Author: Kathleen Pluth

I mentioned in a recent post that Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, Papal Secretary to both our Holy Father Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict, had participated in the launch for the Pope Emeritus’ new book on human ecology.

The monsignor recounted how Benedict “would melt in front of animals, in nature; he liked to stand outside when we would go for a picnic,” adding that he appreciates not only cats, “but has love for all animals.” 

He told of how they were once walking in the Vatican Gardens praying the Rosary, and they noticed a particular bird that the Holy Father suggested they photograph. “When he saw the photos, his expression was of marvel,” and he insisted that they be published in L’Osservatore Romano…

 “To recognize creation as God’s gift to humanity helps us to understand the vocation and worth of man,” he concluded. “It makes no sense to care for nature, for plants and then despise man. Respect for man, as a consequence, leads to respect for nature.”

It looks like the book is only in Italian for the moment, unfortunately. The National Catholic Register has the story.

Catholic World Report interviews Joseph P. Swain, author of Sacred Treasure: Understanding Catholic Liturgical Music.

At no time in history has the Church had to hand, in print music and recordings, such a wealth of liturgical music of amazing variety and of the highest quality. At no time have such numbers of highly trained church musicians been available to sing and play that music. At no time has there been such a pitch of interest in liturgy and its music on the part of everyday, churchgoing Catholics. These are the best of times. At the same time, only a tiny fraction of the liturgical music thought by Catholics and non-Catholics alike to be among the most beautiful ever conceived is ever heard by everyday Catholics at mass. 

Following up on Adam Wood’s intriguing idea that “participation” might have been understood by the Council Fathers in a more metaphysical sense than we might understand it today, I thought these paragraphs from Mediator Dei might make for some interesting background reading.

102. All the elements of the liturgy, then, would have us reproduce in our hearts the likeness of the divine Redeemer through the mystery of the cross, according to the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles, “With Christ I am nailed to the cross. I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me.”[95] Thus we become a victim, as it were, along with Christ to increase the glory of the eternal Father. 

103. Let this, then, be the intention and aspiration of the faithful, when they offer up the divine Victim in the Mass. For if, as St. Augustine writes, our mystery is enacted on the Lord’s table, that is Christ our Lord Himself,[96] who is the Head and symbol of that union through which we are the body of Christ[97] and members of His Body;[98] if St. Robert Bellarmine teaches, according to the mind of the Doctor of Hippo, that in the sacrifice of the altar there is signified the general sacrifice by which the whole Mystical Body of Christ, that is, all the city of redeemed, is offered up to God through Christ, the High Priest:[99] nothing can be conceived more just or fitting than that all of us in union with our Head, who suffered for our sake, should also sacrifice ourselves to the eternal Father. For in the sacrament of the altar, as the same St. Augustine has it, the Church is made to see that in what she offers she herself is offered.[100] 

104. Let the faithful, therefore, consider to what a high dignity they are raised by the sacrament of baptism. They should not think it enough to participate in the eucharistic sacrifice with that general intention which befits members of Christ and children of the Church, but let them further, in keeping with the spirit of the sacred liturgy, be most closely united with the High Priest and His earthly minister, at the time the consecration of the divine Victim is enacted, and at that time especially when those solemn words are pronounced, “By Him and with Him and in Him is to Thee, God the Father almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory for ever and ever”;[101] to these words in fact the people answer, “Amen.” Nor should Christians forget to offer themselves, their cares, their sorrows, their distress and their necessities in union with their divine Savior upon the cross. 

105. Therefore, they are to be praised who, with the idea of getting the Christian people to take part more easily and more fruitfully in the Mass, strive to make them familiar with the “Roman Missal,” so that the faithful, united with the priest, may pray together in the very words and sentiments of the Church. They also are to be commended who strive to make the liturgy even in an external way a sacred act in which all who are present may share. This can be done in more than one way, when, for instance, the whole congregation, in accordance with the rules of the liturgy, either answer the priest in an orderly and fitting manner, or sing hymns suitable to the different parts of the Mass, or do both, or finally in high Masses when they answer the prayers of the minister of Jesus Christ and also sing the liturgical chant. 

100. These methods of participation in the Mass are to be approved and recommended when they are in complete agreement with the precepts of the Church and the rubrics of the liturgy. Their chief aim is to foster and promote the people’s piety and intimate union with Christ and His visible minister and to arouse those internal sentiments and dispositions which should make our hearts become like to that of the High Priest of the New Testament. However, though they show also in an outward manner that the very nature of the sacrifice, as offered by the Mediator between God and men,[102] must be regarded as the act of the whole Mystical Body of Christ, still they are by no means necessary to constitute it a public act or to give it a social character. And besides, a “dialogue” Mass of this kind cannot replace the high Mass, which, as a matter of fact, though it should be offered with only the sacred ministers present, possesses its own special dignity due to the impressive character of its ritual and the magnificence of its ceremonies. The splendor and grandeur of a high Mass, however, are very much increased if, as the Church desires, the people are present in great numbers and with devotion. 

107. It is to be observed, also, that they have strayed from the path of truth and right reason who, led away by false opinions, make so much of these accidentals as to presume to assert that without them the Mass cannot fulfill its appointed end. 

108. Many of the faithful are unable to use the Roman missal even though it is written in the vernacular; nor are all capable of understanding correctly the liturgical rites and formulas. So varied and diverse are men’s talents and characters that it is impossible for all to be moved and attracted to the same extent by community prayers, hymns and liturgical services. Moreover, the needs and inclinations of all are not the same, nor are they always constant in the same individual. Who, then, would say, on account of such a prejudice, that all these Christians cannot participate in the Mass nor share its fruits? On the contrary, they can adopt some other method which proves easier for certain people; for instance, they can lovingly meditate on the mysteries of Jesus Christ or perform other exercises of piety or recite prayers which, though they differ from the sacred rites, are still essentially in harmony with them. 

95. Gal. 2:19-20.

96. Cf. Serm. 272.

97. Cf. 1 Cor. 12:27.

98. Cf. Eph. 5:30.

99. Cf. Saint Robert Bellarmine, De Missa, 2, c. 8.

100. Cf. De Civitate Dei, Book 10, c. 6.

101. Roman Missal, Canon of the Mass.

102. Cf. 1 Tim. 2:5.

In a Mass that looks, sounds, and feels as beautiful as any we have seen in the past decade, the Holy Father is ordaining two bishops right now.

Update: Well, that was certainly beautiful! Here is the booklet. Video and photos to follow.

Update 2: Early video.

A classic 13th century hymn text will have enjoyed many wonderful compositional treatments over the years. This one is by Claudio Casciolini. Doesn’t the choir achieve a beautifully vibrant effect?

Among the hymns in the Liber Hymnarius, some hymns are sturdy workhorses, built for multitasking. For example, some hymn texts are used in every season at Compline, but sung with melodies designed to correspond to the season at hand.

Another kind of multi-tasking hymn appears in the Common of Pastors. Both Christe pastorum and Inclitus rector have a replaceable second verse, enabling each of them to be sung in honor of a Pope, Bishop, or Priest, depending on the feast of the day.

Those who have sung the more modern hymn By All Your Saints Still Striving (also known as From All Your Saints in Warfare) will recognize the usefulness of this structure. In this hymn, here is a removeable, generally applicable component–the second verse–that can be replaced with a verse written for a specific day.

Here are Christe pastorum and Inclitus rector in the form they might take today, October 22, in honor of a Pope.

Wishing to laud this holy pastor’s feast day
With sacred music, we acclaim his honor
singing due praises.

So that the world might be a holy sheepfold,
So this good shepherd, raised to highest honor,
Pastures your people.

He was a guide and pattern for the sheepfold,
Light for the blind, and solace for the weary,
Good to each person, providential father–
All things to all men

Crowns for their merits, help us then to follow,
That with this teacher, we may be obedient
And rise to heaven.

And You, O Savior, loving King forever,
And may the glory of the Holy Spirit,
Sound the world over.

***

Come let us raise our songs of celebration,
Joining the triumph train of this confessor,
Father and leader, now above the heavens
Reigning forever.

Now let us ask him earnestly for favor:
Cleansing of all the sins of his beloved;
And by his fervent prayers may we be lifted
To the high heavens.

 

In every age the Church has called upon the arts to give expression to the beauty of her faith and to proclaim the Gospel message of the grandeur of God’s creation, the dignity of human beings made in his image and likeness, and the power of Christ’s death and resurrection to bring redemption and rebirth to a world touched by the tragedy of sin and death.

Pope Francis, yesterday.