Where are the Books of Propers?

This article is recommended by Father Pisut and was posted at the New Liturgical Movement site on Thursday, January 21, 2010.

  

Where are the Books of Propers?

by Jeffrey Tucker And so the fun begins. Catholic music publishers are rolling out their new hymnals in preparation for the new translation of the Mass that is in the final stages. The word translation here is important because that is what it is, in contradistinction to what we use now, which is an often-loose paraphrase of the Latin. The very prospect of a real translation lifts the heart! Soon our liturgy programs can feature parallel Latin/English and it will make some sense to us.

Change is in the air! However, somehow, the hymnals that accompany the Mass will not be changing much. They will be stuffed from front to back with hymns - some old, some new, and the entire collection bearing the mark of the vaunted committee behind what is in and what is out. It is all a compromise of various cultural, economic, and intellectual interests, and this compromise will drive forward the sound and feel of Mass every week for years to come in parishes across America.

What's wrong with this picture? Well, if you look at the actual Mass and its music, you find very few examples of what we now call hymns. There are Sequences that are highly scripted with a fixed text and melody. There are a few other such hymn events sprinkled throughout the year. But there is nothing in the Roman Rite that calls for a hymn of your choice (randomize that iPod!) at the entrance, offertory, communion, and recession. You can look and look and find nothing like that in the structure of the Mass.

The hymn mania stems from an last option choice permitted in the GIRM's rubrics, but the Vatican has used the term "tragedy" describe the replacement of proper texts with hymns. The root of the problem has preconciliar origins, when the Vatican permitted Low Mass to use vernacular hymns, and here is where emerged the famed four-hymn sandwich that we know all too well.

The Second Vatican Council hoped to do something about the problem by insisting that the chants of the Mass be given first place at Mass. This means singing the propers of the Mass. Why should we sing the propers? Because they are integral to the Mass itself, as much as any of the prayers of the Mass. As Hungarian scholar Laszlo Dobszay has demonstrated through extensive study, the essential core of the arrangement of the proper texts and the music for them actually dates from the 7th century.

For the rest of the article click here: New Liturgical Movement

Etraordinary Form

written by Father Christopher Pisut

On Sunday November 15, 2009 at 1:00 PM there will be a Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. This is the new and now official way to refer to the Mass as celebrated according to the 1962 liturgical books, or before the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. It will be celebrated by the Fraternity of St. Peter, a priestly society strictly devoted to celebrating this form of the Mass. While older persons among us may remember this form of the Mass they may also believe that it was no longer to be celebrated with the promulgation of the new Mass (Novus Ordo) of Vatican II. This was never the case, although permission for its celebration was strictly regulated. With the 2007 Motu Proprio (a document issued on the initiative of the pope and with the full weight of his authority) Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI allowed greater celebration of this ancient celebration of the Roman Rite. Pope Benedict XVI labeled this form of the Mass as the Extraordinary Form of The Roman Rite in order to differentiate it from the celebration of Mass that most are familiar with today, what is now officially called the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Both forms are equal in standing in the life of the Church. Any priest can celebrate according to the Extraordinary Form and any group of the faithful who legitimately asks for this form of the Mass should be granted it if at all possible. The purpose of this Motu Proprio is not to impose this form of the Mass on those who do not want it but to make it available to those who desire it and to possibly expose others to its riches. It is in this spirit that this form of the Mass is being offered. The pope has said that he hopes that both forms of the Mass can enrich each other. In order to understand our liturgical tradition and inform our celebration of the Ordinary Form we must be shaped by what has gone before us. This is important to point out since some may perceive the return of more traditional practices in the celebration of the liturgy as going backwards. Oftentimes, this has been due to the fact that many persons may have had a misunderstanding of the liturgy and/or been poorly formed, often through no fault of their own. It must be remembered that many practices that have either developed in the life of the Church or were omitted were at worst not permitted or at least not encouraged. The return of many of these traditional liturgical practices is something which has always been a part of the Church, either required or permitted, and should be seen more positively as a retrieval of riches rather than negatively as going backward. Hopefully, this celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite will help people to appreciate the richness of our liturgical tradition and how this can help us to move forward according to the intention of the Second Vatican Council. The Mass will be followed by a reception in order to meet Fr. Joseph Portzer and the seminarians of the Fraternity of St. Peter who have generously given of their time and talents to come from Denton, Nebraska for this celebration. Any one who would like to provide a donation to Fr. Portzer and the seminarians please contact Mary at the parish office.

New Liturgical Movement has Written a Story on Sacred Heart

New Liturgical Movement website has written a story about Sacred Heart. Pictures of Father Pisut saying Mass ad orientem and of the Benedictine altar arrrangement are included. Make sure you click on the comments underneath the article to see what New Liturgical Movement website readers have written about the beauty of our church. If you are so inclined post a comment underneath the story in the comment section also.

update: To find this article you have to type Re-enchanting the Liturgy in the SEARH box at the bottom of The New Liturgical Movement's web-site.