One of the small blessings of this Advent is we are less than a year away from the new translation of the Mass, and most US parishes will retire the “Mass of Creation.” Adaptations of the acclamations we are all familiar with to fit the new translation are going to be a hard sell on folks who are in the habit of singing them the old way.
It’s a great time to revisit the real classics – Gregorian Chant, and a great time to be a composer.
Let’s hope the next crop of modern liturgical music has more reverence and less Disney!
Green Bay bishop approves 1859 apparition, first in US
It’s not often you get to say that a bit of news reflects a history-making event, but this is one: Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay has been studying the case of a Marian apparition reported in 1859, witnessed by a young immigrant from Belgium by the name of Adele Brise.
Today, the bishop announced his verdict: the event is confirmed to be of supernatural origin, and the faithful are free to believe in the apparition.
This makes the appearance of the Virgin Mary in Wisconsin, under the title of “Our Lady of Good Hope”, the first and only Marian apparition in the United States to be validated by Church authority. I can only wonder what lies ahead as the grace of this event is to be explored and shared for the good of God’s people.
Today’s announcement from the diocese is on-line, along with the relevant decrees by the bishop presening his judgment on the apparition and designating the long-standing chapel at the site to be a diocesan shrine. The web site of the newly-designated Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help (Notre Dame de Bon Secours) at Champion, WI also has information.
Verbum Domini
The Holy Father’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini is an important document, perhaps the most comprehensive official synthesis ever from the Church on the subjects of Scripture and Divine Revelation. It addresses the inspiration of Scripture, the various “senses” in its interpretation, the need for biblical preaching, the place of “private revelation”, the relation of biblical studies and the interpretation of Scripture, the need for thorough training in Scripture for seminarians, and numerous other topics.
You can download the text from the Vatican website as a 208-page PDF, formatted as a pocket-sized book. For convenience in printing, I’ve reformatted it in a more compact 90-page document. (PDF)
Name change for Magdalen
Interesting: Magdalen College up in New Hampshire has changed its name to The College of Saint Mary Magdalen. The school is also expanding its curriculum, and (between you and me) it looks like the puritanical atmosphere there in the ’80s and ’90s (quip: “they put the ‘loco‘ in ‘loco parentis‘”) seems to have faded — though it’s still a serious school. Good for them!
Extraordinary Form Mass
RC published some clips from this EF Mass that I filmed last year. We finally have the whole video available online. Enjoy!