De Profundis – Out of the Depths

This piece is on my mind at lot this week as we are singing this for a High Mass at the Basilica of Holy Hill next Thursday…enjoy the awesome Gloria Patri at the end!

Psalm 130 is a beautiful Psalm text for Lent. In my small-group yesterday, we talked a lot about the psalms, especially how great they are to pray with. Psalms make great scripture study!

Here is the text of Psalm 130:

De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine;
Domine, exaudi vocem meam. Fiant aures tuæ intendentes
in vocem deprecationis meæ.
Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quis sustinebit?
Quia apud te propitiatio est; et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.
Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus:
Speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem, speret Israël in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia, et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israël ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus.
Gloria Patri…

From the depths, I have cried out to you, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplication.
If you, Lord, were to mark iniquities, who, O Lord, shall stand?
For with you is forgiveness; and because of your law, I stood by you, Lord.
My soul has stood by his word.
My soul has hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch, even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Glory to the Father…

“Tradition and the future”

I saw this excellent video posted over at the Chant Café. In it, Fr. Joseph Kramer, FSSP. provides great insight about young people and the liturgical tradition of the Church.

More and more often in my own experience, I see and hear of young people excited about the liturgical tradition of the Church, especially the tradition of Sacred Music. Young couples want to hear chant and organ at their weddings, and kids think that music that has survived many centuries is “cool.” Strong Catholic identity, especially in  liturgical expression, is attractive.

The attractive power of the truth?

Called to be Saints

Sainthood May Sound Crazy

(An excellent post by Richard Clark over at Corpus Christi Watershed)

WE ARE ALL CALLED TO SAINTHOOD. This may sound crazy, but I am more and more convinced it is true. We could be saints. Do be afraid of it! While it is possible that our fear may hinder us more than our weakness, but both will do nicely! Yet, God’s infinite mercy desires sainthood for us. God prods us gently and not so gently in that direction.

…

Flannery O’Connor succinctly stated, “They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross.” Have faith our cross guides us toward sharing eternal life with God.

 

Read the rest over there, along with a recording of Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus, a personal favorite!

Saint Meinrad Archabbey Liturgical Music

Saint Meinrad Archabbey Liturgical Music

For a ton of resources (though there are MANY others too!) go check out the Liturgical Music page on the Saint Meinrad Archabbey website. You can learn about the history of chant, about Fr. Columba Kelly OSB, and find downloads of music from the Roman Missal, Propers, and all sort of fun stuff.

Immersion

I am coming to the end of my immersion into Gregorian semiology… I haven’t posted much because I have done a ton of reading in my “free time” and have, of course, been praying (at 5:30am!) Over time, I hope to share more of the things I have learned. I am still reeling in a sense from this dunk into the pool, in a good way.

I am convinced of a few things that need to be said:

1) The secrets in the signs from Laon and St. Gall (the other notations in the Graduale Triplex) are SO much more expressive than square notation (and certainly than modern notation!) We need to consult them, understand them, and FEEL them to be able not only to do justice to the Latin chants but to express the meaning of the texts, to make music, to enjoy the chants, and to pray. Metering our chant cannot have the same effect. Anyone who says plainsong is boring may be right – if it really is just plain song. Let’s make it CHANT.

2) We need to be able to be clear with our diction and not be afraid to pause the appropriate lengths in our public speaking as well as our public canting. This is not metered or unnatural hanging pauses though, these are pauses expressive of the meaning of the text, or of natural breaths.

3 )Latin is not (gasp) the only way. Chant CAN be incredibly well-done in the vernacular. It doesn’t work by forcing English to fit the Gregorian melody just because you think you have to preserve that tune intact. No, you have to respect the natural accents and flow of the English language also. It works perfectly if this is thought through. If you don’t believe me, come to St. Meinrad Archabbey and see, and certainly check out one of the many sources of English chant propers for the Mass (most are FREE!). We do, however, need to get something going and widely available in French and in Spanish too – this is where it is going, and we will lose out to bad music if we don’t work diligently on these tasks.

4) It is incredibly sad that more people can’t experience this. Yes, definitely go to one of Fr. Columba’s workshops. But I mean that people aren’t hearing this is their parishes. It CAN be done. It can be done WELL and BEAUTIFULLY. We need to show people. If they hear it, they will get it. Of course, good and faithful liturgical praxis otherwise is also necessary.

5) I now know even more how much I don’t know! I need to do this again. That is one smart monk!!!

More later…

In the mean time, I am so blessed to have been able to take this time for study, reading, prayer and retreat. AMDG!

(And thank you dear for all of your support and holding down the fort, you are wonderful.)

A Chant Diary

This week, I am privileged to be able to spend time studying individually with Fr. Columba Kelly, OSB at Saint Meinrad Archabbey. I plan on posting many of my thoughts and some of the things I learn as I delve much more deeply into the study of chant.

I have had two sessions so far with Fr. Columba. I have been blown away – what an amazing mind. I am still trying to sort out all of my thoughts – the things he says make so much sense, and yet they are paradigm shifting in many ways.

One big problem I see is that we actually really can’t even speak English well. How are we supposed to sing it (much less another language)… We must recover the art of the public speaker, it seems. We must be able to READ well. The lector is not just whoever feels like getting up and reading something; this is an ecclesiastical office, proclaiming the Word of God. It is vitally important as cantors (and choir directors, etc) that we be able to proclaim well before even putting notes to the words.

This is one thing I have been thinking about quite a bit since my first session yesterday, and I will change in what I am doing right away (both for myself and for the singers I work with).

I have many more thoughts about all of this, like that Benedictine monks are really cool. I am off to another session now, more later.

Please pray for me while I am here, as I will for you.

Beauty and the New Evangelization

Beauty and the New Evangelization

An excellent piece which I came across over at the Chant Cafe. Bishop Conley on the New Evangelization:

“When we begin with beauty, this can then lead to a desire to want to know the truth of the thing that is drawing us, a desire to participate in it. And then the truth can inspire us to do the good, to strive after virtue.”

Sacred Music and the New Evangelization

Sacred Music and the New Evangelization

An excellent post over at Corpus Christi Watershed!

IF THE CHURCH WERE TO RECLAIM the proper role and function of its very own music, it would go a long to way to repossessing the deeply influential significance of the liturgy in our everyday lives. In turn, this would most compellingly and powerfully foster evangelization.

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THE WORD, MUSIC, AND HOW WE LIVE OUT OUR LIVES are all connected.

Labor Day and our Faith

What does Labor Day have to do with our faith?  While it is not a feast on our liturgical calendar, Labor Day reinforces important values as Catholics.  Based on our beliefs, the Church has certain teachings on just wages and the value of work.  Every human person is valued and important.  The value in work is derived from the value and dignity of the human person, which comes prior to their interaction with society, not through the end result of their work.  Through work, we honor God’s creation and the talents he has given to us.  It unites us, in our labors, with the work and sufferings of Christ, and therefore contributes to our sanctification.  Every human person is called to work: it is what distinguishes us from other creatures.  Here are some excerpts from the Catechism:

“Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another. (…) It can also be redemptive…  Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ.” (CCC 2427)  “In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in his nature.  The primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author and its beneficiary.  Work is for man, not man for work.” (CCC 2428)

The Church also teaches that each person should receive appropriate remuneration for their work as a matter of justice.  Employers should keep in mind not only an agreement between themselves and the person on the amount of the wages, but also the importance of the family, especially to supporting and valuing the family, in determining wages.  This also includes the right and the value of rest.

“A just wage is the legitimate fruit of work.  To refuse or withhold it can be a grave injustice.  In determining fair pay both the needs and the contributions of each person must be taken into account.  ‘Remuneration for work should guarantee man the opportunity to provide a dignified livelihood for himself and his family on the material, social, cultural, and spiritual level, taking into account the role and the productivity of each, the state of the business, and the common good.’  Agreement between the parties is not sufficient to justify morally the amount to be received in wages.” (CCC 2434)

The Church has a rich teaching on the value of human work as participation in the creative work of God, emphasizing the dignity of the human person.  If you are interested in more reading on the subject, check out Blessed John Paul II’s encyclical on work, “Laborem exercens.”

St Monica

August 27 – Memorial of St Monica

St Monica (d. 387), prayed for 30 years for the conversion of her pagan husband, and with the help and guidance of St. Ambrose, won the conversion of her son, St. Augustine.

St. Monica is the patroness of mothers. She is an excellent role model, not only to us mothers, but to all of the importance of prayer. In the modern world, we need modern-day saints, praying for the conversion of those who have lost faith. The prayer of a mother is a powerful prayer.

St. Monica, pray for us!