Josef Hofmann • “Pianist Par Excellence”
Anton Rubinstein, who hated child prodigies, called Josef Hofmann “the greatest musical genius the world has ever known.”
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25 August 2020 • A 20-minute Mass?
Some erroneously attack the Extraordinary Form by claiming that before Vatican II “priests rushed through Low Mass in less than 20 minutes.” Well, during the pandemic, we have had Mass without the reception of Communion by the Faithful—and it makes duration of Mass surprisingly shorter. On feasts with no GLORIA, no CREED, and no HOMILY, […]
“Homily — 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A” • Father Valentine Young, OFM
“Catholic teaching says we should pray for people who die. If we were sure they were in heaven, that wouldn’t be necessary—so let’s be consistent in our teaching.”
Huge Discovery! (Not a Joke) • Re: “Gradual Antiphons vs. Missal Antiphons”
Last night I discovered something I never knew—so I immediately telephoned a priest to verify this.
“Secret Book of Happiness” • Official English Translations of the Roman Gradual
Overkill: “ too much of something; the amount by which destruction exceeds what is necessary.”
Clarity! • Missal vs. Gradual Text (Ordinary Form)
If this problem is to be solved, we must first understand it.
JP2 said in June of 1980…
Pope Saint John Paul II said in June of 1980: “To the extent that the new sacred music is to serve the liturgical celebrations of the various churches, it can and must draw from earlier forms—especially from Gregorian chant—a higher inspiration, a uniquely sacred quality, a genuine sense of what is religious.”
18 August 2020 • Fr. Fortescue wins!
The index for the Brébeuf hymnal has beautiful capital letters, and I had previously believed our creation to be unique. However, it seems Fr. Adrian Fortescue beat us. (Deep sigh.) You can see that the index for his book, Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, is quite beautiful, and uses the capital letters I spoke […]
“Homily for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost” (EF) • Father Valentine Young, OFM
“I considered myself privileged to be Pastor at one of the places in Houck, Arizona, where Saint Katherine Drexel built a church and grade school.”
3 September 1958 • “De musica sacra”
From the 1958 Instruction published under Pope Pius XII: “If the faithful are to communicate, the singing of the Communion antiphon is to begin when the priest distributes Holy Communion. If this Communion antiphon has been taken from some psalm, the other verses of the same psalm may be sung, in which case the antiphon […]
3 September 1958 • Issued by Pius XII
The Sacred Congregation for Rites issued De musica sacra et sacra liturgia (“Instruction on Sacred Music and Sacred Liturgy”) on 3 September 1958. An excerpt: Finally, perfect active participation is achieved when there is also sacramental participation, by which “the faithful who are present communicate not only with spiritual affection, but also in reception of […]
“Homily — 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A” • Father Valentine Young, OFM
“I had a brother who was married outside the Church and had stopped going to Church for about thirty years…”
13 August 2020 • “Lenten acclamations”
Where do the Latin acclamations come from, which replace the “Alleluia” during Lent? The traditional Divine Office replaces Alleluia with “Laus tibi Domine Rex aeternae gloriae.” Here’s a piece of paper that has all possible Ordinary Form “Lenten acclamations” in Latin.
“Crown Him with Many Crowns” (Diademata) • Brébeuf Hymnal #752
Big news! They discovered why Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” was never completed!
These kids are on fire! • “Victimæ Paschali Laudes” by Philippe Verdelot
I don’t know a more beautiful, gorgeous, memorable 15 seconds than the beginning of Part 2—stunning!