Online Edition:
November 2012
Vol. XVIII, No. 8
News and Views
Pope Benedict: Cherish the Rosary in the Year of Faith | Latin and the New Evangelization? | Vatican II: Study from the Archives | Gateway Liturgical Conference Focuses on Vatican II | Catholic Artists Society Mass
Pope Benedict: Cherish the Rosary in the Year of Faith
Before praying the Angelus on October 7, Pope Benedict invited everyone to “cherish the Rosary” during the Year of Faith.
“With the Rosary, in fact, we allow ourselves to be guided by Mary, the model of faith, in meditating upon the mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the Gospel so that it can shape our lives. Therefore, in the wake of my predecessors, and in particular Blessed John Paul II who ten years ago gave us his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, I invite people to pray the Rosary individually, in the family and in the community, placing themselves in the school of Mary who leads us to Christ, the living center of our faith.”
Source: Vatican Information Service
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Latin and the New Evangelization?
To promote the study of Latin, the Holy See is considering a plan for a Pontifical Latin Academy, according to a Catholic News Service report in September. CNS interviewed Monsignor Daniel B. Gallagher, the only American on a seven-man team in the Office of Latin Letters. This office is responsible for translating important Vatican documents into Latin, the official language of the Church.
Monsignor Gallagher commented: “When Catholics pray in Latin we put ourselves in a whole family of tradition,” which allows us to experience a bond with our ancestors in faith when they sang or recited the same words. He also noted the resurgent popularity of Latin classes at secular universities.
“Young people,” he said, “are searching to understand who they are and where they’ve come from, and are themselves choosing to take Latin.”
A Pontifical Latin Academy could help restore the linguistic bond that once held together a now-fragmented Western culture. It would promote the study of Latin by sponsoring international conferences in conjunction with major secular universities and organizing intensive summer language courses.
This would bring the Vatican into contact with non-Catholics, including atheists and agnostics, who share its interest in the classical heritage, Monsignor Gallagher noted — so a Pontifical Latin Academy would be a natural part of the new evangelization for reviving the Christian faith in an increasingly secular West.
Source CNS: catholicnews.com
Vatican II: Study from the Archives
The fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council occasioned a conference on research and study of the Council archives. The conference, held at the Vatican October 3-5, was organized by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, in collaboration with the Lateran University’s “Vatican Council II” Center for Research and Study. It involved an examination of the personal archives of the Council fathers in order to promote a more complete and accurate understanding of the Council.
Father Bernard Ardura, O Praem, president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, explained in a press conference October 2 that “the intention of the Pontifical Committee is to promote, in the light of the Holy Father’s Magisterium and following a strict historical-critical methodology divorced from any ideology, a pondered and academically grounded historiographical re-reading of what was undeniably ‘the great event’ of Vatican Council II.”
Philippe Chenaux, director of the Vatican Council II Center, explained that the history of Vatican Council II also involves careful consideration of the Council’s “hermeneutic” — of the views of the Council as “event” or as “rupture.” “The fundamental challenge for historians of the Council,” he said, “is how to reconcile these two opposing readings of Vatican II and its decisions”; and this means “resuming historical research on the basis of the widest possible documentation and with no ideological bias. It means avoiding the manipulation of conciliar history for ends other than the history itself, in order to achieve a more balanced and shared understanding of the event and its decisions.”
Source: Vatican Information Service
Gateway Liturgical Conference Focuses on Vatican II
“Vatican II: 50 Years Later” was the title of the 2012 Gateway Liturgical Conference, held in St. Louis, Friday, October 26.
According to Monsignor William McCumber, director of the archdiocesan Office of Sacred Worship, which sponsors the biennial conference, “the hope is to renew the fire and spirit of Vatican II … (and) provide the opportunity to reflect on Vatican II and what it means to us as a Church 50 years later.” One focus will be “to help provide parishes with new ways to follow Christ during this Year of Faith.”
Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth, executive director of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), was a featured speaker at the one-day workshop. His address: “Sacrosanctum Concilium — What have we done and what have we failed to do?”
Sister Esther Mary Nickel, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, addressed the group on “Dies Domini: Faith and Divine Worship 50 Years after the Second Vatican Council.”
“Full, Conscious, and Active Participation” was the topic addressed by Father Paul Turner, pastor of St. Anthony Parish, Kansas City, Missouri, and author of the booklet Understanding the Revised Mass Texts, among other works on the liturgy.
The conference also included Mass, four breakout sessions (including one led by Horst Buchholz, archdiocesan music director), and concluded with a question-and-answer period with the principal speakers.
"Update: Monsignor Wadsworth’s complete address will appear in the December-January issue."
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The Catholic Artists Society held its annual Mass for Artists on Sunday, September 30, 2012 at the Church of Our Saviour in New York City.
A Solemn Mass in the Ordinary Form was celebrated by Father Joseph Koterski, SJ, of Fordham University. Father Christopher Pollard (Diocese of Arlington), acted as deacon; Father Justin Wylie (Archdiocese of Johannesburg, South Africa) acted as sub-deacon.
A congregation of more than 200 participated. Music was provided by the Schola Cantorum of St. Agnes, led by James Wetzel.
In his homily, Father Koterski said that spiritual conversation is especially strong and necessary among artists. He related the story of Pope John XXIII’s friendship with the Italian sculptor Giacomo Manzù, who designed the doors for St. Peter’s that depicted death. The pope took particular interest in the artist, an unbeliever, encour- aging him by this friendship to be reconciled with his abandoned faith.
The Catholic Artists Society’s website reports on the event, with photos and recordings of the music at the Mass and Father Koterski’s homily: catholicartistssociety.posterous.com/.
Catholic Youth Choir
The National Catholic Youth Choir is seeking high school singers to audition for the 2013 camp and multi-state concert tour to be held at Saint John’s Abbey and University, Collegeville, Minnesota, June 17-July 2, 2013. Applications and auditions are due March 18, 2013. Scholarships are available.
Details: CatholicYouthChoir.org. Call 320-363-3154, or e-mail [email protected].
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