The Ancient Liturgy...powerful

An article detailing the difficulties in implementing Summorum Pontificum. From the article:

“It was a real nightmare putting the Summorum Pontificuminto into practice”, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos painfully recalled to the audience in his address. All the more so if one considers that opposition to the Motu Proprio is rooted in ignorance, he claimed, ignorance of what we have lost and theologically should be viewed in light of the Holy Ghost’s action through the successor of Peter. And the Holy Father wanted to give back to the world such great treasure, the enormous spiritual richness of the ancient liturgy, “a powerful tool of sanctification”.

From the Vatican Insider.

The New Missal and Chant

An excellent article regarding the place of chant with the new Roman Missal: The Musical Transition to the New Missal. A snippet:

What happens to a large community of people who are barely getting by as it is and then are asked to change toward something that is arguably more difficult? They throw themselves at the mercy of the institutions promoting the familiar. This is pretty much what has happened in a large number of parishes, as the old-line publishers who have learned ways to flatter amateurs with settings that get them through the day are thriving once again.

It’s possibly true that ICEL, the USCCB, and Vox Clara all overestimated the capacity of average Catholic musicians to adapt and sing what strikes experience liturgical musicians are ridiculously easy chanted settings of the Mass text. Even so, it could be the case that even this material is too difficult for their current abilities - or, at least, this is what many singers believe.

What about sending teachers out to parishes to get them going? Many of us have done workshops and worked with singers. We’ve made youtubes that have received as many as 7,000 views. We’ve produced editions in four-line staves and modern notes. But all our efforts combined are dwarfed by the influence of the large publishers, who have lobbied hard at every Office of Worship in this country (“you should have one Mass setting for the entire diocese and it should be the one we sell”), done non-stop seminars all over the country, and promoted proprietary music at every stop.

There are teachers among us...

Fear not the EF, good seminarians!

Do spend a few minutes to read this very interesting article from Fr. Christopher Smith regarding his days in seminary as a closeted admirer of the EF:

Why Are Seminaries Afraid Of The Extraordinary Form?

A snippet:

So in my seminary experience I encountered two phenomena: a lack of knowledge and a positive hatred of one form of the Church’s liturgy. Since then, we have had Ratzinger elected Pope, as well as Summorum pontificum and Universae ecclesiae. The nature of the game has changed, even if there are some who are unwilling to admit it.

Roman Plain Chant

From The Catholic Knight. Never forget who we are...

Chaput on the Latin Mass

From an interview (don't be scared away by the venue: National Catholic Reporter) with the new Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput:

Q: I'd like to take a rapid-fire tour of a few contentious issues. The idea is to get your basic position, without going into details. Let's start with one you already raised: the Latin Mass.

A: The Latin Mass is deeply loved by some members of the church. The Holy Father, beginning with John Paul II and continued by Benedict XVI, has asked the bishops to be very sensitive to their needs. I was ordained in Rapid City in 1988, around the time that the Holy Father set up the Ecclesia Dei commission. As soon as I became aware of his desire, I welcomed the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter to Rapid City to establish a community to meet the needs of those people. There were three or four St. Pius X [break-away] communities in the diocese, but by the time I left they had all disappeared because we met their needs. In Denver, we have a full parish served by the Fraternity of St. Peter, and we have two other places where the priest, at least on occasion if not weekly, celebrates the Tridentine form of the liturgy.

I'm very happy to follow the lead of the Holy Father on all of this, because he has insights that I don't have. He also has an inspiration from the Holy Spirit which I don't have.

Simple English Propers

I know this is for the Ordinary Form of the Mass, but it is so beautiful I had to place it here. Coming to a parish near you? Let us hope and pray. You can download the whole book for free or purchase at Amazon.com. The site even has practice videos.

Simple English Propers of the Mass (Ordinary Form)

The Extraordinarii

You will enjoy this: Soldiers for the TLM: Extraordinarii

Save the liturgy, save the Church

Further instruction has been handed down to us regarding the Extraordinary Form of the mass. Read it here. A bit of it:

The Holy Father, having recalled the concern of the Sovereign Pontiffs in caring for the Sacred Liturgy and in their recognition of liturgical books, reaffirms the traditional principle, recognised from time immemorial and necessary to be maintained into the future, that "each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally handed down by apostolic and unbroken tradition. These are to be maintained not only so that errors may be avoided, but also so that the faith may be passed on in its integrity, since the Church's rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of belief (lex credendi)."1

This is very important to those Catholics who desire to worship God within the Extraordinary Form. I wonder, though, is such a mass possible when the tabernacle has been moved to the side, as in St. Mary's? And if both St. Vincent's and Immaculate Heart of Mary are sold/destroyed, how could a TLM go on in our parish?

Bishop Sheen explains the TLM

Gather comprehensive?

From the fabulous Father Z on the comparison of Gregorian Chant versus 'ditties'.

The Holy Father's Revolution

The Holy Father on the Liturgy: In the liturgy, we are all given the freedom to appropriate, in our own personal way, the mystery which addresses us." In fact, he turned the complaint around, noting that these manufactured liturgies themselves amount to a kind of tyranny exercised over hapless congregations, the vast bulk of which do not belong to parish liturgy committees. "Those able to draw up [manufactured] liturgies are necessarily few in number, with the result that what is 'freedom' for them means 'domination' as it affects others." (From Benedict's Revolution: The Return of the Old Latin Mass at Inside Catholic)

Tyranny is the exact word.

A TLM Parish!

A parish in Dayton, Ohio has embraced the TLM. And, surprise, surprise (not!) they are growing. A snippet: 

Though you might expect an aging congregation drawn by nostalgia for the good old days, the hundreds that gather at Holy Family include young families like the Wilsons. Their children, and many others in the parish, are being home-schooled.

“People who go here really care about what and how their kids are being taught,” said Angie Schwand, of Waynesville, who is home-schooling her four sons. ”If you’re doing that yourself, you’re making sure they are learning what they should and the reasons for it, especially in the religious area.”

Holy Family’s pastor, the Rev. Mark Wojdelski, said his church is committed to preserving traditions, and that’s what draws people.

“We get a lot of people who realize they were sort of robbed as children from some of the traditions that their parents took for granted,” said Wojdelski, whose history with the Dayton Latin Mass group dates back to 2006 when he began commuting from Indiana on Sundays to say Mass.

A Fearless Catholic

So, how does a Catholic convert who has discovered the TLM handle herself? First, a little bit of a recent interview, and then watch Ann Barnhardt's viral video below.

 iOTW: How devout are you in your faith?

Ann – Hmmm. How does one answer that without falling into massive false pride? I am a convert to Catholicism after years of study and logical, reasoned thought – which is NOT a sin, by the way, no matter what that nun with the six dollar crewcut told you. Beyond that, it only took me a year to find the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Latin Mass. If I had to guess where this bizarre strength and total lack of fear is coming from, I would have to guess that it is from my assisting (such as it is) at the sublime, holy Tridentine Mass. Internally and in my relationship with Christ I am admittedly a near-total disaster. I reckon He looks at me and just shakes His head. Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.

More help from Rome

Brick by Brick

Propose rather than impose (H/t, Father Z)

Weapons of MASS Destruction

Michael Voris does a great job of giving us the background to the the Vatican II changes to the liturgy. Parts 1 and 2:

Questions, questions

Father Z answers a question that is on the minds of many of the faithful: How should we approach a priest to ask for the Extraordinary Form?

What if the parish doesn't have a priest/pastor but a deacon/adminstrator?