Oh, thank God, it's the Mormons!

Mass was sleepy this morning. Hymns were Slane (Be thou my vision) for the processional, McKee (Let saints on earth in concert sing) for the offertory, and Leoni (God is my great desire) for the recessional. Mass setting was mostly Proulx. I did the 9:00, so there was no choir.

Nearly fifty years ago, many in the country were asking whether or not John Kennedy could be trusted to be president of the United States because he was a Roman Catholic, and he might be subject to taking orders from the pope. As I was sitting in St. Stephen's—a place where the Kennedy family often worshipped—I started thinking about that and the parallels of the current dilemma we have in the Republican Party with the upcoming 2008 presidential election.

What triggered this line of thinking is the fact that Friday night, we went to see the new movie September Dawn, the true story of how the Mormons in Utah slaughtered a group of 120 Arkansas pioneers on their way to California in 1857, and the "conspiracy theory" that orders for the massacre came from the highest levels of the Mormon Church, even from then-president Brigham Young himself.

Now, September Dawn purely as a movie wasn't really the best-made movie I've ever seen. Aside from some fine performances from Jon Voight as Bishop Samuelson and Terence Stamp as Brigham Young, the rest of the cast (mostly because of the script and direction) bounced between stilted and high school drama club. The movie was based on the few available details of the factual massacre, and the script writers took a great deal of artistic license to create a very predictable love story that dominated most of the movie, I guess to balance out the hard facts of church history, conspiring with the Indians, and killing men, women, and children. The editing is choppy, camera angles monotonous, and it was several minutes into the film and its jumping around from date to date that I finally figured out what was going on.

The one thing the movie did drive home, though, was the strong, controlling, dominating influence of religious fundamentalist fanasticism and what such zealots can do "in the name of God." Now, the Mormons certainly have no monopoly on fanaticism and murdering in the name of God. After all, the Catholics have been doing that for millennia (remember the Crusades? the Inquisition?), and the Protestants have continued it themselves for centuries (reformation wars, witch hunts, etc.). We're also seeing a lot of it these days with modern Muslims.

Fifty years ago, though, I would venture to say that most Catholics would be quick to question an order from the pope or some archbishop to go murder innocent people, and today in 2007, Catholics not only would question but would "tell them where to go." The papal control thing was never really a serious concern in 1960 with John Kennedy.

The Mormons, though, are completely another matter. Now, as a non-Mormon, I may not have all the details just right, but I think I understand the gist of things. I might also say that I have a number of friends and acquaintances who are Mormons, and I respect the family-centered commitment and uprightness of their church and membership, so I have no ax to grind against them. The Mormons have a president they believe is God's prophet on earth, and a high council of a dozen or so "apostles" they believe are also in direct communication with God. The Mormon Church is extremely hierarchical, with small, local groups being ruled by lay bishops who have pretty much absolute authority over the members of their wards. I know Mormons who have quit their jobs and moved to different towns to fulfill the orders of their bishop or higher church authorities, and others who have taken on volunteer positions or tasks even when they didn't really have time for them. Discipline and obedience are very highly prized standards in the Mormon Church. Certainly, they aren't the zealots they were in the mid-19th century and they don't go around killing their errant members anymore, but the rules and pressure for obedience are still there. And, thus, we have the source for the Republican's current dilemma: Mitt Romney.

If Governor Romney were to become President of the United States, if the highest councils of the Mormon Church were to tell him to do a particular thing, what would he do? Now, of course, Mr. Romney is going to say that he will fulfill his oath of office to the Constitution and to the People, and that will override anything the Mormon Church might want. Yet, what will really happen? I believe that even today, Mormons are acculturated to do what the church leadership tells them to do. If push comes to shove, my gut feeling is that Mr. Romney is going to do what his church tells him to do.

What is particularly interesting about the September Dawn movie is Governor Romney's ancestor's role in the massacre. His Mormon polygamist great-great-grandfather "stole" an Arkansas woman to make her one of his wives, but the woman's husband didn't take kindly to that, and killed the Romney progenitor. It is believed that revenge and "blood atonement" for his death was one of the primary motivators for the Utah massacre of the Arkansans. I hear that Governor Romney does not plan to see September Dawn.

There are many who are claiming that this movie was made solely for the purpose of embarrassing the Mormons and hindering Governor Romney's presidential campaign. I give that argument short shrift. The massacre is historical fact. Look at the date of the massacre, too: September 11, 1857. This is the sesquicentennial (a/k/a 150th anniversary) of the massacre. I hardly think that the Governor's detractors began planning this 150 years ago.

September Dawn isn't going to win any Academy Awards. It is a useful vehicle, though, to educate us about a sad chapter of American history and to remind us of the rules and traditions of a major religious organization in America. I don't believe the movie's purpose is to foment anti-Mormon sentiment or embarrass Romney any more than a movie about the 1507 historical incident when 30 "witches" were burned by the Spanish Inquisition would be anything more than a 500th anniversary observance of the event, and certainly not a movie attempting to drum up anti-Catholicism or embarrass the presidential campaign of Rudy Guiliani.

So, I take the movie on its face value. Release is pretty limited (it's only at one theater in all of Washington, D.C.!), so if its showing near you, consider seeing it, especially if you are unfamiliar with the Mormon Church. And, if you can't catch it this month, at least try to rent the DVD.

(By the way, the title of the post is a quote from the movie, when the Arkansans have been under siege and the Mormons show up to "help" them shortly before murdering all of them.)

Liturgy meme (stolen from Friarjohn)

Liturgical Movements of Personal Devotion
and other amusing things
(yeah, it's a church thing)



BOWING - Simple Bow
[x] At the name of Jesus
[x] Toward the processional/recessional cross
[ ] Toward the Gospel book during the processional
[ ] When saying, "And also with you"
[ ] Toward the priest during the pro/recessional
[x] Toward the bishop during the pro/recessional
[x] At the Gloria Patri
[ ] Why the heck should I bow?

BOWING - Profound Bow or Genuflection
[x] When entering/leaving a pew (if Sacrament is reserved)
[x] When approaching or leaving the altar
[x] During the Nicene Creed at the Incarnatus: From "he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man" through "he suffered death and was buried."
[x] At the Sanctus: "Holy, holy, holy..."
[ ] At the words of institution
[ ] After the words of institution
[ ] Again, why the heck should I bow or genuflect, huh?

SIGN OF THE CROSS+
[x ] Up, down, left, right (RC)
[x] Up, down, left, right, heart (Anglican)
[ ] Up, down, right, left, heart (Orthodox)
[x] At every mention of "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" (or similar form)
[x] At the end of the Gloria: "You alone are the most high - Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the +Glory of God the Father."
[x] When using Holy Water, entering and leaving the church
[x] At the opening of the liturgy
[ ] At the Gospel Proclamation - Regular way
[x] At the Gospel Proclamation - Forehead, Heart, Mouth
[x] At the final clause of the Nicene Creed: "we look for the +resurrection of the dead..."
[x] During prayers for the departed (if "Rest eternal grant to them..." or similar is used)
[x] At the absolution after confession
[x] At the Sanctus: "Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord."
[ ] During the Words of Institution
[x] At the Elevations after the Words of Institution
[x] When the celebrant says, "sanctify us also..."
[x] Before receiving Holy Communion
[x] After receiving Holy Communion
[x] At the blessing/dismissal
[ ] At the Lord's Prayer: "and deliver us from evil."
[ ] When passing by a church whilst on the street (sometimes)
[x] At the beginning of the Magnificat, Benedictus, or Nunc Dimittis
[ ] I don't do the sign of the cross because my sign is listed in the horoscope.

KNEELING
[x] Before the service begins
[x] During the Penitential Order during Lent
[x] At the confession of sin
[x] During the prayers of the people
[x] During the Eucharistic prayer
[x] While receiving Holy Communion
[x] The post-Communion prayer and blessing
[ ] I don't kneel, my knees hurt.

THE SIGN OF PEACE
[ ] The Peace - Important (but please don't use this time for an extended get-to-know-you conversation!)
[ ] The Peace - Enjoyable
[x] The Peace - Awkward and irritating
[ ] Um, yeah, excuse me, but I don't know you.
[ ] Get away from me you pervert!

THE SERMON
[x] Roll eyes during a dumb sermon
[ ] Smile politely during a dumb sermon
[x] Do a crossword puzzle during a too-long sermon
[ ] Applaud, hoot, or holler at a good point during a sermon
[ ] Give an "Amen" during a sermon
[ ] Take down notes during a good sermon
[ ] Fall asleep during the sermon

ADMINISTRATION AND RECEPTION OF THE EUCHARIST
[ ] Intinction (if I've got an obvious mouth/throat infection)
[x] Sipping or wetting lips from chalice
[ ] Handing over host to be intincted by chalice bearer or acolyte
[ ] "Ewwww, nasties!"

THE PRIEST
[ ] Ignore the priest after the service
[x] Shake the priest's hand after the service
[ ] Hug the priest after the service
[ ] Give the priest a kiss on the cheek after the service
[ ] *speaks in a sulty voice* "Hey pops, wanna listen to my confession? I'm all alone at home this evening."

MUSIC
[x] Traditional music
[ ] Contemporary music
[ ] Have the cantor and choir shut up NOW.

THE BIBLE
[ ] King James Version
[ ] Bishop's Bible
[ ] Coverdale Bible
[x] Revised Standard Version
[x] New Revised Standard Version
[ ] New International Version
[ ] Message Bible
[ ] Comic books and mags are my Bible

COFFEE HOUR
[ ] Coffee hour = heaven (though the coffee itself is often dire)
[ ] Coffee hour = hell
[ ] Coffee hour = necessary evil
[ ] Coffee hour = near occasion of sin
[x] Coffee hour only when there's sherry/alcohol
[ ] I'd rather cozy up at Bucky's with the rector or vicar

THE BISHOP
[x] Kissing episcopal rings
[ ] Just shaking bishop's hand

CHURCH ATTIRE
[ ] Casual at church
[ ] Semi-formal at church
[x] Formal at church
[ ] G-string and body fur

FIRE AND SMOKE
[x] Prefer incense
[ ] Incense = can't breathe
[ ] Incense = major headache
[x] Light candles
[ ] I don't trust myself; I'll burn the church down.

DIGNUM ET JUSTUM EST
[x] "It is right to give Him thanks and praise."
[ ] "It is right to give our thanks and praise."
[ ] "It is right to give God thanks and praise."
[ ] "It is right to offer thanks and praise."
[x] Ah, screw it. "It is meet and right so to do."

THE PATER NOSTER
[X] "Our Father, who art in heaven."
[ ] "Our Father in heaven."
[ ] "Our Abba in heaven."
[ ] "Our Mother in heaven."
[ ] "Yo pops, with yer bling-bling."

WORSHIP SPACE
[ ] Solitary worship
[ ] Small parish
[ ] Medium parish
[x] Large parish
[x] Cathedral
[ ] Mission/chaplaincy
[ ] Megachurch
[ ] Anywhere "as long as the word is rightly preached, and the sacraments faithfully administered"
[ ] Can't be arsed to go to church

SACRAMENTALS
[x] Use the Dominican rosary
[ ] Use the Anglican rosary
[ ] Use an Orthodox prayer rope
[ ] Use a Franciscan Crown, the seven-decade Dominican rosary
[ ] Use Sacrifice Beads
[ ] Use Prayer stones
[ ] I use the rosaries/prayer beads for other means (i.e. strangulating people)
[ ] Venerate icons
[ ] Iconoclastic tendencies (or maybe I'm just not a visual or touch-y person)

OTHER - JUST FOR FUN
[x] Saying the filioque clause during the Nicene Creed
[ ] Whispering "My Lord and My God" at the elevation of the consecrated elements
[ ] Extending your arms when saying, "And also with you"
[ ] Strike breast during Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our sins..."
[x] Strike breast at any petition for forgiveness and pardon
[ ] Strike breast when saying "Lord, I am not worthy to receive You..."
[ ] Slap yourself in dismay when the priest says something stupid
[ ] Trip someone in the procession and pretend you didn't do it.

THE SACRAMENTS
[x] Transubstantiational Eucharist
[ ] Consubstantiational Eucharist
[ ] Holy Mystery Eucharist
[ ] Symbolic/Remembrance Eucharist
[ ] Cookies 'n juice time!
[ ] "Ooooh, refreshments!"

NUMBER OF SACRAMENTS
[ ] 2 Sacraments
[x] 7 Sacraments
[ ] 8 Sacraments
[ ] 2 Sacraments and 5 Sacramental Rites
[ ] Coffee hour
[ ] I don't call them sacraments; I call them ordinances!
[ ] The number is undefined

WHAT IS AN EPISCOPALIAN/ANGLICAN?
[ ] Catholic
[ ] Protestant
[x] Both
[ ] Neither

THEOLOGY
[x] High Church/Anglo-Catholic/Anglo-Orthodox
[ ] Broad Church
[ ] Low Church
[ ] Charismatic
[ ] Evangelical
[ ] Restorationist, as to restoring the pre-Reformation Catholic traditions of Anglicanism
[x] Affirming/Accepting
[ ] Welcoming, but seeking to preach the truth with love
[ ] Progressive
[x] Conservative
[ ] Post-modern
[ ] Liberal
[ ] Moderate
[x] Traditional, theologically speaking

CALVINISM VS. ARMINIANISM
[ ] Calvinist
[ ] Arminian
[x] Neither position
[ ] I don't care.

THE TRINITY
[ ] Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifer
[x] Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
[ ] Source, Saviour, and Procession
[ ] Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver
[ ] Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

THE BLESSED VIRGIN
[x] The Blessed Virgin was immaculately conceived
[x] The Blessed Virgin was assumed into heaven
[ ] The Blessed Virgin "fell asleep"
[ ] The Blessed Virgin was prepared during her life with special grace to be pure and holy for the birth to Jesus
[ ] The Blessed Virgin is ever-virgin
[x] Good ole Mary and Joe had a bucket of kiddies
[ ] The Blessed Virgin is present in the Eucharist because by the power of the Holy Spirit her Son took our flesh from the Blessed Mother, and because his Body and Blood is present in the Bread and Cup, she is present in a special but not real way
[ ] The Blessed Virgin is co-redemptrix with her Son
[ ] The Blessed Virgin fell asleep, was buried, and three days later was resurrected and taken bodily to heaven, a foretaste of what will be for all who are in Christ.

Brooke Astor

I've just been listening to the most interesting internet broadcast, the funeral of Brooke Astor from St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York. I don't know how many of you know Mrs. Astor, but over the past few decades, she has given away over $200 million to various charitable causes and set the "proper" standard for philanthropy. She has supported the understructures of charities and emphasized organizations that help the poor and disadvantaged help themselves in a world where most charitable donors have wanted to build flashy new buildings bearing their names, but then offered no financial support to operate those buildings. Mrs. Astor did what was necessary to help charities pay the bills and be successful in their missions, and up until just a few years ago, she actively visited those charities to monitor their success and offer her advice and support.

Well, today Mrs. Astor, aged 105, is being laid to rest. She's had quite the grand funeral at St. Thomas—the NYC church with the famous boys' choir and the occasional rumble of the subway trains below—and, no doubt, the place was standing room only. His Honor the Mayor of New York spoke. The United States Marine Corps provided her with her pallbearers (Mrs. Astor's father was once the Commandant of the Marine Corps).

I found it interesting that her service was from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, rather than being a Rite 1 (or, heaven forbid, Rite 2) service from the 1979 BCP. It was strictly the burial office with no requiem Mass. The hymns were all so familiar, being solid Anglican hymns (very solid, especially since the organist registered the foundation stops very heavily) like St. Anne (O God our help from ages past), Toplady (Rock of Ages), Hyfrydol (Love divine, all loves excelling), and Rest (Dear Lord and Father of mankind). A bagpiper piped the coffin out of the church after the service to New Britain (Amazing Grace).

The Men of the Choir (the boys aren't back in school yet) did the Funeral Sentences, used a Walford Davies Anglican chant setting for the psalm, and sang Thomas Tallis' Salvador mundi salva nos as the anthem. I really must get to St. Thomas sometime to hear the choir in person, since I've not heard Sir John Scott, the "new" conductor, and the last time I was at St. Thomas, Gerre Hancock was still there.

I missed the prelude, though I understand it was all Bach. The postlude, which I'm hearing right now, is the Widor "Toccata" (from Symphonie V), which is being played at at interesting fast yet virtuosic pace. It's fabulous hearing it played on that big, thunderous organ at St. Thomas.

Anyway, requiescat in pace, Mrs. Astor. You provided us with a wonderful example of social deportment and philanthropic behavior, and you bridged the gap from the days of the wealthy robber barons, across the Great Depression, and into the 20th century. Thank you.

The BVM

Yesterday was the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin, depending upon the catholicity of ones feelings about the role of Mary in the Church. Laurent, Ryan, and I went to St. Paul's K Street for their evening Procession and Solemn Mass.

After the introit chant, the choir and clergy processed around the church, first to the hymn Salve Regina Coelitum (Hail, Holy Queen enthroned above—remember the tune from Sister Act?), and then after a collect at the Lady Altar, to Parry's Rustington (Sing we of the blessed Mother). Other hymns for the evening were Willan (Hail Mary, full of grace) as the sequence, Mater Amabilis (Ave, Maria! O Maiden, O Mother) after communion, and then Daily, daily (Ye who own the faith of Jesus) as the recessional. My friend John, the new organist, was singing alto in choir, and at the organ was the organist from the Washington National Cathedral (who was quite fond of the tuba mirabilis in the narthex antiphonal division).

They did Mozart's Spatzen-Messe, KV 220 for the Mass setting. I liked the setting, although I do believe the Benedictus was longer than the Gloria! The choir sang Robert Parson's "Ave Maria" setting for the offertory anthem, and the Agnus Dei from the Mass setting served as the communion motet. Anglican chant for the psalm was by Edgar F. Day.

Fr. Milton Williams from St. Timothy's, and a former seminarian at K Street, served as guest preacher. He was entertaining, and one can tell that he used to be Southern Baptist.

There was, alas, no reception or wine and cheese after the Mass. I was surprised.

Here's a bad video of the offertory anthem, for those who like English Reformation music. Sorry the audio is garbled....something is happening on the upload to YouTube....we're working on the problem.

Singing in Latin

"Many of these chants became all but forgotten by two generations of Catholics who were swept up in well-meaning but sometimes overzealous efforts in past decades to require constant innovation in liturgy."

Yep. That's what it says in the parish newsletter. I went to the evening Mass at St. Stephen's tonight because they are starting to do the Mass setting in Latin using the traditional Gregorian chants (or at least the updated chants as they appear in the Worship III hymnal). They're adding another section every Sunday....tonight they did the Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. They plan to add the Kyrie and......the Credo!

Everything was a capella tonight, including the hymns. The morning cantoress was there tonight, so with her strong singing, she actually got people to sing heartily for the processional (Forest Green "Your hands, O Lord in days of old" (tune reminded me of Christmas)) and recessional (Thaxted "O God beyond all praising") hymns. The offertory (Sharpthorne "What does the Lord require") was another matter. Two or three people sang that I could hear, but the whispery noises they were making I would hardly call tuneful. And the communion marching music ("God, Your glory we have seen in Your Christ") was so not sung by the congregation that you could hear crickets.

The psalm antiphon was a setting by Leo Nestor and for the memorial acclamation and great amen they used the Proulx A Community Mass setting.

Msgr. Filardi celebrated and preached. He had a guest concelebrant with him today who's a priest from the West Bank of Israel. There was a second collection tonight, and no announcement of its purpose, so I'm going to guess it was going to the visiting priest's ministries.

It will be interesting to see how the Sunday evening Mass proceeds. I think they're planning to put together some kind of chant choir to support the Mass, and that could be interesting.

Gilding the sky

Ever since my first visit well over two years ago, I've reported that it seems as though the majority of the congregation at St. Paul's K Street is either geriatric or gay (or both); this morning, I confirmed that suspicion. In the opening hymn (When morning gilds the sky), there was a phrase that goes, "When evening shadows fall, this rings my curfew call, may Jesus Christ be praised!" Well, I heard from singing parishioners in multiple locations not "this rings my curfew call," but "this rings my curtain call."

Theater fags.

Anyway, I made a special point to go to K Street this morning, because this was John's first official Sunday as the new organist and assistant music director, and we're so happy to have him there! He played stunningly this morning, and the choir he directed sounded beautiful and well-balanced. The new interim music director has been selected—a Brit, surprise surprise LOL—but he won't get here until at least the end of the month (as soon as his visa clears the embassy in London), so John gets to do both jobs for the time being.

Today's organ prelude was "Adagio in E minor" by Frank Bridge. The postlude was "Flourish for an Occasion" by William Henry Harris. You can tell John did his masters at Indiana.

Hymns were the aforementioned Laudes Domini for the processional, Wachet auf (Praise the Lord through every nation) for the sequence, Herr Jesu Christ (O saving Victim) for post-communion, and Winchester New (Before the Lord's eternal throne) for the recessional.

The choir sang the a capella Palestrina Missa Brevis for the Mass setting. They also did "Christ whose glory fills the sky" (not the hymn tune) by T. Frederick H. Candlyn for the offertory anthem and "O nata Lux de lumine" by Thomas Tallis for the communion motet. They did an Anglican chant by James Turle for the psalm setting.

Back already

Quiet day at the early Mass at St. Stephen this morning. No choir. Hymns were Bunessan (Praise and thanksgiving) for the processional, Wareham (O Jesus, joy of loving hearts) for the offertory, and Darwall's 148th (To God with gladness sing) for the recessional. All very nicely Anglican. The communion marching music was a responsorial "The Lord is my light and my salvation," a familiar antiphon tune that was oddly ignored by the congregation (sometimes when the ditty is familiar, a few will softly sing along). Sleepy homily dissecting the Lord's Prayer (from this morning's Gospel), so I perused the hymnal.

The eye candy was pretty substantial this morning. Highly distracting. Yes, indeed. Very.

Substitute Sunday

You can tell it's summertime and vacation time. This morning, the resident priests and the organist/choirmaster were all on vacation, so we had a substitute priest and a substitute organist.

Since I went to the nine o'clock this morning, I guess the organist had just arrived, so she and the cantoress were going over some of the service music, and, surprisingly, playing some of it on the organ. It's always interesting to hear the Gloria as the prelude! Once they'd looked at the service music, the organist did some "filler" type prelude music, and it was quickly apparent to me that she was not Catholic, Episcopalian, or Lutheran. She had a tremolo going (there's no vibrato stop on that particular organ, so she must have been playing with the Vox Humana against some of the foundation stops) and she seemed to be improvising on what I can only surmise was a "gospel" hymn. She was pretty good for a non-Catholic substitute, though, as she played all of the stuff at the right time and didn't screw anything up. She didn't improvise as much in the "dead spaces" as does the usual organist, but in some parishes, it's normal to play only the hymns and the service music and not do filler. She did "fill," though, after the offertory and communion hymns, and once again, I had that "Protestant" impression and I was reminded of some of the small town funeral home organists I've heard.

Hymns today were Ellecombe (I sing the mighty power of God) for the processional, Sharpthorne (What does the Lord require) for the offertory, and Grosser Gott (Holy God we praise thy name) for the recessional. The particularly not-sung-by-the-congregation responsorial communion hymn marching music was "I received the living God and my heart is full of joy." You know, since the cantors/cantoresses end up singing these things by themselves anyway, I don't know why they just don't let them sing a decent song that's actually meant to be a solo. Service music was the usual summer hodge-podge.

There's no choir at the nine, so there weren't any anthems. I noticed they'd slated William Byrd's "Ave Verum" for a communion motet at the eleven.

The visiting priest, Fr. Casey, was very gregarious. He kept things moving, and I liked that. He also chose to deliver his homily from the center of the pace by the first row of pews instead of hiding behind the ambo (lecturn). He preached on the idea of taking time to listen for God in the midst of all our modern, fast-paced lives.

I noticed one interesting thing in the parish newsletter this morning. They are going to start singing the Mass settings in Latin at the 5:30 Sunday afternoon Mass, though they were careful to point out that the Mass itself would still be said in English. That tall, cute seminarian was there again today, too. What a shame that he's off the market!

Making the paper

I made the parish newsletter! The pastor always writes a weekly pastoral letter that takes up most of the front page of the newsletter. Today, it started off with "Walking past me after Sunday Mass a parishioner asked, 'So, Father, when are we going to have a Latin Mass?' I am not sure if he was being sarcastic or sincere, but no doubt he was alluding to Pope Benedict's recent letter, Summorum Pontificum, in which he allows a greater use of the Mass as celebrated before 1970." Alas, though, in talking about the Tridentine Mass, he goes on to say, "I must admit, because [of] its requirements of precision and movement, even if inclined, I am not trained to offer this Mass properly."

Mass today was actually kind of nice. The choir quartet was, once again, in surprisingly excellent form, doing a lovely job on Harold Friedell's "Draw Us in the Spirit's Tether" as the communion motet, and having an amazingly audible descant for the processional hymn (remember, this was a quartet). They really do so well when they sing Anglican literature! (Last week, they sounded good, too, doing Vaughn-Williams' "O How Amiable.")

Hymns today sounded interestingly similar, especially the offertory and recessional. For the processional, they did Leoni (The perfect law of God) with descant, the offertory Wareham (This is my will, my one command), and the recessional Sweet Sacrament (Jesus my Lord, my God, my All). The organist/choir master wrote a new third verse for Sweet Sacrament, "As we go forth from this, Thy house, Slay us with love and charity. Thine is the earth and stars and sun, Let now our hearts, Thine also be."

During communion marching music, the responsorial hymn was the ever-saccharine "God is love, and where true love is" with the Proulx antiphon, but they actually had more than the choir singing today! There was a lady a few pews behind me who was singing along lustily, but, let's just say she was making a joyful "noise" to the Lord.

Mass setting was the same as last week. Msgr. Filardi preached on today's Good Samaritan Gospel reading.

More Latin

Everyone was all abuzz this morning at Mass about the pope's recent announcement loosening the restrictions on parish use of the traditional pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass. The Tridentine Mass is the old Latin rite, and for the past thirty years, parishes have had to have specific permission from their bishops to use it, and that permission has been scant. Under the new rules, the pastor of a parish can decide to use the Tridentine service to meet the pastoral needs of his parish. So, given the fact that nearly two generations of Catholics haven't used the Latin rite, I really don't expect any parish to go 100% Tridentine, or even for every parish to offer a Latin Mass. But, it'll be nice to hear the Latin again.

On the way out after Mass, I asked the celebrant when he was going to start using the Latin, and he and the seminarian standing with him said maybe after September 14....apparently all of the priests have to go to school to get trained on how to do the services and how to pronounce the Latin correctly! LOL

Anyway, there were a lot of people in Mass this morning, a bit of a surprise for a July Sunday.

The Mass setting for today was basically the Proulx A Community Mass with the Gloria from Hurd's New Plainsong Mass, traditional plainsong for the Kyrie, Gospel alleluia, and Exaudi Christe; Isele's Holy Cross Mass for the Agnus Dei, and Gouzes' Non sum dignus.

Hymns were Crucifer for the processional, Hyfrdol (Those who love and those who labor) for the offertory, and Abbot's Leigh for the recessional. The choir did a responsorial communion hymn with Christopher Willcock's "Taste and see" antiphon.

The choir did a surprisingly nice job singing Vaughn-Williams' "O How Amiable" as a post-communion motet. I wasn't expecting much, since the summer schola is only a quartet, but this anthem sounded pretty good. The only thing I noticed was they cut the St. Anne (O God our help in ages past) verse at the end, but that was probably to shorten the piece, as the priest had already sat down and everyone was waiting. This is why back when I was cantoring, I always did the anthem first and then the communion hymn, since I didn't mind cutting the hymn if we didn't need that much filler music.