Last Sunday after Pentecost

For Nov 21, 2010 which is the Last Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Thou Hope Of All The Lowly
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Dicit Dominus: Ego
   
4. Kyrie XI (Orbis Factor)
   
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Liberasti nos
   
7. Alleluia: De profundis
   
8. Credo I
9. Offertory: De profundis
   
10. Offertory hymn: O Sanctissima
    
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
    
13. Communion hymn: O Salutaris Hostia IX (mode 8)
    
14. Communion: Amen dico vobis: quidquid
    
15. Recession: Salve Regina (solemn tone)
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Rosary Crusade against passage of RH Bill in the Philipines

My dear friends,

We are launching a Rosary Crusade for the Defense of God's Law on Life and Family especially for the Philippines.

The Philippines is now threatened by a proposed Reproductive Health Bill also known as the RH Bill.

This bill is a full frontal attack on the Catholic Church, its Hierarchy, its morals, its missionaries, its clergy, and its laity. This House Bill 96 attacks the Catholic Church trying to put to jail every bishop as the "responsible officer of the juridical entity" that refuses to participate in the Reproductive Health Services guaranteed by this law.

This proposed law threatens Catholic foreign missionaries and Non-Government Organization workers with jail sentence / fine and immediate deportation without further process upon the refusal to cooperate in mandatory reproductive health care service

This bill even punishes all who shall speak against the evils of contraceptives. This RH Bill wants to make the Public Health Sector anti-Catholic and hostile to morals and faith.

This bill has provisions that will send to jail or fine all doctors and health care providers who shall refuse to cooperate in "modern Methods of Family Planning" such as IUD, ligation, vasectomy, and promotion and distribution of condoms and pills and so on.

This RH Bill considers having many children a cause of poverty. On the contrary, our beloved nation the Philippines needs more good citizens, holy men and women to work hard resisting corruption, the best doctors and professionals for the country. The true solution is not to reduce the children but to educate our children well.

This bill considers pregnancy a disease and acknowledges that the contraceptives are essential medicines. Life is a gift of God.

This bill, if passed, will be the beginning of the total destruction of the morals and families in the Philippines.

We deplore this threat on our Church in the Philippines. This is why at this moment of danger, we call on all Catholics to pray the holy Rosary for the Philippines. This is why we call, we appeal to all of you to join our Rosary Crusade. Our Lady never fails us when we invoke her aid.

For this crusade, record the number of rosaries you pray daily and submit to us monthly by email, by fax, by phone, or by mail.

This crusade starts on October 31st. By January 16, 2011, feast of Sto. Niño, we want to collect one million rosaries for Our Lady.

Please help us! Please join our Rosary Crusade.

In the hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Father Thomas Onoda





One million rosaries by January 16th, 2011(feast of the Sto. Niño).

Monthly Rosary Crusade totals may be submitted by:
Phone: 7255926 / 4131978
Fax: 7250725
Email: OLVC123 at gmail dot com
Or by mail to: Our Lady of Victories Church 2 Cannon Rd., New Manila, Quezon City 1112 Philippines

Mass for the 40th anniversary of the SSPX

Messe pour les 40 ans de la Fraternité Saint-Pie X from DICI on Vimeo.

Courtesy of DICI

40 years of the SSPX

Courtesy of DICI

All Saints

For November 1, 2010 which is the feast of All Saints, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: O God, Of All Thy Warriors Lord
2. Asperges me
3. Introit: Gaudeamus... Sanctorum omnium
   
4. Kyrie VIII (De Angelis)
   
5. Gloria VIII
   
6. Gradual: Timete Dominum
   
7. Alleluia: Venite ad me
8. Credo III
   
9. Offertory: Iustorum animae
10. Offertory Hymn: Placare Christe
    
11. Sanctus VIII
    
12. Agnus Dei VIII
    
13. Communion Hymn: Placare Christe
14. Communion: Beati mundo corde
15. Recession: For All The Saints (tune: Sine Nomine, R.V. Williams)
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Christ the King

For October 31, 2010 which is the feast of the Christ the King (last Sunday in October), we are going to sing:

1. Procession: To Jesus Christ, Our Sov'reign King
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Dignus est Agnus
   
4. Kyrie VIII (De Angelis)
   
5. Gloria VIII
   
6. Gradual: Dominabitur
   
7. Alleluia: Potestas eius
   
8. Credo III
9. Offertory: Postula a me
   
10. Offertory hymn: Auctor Beate Saeculi
    
11. Sanctus VIII
    
12. Agnus Dei VIII
13. Communion hymn: Ave Verum Corpus
14. Communion: Sedebit Dominus
    
15. Recession: Great King of Kings
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

A nightmare for church organists

Chupungco: Veneration of relics is "a sad chapter in the history of the liturgy"

From Rorate Caeli, we read about the absurd writings of Anscar Chupungco who denigrates veneration of relics (even authentic relics) as "a sad chapter in the history of the liturgy"!

Now, read what the Council of Trent says about this matter in its 25th Session:

The holy Synod enjoins on all bishops, and others who sustain the office and charge of teaching, that, agreeably to the usage of the Catholic and Apostolic Church, received from the primitive times of the Christian religion, and agreeably to the consent of the holy Fathers, and to the decrees of sacred Councils, they especially instruct the faithful diligently concerning the intercession and invocation of saints; the honour (paid) to relics; and the legitimate use of images: teaching them, that the saints, who reign together with Christ, offer up their own prayers to God for men; that it is good and useful suppliantly to invoke them, and to have recourse to their prayers, aid, (and) help for obtaining benefits from God, through His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who is our alone Redeemer and Saviour; but that they think impiously, who deny that the saints, who enjoy eternal happiness in heaven, are to be invocated; or who assert either that they do not pray for men; or, that the invocation of them to pray for each of us even in particular, is idolatry; or, that it is repugnant to the word of God; and is opposed to the honour of the one mediator of God and men, Christ Jesus; or, that it is foolish to supplicate, vocally, or mentally, those who reign in heaven. Also, that the holy bodies of holy martyrs, and of others now living with Christ,-which bodies were the living members of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Ghost, and which are by Him to be raised unto eternal life, and to be glorified,--are to be venerated by the faithful; through which (bodies) many benefits are bestowed by God on men; so that they who affirm that veneration and honour are not due to the relics of saints; or, that these, and other sacred monuments, are uselessly honoured by the faithful; and that the places dedicated to the memories of the saints are in vain visited with the view of obtaining their aid; are wholly to be condemned, as the Church has already long since condemned, and now also condemns them.

Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost

For October 24, 2010 which is the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Crown Him With Many Crowns
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Si iniquitates
   
4. Kyrie IX (Cum Iubilo)
5. Gloria IX
   
6. Gradual: Ecce quam bonum
   
7. Alleluia: Qui timent Dominum
   
8. Credo I
9. Offertory: Recordare mei
   
10. Offertory hymn: Ave Maris Stella
    
11. Sanctus IX
    
12. Agnus Dei IX
    
13. Communion hymn: Tantum Ergo VII
    
14. Communion: Ego clamavi
    
15. Recession: Daily, Daily, Sing To Mary
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

GIA's so called Gloria...urrgh....

Listen to this and what does it remind you of?
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As for yours truly, it sounds like the ending of some TV series...or an extremely long TV/radio commercial jingle. What do you think?

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

For October 10, 2010 which is the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: O God, Our Help In Ages Past (W. Croft)
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Omnia quae fecisti
   
4. Kyrie IX (Cum Iubilo)
5. Gloria IX
   
6. Gradual: Oculi omnium
   
7. Alleluia: Paratum cor meum
   
8. Credo IV
9. Offertory: Super flumina Babylonis
   
10. Offertory hymn: Cor, Arca Legem Continens
11. Sanctus IX
    
12. Agnus Dei IX
    
13. Communion hymn: Benedictus Qui Venit
    
14. Communion: Memento verbi tui
    
15. Recession: Holy Mary, Now We Crown Thee
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

For October 3, 2010 which is the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Salus populi
   
4. Kyrie XI (Orbis Factor)
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Dirigatur
   
7. Alleluia: Confitemini Domino, et invocate
   
8. Credo IV
9. Offertory: Si ambulavero
   
10. Offertory hymn: Salve Regina coelitum
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
    
13. Communion hymn: Adoro Te Devote
    
14. Communion: Tu mandasti
    
15. Recession: O Queen of The Holy Rosary
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

For September 26, 2010 which is the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Praise To The Holiest
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Da pacem
   
4. Kyrie XI (Orbis Factor)
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Laetatus sum
   
7. Alleluia: Timebunt gentes
   
8. Credo III
9. Offertory: Sanctificavit Moyses
   
10. Offertory hymn: Ave Maria (T.L. de Victoria)
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
    
13. Communion hymn: Lauda Sion
    
14. Communion: Tollite hostias
    
15. Recession: Firmly I Believe And Truly
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Full in the panting heart of Rome

I have never heard this hymn used before ever. It is definitely suitable for anniversaries of the Pope's enthronement, ordination, nameday, or even on the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter & Paul.

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

For September 19, 2010 which is the 17th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: O God Of Loveliness
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Iustus es, Domine
   
4. Kyrie XI (Orbis Factor)
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Beata gens
   
7. Alleluia: Domine, exaudi
   
8. Credo I
9. Offertory: Oravi Deum, meum
   
10. Offertory hymn: O Maria, Virgo Pia
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
    
13. Communion hymn: Panis Angelicus
    
14. Communion: Vovete
    
15. Recession: Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

For September 12, 2010 which is the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Miserere mihi
   
4. Kyrie IX (Cum Jubilo)
5. Gloria IX
   
6. Gradual: Timebunt gentes
   
7. Alleluia: Cantate Domino
   
8. Credo IV
9. Offertory: Domine, in auxilium
   
10. Offertory hymn: O Sanctissima
    
11. Sanctus IX
    
12. Agnus Dei IX
    
13. Communion hymn: O Esca Viatorum
    
14. Communion: Domine, memorabor
    
15. Recession: Soul Of My Savior
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

For September 5, 2010 which is the 15th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Inclina, Domine
   
4. Kyrie XI (Orbis Factor)
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Bonum est confiteri
   
7. Alleluia: Quoniam Deus
   
8. Credo III
9. Offertory: Exspectans exspectavi
   
10. Offertory hymn: Concordi Laetitia
    
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
    
13. Communion hymn: Quis Sicut Te
    
14. Communion: Panis, quem ego dedero
    
15. Recession: Hail, True Victim, Life And Light
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

St. Pius X, Pope & Confessor

For September 3, 2010 which is the feast of St. Pius X, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Hymn To St. Pius X
   
2. Introit: Extuli electum
   
3. Kyrie IV (Cunctipotens Genitor Deus)
   
4. Gloria IV
   
5. Gradual: Annuntiavi
   
6. Alleluia: Paras mihi mensam
7. Credo III
   
8. Offertory: Venite, filii, audite me
   
9. Offertory hymn: Sicut Cervus (G.P. da Palestrina)
10. Sanctus IV
    
11. Agnus Dei IV
    
12. Communion hymn: Quis Sicut Te
    
13. Communion: Caro mea
    
14. Recession: Sancte Pie Decime
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

For August 22, 2010 which is the 13th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: All Hail Adored Trinity
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Respice, Domine
   
4. Kyrie IX (Cum Iubilo)
   
5. Gloria IX
   
6. Gradual: Respice, Domine
   
7. Alleluia: Domine, refugium
   
8. Credo IV
   
9. Offertory: In te speravi
   
10. Offertory hymn: Ave Maria (J. Arcadelt)
11. Sanctus IX
    
12. Agnus Dei IX
    
13. Communion hymn: Ave Verum (Camille Saint-Saëns)
14. Communion: Panem de caelo
    
15. Recession: Heart of Mary
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Prayer request

In your charity and kindness, please join us in prayer for the quick recovery of Father Daniel Couture, the District Superior of Asia (Society of St Pius X). He is currently hospitalised due to dengue fever, which he had contracted while on a medical mission in the Philippines. Even though he is conscious, his condition is not very promising.

O Mary, Queen assumed into Heaven, pray for us!
O Mary, Mother of Priests, protect and guard thy servant!

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

For August 8, 2010 which is the 11th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Crown Him With Many Crowns
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Deus in loco sancto suo
   
4. Kyrie IX (Cum Iubilo)
   
5. Gloria IX
   
6. Gradual: In Deo speravit
   
7. Alleluia: Exsultate Deo
   
8. Credo IV
   
9. Offertory: Exaltabo te
   
10. Offertory hymn: Salve Mater
    
11. Sanctus IX
    
12. Agnus Dei IX
    
13. Communion hymn: Ecce Panis Angelorum (J. Zaninetti)
    
14. Communion: Honora Dominum
    
15. Recession: Immaculate Mary (Lourdes refrain)
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

A Plea to the Fathers of Vatican II, Fall 1963

by Jeffrey Tucker

I just stumbled upon this remarkable document from the Autumn 1963 issue of Caecilia, the predecessor journal to Sacred Music.

What follows is an official petition concerning music in the liturgy. It urges greater focus on the issues at hand, with special concern shown for the propers of the Mass, the training of choirs and priests, the furtherance of the Gregorian ordinary, the discouragement of the then-growing practice of vernacular hymnody at Mass, and limiting (at the start) the extent of vernacular to parish Vespers.

On every point, this document is correct and history bears this out. These were great experts on music here. They knew that vagueness and slogans were not enough to do what needed to be done. Moreover, they were not reactionaries but rather true advocates of the Liturgical Movement: see the plea for the congregation to be encouraged to share in the singing at Mass, but not at the expense of the structure of the service. This is not a call to preserve the status quo (see even the criticism of the 1958 decree on music) but rather a plea for a more solid framework for progress in the future.

I'm particularly struck by #4 and the suggestion that a sung Mass be made possible within the Low Mass, to be handled by a Cantor alone. This of course is the most common Mass structure we see today but it also most commonly lacks propers of the Mass. It's as if the worst of the old (four vernacular hymns) ended up by default combining with the worst of new to create this modern hybrid we know so well.

One senses a profound worry at the heart of this document that if the Council was not specific enough, disaster could befall the music of the Mass. Would that the Caecilian's plea been heeded!

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, passed later this very year, did not necessarily contradict anything in this petition, and it even gave a ringing endorsement of Gregorian chant, but it lacked the specificity and failed to correct for the abuses which the Caecilians anticipated.

Note finally that two years later, Pope Paul VI called for the successor organization to the Society to be given a leadership role in guided the development of music following the Council. (It goes without saying that this wish was not fulfilled.)

Everyone who sniffs at the stuffiness of the old Society of St. Caecilia ought to consider the foresight revealed in this petition. It is time that history acknowledge who was right.

The American Society of St. Caecilia respectfully submits to the consideration of their Eminences and their Excellencies, the Most Reverend Fathers of the Second Vatican Council, the following petitions.

1. Regarding the place of music in the liturgy:

In view of the fact that the church has always regarded the function of the cantor and the trained choir, as well as that of the singing congregation, as an integral and necessary element of public worship, this Society is sincerely hopeful that the Fathers of the Council, before making any changes which might affect the structure of the services, will give earnest consideration to the importance of these traditional elements. While this tradition is not founded upon recent documents, we should desire the retention of the principles so clearly outlined in Pope St. Pius X's Motu Proprio and in the Musicae Sacrae Disciplina of Pope Pius XII.

2. Regarding the Propers of the Sung Mass:

If any changes are to be made in the structure of the Proper of the Mass, this Society respectfully urges that the Fathers of the Council give careful thought to the fundamental structure of the service, and therefore to the meaning and value of each part, clearly preserving the roles of the cantor and trained choir. This Society also begs that art and beauty, which are inherent and not foreign to the casting of the Proper parts, not be sacrificed to the single issue of simplicity and brevity.

3. Regarding the Ordinary of the Sung Mass:

Since the necessity of a clearer insight into what worship really is presses for a greater sharing by the people in the song of the Church, this Society earnestly recommends that the congregation be encouraged to share in the singing at Mass, not necessarily according to the medieval and mistaken norm of the Ordinary as a unit, but with due regard for the place the various chants have in the fundamental structure of the service. It therefore also pleads that the great treasures of medieval chant and classical polyphony, as well as the riches of modern and contemporary music, not be discarded on the untraditional plea that there is no place for participation by listening.

4. Regarding the music at Low Mass:

This Society respectfully urges that consideration be given to maintaining the sung mass as the norm for congregational service, and where necessity demands, that provision be made for a simplified form of sung Mass that requires only the service of a trained cantor to supplement the singing of the congregation. The singing of hymns at low Mass, a solution suggested by the 1958 decree, is not completely satisfactory, because it remains extraneous to the action at the altar.

5. Regarding the use of the vernacular in the sung liturgy:

The Society of St. Caecilia recognizes that the vernacular problem is a pastoral problem, but even more basically a problem involving the proper attitude toward worship. Because music is an integral part of worship, the problem is necessarily also a musical one. This Society therefore urges care and caution, since the musical problems involved are certainly very great, whether in creating a new music for a vernacular text or in adapting a vernacular text to the rich store of chant and polyphony and other music from the past. The Society especially suggests vernacular adaptations to the offices of the church which have fallen into disuse, notably parish Vespers.

6. Regarding the practical realization of a sung liturgy:

The Society of St. Caecilia urges the Fathers of the Council to implement the repeated wishes of the Holy. See by encouraging the musical training of both clergy and laity, and especially of choirmasters and organists, according to the norms laid down in the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites of September 3, 1958, so that the ideals of a reverential and artistic musical worship may be realized.

The above articles have been approved by the Most Reverend Gerald T. Bergan, Archbishop of Omaha, the. Liturgy and Music Commissions of the Archdiocese of Omaha, and by the Boys Town Liturgical Music Institute's eleventh national session.

For the Society of St. Caecilia:
September 12, 1963
Msgr. Francis P. Schmitt, President
Rev. Francis A. Brunner, C.Ss.R., Secretary
James P. Keenan, Treasurer

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

For July 25, 2010 which is the 9th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Glory Be To Jesus
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Ecce Deus adiuvat me
   
4. Kyrie XI
   
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Domine, Dominus noster
   
7. Alleluia: Eripe me
   
8. Credo I
9. Offertory: Iustitiae Domini
   
10. Offertory hymn: Ave Maris Stella
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
13. Communion hymn: Jesu, rex admirabilis (G.P. da Palestrina)
14. Communion: Qui manducat
    
15. Recession: Hail, Holy Queen Enthroned Above
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

For July 11, 2010 which is the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: O God of Loveliness
   
2. Asperges me
   
3. Introit: Omnes gentes
   
4. Kyrie XI
   
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Venite, filii
   
7. Alleluia: Omnes gentes
   
8. Credo III
   
9. Offertory: Sicut in holocausto
   
10. Offertory hymn: Quis Sicut Te
    
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
    
13. Communion hymn: Adoramus Te Christe
    
14. Communion: Inclina aurem tuam
    
15. Recession: Hail, True Victim, Life And Light
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

For June 27, 2010 which is the 5th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
   
2. Asperges me
3. Introit: Exaudi, Domine... adiutor
   
4. Kyrie IX (Cum iubilo)
   
5. Gloria IX
   
6. Gradual: Protector noster
7. Alleluia: Domine, in virtute tua
   
8. Credo IV
9. Offertory: Benedicam Dominum
   
10. Offertory hymn: O Sanctissima
11. Sanctus IX
    
12. Agnus Dei IX
    
13. Communion hymn: Adoramus Te, Christe (attrib. G.P. da Palestrina)
    
14. Communion: Unam petii
    
15. Recession: Holy Mary, Now We Crown Thee
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

For June 20, 2010 which is the 4th Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Godhead Here In Hiding
   
2. Asperges me
3. Introit: Dominus illuminatio mea
   
4. Kyrie XI
   
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Propitius esto
7. Alleluia: Deus, qui sedes
   
8. Credo III
9. Offertory: Illumina oculos meos
   
10. Offertory hymn: Cor, Arca Legem Continens
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
    
13. Communion hymn: Cor Jesu, Caritatis Victima
    
14. Communion: Dominus firmamentum meum
    
15. Recession: Soul Of My Savior
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

For the June 12, 2010 Sung Mass in conjunction with the pilgrimage to Melaka for the 465th anniversary of the arrival of St. Francis Xavier, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: O Jesus, In Thy Heart Divine
2. Introit: Cogitationes cordis eius
   
3. Kyrie VIII (De Angelis)
   
4. Gloria VIII
   
5. Gradual: Dulcis et rectus Dominus
   
6. Alleluia: Tollite iugum meum
   
7. Offertory: Improperium exspectavit
   
8. Offertory hymn: Cor Dulce, Cor Amabile
9. Sanctus VIII
   
10. Agnus Dei VIII
    
11. Communion hymn: Ave Verum (W. Byrd)
12. Communion: Unus militum
    
13. Recession: To Jesus Christ, Our Sov'reign King
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

465th anniversary of St Francis Xavier's arrival in Melaka

In conjunction with the 465th anniversary of St Francis Xavier's arrival in Melaka (Malacca) and the District of Asia's Crusade for Vocations, there will be a pilgrimage to Melaka on June 12, 2010. Pilgrims will begin to walk starting from Ayer Salak's Church of St. Mary, ending with a Sung Mass of the Sacred Heart. Of course for those who are elderly or unable to walk the entire stretch, there will be cars accompanying the entire walk.

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010
Program:

• 5.00 am Meet at St Mary's Church, Ayer Salak
• 5.30 am The 20 km walk begins (bring your own snack). We will have to walk in separate small groups for security and legal reasons. And we cannot walk on the road.
• 10.00-10.30 am End of walk. Freshen up and prepare for mass. The venue is: The hall of the Association of Straits-Born Chinese of Malacca, JALAN TUN TAN CHENG LOCK (HEEREN ST), MELAKA, MALAYSIA.
• 11.00 am Holy Mass
• 12:30 pm Lunch at Makko Nyonya Restaurant (nearby)
• 2.00 pm Conference by Fr Couture
• 2.30 pm Proceed to St Paul's Hill
• 4.00 pm End of Pilgrimage
  

The cost of the pilgrimage (venue booking, lunch) is RM40 to be paid on the day. Please arrange for your own transportation to/fro Melaka and/or accommodation if necessary.

Let us offer this pilgrimage to obtain some Malaysian and Singaporean vocations, in particular!

For further details, please contact District of Asia (email: district at sspxasia.com, tel: +65 6459 0792, or Diana Lim (email: ecweediana at hotmail.com, tel: +603 6157 5976).

Third Sunday after Pentecost

For June 13, 2010 which is the 3rd Sunday after Pentecost, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: O Jesus, In Thy Heart Divine
   
2. Asperges me
3. Introit: Respice in me
   
4. Kyrie XI
   
5. Gloria XI
   
6. Gradual: Iacta cogitatum tuum
7. Alleluia: Deus, iudex iustus
   
8. Credo IV
9. Offertory: Sperent in te omnes
   
10. Offertory hymn: Cor Dulce, Cor Amabile
11. Sanctus XI
    
12. Agnus Dei XI
    
13. Communion hymn: Da pacem, Domine (M. Franck)
    
14. Communion: Dico vobis: Gaudium
    
15. Recession: Firmly I Believe And Truly (tune: Halton Holgate)
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Happy Ascension Thursday!

God has gone up amidst shouts of joy, the Lord to the sound of the trumpet, alleluia!

Bruckner's Tota pulchra es Maria

In honour of Our Lady in this month dedicated to her.

Pentecost Sunday

For May 23, 2010 which is Pentecost Sunday, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Come Holy Ghost, Creator Blest
2. Vidi aquam
3. Introit: Spiritus Domini
   
4. Kyrie II
5. Gloria II
6. Alleluia: Emitte Spiritum tuum
7. Alleluia: Veni, Sancte Spiritus
8. Sequence: Veni, Sancte Spiritus
   
9. Credo IV
10. Offertory: Confirma hoc, Deus
11. Offertory hymn: Veni Creator
    
12. Sanctus II
13. Agnus Dei II
    
14. Communion hymn: Ave Verum (C.C. Saint-Saëns)
15. Communion: Factus est repente
    
16. Recession: Rejoice, O Mary, Heavenly Queen

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Third SSPX Rosary Crusade Official Tally

The General House of the Society of Saint Pius X [SSPX], in Menzingen, has received from all over the world the results of the Rosary Crusade launched by its General Superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay. This crusade lasted from May 1, 2009, to March 25, 2010; its goal was to ask for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Supreme Pontiff and all the bishops of the Catholic world, in accordance with the message of Fatima in which Our Lady herself announced the final triumph of her Immaculate Heart.

DICI is delighted to announce to its readers, that the goal of 12 million rosaries, which were to form a crown of 12 stars for Mary, Queen of Heaven, has been surpassed by far, since more than 19 million rosaries have been reported. We can note the generosity of the United States (5,356,189), France (3,037,941), Africa (2,819,395) and Asia (2,919,257). Next come Canada (719,777), Germany (689,417), South America (601,678), Switzerland (417,574), Australia (439,555), Mexico (335,794), Great Britain (218,116), Italy (172,960), Ireland (147,575)….

This crown of rosaries recited around the world, over the course of nearly a year, will be soon presented to the Holy Father by Bishop Fellay. Profound thanks to all the Rosary crusaders for their admirable Marian fervor !

Source: DICI

The Splendour of Worship

People, no doubt, wonder why such fuss is made over extravagant vestments and claim that it's all pomp and circumstance feeding the ego of the ministers. Then there's the usual rant about the poor, how the excessive show of triumphalism is contrary to the heart of Jesus who loved the poor and dispossessed.

This is all true, that Jesus has particular care of the poor and the dispossesed. But really, it is all of us who are poor and dispossessed. We are poor because without God, we are nothing, we have nothing. We do not bring ourselves into existence and neither can we exist without God, however much atheists protest and try to prove this point. We become less human when God is pushed out of the picture. So, yes, all of us are poor. Jesus' Incarnation, His emptying Himself of glory to take on our human nature teaches us this very point. For our sakes, He became poor. We are the poor.

And we are dispossessed. Our sin deprived us of our heritage, that of beholding God face to face. And it is only through Christ that we are able, by adoption through Him in his Passion, Death, and Resurrection, that we are restored to that heritage, that we are sons and daughters of the Most High.

What does this have to do with worship, and vestments, and "pomp".

The Pontifical Solemn High Mass last Saturday reminded me once more that God is utterly Other. However much I want to bring Him down to my level, yet He is God, truly adorable and worthy of all the best that I can offer Him through worship. The vestments, the rituals, the gestures bear within them the symbol that God is beyond me. And yet, through the Sacrifice of the Mass, I am drawn into the heart of the Divine.

What was so stunning about the cappa magna that Bishop Slattery was dressed in as he entered the temple, evoked Isaiah: "In the year that King Ozias died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and elevated; and His train filled the temple."

Isaiah was given this vision of the splendour and the glory of God.And now, through Christ's Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, we--foolish and weak that we are, unfaithful and forever wandering away--can know, can glimpse, can be pierced, too, by the glory of God. It is splendid. It is glorious. It is not like us. And we fall down to our faces and say, "Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips and I have seen with my eyes the King, the Lord of Hosts."

And just like the priest prays before the declaration of the Gospel, "Munda cor meum ac labia mea,omnipotens Dei..." Cleanse my heart and lips. We are once more drawn into that temple where we come to face Truth, Holy, Transcendent, Merciful and Glorious.

Unlike the modern manifestations of the liturgy which pull our attention away from God to fall upon ourselves and our actions and our relevance, this most solemn of rites makes us lift our eyes heavenward, the destiny of our journey. Not by anything that we do, but only through the Offering of Christ in Himself. For our part, it is the offering we give of our heart, our prayer, our whole attention that are required of us. It isn't whether we verbally say things out loud: words are meaningless if we do not have recollection, remembering who we are and who God is, that is, pardon the pun, at the heart of worship.

The infernal and maddening battles over liturgy and whether modern man can rightly understand the words of worship detract from what it is that is being done, who it is that is acting at Mass. We are spectators, you and I, in this grand drama of salvation. It is Mystery that our minds can hardly penetrate. This leaves little room for silly dancing, hand-holding, comedic actions that have nothing to do with the sacred actions happening at Mass. It is Mystery and we are left in awe.

I can understand why liturgical wars are so intense. It is a matter of who is at the heart of the Mass. We feel useless when we aren't "doing anything". Why is it only the priest that gets to do things? Aren't we, all of us, priests in that royal priesthood of believers?

But it is Christ who is the Priest, the only one who can offer a worthy offering to God the Father. And so when the cappa magna passes by, when that sacred minister, with his face set in a solemn way, passes by and his shimmering long train follows, our hearts are lifted because, here, in this person, in this temple, in this hour, Christ enters. This is our Catholic Faith. Through sensible signs, the Divine enters. How blessed are we to witness it and at the end, when we are dismissed, it is our turn to walk in this world bearing this light, this Divine Truth, God is in His temple, let the earth worship.

Source: Argent by the Tiber

Fifth Sunday after Easter

For May 9, 2010 which is the Fifth Sunday after Easter, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: At The Lamb's High Feast (AH#411)
2. Vidi aquam
3. Introit: Vocem iucunditatis
   
4. Kyrie I
5. Gloria I
   
6. Alleluia: Surrexit Christus et illuxit
   
7. Alleluia: Exivi a Patre
   
8. Credo III
9. Offertory: Benedicite, gentes
10. Offertory hymn: Ave Maria (J. Arcadelt)
    
11. Sanctus I
12. Agnus Dei I
    
13. Communion hymn: O bone Jesu (M.A. Ingegneri)
14. Communion: Cantate Domino
    
15. Recession: Jesu, Grant Me This

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

Third Sunday after Easter

For April 25, 2010 which is the Third Sunday after Easter, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: Hail, True Victim, Life And Light
   
2. Vidi aquam
3. Introit: Iubilate Deo
   
4. Kyrie I
5. Gloria I
   
6. Alleluia: Redemptionem
   
7. Alleluia: Oportebat
   
8. Credo III
   
9. Offertory: Lauda, anima mea
   
10. Offertory hymn: Regina Caeli (A. Lotti)
    
11. Sanctus I
12. Agnus Dei I
    
13. Communion hymn: Ave Verum Corpus
    
14. Communion: Modicum
    
15. Recession: Holy God, We Praise Thy Name
    

Click on the links to hear samples and scores where available.

12 million Rosaries Crusade Update from SSPX US District

12-MILLION ROSARIES CRUSADE UPDATE

At Econe, during the Pontifical Mass on Easter Sunday, Bishop Fellay announced that the 12 million rosaries have been "greatly exceeded." He also invited all the faithful to pray for the Holy Father who suffers from the media's attacks. Laudetur Iesus Christus et Maria mater ejus!

Low Sunday (Dominica in albis)

For April 11, 2010 which is Low Sunday, we are going to sing:

1. Procession: O Sons And Daughters
   
2. Vidi aquam
3. Introit: Quasimodo
   
4. Kyrie I (Lux et Origo)
   
5. Gloria I
   
6. Alleluia: In die resurrectionis
   
7. Alleluia: Post dies octo
   
8. Credo III
   
9. Offertory: Angelus Domini
   
10. Offertory hymn: Regina Caeli Jubila
    
11. Sanctus I
12. Agnus Dei I
13. Communion: Mitte manum tuam with Ps 117: 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17,
    21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29
    
14. Recession: Rejoice, O Mary, Heavenly Queen
    

Click on the links to hear samples where available.

The Passion according to St John in Gregorian Chant part 3 of 3

The Passion according to St John in Gregorian Chant part 2 of 3

The Passion according to St John in Gregorian Chant part 1 of 3