Online Edition:
March 2014
Vol. XX, No. 1
News and Views
Pope’s Message for 50th Anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium | ICEL: Progress on New Translations | Liturgy Conference in Cork, Ireland | Sacred Music Inquiry | “All Eyes Are Upon You,” CDF Prefect Tells Ordinaries | CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium XXIV | Magnificat’s 15 Years
Pope’s Message for 50th Anniversary of Sacrosanctum Concilium
Pope Francis sent a message for a symposium observing the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium — issued December 4, 1963 — the first document of the Council.
The symposium, held February 18-20, was co-sponsored by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW) and the Pontifical Council for Culture. The pope’s message was addressed to Cardinal Antonio Cañi-zares Llovera, prefect of the CDW, and participants in the symposium.
Note: As of press time, it does not yet appear on the Vatican website in English. The text below is Adoremus’s translation. (See page 3 for Cardinal George Pell’s major address on liturgical translation to this symposium.)
______
It has been 50 years since the promulgation of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, the first document promulgated by the Second Vatican Council; and this important anniversary raises feelings of gratitude for the deep and widespread renewal of liturgical life, made possible by the teaching of the Council, for the glory of God and the building up of the Church, and at the same time pushing to revive the commitment to accept and implement this teaching in an ever fuller way.
The Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium and the further developments of the Magisterium have improved our understanding of the liturgy in the light of Divine Revelation, as the “exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ” in which “the whole public worship is performed by the mystical body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the head and His members” (SC 7). Christ is revealed as the true protagonist of every celebration, and He “always associates with Himself the Church, His beloved Bride who calls to her Lord, and through Him offers worship to the Eternal Father” (ibid.). This action, which takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit, possesses a profound creative force able to attract every man and, in some way, the whole of Creation.
To celebrate true spiritual worship means to offer oneself as a living sacrifice, sacred and acceptable to God (cf Romans 12:1). A liturgy detached from spiritual worship would risk becoming empty, devoid of Christian originality, sacred in a generic sense, quasi magical, and a hollow aestheticism. As an action of Christ, liturgy has an inner impulse to be transformed in the sentiments of Christ, and in this dynamism all reality is transfigured. “Our daily life — in our body, in small things — must be profusely inspired, immersed in the divine reality, it must become action together with God. This does not mean that we must always be thinking of God, but that we must really be penetrated by the reality of God so that our whole life — and not only a few thoughts — may be liturgy, may be adoration.” (Benedict XVI from his Lectio divina to the Pontifical Major Roman Seminary, February 15, 2012.)
To give thanks to God for what it has been possible to achieve, it is necessary to unite a renewed willingness to go forward along the path indicated by the Council Fathers, as there remains much to be done for a correct and complete assimilation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy on the part of the baptized and ecclesial communities. I refer, in particular, to the commitment to a solid and organic liturgical initiation and formation, both of lay faithful as well as clergy and consecrated persons.
I express my gratitude to all who have encouraged and prepared this meeting, I hope that it will bring the desired results. For this I call on the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and cordially to you, Your Eminence, your staff, and to the speakers and all the participants, I give my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, February 18, 2014
FRANCIS
***
ICEL: Progress on New Translations
New English translations of liturgical texts produced by the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) were approved by commission members at their February 17-21 meeting in Washington, DC.
A news release signed by ICEL chairman Bishop Arthur Serratelli and executive director Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth listed items that are ready for the canonical vote of English-speaking bishops’ conferences who are members and associate-members of ICEL. The “gray books” ready for conference votes are:
-Order of the Dedication of a Church and Altar
-Rite of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications
-Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours
ICEL also announced a forthcoming “green book” for the study and comment of the bishops’ conferences: a section of hymns, antiphons, and intercessions for Advent and Christmas, intended for a revised edition of the Liturgy of the Hours.
ICEL’s work of preparing English translations of the Latin liturgical books is a service to all the English-speaking bishops’ conferences. All translations are subject to the approval of the bishops and the Holy See.
Source: ICEL
***
Liturgy Conference in Cork, Ireland
Saint Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy has announced that the Seventh Fota International Liturgy Conference will be held in Cork, Ireland, July 5-7, 2014. The theme of conference is “In Persona Christi Agens: Aspects of the Ordained Ministry.”
The topic will be addressed by an international panel of liturgical and theological experts, including Prof. Manfred Hauke (Lugano, Switzerland); Prof. Dieter Boehler (Frankfurt, Germany); Fr. Sven Conrad (Augsburg, Germany); Dr. João Paulo de Mendonça Dantas (Brazil); Prof. Michael Stickelbroeck (St. Pölten, Austria); Dr. Stefan Heid (Rome); Prof. Paul Gunter, OSB (Rome); Fr. Tom McGovern (Dublin, Ireland).
The conference is open to the public. Registrations will be accepted after Easter. For further information, contact Terry Pender: [email protected].
***
Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Pontifical Council for Culture are undertaking, with a pastoral perspective, questions about the state of sacred music in all its aspects (liturgy, formation, pastoral activity, concerts) with the aim of reflecting on the developments in the field of music and the desire to offer a contribution to the ministry of musicians for the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful.
The inquiry is aimed primarily at the “Episcopal Conferences and Major Religious Institutes and Faculties of Theology.”
The 40 questions are wide-ranging, and include topics such as what diocesan institutions there are for musical and liturgical formation; how is the Church’s musical patrimony encouraged (e.g., Gregorian chant, concerts); how does contemporary music fit into the program; is there a repertoire of liturgical music approved by the bishops’ conference; how are choirs formed; and what musical instruments are used.
The questionnaire is accessible on the website of the Pontifical Council for Culture (cultura.va) and is available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Port- uguese. Responses are requested before April 30.
Source: Pontifical Council for Culture
***
“All Eyes Are Upon You,” CDF Prefect Tells Ordinaries
“You will come under scrutiny from many quarters, All eyes are upon you!” said Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller to the three ordinaries of the Anglican Ordinariates in a meeting with them in Rome on February 18.
The ordinariates are the structures — akin to dioceses — that allow former Anglicans to enter the full communion of the Catholic Church, bringing with them much of their Anglican heritage.
The three ordinaries are Monsignor Keith Newton of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in the UK; Monsignor Jeffrey Steenson, of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter in the United States and Canada; and Monsignor Harry Entwistle, of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross in Australia.
Cardinal Müller said that because the unity of the Church was the ostensible reason for the establishment of the ordinariates, effective communion would be a principal measure against which ordinariate communities would be judged.
Concerning the sacred liturgy, the cardinal pointed out that “Anglicans will be interested in how well you are able to make a home in the Catholic Church that is more than just assimilation, while Catholics will want to know that you are here to stay, strengthening our ecclesial cohesion rather than setting yourselves apart as another divisive grouping within the Church… It is your delicate, but all-important task both to preserve the integrity and distinctiveness of your parish communities and, at the same time, help your people integrate into the larger Catholic community.…
“I want you to know that I have spoken to our Holy Father, Pope Francis, about the ordinariates and the particular gift they are to the Church. The Holy Father is following the development of the ordinariates with great interest,” he said.
The ordinaries’ visit to Rome was the first time they had all met together in the three years since the first of the ordinariates was established, in accordance with Pope Benedict’s 2009 Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus.
Source: News release of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham: ordinariate.org.uk
***
CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium XXIV
The Catholic Music Association of America is sponsoring its Sacred Music Colloquium XXIV June 30-July 6, 2014, in Indianapolis, Indiana. The CMAA website announces:
“You are invited to experience the Sacred Music Colloquium, the largest and most in-depth teaching conference and retreat on sacred music in the world. Our 2014 program offers new and expanded opportunities for learning, singing, listening, and interacting with the best minds and musicians in the Catholic world today!
“The primary focus of the Colloquium is instruction and experience in chant and the Catholic sacred music tradition, participation in chant choirs, daily and nightly lectures and performances, and daily celebrations of liturgies in both English and Latin. You are there not merely as an attendee but as an integral part of the greatest music you will ever experience. It will touch your heart and thrill your artistic imagination.
“Attendance is open to anyone interested in improving the quality of music in Catholic worship. Professional musicians will appreciate the rigor, while enthusiastic volunteer singers and beginners new to the chant tradition will enjoy the opportunity to study under an expert faculty.”
The 2014 Colloquium features more than 25 distinguished faculty members — among them:
Dr. William Mahrt, CMAA president, Stanford University; Dr. Horst Buchholz, St. Louis Cathedral, CMAA vice-president, and his wife, Dr. Mee Ae Nam, Eastern Michigan University; Dr. Denis McNamara and Adam Bartlett, Liturgical Institute of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary; Arlene Oost-Zinner, CMAA Programs Director, St. Cecilia Schola; Dr. Susan Treacy, Ave Maria University; and Scott Turkington, Director of Sacred Music, Holy Family Church and Holy Family Academy, Minneapolis.
For more information on the colloquium and registration, visit CMAA’s website: musicasacra.com.
***
A unique publication that has become indispensable for many Catholics in America is Magnificat.
This monthly magazine, which contains the liturgy, prayers, meditations, and art, was originally published in France by Pierre Dumont, layman and father of 12, who launched the American edition in 1998. It is edited by Father Peter John Cameron, OP, and it now reaches about 500,000 readers in the US and UK. It is also is published in Spanish, German, Lithuanian, and Slovenian.
In an interview last December, during the celebration of Magnificat’s 15th anniversary of publication in the United States, Mr. Dumont was asked if Magnificat is a “laicized” version of the Liturgy of the Hours, to which he responded:
“In a way, yes, but it is much more than that. All Christian life is centered on the gift of the Son back to the Father: the Eucharist. From this flows all authentic Christian prayer, and so the structure of Magnificat became immediately apparent to me. Around daily Mass there needed to be a prayer for the morning and the evening adapted from the Liturgy of the Hours, and a daily meditation as food for a bit of reflection. It is a simple way to heed St. Paul’s encouragement to ‘pray without ceasing.’”
Father Cameron observed that “Readers speak of Magnificat as if it is their daily staple, their lifeline, their friend. I have heard stories of parents reading Meditations of the Day over the phone to their children away at college, perfect strangers becoming instant friends simply by spotting Magnificat in each others’ hands, Magnificat being read at a death bed to bring comfort to the dying and solace to those they love.”
Magnificat has expanded their publications to include a children’s version, MagnifiKid, and other books; and they also published the Roman Missal in both altar and chapel versions. (Full disclosure: the altar Missal includes a drawing by your AB editor of the French Jesuit martyr Saint Jean de Brébeuf: adoremus.org/1299-100-Huron.html).
Visit Magnificat’s website to view their publications or subscribe: magnificat.com.
****
***
*