I celebrated the EF Mass at our Cathedral on Sunday for the 3rd Sunday after Easter (the count starts after the Second Sunday of the Octave of Easter, unlike the Ordinary Form where this Sunday was the 4th Sunday of Easter, the count starting after the First Sunday in the Octave of Easter. But I digress.
The Cathedral’s EF Mass has to be the most splendid EF Mass not only at any cathedral in the world, but anywhere in the world. Why? You ask? Because of the young schola which chants the Mass flawlessly. There are about 8 to 10 young people, the oldest in the their mid 20’s.
And they chant a cappella! It is the pure form of a Gregorian Chanted Mass. They also chant polyphony marvelously. And on Sunday they did a Greek Chant that was heavenly with an Eastern Rite sound. Don’t know the name of it though.
I am almost in ecstasy celebrating this Mass with this schola.
But more to my point, in this form of the Mass there is no idolatrous distractions supplanting what is at the heart of the Mass or should be: The Worship of God the Father, through Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Since Vatican II and to this very day, idolatrous distractions have supplanted the true worship of God.
What are these idolatrous distractions, you ask?
1. Active participation of the laity and a preoccupation with that
2. Liturgical roles for the laity, boys and girls, men and women
3. Ecclesiology
4. Vatican II
5. The push for females, transgendered and otherwise other LGBTQetc people or whatever descriptive they demand, to be ordained to Holy Orders
6. Contemporary music/hymns/anthems etc
Any other idolatrous preoccupations supplanting the true worship of God?
The Cathedral schola at St. Anne’s Martha and Mary Chapel at the break out of the pandemic one year ago:
27 comments:
A wonderful eye opener!
Father McDonald, what you are doing is vital for the survival of the Catholic Faith. Here is a quote from Dr. Kwasniewski which sums this up very well:
"In conclusion, the past fifty years of liturgical praxis have taken a serious toll on the faith life in our communities. The Novus Ordo perspective dwells erroneously on abstractions like validity and fails to recognize the deep (human and divine!) connection between form, meaning, and truth. The consequences of this error are now unmistakable. According to Bishop Barron, for every new Catholic, six are leaving the Church. In a survey of Catholics, 80% under age 50 do not believe in the Real Presence. The pandemic has only accelerated the already glaring differences between the traditional practice of Catholicism and its modern substitute. The loss of faith evidenced statistically is understandable, even predictable, given that the main catechism for most Catholics is the Mass. A concerted return to the traditional liturgy is not simply beneficial but necessary for the continued life of our churches. Bishops who do not grasp this in time will preside over the white-chasubled funerals of their cremated dioceses."
Actually, a choir that can deliver polyphonic music AND chant is a rara avis. Musically they are quite different disciplines. Most SATB choirs are flummoxed when confronted with chant notation and if they have to sing it prefer it written out in modern notation, key signatures et al.
Well, I’d give nearly anything...
We finally have had the EF Mass return to MHT once a month. Yesterday was the second. The Liturgy was absolutely dominated by the excessively loud organ and choir. Barely recognizable as Holy Mass, and pounding organ a severe distraction. A masterful music performance, if that was why one attended. We were not there for this reason. Much as I hate to say it, we most likely won’t return... We left pining for the chant you have described here.
Although the EF Mass can become bombastic with “performance/concert hall based Mass settings, like Hayden or anthems including overly intrusive organ accompaniment, that should never be the case with Gregorian Chant and polyphony. You have a great choir director/organist at MHT. Encourage him to attend the cathedral’s EF Mass and talk to the director there. For chant you don’t need a huge choir just a few very capable voices. In the 1800’s concert Masses performed as an actual Mass were considered a liturgical abuse.
Pomposity seems to be the norm for OF Masses with choirs or cantors.
The music is great at St. John the Beloved in McLane, VA. Chant with minimal organ very well played indeed.
The so-called Viennese Mass settings (e.g. Mozart, the Haydn brothers, Hummel, Beethoven) were not written for the concert hall. In fact Austrian law prohibited concert performances. It is likely they were used in the context of a Low Mass, which wouldn't happen nowadays, but they were written for liturgical use.
Joseph Haydn's last six Masses are sublime and testify to his towering musical genius and deep Catholic faith. To hear them performed with soloists, chorus and orchestra in a liturgical setting is an uplifting and unforgettable experience. Bombastic? I think not.
I agree with Anonymous at 1035 and Fr. AJMcD at 1048 regarding the music at MHT both at the 1100 Novus Ordo and at yesterday's TLM. The function of the organ and the choir should be there as an aid to the faithful in chanting and singing, not to perform a concert at every Mass. Many times I envy the people who go to the 0800 Sunday Novus Ordo Mass at MHT as there is limited organ and choir. I usually flinch at least three or four times each Mass when one female choir member screeches a very loud, high note. Someone at MHT needs to recalibrate Senor Jose on the proper role of the organ and choir in both new and traditional Catholic liturgy.
There are those who have an idolatrous relationship with the Extraordinary Form, too, ya know.
This is true, however, idolatry during the EF Mass is minimized AS THE FOCUS IS ON THE PASCHAL MYSTERY RATHER THAN how many laity are or aren’t participating or on Vatican II or ecclesiology or whatever.
No, the EF itself is the idol, the false god. Worship of ANY false god is an abomination.
I did not realize you are a fundamentalist anti Catholic Protestant. I heard that often as a child from my Church of God and Primitive Baptist friends. I will pray for your conversion.
So you, a Catholic priest, don't believe that worship of false gods is idolatry and an abomination? That's another reason to stay away. Your empty prayers won't have any impact.
Anonymous K at 7:30 pm,
Join the Episcopal Church. Leave us alone
While the TLM or any Mass for that matter should not be a concert and distract from the Holy Sacrifice and simple chant is the ideal way to do that, I fail to see how not going back again and complaining about it on Fr. McDonald's blog accomplishes anything. Did you raise your concerns with Jose? How about with the Pastor? And now you will not return to the long sought-after TLM at MHT because of the music??? Columbia is an hour from Augusta and ATL and SAV are both over 2 hours. That seems a bit self defeating over the music, especially if you believe the EF Liturgy is an objectively better Liturgy. Your distractedness, justified or not, has no bearing on that. If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem... get your hands dirty fixing the problems you see instead of complaining because this type of stiffnecked reactionary response while walking away is why "trads" get a bad rap...
I WANTED the "T"LM. "Deus Vult!" I GOT the "T"LM. "Te Deum laudamus!"
Now, because I don't GET the "T"LM exactly the way I WANT the "T"LM, I'm not gonna go.
And people wonder why so many pastors aren't inclined to give in to the "T"LM crowd.
The unreasonable demands never end...
Father Michael J Kavanaugh strikes again at 0813 this morning. He promised we would have the TLM at MHT in 2010. He lied.
PIWMY - Fr. Kavanaugh never made such a promise.
I agree. There has to be open mindedness.
Former MHT Parishioner Kavanaugh,
Trying to cover your tracks I see. Get a life
Dear Former MHT Parishoner,
Were you at the MHT parish council meetings in 2010-2011 or are you Pater Ignotus (Fr MJK) himself? If you were at the MHT parish council meetings, you would know what I wrote is true, but if you are the second option of this post, please see the last sentence of my 0918 post.
Sincerely,
PIWMP
WHEW! I am Anonymous at 10:35 April 26, and not any of the other commenters here. What a firestorm ensued, and I never intended that! My intent was to praise Fr. McDonald for how the music is done for the TLM at the cathedral, but I realize I got off track there and am sorry. Please try to ignore my original comment and move on. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
Anonymous @ 10:35
Thank you, MHT Parishioner. No, I never made any such promise.
PIWMP - I was at the Parish Council meetings. I never made any such promise.
That’s because Father Kavanaugh lacks Father McDonald’s insight and generosity
Fr. MJK - I was at all MHT parish council meetings during your reign and that’s not what my notes say. Instead of stringing the MHT faithful along and giving them false hope that you would graciously allow it despite your intense prejudice against the TLM. I sure wish you had had the honesty and integrity of your successor, Fr. Jacek Schuzter, who when asked about allowing or having the TLM at MHT, simply said, “No!”.
PIWMP - Your notes are wrong. I made the same decision that Fr. Szuster made. I had the support, in writing, of Bishop Boland in that decision as well.
I never promised that ther TLM would be celebrated at MHT.
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