copyright CCD). Brian Noe, who hosts the Verbum Domini podcast, was one who obediently stopped using the NAB translation upon demand from the USCCB. He has since switched to the RSV/2nd Catholic Edition (Ignatius Bible), and with no problem from them whatsoever. However, now the USCCB has their own podcast on the readings, in an attempt to compete with Brian Noe.

One fellow podcaster caught wind (I'm protecting this podcaster's identity here) and wrote the USCCB:
I am a podcaster among a group of faithful podcaster, both lay and clergy. As I was checking the readings for today's Liturgy, I saw the new podcast of the NAB, readings of the day. I am very saddened by this. How dare the USCCB chain the Word of God through copyrite, forbid good Catholic to use it in their podcasts and now duplicate what one podcaster has been doing for more than a year. If the USCCB would work with those responding to the New Evangelization call of John Paul II, there would be greater success and a lost less waste.

The best that the USCCB could muster for a reply was this:
Thank you for your recent email.
The USCCB administers its copyright so as to achieve the best possible balance between wide dissemination, the protection of the integrity of the text, and good stewardship.
I hope that you will take the time to listen to the new podcast. I think that you will find that it will be of great spiritual benefit to the faithful.

Protect WHAT??? Maybe their pockets, at best. HA!

I hope Fr. Finigan takes his missive as far as humanly possible. I'm behind you 100%.
Peace,
BMP

VIA CRUCIS

A slightly different path

It's not quite noon yet as I write this, so mellow mode continues here.

First, let's remind our readers of the traditional Stations of the Cross as many still know it:
1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus accepts the cross
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets His afflicted Mother
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carries the cross
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7. Jesus falls the second time
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus' is taken down from the cross
14. Jesus is laid in the Sepulchur

Here are the Stations, as led by Pope Benedict XVI yesterday in the Colosseum (and led by Pope John Paul II in 1991). It's a bit different, but not bad either.
1. Jesus in the Garden of Olives
2. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested
3. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin (#1 in traditional stations)
4. Jesus is denied by Peter
5. Jesus is judged by Pilate
6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
7. Jesus takes up his cross (#2 in traditional stations)
8. Jesus is helped by the Cyrenean to carry his cross (#5 in traditional stations)
9. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem (#8 in traditional stations)
10. Jesus is crucified (#11 in traditional stations)
11. The crucified Jesus, the Mother, and the disciple
12. Jesus promises his kingdom to the good thief
13. Jesus dies on the cross (#12 in traditional stations)
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb (#14 in traditional stations as well)

Red Sox cap tip to Gerald.

Peace,
BMP

LOCAL PRIEST ON THE 1962 MISSAL

This is from this week's Providence Visitor, our diocesean newspaper, written by Fr. John Kiley, in his weekly column, The Quiet Corner. Fr. Kiley is one who, like many of the typical Catholic blogger/blog reader these days, tilts to the right. You'll be surprised to see that he's not turned on by the Tridentine Mass. However, he has yet to see the Novus Ordo done right - the way it was REALLY intended. His take on the Novus Ordo and how it's been done over the last 38 years reminds me of some of the passages from Pope Benedict XVI in Sacramentum Caritatis.

Personally, I do appreciate the Tridentine Mass. After all, I played it for four years, and it's a happy memory for me. However, I would have no problem with the Novus Ordo in accordance with the wishes of Pope Paul VI, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, and (most currently) Pope Benedict XVI. The good Father here points out the weaknesses of the Tridentine Mass, at least as it was celebrated "back then". Of course, since the Indult by Pope John Paul II in the 1980's, those celebrating the "Old Mass" have been (on the most part) doing so with class, with High Mass being the norm. The "New Mass" can be done with the same high amount of class.

My personal point for: it's the traditional rite. My personal point against: it would be like the 1979 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer - Rite I and Rite II.

Anyhoo, without further ado, here is Father Kiley's column this week. Enjoy!
Peace,
BMP

PS: Emphasis is mine. So are the little blurbs in red.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Pope Paul VI's New Order Mass should be embraced

If one can believe the conservative Web logs on the internet, every priest in Christendom will soon be offering the old Tridentine Latin Mass in parish churches and private oratories throughout the known world.
Episcopal permission be damned as celebrants don their maniples and join their thumbs and index fingers in deference to the Sacred Species. In spite of the reputation for traditionalism that the Quiet Corner has willingly fostered over the decades, the author is little attracted to a revival of the liturgical practices of his youth. I was 24 years old when the Mass switched from Latin into English and still in my 20s when the Novus Ordo of Pope Paul VI was fully implemented with parish altars reversed. Considering that I attended the old Latin Mass every day of my seminary years and that the Canon was still in Latin when I said my first Mass, the old Mass has held no interest for me.
If I might adjust a phrase from Chesterton, the trouble with the new Mass is not that it has been tried and found wanting; it really hasn't been tried at all. (This is reminiscent of a quote in Sacramentum Caritatis, section 40) The new rite of Pope Paul VI was introduced to the world precisely at a time when Western civilization was relaxing all its traditions and customs. Everything from marriage to manners, and not just the Mass, has suffered in the last 40 years. People forgot the rules and embraced the exceptions as their criteria for action. The ritual for the Mass became a backdrop for puppet shows (I do remember running into the infamous "puppet homilies" in the early 1980's - not a happy memory), interactive readings, balloons, birthday cakes, basketballs and the occasional ballerina. The very notion of ritual - repeated behavior - gave way to innovation - a new gimmick every week. Consequently the new Mass itself, the New Order of the Mass promulgated by Pope Paul, was left untapped. Since the authentic rite of the Mass remained ignored, the supporting actions of the Mass were free to exalt supposed relevance over neglected ritual. Gold chalices and silver patens gave way to ceramic goblets (and KoolAid pitchers - don't forget them) and straw baskets. The organ yielded to the guitar. Roman copes and Gothic chasubles were replaced by Mexican ponchos and third world stoles (and even vestments with rainbows). Panis Angelicus capitulated to "The Whole World in His Hands." (And the music became more "me-centered" instead of "Christ-centered") Everything was very folksy - which is exactly why the Tridentine Mass now evokes nostalgic appeal among many. People remember the old Latin Mass as being very majestic, very grand, very triumphant. Yet, was it as regal as some fondly recall?
The Tridentine Mass, for most of its history, was not the dialogue Mass of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Nor was every Tridentine Mass a solemn high celebration. In most parishes, parishioners knelt with their faces in their missals or their fingers on their beads, while the priest quietly offered prayers and supplications on their behalf to a God who was somewhere out in the middle distance beyond the marble and the frescoes. The old Mass was genuinely an act of faith in which most participation was interior. The well-meaning but often abused active participation of today - presentation of gifts, signs of peace, lay readings, general intercessions, Communion in the hand and under both Species, even concelebration - was unknown. Unfortunately, these ancient but recently-restored forms of participation overwhelmed the basic new rite itself. The fundamental rubrics have been neglected while the participatory parts have been over-indulged. Rather than resuscitate the old Tridentine Mass, the New Order Mass of Pope Paul VI should finally be allowed to see the light of day.
Cross and candles, incense and holy water, books and bells, genuflections and bows, gestures and vestments, ambience and appointments, even Greek and Latin acclamations, can be employed with equal reverence and equal effect in the new rite just as in the old rite. Nothing was drearier than the Tridentine Holy Week observances before Pope Pius XII revised their rituals in the 1950s - lonely clergy processing and praying in empty churches at the crack of dawn. These Tridentine holy days were more somnolent than solemn. Old did not mean better. The glory and grandeur that the Christian world will experience on this Easter Sunday can be echoed every Sunday and, at least faintly, even on weekdays if the new rite is embraced with faith, respect, compliance and an extra candlestick or two.

CATHOLIC CARNIVAL 113...

...is up and runnin'...

over at Living Catholicism. This week's featured CV post is Nick's post about the nun that was healed of Parkinsons via the intercession of Pope John Paul II (could be Blessed John Paul II before you know it!)

Peace,
BMP

ZENIT: Nun's Healing Attributed to John Paul II

This is taken from ZENIT's website.

~nb

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, MARCH 30, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A smiling Sister Marie-Simon-Pierre told a group of journalists that she was cured of Parkinson's disease in an unexplainable way and thanks to the intercession of Pope John Paul II.

"All I can say is I was sick and now I am healed. Now it is up to the Church to pronounce itself and recognize if this is a miracle," the 46-year-old religious said today at a press conference.

Accompanied by Archbishop Claude Feidt of Aix-Arles-Embrun, she said she had no doubts about her cure: "I was healed, and this is the work of God through the intercession of John Paul II."

Sister Pierre, who belongs to the Congregation of Little Sisters of Catholic Motherhood, said that it was very hard to describe with words her experience.

"My body wasn't the same anymore and I was not the same anymore," she said, describing Parkinson's disease, with which John Paul II also suffered.

Completely transformed

"Since the death of our Holy Father John Paul II, the symptoms of the illness became more accentuated and more serious," she explained. On June 2, 2005, the two-month anniversary of his death, she asked to stop working in the Maternité de l'Étoile.

Sister Pierre's superior asked her to write the name of John Paul II, which she found to be almost impossible because of her condition. After writing some unrecognizable letters, she went to her room to rest.

She recounted: "And there, when I went into my room, I felt like writing, even if it was difficult for me. I had the impression of a voice telling me: 'Take the pen and write.' I wrote something" and then went to sleep, waking at 4:30 the next morning.

"I jumped out of bed, though getting out of bed had been something very difficult and hard for me to do," the woman religious continued. "I felt completely transformed, internally I was no longer the same.

"[It was] something I find very difficult to explain in words … It was too intense, too great. A mystery.

"Since that day I have stopped all therapy. … It was like a second birth for me, I felt I was rediscovering my body, rediscovering my arms and legs."

Thanksgiving

Sister Pierre recalled that she began that day, June 3, 2005, with a Mass in thanksgiving. She has since resumed work in a maternity ward in Paris.

"I work as a nurse with mothers and children in Saint-Félicité. And I can do all that my job requires," she said.

Her healing will be presented by the postulator of the cause of beatification, Monsignor Slawomir Oder, to the Congregation for Saints' Causes.

On Monday, the diocesan phase of John Paul II's beatification process will conclude. Sister Pierre will participate in this celebration.

ARINZE IN PARIS

The Good Cardinal addresses the Institut Supérieur de Liturgie. Below is the article from Zenit. Hat tip to Shawn Tribe at NLM. Enjoy!

Peace,
BMP

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2007 ( Zenit.org).- Here is an address given by Cardinal Francis Arinze at a colloquium to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Institut Supérieur de Liturgie of the Institut Catholique de Paris. The prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments gave the address Oct. 26.

* * *At the Service of the Mysteries of Christ

1. Fitting Celebration. Time of Grace
God be praised that the Institut Supérieur de Liturgie is celebrating a half-century of its life and service. In these 50 years this institute has made a significant contribution to liturgical reflection, life and allied formation in the Church. We pray the Lord Jesus to bless and reward all who in the past, or at the present time, have contributed to the work of this important section of the Institut Catholique de Paris. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments offers its warm congratulations to the institute.
A jubilee celebration such as this is a time not only for thanksgiving but also for reflection, for re-examination of orientations, for clarification of the road map, and for resolutions for the future. Let us touch on some of the areas which a higher liturgical institute such as this one could seek to serve. It is important to show the light in matters liturgical. The "ars celebrandi" and the homily deserve special mention. An ecclesiology of communion includes clarity on the roles of the priest and of the diocesan bishop. A consideration of these elements will help us to conclude with a listing of the major services expected of a liturgical institute.

2. Show the light in matters liturgical
Primary among the duties of a higher liturgical institute is to be a beacon of light in matters liturgical. It informs and forms leaders who appreciate the riches to be found in the public worship of the Church and who will be ready to share them with others. It throws light on the close link between theology and liturgy, between the faith of the Church and the celebration of the mysteries of Christ, between the "lex credendi" and the "lex orandi."
While, therefore, a higher liturgical institute should promote research, it above all bases its strong and durable foundations on the faith, on the Tradition of the Church and on the heritage enshrined in liturgical texts, gestures and postures. Such an institute appreciates that the sacred liturgy is a gift we receive from Christ through the Church. It is not something that we invent. It has therefore unchangeable elements which come from our Savior Jesus Christ, as in the essential forms of the sacraments, and changeable elements which have been carefully handed on and guarded by the Church.
Many abuses in matters liturgical are based, not on bad will but on ignorance, because they "involve a rejection of those elements whose deeper meaning is not understood and whose antiquity is not recognized" ("Redemptionis Sacramentum," No. 9). Thus some abuses are due to an undue place given to spontaneity, or creativity, or to a wrong idea of freedom, or to the error of horizontalism which places man at the center of a liturgical celebration instead of vertically focusing on Christ and his mysteries.
Darkness is chased away by light, not by verbal condemnation. A higher liturgical institute trains experts in the best and authentic [theological]-liturgical tradition of the Church. It forms them to love the Church and her public worship and to follow the norms and indications given by the magisterium. It also provides appropriate courses for those who will promote ongoing liturgical formation for clerics, consecrated people and the lay faithful.
As Pope John Paul II wrote the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments a month before his death: "It is urgent that in parish communities, in associations and in ecclesial movements there be assured adequate courses of formation, so that the liturgy be better known in the richness of its language and that it be lived in fullness. To the measure to which this is done, the result will be benefits showing themselves in personal and community life" (Letter of John Paul II to Cardinal Arinze, March 3, 2005, No. 5).

3. Promotion of "ars celebrandi"
A consequence of sound [theological]-liturgical grounding and proper formation in faith and reverence is that the "ars celebrandi" will be promoted not only on the part of the celebrating priest, but also as regards all others who take part in liturgical functions, above all, the deacon, but also altar servers, readers, those who direct the singing and all the faithful who participate.
"Ars celebrandi" is based on the theological truth articulated by the Second Vatican Council, namely that "the liturgy is considered as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy the sanctification of man is manifested by signs perceptible to the senses, and is effected in a way which is proper to each of these signs; in the liturgy full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Christ, that is by the Head and his members" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium," No. 7).
A liturgical institute should help everyone concerned in a liturgical celebration to appreciate this truth. The first place goes to the celebrating priest or bishop. If they are sufficiently inserted into the meaning of liturgical celebrations which have Christ as their Head, if they respect the Scripture, Tradition, historical roots of the sacred texts and the theological riches of liturgical expressions, then the results will be a happy manifestation of the "ars celebrandi."
Liturgical celebrations will beautifully manifest the faith of the Church, nourish this faith in the participants, awaken this faith in the dormant and the indifferent, and send the people home on fire to live the Christian life and spread the Gospel. This is very far from the cold, man-centered and sometimes openly idiosyncratic mannerism which our Sunday congregations are sometimes forced to endure. Both the Letter of Pope John Paul II already mentioned (No. 3) and the October 2005 Synod of Bishops (Proposition 25) emphasize the importance of "ars celebrandi."

4. The homily
"The homily," says the Second Vatican Council, "is to be highly esteemed as part of the liturgy itself" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium," No. 52). In it the Word of God is bread broken for the people. The sacred readings are related to the realities of life in the world of today. The homily, well delivered, should make the people's hearts burn within them (cf. Luke 24:32).
Unfortunately, many homilies as delivered by priests or deacons are not up to what is desirable. Some homilies seem to be mere sociological, psychological or, worse still, political comments. They are not sufficiently grounded in Holy Scripture, liturgical texts, Church tradition and solid theology. In some countries there are people who do not appreciate that the delivery of the homily at the Eucharistic Sacrifice is a pastoral ministry assigned only to ordained ministers: deacon, priest or bishop. Lay people laudably conduct catechesis outside Mass, but not the homily which demands ordination.
A higher liturgical institute can help spread the right convictions regarding the homily. It can help create a climate of opinion which will lead to more substantial pastures for the people of God, considering that for many Catholics the homily is probably the only ongoing religious and catechetical formation that they receive in the week (cf. Letter of Pope John Paul II, No. 4; October 2005 Synod: Proposition 19).

5. The liturgical role of the priest
It is crucial that a higher liturgical institute delineate clearly the role of the priest in the sacred liturgy. The Second Vatican Council says that "the wished-for renewal of the whole Church depends in large measure on a ministry of priests which is vitalized by the spirit of Christ" ("Optatam Totius," No. 1).
The common priesthood of all the baptized and the ministerial priesthood of the ordained priest come from Christ himself. Confusion of roles in the hierarchical constitution of the Church does damage. It does not promote witness to Christ nor holiness for clergy and laity. Neither attempts at the clericalization of the laity, nor efforts toward the laicization of the clergy, will bring down divine graces. "In liturgical celebrations," says Vatican II, "whether as a minister or as one of the faithful, each person should perform his role by doing solely and totally what the nature of things and liturgical norms require of him" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium," No. 28). It is false humility and an inadmissible idea of democracy or fraternity, for the priest to try to share his strictly priestly liturgical roles with the lay faithful.
It is not therefore superfluous to state that a higher liturgical institute, just as any theological faculty, should help people to see that the priesthood is an integral and constitutive part of the structure of the Church and that therefore we absolutely need ordained priests to celebrate Holy Mass, to absolve people from their sins in the sacrament of penance and to anoint the sick (cf. James 5:14-15).
Moreover, if fuller spiritual benefits are to come to people at weddings and funerals, then we need priests to celebrate the Eucharistic Sacrifice, preach spiritually enriching homilies to the people, some of whom would otherwise rarely come to Mass, give them blessing and be a sign that the Church is near them at such a milestone in their lives. No doubt, it is necessary that the priest does not merely perform liturgical functions, but that his ministerial activities come from the heart and that his pastoral presence be a spiritual nourishment for the people.
If the role of the priest is weakened or is not appreciated, a local Catholic community may be dangerously lapsing into the idea of a priestless community. This is not in line with the genuine concept of the Church instituted by Christ.
If a diocese does not have enough priests, initiatives should be taken to seek them from elsewhere now, to encourage local vocations and to keep fresh in the people a genuine "hunger" for a priest (cf. John Paul II, "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," No. 32). Non-ordained members of the faithful who are assigned some roles in the absence of a priest have to make a special effort to keep up this "hunger." And they should resist the temptation of trying to get the people accustomed to them as substitutes for priests (cf. op. cit., No. 33). There is no place in the Catholic Church for the creation of a sort of parallel "lay clergy" (cf. "Redemptionis Sacramentum," Nos. 149-153,165).
Priests on their part should show themselves transparently happy in their vocation with a clear identity of their liturgical role. If they celebrate the sacred mysteries with faith and devotion and according to the approved books, they will unconsciously be preaching priestly vocations. On the other hand, young people will not desire to join a band of clerics who seem uncertain of their mission, who criticize and disobey their Church and who celebrate their own "liturgies" according to their personal choices and theories.
A higher liturgical institute and a theological faculty are precious instruments in the hands of the Church for the sharing of the correct theology on the priest as Christ's instrument in the sacred liturgy.

6. The role of the bishop
Obviously ecclesial communion has to mean "communion" with the diocesan bishop and between bishops and the Pope. In the diocese, the bishop is the first steward of the mysteries of Christ. He is the moderator, promoter and guardian of the entire liturgical life of the diocesan Church (cf. "Christus Dominus," No. 15; Code of Canon Law, Canon 387; "Redemptionis Sacramentum," No. 19). The bishop directs the administration of the sacraments and especially of the holy Eucharist. When he concelebrates in his cathedral church with his priests, with the assistance of deacons and minor assistants, and with the participation of the holy people of God, "the Church reveals herself most clearly" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium," No. 41).
Catholic theological faculties, liturgical institutes and pastoral centers are there to help the bishop, the chief pastor in the diocese. They also in appropriate ways cooperate with the bishops' conference and the Apostolic See and help to explain and spread their documents and instructions. They are obvious treasured advisers to the diocesan bishop, bishops' conferences and the Holy See. They appreciate and help people to understand that the sacred liturgy is not a free-for-all research area, but rather the public and official prayer of the Church for which the Pope and the bishops are chiefly responsible. A Catholic institute or theological faculty thus sees that it is not right for it to run parallel to the bishop or the Holy See, or to regard itself as an independent observer or critic.
Here we must thank the Institut Supérieur de Liturgie for the positive role it has played for half a century in the Church, in promotion of the sacred liturgy and of ecclesial communion. This leads us to conclude with a listing of some of the services expected from a higher liturgical institute.

7. Services expected from a higher liturgical institute
It follows from the foregoing considerations that a higher institute for the liturgy should be a house of light and love. It should prepare, inform and form experts on the sacred liturgy. It is its role to inspire people with faith and with love for the Church so that they appreciate that liturgical "norms are a concrete expression of the authentically ecclesial nature of the Eucharist; this is their deepest meaning. Liturgy is never anyone's private property, be it of the celebrant or of the community in which the mysteries are celebrated" ("Ecclesia de Eucharistia," No. 52).
This means that liturgical institutes should arm people to reject banalization, desacralization and secularization in matters liturgical. Horizontalism which makes people tend to celebrate themselves instead of the mysteries of Christ does damage to Catholic faith and worship and deserves to be avoided.
An institute such as yours exercises great influence because of the orientation and spirit which it imparts to its students, because of its publications and because of its moral authority in giving ideas to diocesan liturgical and pastoral centers and to publishing houses. This influence goes beyond France and reaches villages in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
A higher liturgical institute can be a powerful help to the bishop, to the bishops' conference and to the Holy See, in the formulation of liturgical directives and in the articulation of the theology which underpins liturgical rites. Since "the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time it is the fountain from which all her power flows" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium," No. 10), no one can fail to see the importance of the apostolate of a liturgical institute.
Institut Supérieur de Liturgie, I greet you as you complete your 50th year! May the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of our Savior whose mysteries we celebrate in the liturgy, obtain for this institute and all its sisters throughout the world joy, efficiency and ecclesial growth in the discharge of this high vocation and mission.

ABCDEFG

The Alphabet Meme

Accepted tag by Dymnpha's Well.

[A is for age]: 42
[B is for beer of choice]: None. Never did get into drinking toilet water.
[C is for career]: Musician.
[D is for favorite Drink]: Coke, by the two-liter bottle.
[E is for Essential item you use everyday]: Computer, Van, toiletries, refrigerator and other appliances.
[F is for Favorite song at the moment]: Go All the Way by Raspberries (when I'm not in church, that is).
[G is for favorite Game]: Meal or No Meal, from addictinggames.com
[H is for Home town]: Pawtucket, RI
[I is for Instruments you play]: In church, the organ and voice, as well as a hand to conduct the choir. Outside of church, I also play piano, guitar, some bass, and a little bit of drums.
[J is for favorite Juice]: Apple.
[K is for Kids]: two boys (Christopher, 21, and Brian Robert, 13) and two girls (Jessica, 19, and Brittany, 9)
[L is for last kiss]: from my wife, just a few minutes ago.
[M is for marriage]: Very happily married to Ann.
[N is for full Name]: Brian Michael Page
[O is for Overnight hospital stays]: Two this decade already - April 2005 (the weekend Pope John Paul II died) to have my gall bladder removed (the news of JP2's death came while I was en route to the OR), and October 2006 for chest pains that I thought was a heart attack, but thankfully it wasn't.
[P is for phobias]: You name it. I've often been a firm believer in Murphy's Law.
[Q is for quote] You know not the day or the hour!
[R is for biggest Regret]: Quitting smoking, but I'm finally starting to get used to it, after almost a year now.
[S is for sports]: Spectator: baseball / Actually doing: bowling (I'm doing a doubles tourney with my son Chris, who is almost ready to join the PBA, this Saturday morning).
[T is for Time you wake up]: Monday through Friday: 7 AM (6:30 if I have a 9:00 funeral to play) / Saturday: unless I have something going, e.g. funeral, or in this Saturday's case, the bowling tourney with my son, I sometimes sleep in. Otherwise, I let the time of the event regulate when I set the alarm. / Sunday: 5:30 AM (my first Mass is at 7:30, so I'm out the door by 6:10 - I'm 25 miles from work one way, and less than half of it is highway.)
[U is for color underwear]: lately it's been printed boxers.
[V is for Vegetable you love]: Corn, especially frozen corn cooked in plenty of butter.
[W is for Worst Habit]: being my own worst critic. (I've been known to say that something I did at the organ really sucked, while others say it was fine)
[X is for X-rays you've had]: lately: stomach, chest
[Y is for Yummy food you make]: Hamburger helper, cheddar cheese melt species.
[Z is for zodiac sign]: Cancer (three of us - wife, son Chris, and self - are all Cancers).

Tag, your it! - anyone who reads this and has a few minutes to kill, hehehe!

Peace,
BMP

CHRISTUS VINCIT SPORTS PRESENTS:

VATICAN EDITION

TRUE STORY: The Vatican is on the verge of forming a soccer team (that's "football" if you're in most countries outside of the United States).

Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone had this to say:
"If, for example, we were to recruit Brazilian players from our pontifical universities we could set up a great team," Bertone was quoted as saying by Rome daily La Repubblica. The cardinal added that the Vatican could also discover young talents in parish teams saying that "in the 1990 World Cup I noticed that 42 players from different national teams originally came from parish recreation centres."

Full story here.

ON A FUNNY NOTE: The Curt Jester has captured two Popes trying out in sports.

Pope Benedict XVI en route to making a superlative save in his tryouts for the Vatican soccer team. Will he be their starting goalie?

Pope John Paul II awaits his turn to take to the ice in a good clean hockey game. Unfortunately the VHL (Vatican Hockey League) never made it off the ground.

American football might be a possibility, and over at the Curt Jester, the Vatican Cardinals might just be a winner. After all, they thrive on Hail Mary passes. Here's their helmet:

Peace,
BMP

MUSIC IN CATHOLIC WORSHIP

OK, I'll claim post number 800 now! ;)

This Monday, yes folks, Columbus Day (Thanksgiving Day for our Canadian friends) is the day that the US Bishops begin consultation on the revision (hopefully, and in the right direction) of the U.S. documents Music in Catholic Worship and Liturgical Music Today.

Good news - two of the scheduled speakers will be the President and Vice President of CMAA!

Looking back at this document today, especially in light of the progress currently being made in accomplishing what the Second Vatican Council actually intended concerning music, one is struck by the notable ways in which the American document is contradicted by the teaching of Musicam Sacram, the General Instruction on the Roman Missal, and the statements by John Paul II and Benedict XVI concerning music.

The above quote comes from this post from Musica Sacra (CMAA's official blog). The post also points out three key points that support the above italicized paragraph. It's an excellent read.

Peace,
BMP

5 Members of SSPX Return to Full Communion with Rome

This article was posted out on ZENIT. While released yesterday, I'm having trouble determining if this is "new" news or "old" news....

~nb

ROME, SEPT. 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Five priests and seminarians, including past members of the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, have returned to full communion with the Catholic Church.

They founded the Good Shepherd Institute, a new society of apostolic life of pontifical right, established last Friday in Rome. Its members are people who wish to celebrate the liturgy exactly as was in force in the Latin Church until 1962.

The institute brings together priests who wish to "exercise their priesthood in the doctrinal and liturgical Tradition of the Holy Roman Catholic Church," explained Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, archbishop of Bordeaux, in a communiqué. The new institute is located in his archdiocese.

In the apostolic letter "Ecclesia Dei," Pope John Paul II said that the "unlawful" ordination of four bishops within the Society by Archbishop Lefebvre, on June 30, 1988, was a schismatic act.

That ordination cut short the attempt for an agreement between the Holy See and the Society of St. Pius X, carried out in John Paul II's name by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Archbishop Lefebvre died in March 1991 and was succeeded by one of the ordained bishops, Bernard Fellay, in the leadership of the group.

Pope's desire

In his communiqué Cardinal Ricard said: "Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his concern for a return to full communion by those who followed Archbishop Lefebvre and wished to offer welcome gestures."

Cardinal Ricard, 61, who is also president of the bishops' conference of France, explained that "the Pope himself made the decision to establish this new institute. In this decision there is the will to propose an experience of reconciliation and communion that will have to be affirmed and deepened with deeds. For this reason, the statutes of this institute are approved 'ad experimentum' for a five-year period."

"We share profoundly this concern of the Pope for reconciliation and communion and we welcome filially his decision," stated the cardinal, who is also a member of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei."

That commission was established by John Paul II to facilitate the full ecclesial communion of the priests, seminarians, communities and men and women religious connected in some way to Lefebvre's group, who wish to remain united to the Successor of Peter in the Catholic Church, keeping their spiritual and liturgical traditions.

The archbishop of Bordeaux said that a "convention" will be agreed to by the institute and the archdiocese on how the former will operate.

The cardinal acknowledged that what is needed is a "whole endeavor of pacification, reconciliation and communion, as violence has characterized the relations even over the last months of several members of that institute with the diocesan Church. Each one will have to contribute his part."

Opposition aired

In 2002, Cardinal Ricard asked the municipality of Bordeaux to discontinue assigning a priest of the then unapproved institute to the Church of St. Eloy in that city. The cardinal's request drew much media attention.

Bishop Fellay, head of the Society of St. Pius X, issued a communiqué Friday expressing opposition to the agreement reached by the institute as he believes it is "a communal solution in which the Tridentine Mass would be confined in a particular statute."

Other followers of Lefebvre are already reconciled with Rome, as is the case of the personal apostolic administration "St. John Mary Vianney" of Campos, Brazil, which arose from a group led by Bishop Licinio Rangel. He was consecrated by three bishops ordained illicitly by Lefebvre.

Their return to the Catholic Church took place Jan. 18, 2002, in a solemn ceremony presided over by Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of the "Ecclesia Dei" Commission.

ADORATION IS NOT THE BAD THING THAT SOME THOUGHT

Hat tip to our good friend Argent, who got the story from Off the Record.

In fact, the Church teaches that it's a very good thing, despite progressive opinions from others I've heard from on certain message boards that the post-Conciliar Church has no place for adoration. I knew there was a good reason to know that such progressive thinking was so full of bull $&!+. Let's see what the Church says here.

The Cathechism of the Catholic Church (#1418) says this:
Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration.

Pope Paul VI says in his Mysterium Fidei (#66):
To visit the Blessed Sacrament is a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord.

Therefore, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament wins! BTW, at Holy Ghost, the Adoration Schedule is thus:
Fridays following 7:30 AM Mass, ending with Rosary and Benediction at 6:30. On First Fridays, there is also a Holy Hour at 7:00 PM. On all Fridays during Lent, there is also a talk following Benediction. Also, as of just this past May, we've started Nocturnal (overnight) Adoration on First Fridays - the Blessed Sacrament remains exposed until the end of the 9 AM Mass on Saturday Morning. Here's a link to our newly formed St. Tarcisius Adoration Society.

Here's one more statement, this time from Pope John Paul II, and I'll tip my hat to my pastor for this:
Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Jesus and ready to make reparation for the great evils of the world. Let your adoration never cease.

Peace,
BMP

VOX CLARA MEETING

Hat tip to Argent, who got it from Rocco.

VOX CLARA COMMITTEE
left to right, seated:
Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb, Cardinal George Pell (chairman), Archbishop Oswald Gracias, Cardinal Justin Rigali
left to right, standing:
Reverend Anthony Ward, Bishop Philip Boyce, Archbishop Alfred Hughes, Monsignor James Moroney, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, Archbishop Kelvin Felix, Archbishop Peter Sarpong, Abbot Cuthbert Johnson, Father Dennis McManus

Cool! No Fish Person!

Below is the Rocco Report on the Vox Clara Meeting that was held this week. Looking forward to their next meeting in October. Enjoy.
Peace,
BMP
________________________________________________________

The Vox Clara Committee met for the tenth time from July 17-21, 2006 in the offices of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome.

Established by the Congregation five years ago, on July 19, 2001, this Committee of senior Bishops from Episcopal Conferences throughout the English-speaking world was formed to give advice to the Congregation regarding the translation of Latin liturgical texts into the English-language, and to strengthen effective cooperation with the Conferences of Bishops in this regard.

The Vox Clara Committee is chaired by Cardinal George Pell, Sydney (Australia). The participants in the meeting were Archbishop Oscar Lipscomb, Mobile (USA), who serves as First Vice-Chairman; Archbishop Oswald Gracias, Agra (India), who serves as Second Vice-Chairman; Cardinal Justin Rigali, Philadelphia (USA), who serves as Treasurer; Archbishop Alfred Hughes, New Orleans (USA); Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., Halifax (Canada); Archbishop Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Kumasi (Ghana); Archbishop Kelvin Felix, Castries (Saint Lucia), and Bishop Philip Boyce, O.C.D., Raphoe (Ireland). Other members of the Committee, though not present at the meeting, are; Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Westminster (England), who serves as Secretary; Cardinal Francis George, O.M.I., Chicago (USA); and Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona, O.C.D., Infanta (Philippines). The members were assisted in their work by the following Advisors: Monsignor Gerard McKay (Rome), Abbot Cuthbert Johnson, O.S.B. (England), Reverend Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B. (USA), Reverend Dennis McManus (USA), and Monsignor James P. Moroney (USA).

The members of the Committee welcomed the news that several Episcopal Conferences had recently approved the “Gray Book” of the Order of Mass I. The success achieved in the completion of this foundational segment of the Roman Missal, including the parts assigned to the people at Mass, is the fruit of the work of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy and its collaboration with member Conferences and the Holy See over the past several years. Observing the fifth anniversary of its establishment as an advisory body to the Holy See, the Vox Clara Committee was grateful for the privilege of contributing to this important work.

At the request of the Congregation, the members of the Vox Clara Committee examined at length the “White Book” of the Order of Mass I, including amendments submitted in the course of the confirmation of this segment. Recommendations regarding the granting of the recognitio were formulated.

The major work of the Vox Clara Committee at this meeting consisted of a review of the “Green Book” translation of the Order of Mass II, consisting of the Eucharistic Prayers for Reconciliation and Various Needs, as well as Prefaces, Solemn Blessings and Prayers Over the People. The members were gratified by the quality of this segment of the Roman Missal and, over the course of four days of discussions, made numerous suggestions for improvements to the text.

On the next to last day of its meeting, the Committee appreciated the visit with the Secretary to the Congregation, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith. The Secretary met with the members and advisors and thanked them for their work, reminding them of the calls by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to do everything possible to assure the expeditious completion of an English-language edition of the Roman Missal. The importance of keeping to the timelines for the completion of the Roman Missal was discussed with the Secretary, noting that with the publication of the “Gray Book” of Order of Mass I, and of the “Green Book” of the Order of Mass II and the Proper of the Seasons, twenty-nine percent of the Missale Romanum has been approved or reviewed by the Bishops of ICEL’s members Conferences. It is the hope of the Vox Clara Committee that all involved in this important work will continue to devote all necessary resources to its expeditious and effective completion.

The next meeting of the Vox Clara Committee is scheduled for October, 2006.

Interview with Msgr. Bartolucci

Long, but worth it!

Courtesy of Sandro Magister, full article here: I Had a Dream: The
Music of Palestrina and Gregory the Great Had Come Back

Bartolucci, for those who don't recall, was the director of the
papal choir for decades, going back to Pius XII; he was "dismissed"
(a seemingly harsh thing to do to a venerable old servant) under the
pontificate of John Paul II in favor of a more "hip" and "modern"
director who could incorporate modern music into the papal Masses.

When the cantor was like a priest

An interview with Domenico Bartolucci

Q: Maestro Bartolucci, no fewer than six popes have attended your
concerts. In which of them did you see the most musical expertise?

A: In the most recent one, Benedict XVI. He plays the piano, has a
profound understanding of Mozart, loves the Church's liturgy, and in
consequence he places great emphasis on music. Pius XII also greatly
loved music, and played the violin frequently. The Sistine Chapel
owes a great deal to John XXIII. In 1959 he gave me permission to
restore the Sistine which, unfortunately, was in bad shape, partly
because of the illness of its previous director, Lorenzo Perosi. It
no longer had a stable membership, a musical archive, or an office.
So an office was obtained, the falsettos were dismissed, and the
composition of the choir and the compensation for its members were
determined, and finally it was possible to form the children's choir
as well. Then came Paul VI, but he was tone deaf, and I don't know
how much of an appreciation he had for music.

Q: Was Perosi the so-called restorer of the Italian oratorio?

A: Perosi was an authentic musician, a man utterly consumed by
music. He had the good fortune of directing the Sistine at the time
of the motu proprio on sacred music, which rightly wanted to purify
it from the theatrics with which it was imbued. He could have given
a new impulse to Church music, but unfortunately he didn't have an
adequate understanding of polyphony in the tradition of Palestrina
and of the traditions of the Sistine. He also entrusted the
direction of the Gregorian chant to his vice-maestro! His liturgical
compositions were frequently noteworthy for their superficial
Cecilian style, far from the perfect fusion of text and music.

Q: Perosi imitated Puccini...

A: But Puccini was an intelligent man. And his fugues are greatly
superior to those of Perosi.

Q: Was Perosi in some sense the harbinger of the current
vulgarization of sacred music?

A: Not exactly. Today the fashion in the churches is for pop-
inspired songs and the strumming of guitars, but the fault lies
above all with the pseudo-intellectuals who have engineered this
degeneration of the liturgy, and thus of music, overthrowing and
despising the heritage of the past with the idea of obtaining who
knows what advantage for the people. If the art of music does not
return to its greatness, rather than representing an accommodation
or a byproduct, there is no sense in asking about its function in
the Church. I am against guitars, but I am also against the
superficiality of the Cecilian movement in music – it's more or less
the same thing. Our motto must be: let us return to Gregorian chant
and to polyphony in the tradition of Palestrina, and let us continue
down this road!

Q: What are the initiatives that Benedict XVI should take to realize
this plan in a world of discotheques and iPods?

A: The great repertoire of sacred music that has been handed down to
us from the past is made up of Masses, offertories, responsories:
formerly there was no such thing as a liturgy without music. Today
there is no place for this repertoire in the new liturgy, which is a
discordant commotion – and it's useless to pretend that it's not. It
is as if Michelangelo had been asked to paint the general judgment
on a postage stamp! You tell me, please, how it is possible today to
perform a Credo, or even a Gloria. First we would need to return, at
least for the solemn or feast day Masses, to a liturgy that gives
music its proper place and expresses itself in the universal
language of the Church, Latin. In the Sistine, after the liturgical
reform, I was able to keep alive the traditional repertoire of the
Chapel only in the concerts. Just think – the Missa Papae Marcelli
by Palestrina has not been sung in St. Peter's since the time of
Pope John XXIII! We were graciously granted the permission to
perform it during a commemoration of Palestrina, and they wanted it
without the Credo, but that time I would not budge, and the entire
work was performed.

Q: Do you think that the assembly of the faithful should participate
in singing the Gregorian chant during liturgical celebrations?

A: We must make distinctions in the performance of Gregorian chant.
Part of the repertoire, for example the Introits or the Offertories,
requires an extremely refined level of artistry and can be
interpreted properly only by real artists. Then there is a part of
the repertoire that is sung by the people: I think of the Mass "of
the Angels," the processional music, the hymns. It was once very
moving to hear the assembly sing the Te Deum, the Magnificat, the
litanies, music that the people had assimilated and made their own –
but today very little is left even of this. And furthermore,
Gregorian chant has been distorted by the rhythmic and aesthetic
theories of the Benedictines of Solesmes. Gregorian chant was born
in violent times, and it should be manly and strong, and not like
the sweet and comforting adaptations of our own day.

Q: Do you think that the musical traditions of the past are
disappearing?

A: It stands to reason: if there is not the continuity that keeps
them alive, they are destined to oblivion, and the current liturgy
certainly does not favor it... I am an optimist by nature, but I
judge the current situation realistically, and I believe that a
Napoleon without generals can do little. Today the motto is "go to
the people, look them in the eyes," but it's all a bunch of empty
talk! By doing this we end up celebrating ourselves, and the mystery
and beauty of God are hidden from us. In reality, we are witnessing
the decline of the West. An African bishop once told me, "We hope
that the council doesn't take Latin out of the liturgy, otherwise in
my country a Babel of dialects will assert itself."

Q: Was John Paul II somewhat accommodating in these matters?

A: In spite of a number of appeals, the liturgical crisis became
more deeply entrenched during his pontificate. Sometimes it was the
papal celebrations themselves that contributed to this new tendency
with dancing and drums. Once I left, saying, "Call me back when the
show is over!" You understand well that if these are the examples
coming from St. Peter's, appeals and complaints aren't of any use. I
have always objected to these things. And even though they kicked me
out, ostensibly because I had turned 80, I don't regret what I did.

Q: What did it once mean to sing in the Sistine Chapel?

A: The place and the choir formed a unity, just as music and the
liturgy formed a unity. Music was not a mere ornament, but it
brought the liturgical text to life, and the cantor was something
like a priest.

Q: But is it possible, today, to compose in the Gregorian style?

A: For one thing, we would need to recover that spirit of solidity.
But the Church has done the opposite, favoring simplistic, pop-
inspired melodies that are easy on the ears. It thought this would
make people happy, and this is the road it took. But that's not art.
Great art is density.

Q: Don't you say any composers today who are capable of reviving
such a tradition?

A: It's not a question of aptitude; the atmosphere just isn't there.
The fault is not that of the musicians, but of what is asked of
them.

Q: And yet the monks of Santo Domingo de Silos have sold millions of
CD's of Gregorian chant. There's also the Third Symphony of Henryk
Gorecki, with its medieval references...

A: These are consumer phenomena that hold little interest for me.

Q: But there are authoritative composers who have put the faith at
center stage, like Pärt or Penderecki...

A: They don't have a sense of the liturgy. Mozart was also great,
but I doubt that his sacred music is very much at its ease in a
cathedral. But Gregorian chant and Palestrina match seamlessly with
the liturgy.

Q: In effect, Mozart's letters don't convey any great religious
sentiment. And yet, in the "et incarnatus est" of his Mass in C
minor, that soprano phrase from the wind instruments perfectly
explains to us the mystery of the incarnation...

A: Don't forget that Mozart's father was a Chapel Master. And so,
whether he wanted to or not, he breathed deeply of the air of the
Church. There is always something very concrete, especially in a
man's childhood, that explains such spiritual depth. Think of Verdi,
who as a child had a priest as his first music instructor, and
played the organ at Mass.

Q: Do you feel a bit lonely, with no heirs?

A: There's no one left. I think I'm the last Chapel Master.

Q: But in Leipzig, at the church of Saint Thomas, there is the
sixteenth Kantor since the time of Bach...

A: In Germany, in the Protestant arena, the children of the composer
of the Brandenburg concerti jealously safeguard their identity.
Verdi rightly said that the Germans are the faithful children of
Bach, while we Italians are the degenerate children of Palestrina.

Q: Speaking of Verdi, great sacred music isn't always compatible
with the liturgy....

A: Certainly. Verdi's Requiem Mass cannot be called a Mass suitable
for the liturgy, but think of the power with which the meaning of
the text comes through! Beethoven, too: listen to the opening of the
Credo. It's entirely different for the Cecilian movement. These are
the masterpieces of sacred music that have a rightful place in
concert performances.

Q: Bruckner was also very inspired...

A: He has the defect of being longwinded. His Mass for wind
instruments, the one in E minor, is rather tedious.

Q: Was Mahler correct in saying that he was "half god and half
simpleton"?

A: That's right. He had some extraordinary moments, such as his
masterful treatments of the arch. But then he began to exaggerate,
and then...

Q: And do you like Mahler?

A: He's like Bruckner – some beautiful moments, but rather
repetitive. One would like to shout at him at a certain point: knock
it off, we get it!

Q: According to Ratzinger, there is music as a mass phenomenon, pop
music, which is measured by the values of the market. And then there
is the educated, cerebral music that is destined for a small
èlite...

A: This is the music of the moderns, from Schönberg on, but sacred
music must follow the spirit of Gregorian chant and respect the
liturgy. The cantor in the church is not there as an artist, but as
a preacher, or as one who preaches by singing.

Q: Do you envy the Eastern Churches at all?

A: They have not changed anything, and rightly so. The Catholic
Church has renounced itself and its particular makeup, like those
women who have plastic surgery: they become unrecognizable, and
sometimes there are serious consequences.

Q: Was it your father who brought you close to music?

A: He was a workman at a brick factory in Borgo San Lorenzo, in the
province of Florence. He loved to sing in church. And he loved the
romanze of Verdi and Donizetti. But at that time, everybody sang:
the farmers while they were dressing the vines, the shoemakers while
they were working a sole. There were bands in the piazza, during the
holidays music directors came from Florence, and the area theatre
had two opera seasons each year. It's all gone now.

Q: In Italy, the authorities have cut off financing for the
orchestras and theatres...

A: They were right to do so. Those organizations have too many
people who are just dead weight. Take, for example, the
administrative offices: at first there were four or five persons,
now there are twenty or twenty-five.

Q: In what sense can Palestrina, Lasso, or Victoria be considered
relevant?

A: For their musical density. Palestrina is the founding father who
first understood what it means to make music; he intuited the
necessity for contrapuntal composition linked to the text, unlike
the complexity and the rules of Flemish composition.

Q: For the philosopher Schopenhauer, music is the summit of all the
arts, the immediate objectification of the Will. For Catholics, can
it be defined as the direct _expression of God, as the Word?

A: Music is Art with a capital "A." Sculpture has marble, and
architecture has the edifice. You see music only with the eyes of
the spirit; it enters within you. And the Church has the merit of
having cultivated it in its cantories, of having given it its
grammar and syntax. Music is the soul of the word that becomes art.
It most definitely disposes you to discovering and welcoming the
beauty of God. For this reason, now more than ever the Church must
learn to recover it.