From a priest reader…
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, each night in St. Peter’s Square, a small schola has sung the Oremus pro Pontifice for the Holy Father. It’s a gesture that is simultaneously reverent and traditional, yet incredibly simple. For those of us in the know, however, the videos of the nightly chanting of this antiphon give a glimpse into the effects of the liturgical reform on the Church at large:
- The Liturgical Movement was supposed to restore chant to its pride of place. Every night, the faithful, religious, and priests in attendance stare blankly at the schola, not really understanding the significance of the chant. On this point, if the Liturgical Movement had succeeded, then this would be a staple of the Catholic repertoire; a common chant sung regularly at parishes.
- The majority of the cardinals, themselves, despite traditionally being models of Romanitas do not know how to sing this chant. They, too, stare blankly at the schola as they chant the antiphon. When they enter the conclave, will these men even know how to sing the Veni Creator, or the meaning of its poetry?
- The only cardinals who do know how to chant the antiphon are the ones that you would expect, namely Burke and Arinze.
I just thought that you would appreciate these observations. Thank you for all you do in the webspace for Holy Mother Church.
In 1962, John XXIII issued Veterum sapientia.
The Second Vatican Council said that Latin was to be retained and that Gregorian chant had pride of place. It required that pastors of souls made sure that people could sing and speak the Latin that pertained to them.
The Latin Church’s Code of Canon Law commands that candidates for the priesthood be very capable (bene calleant) in Latin.
One thing after another has been disobeyed. The result? We don’t know who we are now.
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John Paul II at the Denver World Youth Day in 1993 in Bronco Stadium led the 80,000 or so in singing the Pater Noster. Not many were able to sing along. I wondered if JP II had a clue about the disaster of the Church he was in charge of.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0PDWDlMHhMmnKhDRekABBD?si=-QC3F-isRO-vQbdPjiYFFg
This one?
[Please explain links. Thanks.]
We don’t know who we are is right. But we can spot the Backwardist!!!!
Unless you enforce penalties or provide rewards, “hey this thing is good for you” will get a maximum participation rate of 10%.
Well wishes mean basically nothing. Most people need to be given a strong reason go do just about anything. Ignoring this fact is to live in a realm of sheer fantasy.
This won’t be everyone’s reason for not singing, but I’d definitely be one of the non-singers if I was there! Reason being, I can’t sing! I used to loooovvvvve singing along with everyone else during mass when I was a kid. Until the day I realised the stranger sitting next to me was giving me weird looks! Then I twigged! I’d always thought that when people sang in a group, the voices all blended into one, so no one would be able to tell I couldn’t sing properly. So how I loooovvved singing at mass and not being told to shut up by my siblings, as was always happening at home! I just so happen to be deaf!
It is interesting, yes?, that 21 years after Our Lady warning at Fatima that mysterious lights in the night sky will announce that God is about to punish the world. That occurred on 25 Jan, 1938.
21 years later, to the day, on 25 Jan, 1959, Roncalli announced an ecumenical council.
It follows the maxim, “You reap what you sow.” On the personal level, the parent who neglects to teach his children to pray, or any adult who neglects to foster healthy and holy friendships will find few effective prayers in his time of need. We see this at funerals all the time—the family of the deceased hardly knowing what to do at the funeral Mass (if there is one). On the macro level, we have a Pope who sowed confusion, yet the most fervent prayers for his soul are offered piously by those he has consistently scorned. And we will continue…
happy to report that a nearby parish that had been very “dewfall” until just a few years ago is celebrating a special Mass for St. Joseph’s Day with an ad hoc schola that will chant Te Joseph Celebret and Joseph Fili David. I am delighted to be a participant.
Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with a priest. As part of the conversation, I encouraged him to say some of his priestly prayers of the Mass in Latin. To which his reply was that the people don’t know Latin and wouldn’t be able to follow along. My reply was first that these prayers are addressed to God, not the people, and secondly, that he has a school attached to the parish and it is on him for not having Latin taught so that people might again understand.
> Most people need to be given a strong reason go do just about anything.
If a relationship with the Lord and eternal life isn’t enough, I don’t know what would be.
Hardly anyone sings [the Latin].
It takes a commitment to a long-term program of change. The priest needs to get a choir / schola together willing to learn it and do it well, and then using them often, and making it clear that “this is the future here, people: it’s what the Council said to do, and they were right.” Doesn’t have to be the entire mass, you can start small with the Sanctus and Agnus Dei, which are dead simple. And the Kyrie. Inculturate the young with it, and in 8 years you can have a full-scale youth choir ready to go as well.
We didn’t lose it all at once. We can regain it over a period of years. I’ve seen it happen in more than 1 parish.