GREGORIAN CHANT IS SPECIAL. No doubt about it. But that’s as much as I’ll say on that front for now; others have waxed eloquent about its artistry and its unique qualities.
Today I want to focus on a more practical side of things than musically mystical musings. If Gregorian chant is so important, where do I start learning it? What pieces should I sing first?
Look no further! Here I will introduce you to a list of pieces, provide recordings of all of them, and supply you with a free PDF download containing all the chants at the end of the article. Excluding the Mass Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus, Asperges, Vidi Aquam, etc.), I’ve collected here the ten chants I think are most important to know.
My determination of the top ten is not arbitrary. Here are the criteria influencing my choices:
They are frequently used. These chants regularly appear not only in the liturgy, but are likely to be sung by the laity in the course of daily devotions, processions, summer camps, etc.
These chants are culturally prominent. You will find these more often referenced in literature than other tunes.
These chants are textually rich. Their lyrics poetically embody numerous Catholic doctrines, pious beliefs, and devotional practices.
The chants here represent a wide varietyof the Gregorian repertoire: antiphons, hymns, sequences, even a Mass proper.
Let’s dig in — and sing along!
1. Salve Regina (Antiphon)
The smiling queen of heaven; a medieval ivory carving at the Cloister Museum in New York City (Photo: Julian Kwasniewski)
The first four should come as no surprise. These are the so-called Marian Antiphons which are sung after Compline every night, every day of the year wherever the Divine Office is celebrated. This is their primary official liturgical place, but they also show up elsewhere; in fact they tend to be among the most commonly sung chants at any public gathering of Catholics.
Each comes with a solemn and simple tone; and although you are most likely to hear the Roman version, there are slight and interesting variations in the monastic and mendicant versions of the same antiphons.
The current form of the Salve derives primarily from the splendid abbey of Cluny, which pioneered independent monastic houses, subject to the pope rather than local bishops. From there, it spread quickly in the course of the 1200s and 1300s all over Europe.
Many Catholics who know no other Gregorian Chant at least know the simple tone of the Salve Regina: we all know the text as the “Hail holy Queen” used to conclude the rosary. You can follow along with the simple tone here, and listen to the monks of Norcia singing the solemn monastic tone below:
Hail, O Queen of Heaven. Hail, O Lady of Angels Hail! thou root, hail! thou gate From whom unto the world a light has arisen. Rejoice, O glorious Virgin, Lovely beyond all others, Farewell, most beautiful maiden, And pray for us to Christ.
So runs the Ave Regina Coelorum, sung from the feast of the Purification (February 2) through Holy Week. Although the primary reference of Christ “rising” is to the incarnation, it could also be understood of His resurrection from death—and this is the antiphon sung throughout all of Lent!
I like those two very different metaphors: Mary as root and as gate. She is compared to something from the natural world and something from the man-made “technological” world. Do you know about plants? She and her Son’s coming are like that: a springing-up from the hidden depths. Do you only know about cities and man-made things? There’s still a comparison to be made that will work.
The simple tone of this antiphon is childlike and catchy:
This is the Marian antiphon used during Eastertide: its origins are unknown, but it too appears on the scene mid-way through the Middle Ages, first extant in a manuscript dating from c. 1200.
According to the Golden Legend of the Italian Archbishop Jacobus de Voragine, the first three lines of the antiphon were heard being chanted by Angels during a penitential procession in Rome in the time of Pope Gregory the Great, who then added the last line. This lovely story, which reinforces the traditional association of chant with Gregory the Great, is unlikely to be true, as is typical of much of the content of the Golden Legend, but no matter; the text is wonderful no matter where it comes from:
Queen of heaven, rejoice, alleluia. The Son you merited to bear, alleluia, Has risen as he said, alleluia. Pray to God for us, alleluia.
Here’s the simple tone, with faint organ accompaniment:https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/1LWeRfnEcwN31DYVryC3OX
And now the canons of St. Michael’s Abbey in California chanting the solemn tone:
4. Alma Redemptoris Mater
The depiction of Mary as virgo lactans is an artistic representation of Mary being the Alma Redemptoris Mater by giving Christ (in the words of Hopkins) “birth, milk, and all the rest.” (Source)
There are two beautiful translations of this antiphon I’d like to share:
Mother of Christ! hear thou thy people’s cry, Star of the deep, and portal of the sky! Mother of him who thee from nothing made, Sinking we strive, and call to thee for aid: Oh, by that joy which Gabriel brought to thee, Thou Virgin first and last, let us thy mercy see.
So goes the translation of Edward Caswall, a fellow Anglican convert and Oratorian confrere of John Henry Newman’s. Newman renders the same Latin antiphon this way:
Kindly Mother of the Redeemer, who art ever of heaven The open gate, and the star of the sea, aid a fallen people, Which is trying to rise again; thou who didst give birth, While Nature marveled how, to thy Holy Creator, Virgin both before and after, from Gabriel’s mouth Accepting the All hail, be merciful towards sinners.
The word alma is a very rich word. It derives from the proto-Indo-European for “to grow, nourish,” resulting in having as its primary senses “nourishing, kind, propitious.” Lewis and Short have:
nourishing, affording nourishment, cherishing (poetic epithet of Ceres, Venus, and other patron deities of the earth, of light, day, wine, etc…Hence, genial, restoring, reviving, kind, propitious, indulgent, bountiful, etc.
And they give examples of it being used to describe everything from Venus and Mother Earth to agricultural fields and female breasts. This puts me in mind of the artistic tradition of depicting Mary as the virgo lactans or “nursing virgin”. The Alma Redemptoris Mater—nourishing, cherishing Mother of the Redeemer—gives “birth, milk, and all the rest,” as Hopkins put it.
5. Victimae Paschali Laudes (Sequence)
The Sequence is a musical and poetic form that was once very widespread throughout European liturgy. It is a poem in honor of a saint or a mystery that usually falls after the Alleluia of the Mass, to prepare for the Gospel. Medieval and early Renaissance Catholics were accustomed to dozens more Sequences than we have now in our traditional rites. The Tridentine reform, ever conservative as Rome used to be, limited the Sequences to the small series that were already used in the papal court liturgy, and as a result, many of the Sequences of local rites were lost when the Roman missal was freely adopted in those places.
The Easter Sequence Victimae Paschali laudes — like many great works of art—has been attributed to quite an array of characters, including the 11th-century Wipo of Burgundy (chaplain of the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II), Notker Balbulus (a monk of Sant Gall in Switzerland), Robert II of France (a French monarch), and Adam of St. Victor (a Parisian Master of Ceremonies and composer). The Victimae is a short sequence—made shorter by the fact that one antisemitic verse was excluded in the Tridentine reform: “More to be believed is truthful Mary by herself than the deceitful crowd of the Jews.”
Here’s the literal translation from Wikipedia:
Let Christians offer sacrificial praises to the passover victim. The Lamb has redeemed the sheep: The Innocent Christ has reconciled sinners to the Father. Death and life contended in a spectacular battle: the dead leader of life reigns alive. Tell us, Mary, what did you see on the way? “I saw the tomb of the living Christ and the glory of his rising, The angelic witnesses, the shroud, and the clothes.” “Christ my hope is arisen; he will go before his own [you] into Galilee.” We know Christ is truly risen from the dead! On us, Conqueror King, have mercy! Amen. Alleluia.
Trinity from Les Grandes Heures d’Anne de Bretagne (source)
Fifty days after Easter falls the great solemnity of Pentecost — and it has its own sequence too, which is so beautiful that it has been called “The Golden Sequence.” We don’t know for sure who wrote the text; two likely 13th-century candidates are Pope Innocent III and Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Langton, incidentally, is most famous for being the one who (more or less successfully) divided up the books of the Bible into the system of chapters used by everyone today. It can be hard to believe that prior to the end of the 12th century, there were no chapters. (Verse numbers came even later: the 15th century for the Old Testament, and the 16th century for the New.)
With light organ in the background, this recording of the Golden Sequence preserves the alternation between cantors and full choir.
This is probably the best known chant of the whole bunch, plastered all over the internet with masochistic-looking monks hunched in black hoods. Despite being one of the most iconic features of the Requiem Mass, this chant is not the “Dark Occult Monastic Ambient Gregorian with Bible” that AI-generated YouTube videos would have you believe. The catchy melody has worked its way into dozens of great pieces of classical music, and later into movie soundtracks: Star Wars, The Lion King, The Lord of the Rings, Frozen, and Dune, to name a few better-known ones.
Cultural allusions and illusions aside, you will find in the Dies Irae a poem of intensely gentle medieval piety. Oscar Wilde objected to the focus on judgement, writing in On Hearing the Dies Iræ Sung in the Sistine Chapel that he found beauty in nature spoke more clearly of God than “thundering”:
Nay, Lord, not thus! white lilies in the spring, Sad olive-groves, or silver-breasted dove, Teach me more clearly of Thy life and love Than terrors of red flame and thundering.
I disagree with Mr. Wilde. Although it opens with “day of doom impending,” it winds up calling Jesus the “fount of mercy”—and the word pietatis derives from the love of a father accepting his child as his own. Against our own sinful frailty, it also calls to mind the humanity of Christ: “Seeking me, You rested, tired.” This is a reference to the pericope of the Samaritan woman at the well, and seems to suggest that it is Christ’s humanity that gives us confidence in the face of judgment.
I would sit with the text for a while, especially with the Latin which is much more fluid and beautiful than any English translations.
8. Ave maris stella (Hymn)
The Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrière (Our Lady of the Beautiful Glass) window in Chartres Cathedral, famed for its unreproducible blue (Photo: Julian Kwasniewski)
This is the great Marian hymn. Probably originating earlier than the other Marian antiphons here, we see a beautiful exploration of Mary’s ancient title “Star of the Sea.” This hymn also includes a clever pun:
Sumens illud “Ave” Gabrielis ore, funda nos in pace, mutans Evæ nomen.
Playing off the fact that Ave in Latin is the same word as “Eve” spelled backwards (Eva), the poem links the “yes” of the new Eve to the “no” of the old Eve. The very first word that the angel spoke to Mary already signified the one whose bad choice her good choice would reverse:
Receiving that “Ave” From the mouth of Gabriel, Establish us in peace, Transforming the name of “Eva.”
My favorite stanza is the penultimate one:
Bestow a pure life, Prepare a safe way: That seeing Jesus, We may ever rejoice.
The last two lines in Latin are ut videntes Jesum / semper collætemur. Perhaps I’m extrapolating too much, but the use of collætemur is significant to me. It could have just been lætemur, which is effectively a synonym: both mean rejoice. But collætemur sounds to me like it derives from co+laetare, with co being “together,” collætemur then implying a social dimension — not just any kind of rejoicing, but “rejoicing together.”
To my mind this hints at the fact that one of heaven’s great incidental joys must certainly be the unity that souls will experience with each other. We don’t rejoice in isolation: we collætemur with all our friends.
Earliest known manuscript of Sub tuum praesidium in Greek, dated between 3rd to 9th centuries.
The Sub Tuum Praesidium is likely the oldest chant on the list. The Latin of this prayer might be the “latercomer” translation: ancient versions exist in Greek, Coptic, Syriac, and Armenian. Scholars heavily debate the dating of the papyrus scrap pictured above, some arguing for the late 3rd century, others advocating a century as late as the 9th, but it has been discovered in a chant book from Jerusalem indicating liturgical use in at least the 5th century.
This chant is short and easy to learn: it is sometimes prayed after the rosary, but is appropriate year-round, for any necessity.
This might surprise you as making it onto a “short-list” of chant, but the Requiem Introit is indeed one of the most consoling pieces in the Gregorian Repertoire. It represents in some way the entire Requiem itself: the soft, gentle, soothing rite which accompanies the deceased’s body to the grave, or which prays for any of the departed souls for whom we offer prayers. The Roman Requiem is quite unlike the Byzantine funeral rite, which graphically and lengthily repeats lines about kissing the body for the last time, emphasizes how recently he was among men, with his relatives, and how quickly the corpse will decay. Rather, the Requiem adopts a more butler-like aspect, a somber presence you hardly notice is even there. The prayers barely intrude any specifics, only mentioning the departed’s name when absolutely necessary (the Byzantine, in contrast, constantly repeats it).
When it comes to the music, I love the floating opening, the sedate and restrained rise of the melody and the flat thrown in there on eis in the first line. Here’s Christopher Jasper of the Gregorian Chant Academy singing it:
FINAL STEP: Download the PDF
It would be silly to encourage you all to sing these ten chants without making them easily accessible. All of them can be found in the free download below—crisp, and easy to read, with the notation sourced from GregoBase. Not only do I include the simple and solemn tones for the Marian Antiphons, I’ve even included the solemn monastic versions of them as well. Happy chanting!
A story goes, in the wake of the liturgical reforms following the Second Vatican Council, the monks of a Benedictine religious community in southern France fell mysteriously ill, with no remedy to be found. In desperation, the esteemed researcher Dr. Alfred Tomatis was called to the scene. The son of an opera singer, Tomatis grew up with music, and spent much of his childhood watching his father sing opera on the stage. Tomatis went into medicine, where he discovered the Mozart Effect, became a specialist in problems with hearing and language, and father of the field known as audio-psycho-phonology.
Tomatis ascertained that not long before the onset of the monks’ malaise, the monastery had altered their daily practice of singing the Divine Office together. They had switched from singing the formerly prescribed Gregorian chants, in favor of praying in their native tongue, and had reduced the total amount of time devoted to daily prayer in community. Tomatis knew from his research that if you change the way the ear works, you affect all the body’s major functions. These changes, in turn, can produce profound transformations in how we function: this is known as the “Tomatis Effect”. Tomatis prescribed that the monks’ former practice of chanting the Hours be restored, and the listless monks were quickly restored to health.
Tomatis wrote later in his book, Pourquois Mozart?: “Woe to us if we wish to present Church singing as a therapeutic material. Yet, few works, besides Mozart’s, have such a radical impact on the human being…A soul attuned to the chant starts to vibrate to the first and essential rhythms. Gregorian chant allows us to perceive this vibration of the soul when it reaches the register of serenity. Then, man is involved in a timeless communication and regains his natural breathing, that is, unstressed and without gasping. Through the Gregorian modulations, he discovers a privileged space where his being momentarily can rest, aloof from the daily trials.
“To tell the truth, Gregorian chant gives a glimpse of paradise to those who wish it. Man is reintegrated into the creation and sings the glory of the Creator. The Gregorian muse is certainly a jewel which centuries have slowly elaborated. In matters of religious singing, it is assuredly the summit of what man can do in search of God. Obviously, there are here and there some variations due to the temperament of the composer or the requirement of the liturgy at a certain period. But regardless of those variations, the Gregorian pieces are universal in their musical and vibratory content. “
Today, Gregorian chant is an essential component of therapy according to the Tomatis Method. The Method is used to heal auditory processing problems, dyslexia, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, autism, and sensory processing and motor-skill difficulties. It is also claimed to have helped adults fight depression, learn foreign languages faster, develop better communication skills, and improve both creativity and on-the-job performance.
What do *you* notice when you sing Gregorian chant?
We like to share the occasional testimonial, and this came to us during calendar season, when someone was purchasing a calendar for his home use.
Check out this letter:
Please take a moment to pray an Ave (Hail Mary) for this revert, but then also a second Ave for all those who attended Christmas last week that they may return to the Church and weekly Mass attendance.
I was raised Catholic by very faithful parents and was born very near the time that the Novus Ordo was instituted by Pope Paul. I attended Mass in that form until I was 51 years old, but have always been drawn to a more traditional form of worship. For example, I was always drawn to singing Venite Adoremus at Christmas Mass. Traditional hymns, incense, and bells all made me ponder God more deeply and in some way I could have a connection to the way my ancestors worshipped. As I grew older and found myself more interested in the Church and its history, I found articles online discussing the TLM. Since I had only known the Novus Ordo my entire life, I wondered what worship was like for my ancestors (my mother’s family immigrated from Luxembourg in the 1800s).
In 2018, I decided to try and see if there was a TLM in Des Moines. Much to my surprise, I found out that TLM was offered at St. Anthony’s by Msgr. Chiodo. I decided to attend once “just to see what it was like”.
Perhaps it was not instantaneous, but very soon after, I started making connections to everything that I had read. I was struck by the beauty of the Mass including the music, incense, and silence.
The TLM made me understand why Catholic churches were built the way they were. It made me want to know more about the Faith. The reverence displayed toward the Most Blessed Sacrament deepens my understanding and humbles me.
Through Una Voce Des Moines, I was able to attend sessions on traditional church architecture, as well as hear Fr. Ripperger discuss his work as an exorcist. And very importantly, I sensed an immediate connection to the way my mom’s family had worshipped in Luxembourg, and that connects me to regularly worshipping among faith-filled people who take the Catholic Church seriously.
In this sense, the TLM is like an oasis of sanity in this world. There is a sense of peace and calmness that is found nowhere else. An additional effect is that I’ve deepened my knowledge of Latin, and now I’m able to respond at Mass and even sing some of the hymns.
While I am only one individual, I can certainly imagine that if the TLM has had this impact on me, there are certainly many others who have been blessed in a similar fashion.
Why the 2ndConfiteor anyway? After all, haven’t we already said a Double Confiteor at the beginning of Mass during the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar (one for the priest and one for the servers/people in attendance at Mass)?
Picture Moses removing his sandals when he comes before the Lord who speaks to him from the burning bush because he is on holy ground! We are removing the ‘sandals’ of earthly attachment so that we can enter into the Holy of Holies.’ Having prepared ourselves by this initial Confiteor, is the 2ndConfiteor before the communion of the faithful just more useless repetition that adds to the overall length of the Mass? Or is there a theological significance to its placement later in the liturgy as well?
Some history:
In former times (pre- Pope St. Pius X), the normative method for the distribution of Holy Communion to the faithful was for reception to occur outside of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass itself. Therefore, prior to the time of St. Pius X, the distribution of communion to the faithful outside of the Mass (usually immediately following it), began with the Confiteor, as directed by the rubrics. This was normal for all the days of the year except two, namely Maundy Thursday and Corpus Christi. On those two feasts, communion of the faithful would take place just as we see it today, within the Mass itself. Pope St. Pius X directed that the distribution of communion to the faithful should become the norm duringthe Mass throughout the year. Thus was ‘born’ the practice of the 2ndConfiteor within the Mass since the communion rite of the faithful was inserted into the Mass after the priest’s communion.
The 2ndConfiteor was ‘revised away’ (in other words, removed) within the Mass in what we have come to know as the ‘1962 Missal,’ but kept in the communion rite of the faithful outside of Mass. Much can be said in regard to this revision, but that is another discussion. Suffice it say that there is an allowance for the 2ndConfiteor to continue to be used. Instead of getting side-tracked, let us keep our focus on the Mass itself. The Holy Mass is complete as the unbloody re-presentation of Our Lord’s Sacrifice on Calvary with the communion of the offering priest who stands in for Christ the High Priest (in persona Christi). The once-for-all Sacrifice of Calvary is re-presented to the Father with the completion of the priest’s communion (think of a priest’s private low Mass to better grasp this concept—he alone is present at this private Mass).
The Sacrifice of the Lamb Once Slain is ‘made present’ via the double consecration (the bread into Christ’s Body, the wine into His Blood) to all those in attendance at the Mass. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Blood of Christ poured forth from His Sacred Wounds to make possible the Redemption of all of humanity.
And, at each Mass, we mystically stand at the foot of the Cross to be washed in the Blood of the Lamb. What is the disposition of heart that is necessary for a person to be redeemed by this Blood, if not that of contrition? We must be sorry for our sins to obtain mercy and forgiveness. God does not force us to love Him, nor does He force us to be redeemed.
With this brief exposition of the consecration at Mass, let us return to the communion of the faithful, who are now spiritually present at the foot of Calvary. Does the 2ndConfiteor not now make perfect sense? The Deacon and Subdeacon (if in a Solemn Mass) or the servers in a Sung or Low Mass, now, prostrate in spirit beneath Our Lord’s Cross, recite the Confiteor. The faithful present join with them in the prayer of the heart and bend all their attention to these words of contrition.
The priest then says the Indulgentiam prayer and gives the minor absolution to all present as he says the Misereatur. This minor absolution absolves venial sins in those receiving it and prepares the souls of those individuals in the state of grace who plan to approach the Most Holy Sacrament for the opportunity of an even greater increase in sanctifying grace. The faithful approach the banquet table of the Lord. Truly, at this moment, we have a foretaste of Heaven as we approach the communion rail, with souls washed with absolution after their declaration of contrition. And now, as we look up at the Host held before us, we can contemplate the beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see the Face of God” (Mt 5:8).
One of the local deacons, Deacon Mike Manno, who frequently attends/serves our TLM community wrote this last month, and we thought it was interesting and wanted to share with our followers.
Those of you who have followed this column know that about seven months ago I had a stroke. Fortunately, through the mercy of God, I quickly recovered with little or no problems. However, it has affected my sight; I can no longer read well, struggling to make out each word like a first grader following his fingers across the page, and my peripheral vision has been compromised to the point that I still cannot drive.
Thus when I am at the altar assisting at Mass, I can no longer proclaim the Gospel, nor can I read the Prayers of the Faithful. The priest will read the Gospel for me and the lector will read the prayers. I still cannot preach since I write out all my homilies and, not being a gifted speaker, would simply read them.
So one of my drawbacks from the stroke was that I was no longer able to assist at a cross-town Latin Mass that I would attend every Sunday evening. I had been doing so for several years at the invitation of that parish’s pastor, an old friend, and his associate with whom I had gotten to know very well. Not being a Latin scholar, I could do little more than sit in choir, read the Epistle and Gospel in English, preach occasionally, and help with the distribution of Communion — the Latin Mass protocols only allow for an ordained minister, deacon or priest, to do so. Unfortunately, the partial loss of my vision was enough to keep me from driving to the Latin Mass and I was unable to participate.
With the pastor and assistant there were only about three other priests in our geographic area who could say the Latin Mass, so when the pastor retired due to health issues, and the associate was sent for additional schooling out of state, it sounded trouble for the Latin Mass.
However, our bishop, William Joensen, asked my pastor if he and our parish could continue the Latin Mass, and he agreed. Last night was our first Latin Mass and I was there, in choir, for the first time since October 24, and I couldn’t have been happier! It brought a newness and a fresh perspective and appreciation for the Latin Mass that was renewed yesterday. My first observation is one I have really taken to heart, because it is now something I use. When we distribute Communion at the Novus Ordo Mass we say to them, “The Body of Christ,” as most receive standing and in the hand. That always seemed to me to show a lack of reverence, almost as if I was handing out cookies to children as an after lunch treat.
I was always more impressed by the Latin formula. As communicants are kneeling at an altar rail, they receive on the tongue as they say, “Corpus Domini nostri Iesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam. Amen.” Translated, “May the body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul unto life everlasting. Amen.”
In my mind, that is more reverent and expresses an important theological truth. Thus I use the English translation when taking Communion to the homebound and hospitalized, then I say “the Body of Christ.”
But there is something that I apparently am not the only one to notice. It is the growing number of young people who attend.
I noticed that when I first started assisting at the Latin Mass. I saw the volume of young families with small children who were present, and many of them were the parents of the many youngsters who were taking part as servers and acolytes, and they showed up last night.
Just to give you an example, we had two deacons — one on the cusp of priestly Ordination, and a seminarian sitting in choir, two MCs, two altar servers and six acolytes, most under nine. And the reaction of our regular parishioners was amazement.
Several mentioned to me how they were surprised to see so many young girls dressed as if it were First Communion, and the number of men who wore ties, not to mention the veils on so many of the women and girls. They commented on the beauty of the Traditional Latin chants and hymns as well as the use of incense during certain parts of the Mass.
It all underscored what I saw from a friend of mine, an ex-con who started RCIA with me a few years ago. I had taken him to my parish church and later to the Latin Mass. Now here was a man of no faith background who was actively looking forward to his Baptism and reception into the Church. When I asked him why he was making such a transition, he said it was very simple: In the church, especially at the Latin Mass, he could feel the presence of God and that is where he wanted to be. Unfortunately for my friend, one stupid mistake caused him to be arrested and sent back to prison on a probation violation. What is worse is the correctional system was largely closed by COVID and he was confined for several years.
I continued to keep in touch with him, answering his questions about Catholicism, and sending him copies of lessons from our RCIA syllabus. I found out later he began to share those lessons with fellow inmates. After several indicated that they were Catholic, they formed a group of Catholic inmates who would meet regularly to discuss religion.
I was a bit surprised to note that his prison counselor, when writing about him to the state parole board, noted that he was the leader of the Catholic inmates group. His parole was granted and by the time this is published he should be released and his first priority is to attend the Latin Mass at his “home” parish and to finally become a baptized Catholic, a ceremony I intend to perform myself.
So why was an agnostic so attracted to the Latin Mass that his deepest desire is to become Catholic? I think it is for the same reason men showed up with ties, little girls in dresses, and the little boys are clamoring to serve as acolytes, and young families making the Latin parish its parish of choice. It is that for 2,000 years the Church has brought people to God by using all their senses. Everything that is done is clearly done for the glory of the Almighty, from the architecture to the music, stained glass, Gregorian chant, and incense. It is not that a lot of folks understand Latin, it is that the whole package combines to bring, as my friend noted, the presence of God to any with an open heart.
I know there are those who pooh-pooh the “old” Mass, and many consider it divisive. It is not. It is a unifying point that has been bringing the presence of God to the people for two centuries. I’m very proud of the part my parish is now playing in carrying out that mission, and proud of my very small part in it.
From the very first, upon Our elevation to the chief Apostleship, We gladly turned our mind and energies and directed all our thoughts to those matters which concerned the preservation of a pure liturgy, and We strove with God’s help, by every means in our power, to accomplish this purpose. For, besides other decrees of the sacred Council of Trent, there were stipulations for Us to revise and re-edit the sacred books: the Catechism, the Missal and the Breviary. With the Catechism published for the instruction of the faithful, by God’s help, and the Breviary thoroughly revised for the worthy praise of God, in order that the Missal and Breviary may be in perfect harmony, as fitting and proper – for its most becoming that there be in the Church only one appropriate manner of reciting the Psalms and only one rite for the celebration of Mass – We deemed it necessary to give our immediate attention to what still remained to be done, viz, the re-editing of the Missal as soon as possible.
Hence, We decided to entrust this work to learned men of our selection. They very carefully collated all their work with the ancient codices in Our Vatican Library and with reliable, preserved or emended codices from elsewhere. Besides this, these men consulted the works of ancient and approved authors concerning the same sacred rites; and thus they have restored the Missal itself to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers. When this work has been gone over numerous times and further emended, after serious study and reflection, We commanded that the finished product be printed and published as soon as possible, so that all might enjoy the fruits of this labor; and thus, priests would know which prayers to use and which rites and ceremonies they were required to observe from now on in the celebration of Masses.
Let all everywhere adopt and observe what has been handed down by the Holy Roman Church, the Mother and Teacher of the other churches, and let Masses not be sung or read according to any other formula than that of this Missal published by Us. This ordinance applies henceforth, now, and forever, throughout all the provinces of the Christian world, to all patriarchs, cathedral churches, collegiate and parish churches, be they secular or religious, both of men and of women – even of military orders – and of churches or chapels without a specific congregation in which conventual Masses are sung aloud in choir or read privately in accord with the rites and customs of the Roman Church. This Missal is to be used by all churches, even by those which in their authorization are made exempt, whether by Apostolic indult, custom, or privilege, or even if by oath or official confirmation of the Holy See, or have their rights and faculties guaranteed to them by any other manner whatsoever.
This new rite alone is to be used unless approval of the practice of saying Mass differently was given at the very time of the institution and confirmation of the church by Apostolic See at least 200 years ago, or unless there has prevailed a custom of a similar kind which has been continuously followed for a period of not less than 200 years, in which most cases We in no wise rescind their above-mentioned prerogative or custom. However, if this Missal, which we have seen fit to publish, be more agreeable to these latter, We grant them permission to celebrate Mass according to its rite, provided they have the consent of their bishop or prelate or of their whole Chapter, everything else to the contrary notwithstanding.
All other of the churches referred to above, however, are hereby denied the use of other missals, which are to be discontinued entirely and absolutely; whereas, by this present Constitution, which will be valid henceforth, now, and forever, We order and enjoin that nothing must be added to Our recently published Missal, nothing omitted from it, nor anything whatsoever be changed within it under the penalty of Our displeasure.
We specifically command each and every patriarch, administrator, and all other persons or whatever ecclesiastical dignity they may be, be they even cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, or possessed of any other rank or pre-eminence, and We order them in virtue of holy obedience to chant or to read the Mass according to the rite and manner and norm herewith laid down by Us and, hereafter, to discontinue and completely discard all other rubrics and rites of other missals, however ancient, which they have customarily followed; and they must not in celebrating Mass presume to introduce any ceremonies or recite any prayers other than those contained in this Missal.
Furthermore, by these presents [this law], in virtue of Our Apostolic authority, We grant and concede in perpetuity that, for the chanting or reading of the Mass in any church whatsoever, this Missal is hereafter to be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment, or censure, and may freely and lawfully be used. Nor are superiors, administrators, canons, chaplains, and other secular priests, or religious, of whatever title designated, obliged to celebrate the Mass otherwise than as enjoined by Us. We likewise declare and ordain that no one whosoever is forced or coerced to alter this Missal, and that this present document cannot be revoked or modified, but remain always valid and retain its full force notwithstanding the previous constitutions and decrees of the Holy See, as well as any general or special constitutions or edicts of provincial or synodal councils, and notwithstanding the practice and custom of the aforesaid churches, established by long and immemorial prescription – except, however, if more than two hundred years’ standing.
It is Our will, therefore, and by the same authority, We decree that, after We publish this constitution and the edition of the Missal, the priests of the Roman Curia are, after thirty days, obliged to chant or read the Mass according to it; all others south of the Alps, after three months; and those beyond the Alps either within six months or whenever the Missal is available for sale. Wherefore, in order that the Missal be preserved incorrupt throughout the whole world and kept free of flaws and errors, the penalty for nonobservance for printers, whether mediately or immediately subject to Our dominion, and that of the Holy Roman Church, will be the forfeiting of their books and a fine of one hundred gold ducats, payable ipso facto to the Apostolic Treasury. Further, as for those located in other parts of the world, the penalty is excommunication latae sententiae, and such other penalties as may in Our judgment be imposed; and We decree by this law that they must not dare or presume either to print or to publish or to sell, or in any way to accept books of this nature without Our approval and consent, or without the express consent of the Apostolic Commissaries of those places, who will be appointed by Us. Said printer must receive a standard Missal and agree faithfully with it and in no wise vary from the Roman Missal of the large type (secundum magnum impressionem).
Accordingly, since it would be difficult for this present pronouncement to be sent to all parts of the Christian world and simultaneously come to light everywhere, We direct that it be, as usual, posted and published at the doors of the Basilica of the Prince of the Apostles, also at the Apostolic Chancery, and on the street at Campo Flora; furthermore, We direct that printed copies of this same edict signed by a notary public and made official by an ecclesiastical dignitary possess the same indubitable validity everywhere and in every nation, as if Our manuscript were shown there. Therefore, no one whosoever is permitted to alter this notice of Our permission, statute, ordinance, command, precept, grant, indult, declaration, will, decree, and prohibition. Would anyone, however, presume to commit such an act, he should know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
Given at St. Peter’s in the year of the Lord’s Incarnation, 1570, on the 14th of July of the Fifth year of Our Pontificate.
Taken from: https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius05/p5quopri.htm
Full Latin text: http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0816/_P1.HTM
One of our favorite places is Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma. Abbot Philip sent this reflection, which is so apropos during this time of crisis, and we wanted to share it with you. The article can be found on their website here: https://clearcreekmonks.org/meditation-for-a-time-of-pestilence/
It would be the understatement of the millennium to suggest that, perhaps, something is awry in the world at present and that a global health crisis has sadly impacted the way we live as Catholic Christians. Not only are we witnesses to the spectacle of so many people growing ill and even dying, but the very Bread of Life entrusted to us from Heaven has been locked up in such a manner that the great number of the faithful is unable to receive this vital spiritual nourishment. I blame no one in particular.
Pandemic need not become Pandæmonium. After all, the Holy Trinity is still supreme in Heaven; the choirs of Angels still hold together in perfect order; the stars continue to follow their perpetual track; the birds are already busy building nests; and, as has been famously said, the “snail’s on the thorn”. We still have (quite intact) the faith along with all the virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit. The grace of God is operating now as ever. While some may not be able to assist in person at the Holy Sacrifice of Mass and receive Our Lord in Communion, we are free to visit in spirit all the tabernacles of the world, where the real presence reigns in humble and silent majesty. All may still receive Holy Communion in a spiritual manner. What did the Lord tell us? “But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee” (Mt. 6:6). Who cannot do this even now? We must all become contemplatives for a time.
While I well appreciate that the phenomenon of live streaming enables many faithful to participate in some manner in the celebration of Mass, I worry that some will be under the impression that their television or computer screen has become their only hope, the only contact with God that is left to them. What folly! In various times and places throughout the centuries Christians have found themselves unable for a time to receive the sacraments. Some of the first holy hermits lived so far away in the desert as never to be able to receive the Holy Eucharist. As Our Blessed Father Saint Benedict teaches us, “Let [the monk] consider that he is always beheld from heaven by God, and that his actions are everywhere seen by the eye of the Divine Majesty, and are every hour reported to Him by His angels” (Rule, Chapter 7). Each one can be creative in living the faith in this dramatic circumstance.
Who is responsible for the novel corona virus outbreak? You and I. In a time when thousands upon thousands of the unborn are legally deprived of life across the globe and when the sacred institution of marriage has been flouted and ridiculed in so many places, there should be no surprise that God would allow a microbe to bring mankind to its knees. So, what must be done? The entire world is wondering.
The Governor of Texas, it seems, has signed an executive order prohibiting counties and cities in his State from banning religious services during the coronavirus crisis. Such services will be considered essential in Texas. Now there is an Abbott after my heart: he may not be a Benedictine, but he is one courageous Abbott! Would that his wise and very practical advice be widely appreciated and taken into consideration.
We monks, the sons of Our Lady, will celebrate this year, possibly as never before, the great liturgical ceremonies of the Sacred Triduum. We will do this with you and for you (although attendance at public masses remains suspended), wherever you may be. “But the hour cometh,” said Christ to the Samaritan woman, “and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him” (Jn. 4:23). Above all, with you and for you, we will live in the joy of belonging to God of Whom no virus can deprive us. Soon the Son of God will triumph over the darkness of death. Soon the global health crisis will subside and disappear, even if more patience be needed. May our hearts be found faithful and full of that hope and love that give the supernatural measure of the great endeavor we are engaged in as Christians. “And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity” (I Cor. 13:13).
To many of the faithful, Holy Week without mass is such a foreign concept, Easter Sunday has been taken for granted. Even many who do not regularly attend mass (or even the nonbelieving) still always find themselves sitting down in a pew on Easter Sunday. This year millions of Catholics around the world will instead find themselves at home (hopefully) watching a livestream of mass instead.
What makes mass so special? Other than receiving the Body of
Christ, mass in itself is a reminder of the suffering Jesus himself went through
for our sake. This week, let’s all reflect on what we cannot attend in person.
It is my favorite sacrament, as it is the basis of Christian
life, opening the door to the other sacraments, especially the Blessed
Sacrament of the Eucharist.
As the father of a large family, a member of an even larger
family, and a member of very close-knit parish communities everywhere we’ve
lived, I have participated in many baptisms as a father, a godfather, or as a
witness.
With joy, I cry at every one of them, knowing that the
catechumen is being born into Christ’s Church a new person, cleansed in
preparation for eventually entering into the Kingdom of God.
Together with my wife, we have 11 children, 9 on this
earth. We have celebrated each of children’s
baptisms with the same joy and anticipation.
But something different occurred with this most recent
celebration. Eight of our children were
baptized in the Ordinary Form (OF), and having participated in so many
baptisms, it has become a very familiar rite.
Recently we have been attending a Mass celebrated in the
Extraordinary Form (EF) of the Roman Rite, and we have fallen deeply in love
with this liturgy. After our ninth child
was born, we asked if our daughter could be baptized according to that
traditional baptismal ritual.
Once again, we have fallen in love. In a special way, the Traditional Baptism highlights
what the sacrament is, and – just as importantly – the significance of the
godparents.
The use of the prayers of exorcism remind us that Baptism
indeed serves as an exorcism, and highlights the reality of evil in this world.
The use of the exorcised salt brings an imagination of how
the Saints of our Church celebrated this sacrament. This occurs prior to entering into the main
part of the church. The seriousness of
the sacrament is also highlighted by the changing of stoles, with violet being
used at the beginning, and changing once we moved into the church to prepare
for the anointing with the Oil of Catechumens.
But what really stood out to us was the role of the
godparents, or the sponsors, and how the questions are addressed. The sponsors, not the parents, are asked what
it is they are asking of the Church. And
the answer of faith is given by them directly.
Then, the questions become directed to the catechumen, and
being an infant, the sponsors again have the responsibility of answering on her
behalf. And, instead of the parents, the
godparents were brought into the Sanctuary. My brother and sister-in-law were
just as impressed as we were at how the Traditional Baptism highlights the
seriousness of their role as godparents.
A final observation that impressed me is how friendly the EF
is regarding Baptism to those who are not familiar with it. The Priest gently guided us through
everything, and the flow was very natural.
Darren Manthei resides just outside of Des Moines with his wife and children.
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