The Holy Father celebrated Evening Prayer I for the First Sunday of Advent at St. Peter's this evening. University students from all over Rome were present.
The Holy Father wears a very nice cope for Evening Prayer and "Tu es Petrus" is chanted by the choir at the procession.
Evening Prayer I for Advent (vigil) begins the new season of Advent and we are now in a new cycle of readings for Sunday and daily Mass.
3 comments:
Happy New Year!
I'm quite stunned that they had the "Tu es Petrus."
It was first Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent (in the newer form). To call it 'Evening Prayer' suggests something less formal. It was wonderful to see all those young people singing Gregorian psalmody. Had I been there I would have had no difficulty in joining in and understanding what I was singing, although I don't speak Italian. Why? Because I am used to singing Vespers in both the newer and older forms in Latin. There's a lesson there somewhere.
The hymn, Magnificat and Pater Noster were in Latin (i.e. use the Church's liturgical language for familiar texts) and everyone seemed familiar with the Alma Redemptoris Mater. I can't understand why progressive liturgists like Gelineau, in the wake of the Council, believed that if you sing psalms in the vernacular you need to sing them to new settings (unless they saw commercial opportunities here). Even English, with its very different vowel sounds, can be sung to Gregorian psalm tones.
Parishes in the UK and US take note! You don't need vast musical resources to do sung Vespers.
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