Press Release and Special Offer!

Watts & Co. is proud to have supplied choir wear for cathedrals worldwide, including St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York (above).

Watts and Co. Special Offer!

Watts and Co., founded in 1874 has offered a special savings to readers on ChantCafe.com that we want to pass along. They have been long-time advertisers on the NewLiturgicalMovement.org website, supporting our work for many years.

Use discount code CCWATTS to receive an 8% discount on all their choir products. Just visit their website at wattsandco.com.

A little about Watts and Co.:

Traditional hand embroidery remains a key part of Watts & Co.’s offering.

Founded in 1874, Watts & Co. has grown from a small firm of Gothic Revival architects to the purveyor of the finest vestments, choir wear, fabrics, and furnishings to churches worldwide.

Heir to his fifth-generation family business, Robert Hoare, took on the prestigious mantle and continues to guide its growth into the 21st century.

Robert’s ancestor, Sir Gilbert Scott Jr, one of the founders of Watts, converted to Catholicism through his encounter with St John Henry Newman. Since then, Watts has seen its relationship with the Church blossom, supplying priests, parishes, choirs and religious communities worldwide with unique vestments, choir wear and liturgical fabrics of timeless beauty.

‘People who come to us discover a craftmanship here which has been carefully preserved from generation to generation,’ explains Robert. At the heart of Watts’ practice is the message of Pope Benedict XVI: beauty is not mere decoration rather an essential element of the liturgical action.

The Watts showroom in Westminster, London, England.

Celebrating its 150 years anniversary this year, Robert Hoare is passionate to maintain and develop the company’s mission of contributing to the beauty of the liturgy far into the future.

Comments?

A hymn for the saint of the day

The martyr Stephen met his death–
Forgiveness in his final breath–
He interceded for them all
Whose cloaks lay at the feet of Saul.
The Father, hearing Stephen’s prayer,
Gave gifts for all the Church to share
When grace and mercy overflowed
In light upon Damascus Road.
Then bless the Lord of heart and mind
Who gives new vision to the blind,
Whose reign throughout the world extends,
Whose loving-kindness never ends.
© 2008 Kathleen Pluth. Permission is given for parish use December 26, 2023, January 24-25, 2024. All other rights reserved.

Official Hymn for the Eucharistic Revival

Last spring I joyfully and gratefully received the news that my hymn text was chosen as the official Hymn for the USCCB’s important initiative, the Eucharistic Revival.

After the editing process, the Hymn and also Diane Mahoney’s original composition, the official Theme Song of the Revival, are now available to parishes.

With its themes of salvation and glory, the hymn might well be useful to some during their celebration of Christ the King in a couple of weeks.

Let+the+Earth+Acclaim+Christ+Jesus+-+Lyrics
Let+The+Earth+Acclaim+Christ+Jesus+-+Assembly+-+Hyfrydol

More versions of the Hymn, and the Theme Song, may be found here.

CMAA’s first event in New England

Last week (October 12-14), seventy participants came to CMAA’s Fall Sacred Music Workshop at St. Benedict Abbey in Still River, Massachusetts for three days of learning and performing chant and polyphony amid the beautiful hills of Central New England.

Starting on Thursday afternoon we prepared the plainchant Mass XII, which we sang on Friday afternoon for a votive Mass of the Sacred Heart, offered in the abbey’s chapel by Abbot Marc Crilly, OSB.

We also began to study Palestrina’s Missa Pater noster, a charming Mass taking the plainchant melody of the Pater noster as its main motif.

The Palestrina was sung at the workshop’s closing Mass on Saturday at Saint Cecilia Church in Leominster, celebrated by Worcester bishop Robert McManus.

More photos of the workshop are on CMAA’s member portal site.

Sacred Music Weekend Workshop in Winnipeg!

Plan to join the weekend workshop August 25-27, 2023 on sacred music at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, 250 Burrin, Winnipeg, MB.

The workshop is targeted for beginners who wish to learn the fundamentals of Gregorian Chant, fostering a deeper appreciation of sacred music and equipping attendees with tools and knowledge to bring beautiful music to use at their parishes.

A Parish Book of Chant book will be provided for each registrant, as well as all needed materials for the workshop and lunch on Saturday, all for the very reasonable cost of CA$75.

The workshop will be led by Catherine Helferty.

Schedule of events:

Friday, August 25, 2023

1:30 pm – Registration
2:00 pm – Rehearsal for Sext
3:30 pm – Break
3:45 pm – Talk on Jubilate Deo
4:45 pm – Break
5:00 pm – Rehearsal for Mass
6:00 pm – Dinner (on your own)

Saturday, August 26, 2023

9:00 am – Rehearsal for Mass
10:15 am – Break
10:30 am – Rehearsal for Sext
11:45 am – Break
12:00 pm – Sext
12:30 pm – Lunch (provided)
1:30 pm – Rehearsal for Mass
3:00 pm – Break

Sunday, August 27, 2023

10:00 am – Rehearsal for Mass
11:00 am – Holy Mass

To register, please contact the workshop organizers at: winnipegchant@gmail.com, or by telephone at: 204-330-7174

Download flyer

A note about Eucharistic Revival texts

In the interest of promptly communicating, I thought I would respond widely online to some of the many kind inquiries I’ve received since the Detroit and USCCB Eucharistic Revival Hymn Competition results were announced. I was graced to win the “hymn text” portions of both of those contests.

Some folks have asked whether they can use one or the other of the texts.

  • The USCCB text will be made freely available at some point in the near future.
  • The Detroit text, God Our Father, Ever Dwelling, is free to use within the Archdiocese of Detroit until Pentecost of 2025. For others, I am happy to make it available on a pay-as-you-can basis. Anyone can use the hymn until Pentecost of 2025; however, for those who work outside the Archdiocese of Detroit, please pay a fee via Paypal, kpluth@gmail.com. I would suggest $20 for the average parish/school. A parish of means might contribute more, and a small parish can feel free to pay less. The attribution line Winner of the 2023 Archdiocese of Detroit Hymn Composition Contest for the Eucharistic Revival must be included, at the request of the Archdiocese.

Please send a message to the same address with any inquiries about commissions.

I’ve also received very gracious inquiries about potential collaborations. I am excited about the possibility of working with composers, and have already begun doing so in a very exciting way. If anyone is interested in setting a fresh new text, please feel free to send me a DM and we can go forward with a hymn that you like from among my unpublished texts.

Please do not set the Detroit hymn with the hope of publishing a setting, however.

Lastly, I’d like to point to the places you can find my work already. I am the Hymn Consultant for Word on Fire’s Liturgy of the Hours monthly. There you can find my editorial decisions about hymns, such as selection of hymns and text editing. The monthly Magnificat usually prints 3 or so of my original texts or translations. And I have two collections already published, one of original texts, Hymns for the Liturgical Year, and one of Entrance Antiphons reworked to fit Long Meter tunes, Hymn Tune Introits: Singing the Sundays of the Liturgical Year.

I’m very honored by both the contest results and by the generous interest that has resulted. It’s a beautiful Church full of wonderful musicians, and I’m really happy to be able to contribute in this small way.

God Our Father, Ever Dwelling
Winner of the 2023 Archdiocese of Detroit Hymn Composition Contest for the Eucharistic Revival

God our Father, ever dwelling
In Your realm of love and light,
Bending down to lift creation
By Your endless power and might,
Thank You for Your greatest blessing
Over all the earth outpoured:
Jesus Christ, the Word Incarnate,
Here, our Eucharistic Lord.

Jesus, wed to human nature
In the Virgin Mother’s womb,
Raising human nature higher
By Your rising from the tomb,
Thank You, Lord, for staying with us
As the night is drawing near.
You, the Eucharist most holy,
Ever-present, You are here.

Holy Spirit, pledge of heaven,
Lord of life and boundless sway,
You Who filled the twelve apostles
On that Pentecostal day,
Thank You for the gift of priesthood,
Men who stand in Jesus’ place,
Making present sacred mysteries:
Gifts of sacramental grace.

Triune God, the great Thrice-holy,
Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
Always calling us to glory,
To eternal, happy rest,
Thank You for Your plan to give us
That abundant life You share,
From the Eucharist to heaven,
When we see Your presence there.