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Let us Sing the Sacred Music of the Mass

December 16th, 2024

What is the Mass, What is Sacred Music, What is the Sacred Music of the Mass?

The following sections address each of these questions.

What is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?

In the presence of Christ,
by the power of His Word and His Spirit,
we, the body of Christ on this earth,
re-enter through anamnesis into Christ’s one eternal self-Sacrifice at the Altar –
His crucifixion on the Cross at Calvary –
for the sake of our salvation
(Catechism of the Catholic Church §1358-).

From His Sacrifice,
Christ gives us His very self, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity,
through Holy Communion, in the same way that the Apostles received them from the hands of Jesus Christ Himself
(General Instruction of the Roman Missal §72).

With all that is concentrated into this perpetual gift of the Eucharist, the Sacrament from which all other sacraments flow,
we should always be in awe of the Mystery of our Faith.
We should offer our thanks, in a dignified celebration worthy of Christ’s Sacrifice.

What is Sacred Music?

“The more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration, and savour the Gregorian melodic form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple” (Saint Popes John Paul II and Pius X).

Pope Francis, addressing the Italian Saint Cecilia Association in 2019, offered that Sacred Music is Holy Music, for the liturgical rites which are holy. Sacred music is to be adorned with nobility of art, because we must give our best to God. And it must be universal, that is Catholic, so that everyone can understand and participate. Especially it should be well distinct and separate (holy) from music used for other purposes. Sacred music must be joined with the beauty of the Mass in a harmonious and devout synthesis.

Pope Francis exhorted them, and us, to devote ourselves to the Sacred Music that is an integral part of the Liturgy, with Gregorian chant inspiring us as the first model. “Take care together for artistic and liturgical preparation, and promote the presence of the schola cantorum in every parish community.”

Saint Gregory Stained Glass at Saint Michael’s Basilica

To hold the title of Basilica, a church must have a schola cantorum. This is to help the whole parish. As Pope Francis said in his address: ‘sacred music builds bridges, brings people closer, even those far away; it knows no barriers of nationality, ethnicity, skin color, but draws in everyone, in a higher language, and always succeeds in bringing into harmony people and groups, even of very different origins. Sacred music brings people closer, even with brothers to whom we sometimes do not feel close. For this reason, the singing group in every parish is a group where there is an atmosphere of availability and mutual help.’

Saint Pope John Paul II, who conferred the title Minor Basilica to Saint Michael the Archangel Church in 1989, agreed that sacred music must possess the proper sense of prayer, dignity, and beauty – in order to not preclude entry into the sacred liturgy.
“From the smooth coordination of all – the priest celebrant and the deacon, the acolytes, the altar servers, the readers, the psalmist, the schola cantorum, the musicians, the cantor and the assembly – flows the proper spiritual atmosphere which makes the liturgical moment truly intense, shared in and fruitful. The musical aspect of liturgical celebrations cannot, therefore, be left to improvisation or to the arbitration of individuals but must be well conducted and rehearsed in accordance with the norms and competencies resulting from a satisfactory liturgical formation” (Chirograph§8).

This is not simply papal preference, this is the Law and teaching of the Church, through its Second Vatican Council, in Sacrosanctum Concilium §116: “The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.”
For the purpose of Sacred Music is “the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful”(SC§112).

Saint Caecilia Stained Glass at Saint Michael’s Basilica

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal instructs us on the Liturgy and the Word to be offered each day, along with the ministries to be served and the vestments to be worn, down to the colour. Music can be no different.

The Church’s instruction includes a section on the importance of singing the Mass (GIRM§§39-41): ‘The main place should be given, all things being equal, to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy… to foster the participation of all the faithful.’

The oft-heard phrase ‘full, active, conscious, participation’ in the Mass actually refers to the singing of the Mass parts in Gregorian Chant (see the first use of the phrase in the papal document Tra le sollicitudini).

What is the Sacred Music of the Mass?

Bishop Kemme offers a beautiful exhortation, in his recent letter, Let us Sing with the Lord: “my humble guidance is to turn our attention toward the texts of the Mass, which the Church herself invites us to sing. For example, just as the Church proposes texts for us to sing for the Responsorial Psalm and Alleluia, we also have proper texts intended to be sung at the Entrance, Offertory, and Communion processions.”

“These scripture verses, commonly called the Entrance, Offertory, and Communion Antiphons, are chosen by the Church to help reveal the particular mystery being celebrated. Therefore, rather than agonize over which hymn to choose, it seems fitting and preferable to use the texts provided by the Church as they are found in the Roman Missal and the Roman Gradual.”

“At first, singing the antiphons may seem like a significant shift; however, it is a form of singing that we are already familiar with since singing the antiphons with their Psalm verses resembles the singing of the Responsorial Psalm. The antiphons, with their Psalm verses, are a part of Christ’s prayer to the Father, and when we sing them in the liturgy, we unite our voice to the voice of Christ.”

“What I desire most for sacred music in the liturgy is to shift our mindset from singing AT Mass to singing THE Mass. This may seem like a minute distinction, but I believe it is crucial. Utilizing the texts Christ has given us through the Church, we can restore the sacred and transcendent nature of the liturgy, emphasizing three important principles: the sanctity of sacred music, the intrinsic beauty of sacred music, and the universality of sacred music.”

A conclusion

Picture Christ and His apostles at the Last Supper, before Gethsemene, before Golgotha, before His Crucifixion. “Father, take this chalice from Me, but not My will, but Yours, be done…” (Luke 22:40–46; Matthew 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42).

What music is worthy of this moment that we are entering into?
Sacred Music.

The Last Supper, as depicted within the Privileged Altar of Saint Michael the Archangel Basilica. Photo by Oji Thomas.

‘The whole point of our life in this world is to get us ready for Heaven. We have to be capable of the life of Heaven. Sacred music is one of the key ways we are able to do that. The beauty of sacred music opens our heart to the beauty of God. Spending time with God gets us ready for Heaven.’ (Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, quoted from the Square Notes podcast season 6 episode 13).

What’s so great about Gregorian Chant?

Gregorian plainchant is wholly concentrated on the text of Sacred Scripture, the Word of God, not on external musical structures.
Chant is naturally, rhythmically, free, unrestricted by rigid musical structures. Chant is exalted, elevated speech, beyond the mundane, providing ritual impact.

Gregorian Chant actually fosters participative singing. It is authentic dialogue, in a natural flow, simple to hear and learn by ear. It is what we do with the Psalms, chanting one verse back, in response to the verses chanted by the cantor or choir. Responding in chant is more authentic than disjointed, jarring, interruptive music.

Gregorian Chant also fosters an appreciation of what God wishes to speak to us through Sacred text, without disruptive musicality interrupting and distracting from the Word.

What about praise and worship music?

Great. We need it. We need to hear it, to celebrate it, to praise God, to lift our spirits with music.

But not at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Christ’s self-offering to God the Father in the Holy Spirit, the fruits of which we experience in Holy Communion. In the Mass, we are to enter into what Christ asks us to do, in “Remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19–20; Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24).

Praise and worship is not necessarily true to the Biblical and liturgical texts of the Mass; that is not its intent. Praise and worship is about experiencing and living and ‘feeling’ the faith in the here and now… not about the Transcendence of the timeless anamnesis of the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

What does the General Instruction of the Roman Missal ask, for Music in the Mass?

The entirety of the Mass may be sung, in accord with the Solemnity of the celebration. If the entirety of the Mass will not be sung, ‘one should start with the parts that are by their nature of greater importance, and especially those which are to be sung by the priest or by the ministers, with the people replying, or those which are to be sung by the priest and people together’ (GIRM § 40, from Musicam Sacram §7).

Singing is an integral part of the Church’s liturgy.
So closely is song joined to the Church’s celebration that the Eucharist may be described as sung prayer.
The assembly’s song is rooted in its faith in the Sacred Mysteries celebrated in the Church’s Eucharist.
The experience of Communion of Life in the God of Salvation gives rise to songs of joy that come from the human heart.
The solemn liturgy of the Church is filled with song: in its processions, its Psalms and ℟esponses, its Acclamations, and its communal prayers, particularly the Eucharistic Prayer.  
Particular attention should be given in every Eucharist to the singing of the Psalm, the Gospel Acclamation, and the acclamations of the Eucharistic Prayer, especially the Great Amen (GIRM Pastoral Note § 80).

In terms of the style of singing of the Mass, ‘the main place should be given to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy. Other kinds of sacred music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded, provided that they correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action and that they foster the participation of all the faithful. Since the faithful from different countries come together ever more frequently, it is desirable that they know how to sing together at least some parts of the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, especially the Profession of Faith and the Lord’s Prayer, according to the simpler settings’ (GIRM § 41, from VCII’s Sacrosanctum Concilium § 116).

There should be harmony and diligence among all those involved in the effective preparation of each liturgical celebration in accordance with the Missal and other liturgical books, both as regards the rites and as regards the pastoral and musical aspects. This should take place under the direction of the rector of the church. The Priest who presides at the celebration always retains the right of arranging those things that pertain to him (GIRM § 111).

Among the faithful, the schola cantorum, or a choir, exercises a liturgical function, its place being to take care that the parts proper to it, in keeping with the different genres of chant, are properly carried out, and to foster the active participation of the faithful, by means of singing.
What is said about the schola cantorum also applies, with due regard for the relevant norms, to other musicians, and especially the organist (GIRM § 103).
It is fitting that there be a cantor, or a choir director, to direct and support the faithful’s singing. Indeed, when there is no choir, it is up to the cantor to direct the chants, with the faithful taking their proper parts (GIRM § 104).

The Entrance

When the people are gathered, the Priest enters with the ministers, the Entrance Chant begins. Its purpose is to open the celebration, foster the unity of those who have been gathered, introduce their thoughts to the Mystery of the liturgical time or festivity, and accompany the procession of the Priest and ministers’ (GIRM § 47). This is to turn the faithful’s minds and hearts to prayer (GIRM Pastoral Note § 86).

The entrance chant is sung by the choir and the people, or by a cantor and the people. In the dioceses of Canada the Entrance Chant may be chosen from among the following: the antiphon with its Psalm from the Graduale Romanum or the Propers of the Mass, or another chant that is suited to the sacred action, the day, or the time of year, and whose text has been approved by the Conference of Bishops of Canada (GIRM § 48).
If a hymn is to replace the liturgy of the day, the most useful and suitable will be seasonal songs of praise that capture the spirit of the journey, with a refrain, that the assembly knows well and can sing easily (GIRM Pastoral Note § 126).

If there is no singing at the Entrance, the antiphon given in the Missal is recited either by the faithful, or by a reader, or the Priest (GIRM § 48).

Processions signify the ongoing journey of God’s people to the fullness of the Kingdom. Processions are by nature festive liturgical actions that evoke joyous songs of praise. Whenever possible, therefore, processions are accompanied by song. The Psalms and litanies are particularly well suited to accompany processions. When a cantor sings the verses and the choir and assembly sing the refrain, the participants are freed from using hymn books and allowed either to take part directly in the procession or to follow its movement (GIRM Pastoral Note § 78).

Yet, since the Introductory Rites are preparatory, the parts of this rite to be sung should be carefully chosen so as not to prolong the rite unduly, overload it musically by singing all the parts of the Introductory Rites, or give these rites an undue emphasis over and above the Liturgies of the Word and Eucharist (GIRM, Pastoral Note § 117).

The Gloria in excelsis

The Gloria in excelsis, Glory to God in the Highest, is a most ancient and venerable hymn by which the Church, gathered in the Holy Spirit, glorifies and entreats God the Father and the Lamb.
Its text may not be replaced by any other.
It is intoned by the Priest, and sung either by everyone together, or by the people alternately with the choir, or by the choir alone (GIRM § 53).
See here for the proper Gloria accompaniment from ICEL, and from ICEL for Canada.

The Liturgy of the Word – the Psalm

The psalmist, or cantor of the Psalm, sings the Psalm verses at the ambo or another suitable place, while the whole congregation listens, normally taking part by means of the ℟esponse (GIRM § 61).

Cantors or psalmists are both ministers of music and ministers of the Word. They sing the Scriptural Psalm and open out to the household of faith the ancient prayer book and hymn book of the Church and of Jesus Christ Himself (GIRM Pastoral Notes § 52).

‘The cantor unfolds the Word of God in song, making its inner meaning and depth intelligible to the assembly by allowing them to meditate on it. A clear voice is one of the cantor’s special gifts, for the Word must be heard and understood by all’ (GIRM Pastoral Note § 159).

The responsorial Psalm is more than a response to the first reading: it is a sung proclamation of God’s Word and fosters meditation on what the faithful have heard. As the name implies, the Psalm is sung in responsorial style: the cantor sings the verses of the psalm and the assembly repeats the refrain. This continues the dialogue between God and the people begun in the first reading (GIRM Pastoral Note § 166).

The Psalm is a Hebrew prayer in song.
Every effort should be made to ensure that it is sung.
It may be sung in one of two ways, either responsorially or directly.
Singing the Psalm responsorially is the preferred method.
In this case the refrain should be selected so that it can be sung easily by the entire assembly.
Singing the appointed Psalm and refrain for the day is preferred.  Fidelity to the scriptural text requires that the Psalm be proclaimed, not in a modified version, but as it has been handed down.  It is the cantor’s special gift to interpret the psalm and capture the many nuances of the text.  
After the period of silence, the cantor approaches the ambo to lead the Psalm.  
Cantors may hold their book or place it beside the Lectionary on the ambo (GIRM Pastoral Note § 167).
The cantor must sing the refrain clearly since the whole community will repeat it.  This pattern continues throughout the psalm
The choir may enhance the refrain by adding parts to the principal melodic line once the congregation is secure with the melody.  After singing the Psalm, the cantor then returns to their place (GIRM Pastoral Note § 168).  

The Liturgy of the Word – the Acclamation before the Gospel

In the Gospel acclamation, the gathering of the faithful welcomes and greets the Lord who is about to speak to them in the Gospel and profess their faith by means of the chant (GIRM § 62).

The cantor sings the acclamation; the assembly repeats it.
The cantor sings the intervening verse and the assembly repeats the acclamation (GIRM Pastoral Note § 175).

The Liturgy of the Eucharist – the Preparation of the Gifts

“The procession bringing the gifts is accompanied by the Offertory Chant… the norms on the manner of singing are the same as for the Entrance Chant. Singing may always accompany the rite at the Offertory, even when there is no procession with the gifts” (GIRM § 74).
Music unifies the various actions that make up the preparation rites at the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
It should start when the gifts are brought forward, and extend through the washing of the hands.
The Offertory Chant or instrumental music serves this purpose well.  
When there is no music, the Priest may say aloud the two prayers: “Blessed are you….” The assembly may then respond with the acclamation “Blessed be God forever” (GIRM Pastoral Note § 205).

The Liturgy of the Eucharist – the Eucharistic Prayer

In the Acclamation, the whole assembly joins with the heavenly powers in singing the Sanctus (Holy, Holy Holy… GIRM § 79).

In the Memorial acclamationt, the Mystery of Faith, is acclaimed by the Priest (not the Deacon), since it is an integral part of the prayer itself, not an invitation. The assembly responds immediately with the response (GIRM Pastoral Note § 225).

The concluding Doxology expresses the glorification of God, to be affirmed with the the people’s acclamation of the great Amen. (GIRM § 79). The Doxology characterizes the whole prayer as a prayer of praise, and the Great Amen publicly and joyfully proclaims that the assembly, united to Christ himself by the Holy Spirit, says “yes” to the Father for the great gifts of life and salvation. With the Great Amen, the assembly affirms all that has been prayed. It is thus the most significant acclamation of the entire celebration and should resound with conviction, power and joy (GIRM Pastoral Note § 230).

The Liturgy of the Eucharist – Communion

The Communion Chant begins while the Priest is receiving the Sacrament. ‘This is to express the spiritual union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness to heart, and to bring out more clearly the communitarian character of the procession to receive the Eucharist’ (GIRM § 86).
It is sung either by the choir alone, or by the choir or a cantor with the people, or by the Priest himself after he has received Communion and before he distributes Communion to the faithful.
The Communion chant extends throughout the procession, concluding before the Prayer after Communion (GIRM Pastoral Note § 267).
The signing is prolonged for as long as the Sacrament is being administered to the faithful. The Communion chant may be followed with a hymn or instrumental music ending in a timely manner after the purification of the sacred vessels.

It is important that music accompany the communion procession, since it strengthens the communal dimension of the rite, and allows the assembly to express its joy. Texts that speak of unity, covenant, peace, joy, or other aspects of the liturgical action are particularly appropriate. Songs of praise and thanksgiving may also be used.
The unity of the rite is best served by a single communion song.
Thus it is generally not advisable to sing a second hymn immediately after the communion song, since this would overload the rite. The hymn or psalm can be extended by instrumental interludes.  A psalm sung in responsorial style can be extended during the entire procession; it engages the assembly in a repeated refrain that can be sung on the move. A metrical hymn, or a chorus to a hymn, if well enough known to be sung without books, can also be sung in procession (GIRM Pastoral Note § 256).

‘In the dioceses of Canada singing at Communion may be chosen from among the following: the antiphon from the Graduale Romanum, with or without the Psalm, or the antiphon with Psalm from the Graduale Simplex, or some other suitable liturgical chant approved by the Conference of Bishops of Canada’ (GIRM § 87).

Closing Procession

“Although a closing procession is customary, none has ever been mentioned in the rite. It appears to have been the practice for the assembly simply to leave in an informal manner.
This informal kind of departure may be seen as the natural thing for a household to do at the end of a celebration.
When this practice is followed, instrumental music appropriately accompanies the departure.
The closing procession is the movement of the assembly outward toward the world and onto its continuing journey toward the fullness of the kingdom” (GIRM Pastoral Note § 293).
Memorial of Saint Lucy

December 13th, 2024

From the early saints in the Roman Canon, ‘Saint Agatha, Saint Lucy, Saint Agnes, Saint Cecilia, Saint Anastasia…’ Saint Lucy’s journey in Faith, commemorated in our Advent Season, began with a pilgrimage with and for healing for her hemorrhaging mother, to the tomb of Saint Agatha.

When Lucia and her mother reached Agatha’s tomb, they heard the preaching of the Gospel of the healing of the hemorrhaging woman (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34 and Luke 8:43-48).

Lucia’s young intercessory prayer to Agatha for her mother was met by a vision of Agatha, saying, your prayer to God suffices, your mother is already healed…

Lucia vows perpetual virginity to serve the Lord after this.
She is found out by Roman authorities, but she is miraculously preserved from all the evils they try to inflict upon her.
They try to move her; many soldiers cannot.
They try to take her eyes; the light of her eyes does not fail.
They try to burn her; the fire will not alight.
They resort to the sword.

She remains venerated in the Roman Canon of the Mass we celebrate today.

Last Communion of Saint Lucy, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo

This day we celebrate, a virgin pure and fair,
Lucy of Syracuse, filled with a love so rare.

Chorus: Pray for us, blessed saint, without God’s grace we faint,
Sancta Lucia, Sancta Lucia.

Beloved by Agatha, cure of her mother’s pain,
Singing Maranatha, Christ’s bride, cruelly slain. (Chorus)

Now to angelic heights, we praise her name at Mass;
Her soul reflects His light, shining like stained glass. (Chorus)

Dear patron of our eyes, unmoved by soldiers’ might,
Graciously hear our cries, help us to see aright. (Chorus)
Song of Sancta Lucia, sung to the tune of Santa Lucia, in Drinking with the Saints by Michael P. Foley.
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

December 12th, 2024

Our Lady of Guadalupe Icon

My first experience of celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe was in a late evening candlelit procession down to a tiny 15th-century Cistercian chapel in the backyard of the American College of the Immaculate Conception in Leuven, Belgium in 2003.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is known as Star of the Evangelization of Peoples, Heavenly Patroness of Latin America, and Our Lady of Mexico. Juan Diego, to whom she appeared on a Mexican hill in 1531, evangelized a continent. That humble servant was proclaimed a saint in 2002. Since 2002, the Bishops of Canada have observed a National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples.

These things were much less known to me, than to the devoted Americans and Latin Americans I was processing with in 2003, in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In Belgium, we pilgrims from the Americas were small in number but rapturous even so. I could only imagine the fervor of thousands of pilgrims descending upon Mexico’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Cistercian chapel at the American College in Leuven, Belgium in 2003.

“A great portent appeared: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”
Revelation 12:1

This image from the Book of Revelation matches the appearance of Our Lady of Gudalupe to Juan Diego in this feast day’s readings.
Mary appeared to him emblazoned by stars, pregnant with divine presence, eclipsing the Aztec sun god with her own rays, and with the Aztec moon dragon serpent under her heel (Genesis 3:15; Bulzacchelli, 2011, p.49).
Our Lady appeared with the good news of the true God, and she identified herself to Juan Diego with a title sounding like the prominent Marian Shrine of Guadalupe in Spanish, or “the one who crushes the head of the serpent” in Juan Diego’s language (Fr. William Saunders, 2004).
This was an announcement of the victory of Christ the King come to give life abundantly (John 10:10). This overturned a culture of death in the Aztec practice of religious warfare and human sacrifice.

“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Messiah have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
Revelation 12:10

The feast day readings do not offer a psalm in response to this Revelation. Rather, we have a reading from Judith, “blessed by the Most High God above all other women” for serving God’s Will (Judith 13).
This is a precursor to Luke’s Gospel titling Mary as ‘blessed among women’ (Luke 1:39-47).
Judith was recognized for serving God’s Will in a period of religious warfare in Israel’s history, but military strategy and violence could not bring about lasting peace.
Mary and Elizabeth served God’s Will and brought about life. Christ’s Sacrifice brought about eternal life, and peace to people of good will.

Mary revealed to Juan Diego the true “God of the living, by whom all live, the Creator of persons, of closeness and immediacy, of heaven and earth” (Benedict XVI Homily from his Apostolic Journey to Mexico).

Our society awaits and expects many things at this time.
We prepare for the coming of our Messiah in this Advent Season, and for the Day of the Lord.
Let us learn with her God’s Will for us, and like Juan Diego, make the good news of our salvation known to others.
Pope Francis’ Encyclical ‘Dilexit nos,’ on the Sacred Heart of Jesus

October 25th, 2024

Pope Francis offers a letter on the devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, from his meditations and appeals in June, the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart, in advance of the anniversary of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque’s December vision of Christ’s heart of burning charity. See his letter, Delixit nos, here.

From the letter,

‘The symbol of the heart has often been used to express the love of Jesus Christ. Some have questioned whether this symbol is still meaningful today. Yet living as we do in an age of superficiality, rushing frenetically from one thing to another without really knowing why, and ending up as insatiable consumers and slaves to the mechanisms of a market unconcerned about the deeper meaning of our lives, all of us need to rediscover the importance of the heart’ (§2).

But ‘the heart continues to be seen in the popular mind as the affective centre of each human being, so it remains the best means of signifying the divine love of Christ, united forever and inseparably to His wholly human love’ (§61).

‘If we devalue the heart, we also devalue what it means to speak from the heart, to act with the heart, to cultivate and heal the heart. If we fail to appreciate the specificity of the heart, we miss the messages that the mind alone cannot communicate; we miss out on the richness of our encounters with others; we miss out on poetry. We also lose track of history and our own past, since our real personal history is built with the heart. At the end of our lives, that alone will matter’ (§11).

‘The heart makes all authentic bonding possible, since a relationship not shaped by the heart is incapable of overcoming the fragmentation caused by individualism… A society dominated by narcissism and self-centredness will increasingly become “heartless”. This will lead in turn to the “loss of desire”, since as other persons disappear from the horizon we find ourselves trapped within walls of our own making, no longer capable of healthy relationships. As a result, we also become incapable of openness to God’ (§17).

Over these ruins wracked by hatred and violence, Saint John Paul explained that by entrusting ourselves together to the heart of Christ, “the greatly desired civilization of love, the Kingdom of the heart of Christ, can be built” (§182). ‘In union with Christ, amid the ruins we have left in this world by our sins, we are called to build a new civilization of love. That is what it means to make reparation as the heart of Christ would have us do. Amid the devastation wrought by evil, the heart of Christ desires that we cooperate with him in restoring goodness and beauty to our world’ (§182).

‘The Christian message is attractive when experienced and expressed in its totality: not simply as a refuge for pious thoughts or an occasion for impressive ceremonies. What kind of worship would we give to Christ if we were to rest content with an individual relationship with him and show no interest in relieving the sufferings of others or helping them to live a better life? Would it please the heart that so loved us, if we were to bask in a private religious experience while ignoring its implications for the society in which we live? Let us be honest and accept the word of God in its fullness. On the other hand, our work as Christians for the betterment of society should not obscure its religious inspiration, for that, in the end, would be to seek less for our brothers and sisters than what God desires to give them’ (§205).

Let us begin by working on our own hearts, with Pope Benedict XVI’s suggestion, ‘to recognize in the heart of Christ an intimate and daily presence in our lives: “Every person needs a ‘centre’ for their own life, a source of truth and goodness to draw upon in the events, situations and struggles of daily existence. All of us, when we pause in silence, need to feel not only the beating of our own heart, but deeper still, the beating of a trustworthy presence, perceptible with faith’s senses and yet much more real: the presence of Christ, the heart of the world” (§81).

We can work on our hearts in Eucharistic Adoration, where Saint John Henry Newman ‘encountered the living heart of Jesus, capable of setting us free, giving meaning to each moment of our lives, and bestowing true peace’ (§26) and offered this prayer:

O most Sacred, most loving Heart of Jesus,
Thou art concealed in the Holy Eucharist, and Thou beatest for us still…
I worship Thee then with all my best love and awe, with my fervent affection, with my most subdued, most resolved will.
O my God, when Thou dost condescend to suffer me to receive Thee, to eat and drink Thee, and Thou for a while takest up Thy abode within me, O make my heart beat with Thy Heart.
Purify it of all that is earthly, all that is proud and sensual, all that is hard and cruel, of all perversity, of all disorder, of all deadness.
So fill it with Thee, that neither the events of the day nor the circumstances of the time may have power to ruffle it, but that in Thy love and Thy fear it may have peace.
Holy Guardian Angels

October 2nd, 2024
Personal and immortal spiritual creatures of pure intellect and will, angels, meaning, messengers, with their whole being, are servants of God, always beholding His face, always hearkening to the voice of His Word (CCC §§ 328-330).

From infancy to death, human life is surrounded by the watchful care and intercession of their guardian angel. “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading them to life.” Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God.

– Catechism of the Catholic Church § 336
What good tasks do our Guardian Angels perform for us?
According to the direction of divine providence, they:
1. protect our body, especially before we reach the age of wisdom;
2. prevent demons from harming us;
3. inspire good and holy thoughts;
4. offer our prayers to God, and join their prayers to ours;
5. console souls in purgatory, and conduct souls to heaven.
What are our duties toward our Guardian Angel?

We should have:
1. respect for his presence;
2. devotion, because of his great care for us;
3. confidence in his protection, but without presumption;
4. docility to his illumination and direction, which comes from God.
– Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith, p. 24
Let us pray to our Guardian Angel:

Angel of God, my guardian dear,
To whom His love commits me here;
Ever this day, be at my side,
To light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.

Holy Guardian Angel – Stained Glass in Our Lady’s Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel Basilica
Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Doctor of the Church

September 3rd, 2024

‘Great indeed is the value of active life, but contemplation is better…whereas the works of the active life disappear with the body, the joys of contemplation wax greater with the end of this life’

– Gregory the Great, Morals in Job, 6.61

To aid our contemplation, Gregory the Great organized and contributed to the sacred music of the Church that bears his name, Gregorian Chant.

Saint Gregory Stained Glass at Saint Michael’s Basilica
Jesus was transfigured before them, His face shone like the sun… He charged them, ‘Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead’ (Matthew 17)

August 6th, 2024

After this Transfiguration event,
after the Passion, crucifixion, death, and glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Peter, and James, and John, do testify to all these events.

Peter and the Apostles hand on not devised myth, but their own eyewitness accounts, unto their martyrdoms (2 Peter 1:16-19).

They give their testimony, in word and in writing for us, that they saw the Son of Man, the beloved Son of God, transfigured, glorified, in light.

The Transfiguration, icon by Jonathan Pageau

The natural light of the sun is obscured by the shining cloud, the shekinah glory, of the Holy Spirit.

The voice of God the Father comes through this supernatural light, giving the testimony for His beloved Son, who fulfills the Law of Moses and all the prophecies of Elijah and all the prophets.

‘Listen to Him.’

Saint Peter writes, testifies, that we will do well to be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place… as a morning star, rising in our hearts.

This is what the Transfiguration event can be for us now, a day star rising in our hearts.

Not long ago, we commemorated the great Solemnity of Pentecost, when Christ’s Church on earth began in earnest, in the power of the Holy Spirit, two millenia ago.

Since then, each Lord’s Day, we have prayed over the Gospel Word, from the calling of the Apostles. Peter, James, John, Andrew, all the apostles, handed on this Word of the Lord by their testimony. They handed on their testimony in unbroken lines of succession through the generations of bishops. As Saint Peter writes, the Gospel Word, and testimony, is not cleverly devised myth but simple Truth, explained to disciples, and openly sown in parables for all to hear, in these open, inviting, engaging stories, so that all may find in their fields the beautiful pearl of Truth of the Word of God.

Since Pentecost, our Christian mission handed down to us by Christ, through all apostles and disciples, is to go, make disciples of all, and teaching all of the Gospel Word, following on the Way of the Lord, until we enter into the Lord’s heavenly wedding banquet, when we will see Christ in all His power and glory over heaven and earth (see the Great Commission in Matthew 28).

The Way of the Lord for us in this life is to follow in virtue, in the beatitudes, pursuing what is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious, as Saint Paul encourages (Philippians 4:8).

Our Lord reminds us, that with His Holy Spirit, He is with us always, to that end. Just as Jesus’ raiment became dazzling white, our Baptismal white robes of the saved in the Book of Revelation ( 7:9,13 19:14) will be our wedding garment for entry into the heavenly banquet (Matthew 22).

Sometimes, though, in this journey in faith, we may feel alone, struggling, this journey may become a slog. Our Lord is gentle, humble in heart, he offers to help us take up our yoke, to make our burden one of light, as in the light of the Transfiguration (Matthew 11).

Sometimes, though, we may feel in the dark, in darkness, so in need of our Lord’s promise of light.

So our Lord offers us this great example of a mountaintop experience, this peak experience. Mount Tabor is a 1,600 foot hike up an isolated rocky outcrop. As our late pope Benedict XVI observed, this place of ascent is ‘a liberation from the burden of everyday life, a breathing in of the pure air of creation and its beauty; it gives one an inner peak to stand on and an intuitive sense of the Creator’ (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth).

Our Lord gives this day star to rise in the hearts of His chosen apostles, to help them through what comes next in their journey. To get them through Gethsemene, the dark of the valley at the foot of the mount of olives. To again quote Benedict XVI: ‘It was here that Jesus experienced that final loneliness, the whole anguish of the human condition… Here He was to quake with the foreboding of His imminent death. Here He was kissed by the betrayer. Here He was abandoned by all the disciples…
because He is the Son, He sees with total clarity the whole foul flood of evil, all the power of lies and pride, all the wiles and cruelty of the evil that masks itself as life yet constantly serves to destroy, debase, and crush life. All this He must take into Himself, so that it can be disarmed and defeated in Him ’ (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth – Holy Week).

Christ does this for us. He glorifies the bodily form He shares with all humanity, to remove the scandal of the Cross from the hearts of His disciples, showing the shining destiny to be fulfilled in the Resurrection (Preface of the Transfiguration).

Christ turns Gethsemene back into the Garden of eternal life.
Can you drink the cup which I must drink and be baptized with the baptism which I must undergo? (Matthew 20:20-28)

July 25th, 2024

Salome, mother of James and John, wife of Zebedee, is a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto the foot of His Cross, unto His burial in the tomb (Mark 15:40-16:1).

She seeks salvation for her sons, that they may be at the Lord’s right and left hand in His Kingdom.

‘Can you drink the Chalice of My Blood, to be poured out for you and for many, for Salvation? Can You be Baptized with My Baptism?’

‘We can.’

James became the first sharer of Christ’s Chalice:

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jewish authorities, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread…
Acts 12

To be at the Lord’s left and right hand, to drink the Chalice of the Lord, to become the friends of God (Communion antiphon), is to serve, as a witness to Life, with one’s life.

With Saint Paul (2 Corinthians 4:7-14), while we live, we witness to Christ with our life. ‘We believe, and so we speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us in His presence.’

Saint James shows us the Way, with this el Camino, Baptizing us along the Way, with his symbol, his seashell…
Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene, apostolorum apostola (John 20)

July 22nd, 2024

‘The Gospels then tell us that the women, unlike the Twelve, did not abandon Jesus in the hour of his Passion (see Matthew 27: 56, 61; Mark 15:40).
Among them, Mary Magdalene stands out in particular.
Not only was she present at the Passion, but she was also the first witness and herald of the Risen One (see John 20:1, 11-18).

It was precisely to Mary Magdalene that Saint Thomas Aquinas reserved the special title, “Apostle of the Apostles” (apostolorum apostola), dedicating to her this beautiful comment: “Just as a woman had announced the words of death to the first man, so also a woman was the first to announce to the Apostles the words of life”‘ (Benedict XVI, General Audience 14 February 2007).

Mary Magdalene, Apostola Apostolorum (John 20:10-18), by Br. Emmaus O’Herlihy, OSB

Encountering the risen Jesus Christ (recognized by Magdalene only when hearing him speak her name, as referenced in her exposed ear) heightens Magdalene’s sense of crisis by her realization that she can no longer relate physically to Jesus. Magdalene’s figure in the painting is blown forward; the energy of the Spirit drives her onwards to announce Jesus’ resurrection to the Apostles.
Memorial of Saint Bonaventure

July 15th, 2024

Christ on the Cross – Stella Maris Church, Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Diocese of Saint John, NB

On the Cross,
Christ’s head is bowed in reverence,
offering His Grace in mercy, and compassion to His brothers and sisters,
bringing us into a fraternity which the world’s isolating ‘equality’ cannot offer.
Arms outstretched, that he might embrace us.
Hands open, to enrich us.
Hands, feet, nailed, that He may stay there with us and for us,
He will not leave us.
His side is open for us, to enter into His Church,
Word, water, wine, given for us.
See Bonaventure’s Soliloquium, I.39.

The Prayer of St. Bonaventura – Francisco de Zurbarán