I am feeling very fortunate...

Catholic Traditions...

I was just browsing through a Catholic online forum and found a post asking the question: What Catholic traditions and liturgies do you miss from your youth (roughly paraphrased)? I was so surprised to see the responses...

Receiving communion at altar rails-
Altar boys (not girls) with patens-
Sanctus bells-
Priests actually preaching from the pulpit (instead of wandering around like a talk show host)-
The priest purifying the sacred vessels at the altar
The choir actually in the choir loft-
Extra priests coming out at communion time to help distribute-
Confessions offered immediately before Mass-
Pre-Mass rosaries-
Post-Mass recitations of the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel-
Post-Mass benedictions-
May crownings

Of this list, we have many at our parish regularly... Communion at the altar rails is not done at the Novus Ordo Masses, but we do have a portion of the original altar rail still in the church! As for the priest purifying the sacred vessels... I am thinking if the priest isn't doing this, it is an abuse. The (indult?) allowing it to be done by others has expired and wasn't renewed, as I understand it. I think it now must be done by either a deacon or priest. We don't have pre-Mass rosaries at our parish, but I think it would be allowed if requested by parishioners... the Angelus prayers and Prayer to St. Michael are done before daily Mass regularly.

Tenebrae

This evening, after the Holy Thursday Mass, there was adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the chapel separate from the main church... at 8 pm I attended my first Tenebrae service. I really liked it a lot... the sound of the wooden (clacker? -- don't know what else to call it) for the strepitus at the end definitely startled a few.

Good Friday Plans

The boys worked really hard on their schoolwork this week and were able to finish all five days' work in only four days... so tomorrow we'll be able to participate in the local "Way of the Cross" along with some other home schooling friends. I'm hoping for good weather...

New Musical Instruments

The boys are enjoying playing their new instruments. It has been a bit easier getting them to practice with the novelty of having different instruments (and that are their very own) to play. They are both progressing well... getting close to the end of the Suzuki Book 1 pieces. Another benefit is that I have pulled out my violin and gotten myself back into practice myself. I find that I often play their pieces along with them when they are first learning them... and also that I can use it to demonstrate a technique I am trying to get them to focus their efforts upon... much easier than trying to tell them with words. Prior to this, I probably hadn't pulled out my violin in 20 years or so... I had to have it restrung and a new bridge fitted for it before I could... now if I can just keep up with them as they progress, all will be well...

Seton Music Program

I don't know if I have mentioned how much I am liking the Seton Music books they provide as part of the curriculum for the kids before. Since we are a bit out of sync with the rest of the world on their schoolwork, I have to adjust the pages we use differently than they recommend in the lesson plans in some cases so that we are singing Easter songs at Easter... since my kids are a half-year ahead of their age group academically, we are always out of step with everyone else...

Anyway, back to topic... the music choices in the little books are great. They often give the solfegge hints for many of the pieces (which I make the boys sing alternately with the words). There are also many Latin pieces in chant notation in my older boy's book this year. It makes it easy for me to include chant notation reading (and Latin pronunciation) as a part of their normal singing and music education. I had a thought today, though, and was just wondering how many of the parents using the books know how to read chant notation... I wondered if a simple unaccompanied CD recording of the various pieces would be useful for those not really musically inclined. Perhaps it would make a good future project...

Political Notes...

It is late... I am hearing (in the background news report) more discussion about the problems Obama may be facing because of the radical nature of the church he has been a member of for the past 20 years. I can remember reading the website of that church several months ago and being a bit appalled at the blatantly racist attitude fostered there... That being said, I am wondering at the timing of this big media blitz. Usually, the timing of these things is no accident, I find. So... who was pulling the strings (either by keeping the big thrust of this story back earlier in the game or by doing it now instead of later on in the campaign -- say, after he already had the Democratic nomination). I am guessing this is an insider (i.e. Democrat) strategy... and who stands to gain?

I thought Obama was a total left-wing nut-roll (for whom I would never vote) way before now... so it has done nothing to change my opinion of him... but certainly it looks to me like a last-ditch effort on the part of Hillary to help her campaign efforts. I am glad the radical nature of his religious affiliation has finally been made public... I am not so gullible that I would believe a man could be a member of a church for such a long time with this type of preacher and never have heard the type of vicious rhetoric Wright spews... in fact, I would go so far as to say that I think Obama is being disingenuous to try to say that he doesn't agree with Wright's views. I suppose he senses that speaking the truth about such political and racial views would not work out well for him in his campaign... and, of course, he is probably right. His is a bit more politically correct packaging, but probably the underlying attitudes are similar, in my opinion.

But, I digress... Happy Triduum...

New Musical Instruments and other thoughts

When we first started the boys with Suzuki lessons, we weren't really sure how it would go... whether they would like it and do well, whether we would like the program... so, we opted not to purchase instruments immediately. So... after 7 months (and that many months of rental payments, too), I think it is going to stick.

I ordered instruments for the boys from an online place. Many of the parents in the program have obviously spent a lot more for the kids' instruments than I did... I am thinking that it is craziness to pay big bucks for a 1/4 size violin, for example. I know (at least I am pretty sure) he is going to grow out of that size fairly quickly. I measured his arm length on the instrument he is using now to see if I could possibly get by with ordering the next larger size for him, but alas...

Especially with our upcoming move and the upheaval that will surely cause in terms of many routines, I wanted to be sure to have the instrument situation taken care of so that (along with the homeschooling) we can have our daily routine continue during the transition.

I was talking to a friend about our upcoming departure this morning and had a sort of 'aha' moment. I have a personal tendency to get overextended with activities, interests, etc. I volunteer or somehow get roped in to doing a few more things than I can comfortably do quite often... So... I do the things I agree to do, but things at home (like regular meals, housecleaning, tax preparation -- oh yes, that is upon me) tend to suffer.

This frequent moving thing because of my husband's job helps me scale back, catch my breath and begin again each time we move. Granted, the move itself is always a bit stressful... but the time after the boxes are unpacked, when we are still learning how to get around a new city and haven't yet joined any choirs or social groups or gotten involved in lots of kids' activities or met the new friends we will surely make in the new place is always a chance to rest and regroup for me.

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I brutally sorted through my (stuffed to the gills) bookshelves and identified about 40 books I could part with and have them ready to give away. The motivation to begin in earnest to sort through and get rid of things hasn't really hit me yet... I keep thinking I still have plenty of time. Many more closets and cupboards await... not to mention the boys' room and the garage...

Also on my list of things to do is to find out how to plan a "fun run" fundraiser. I am not a runner myself, so have zero experience with this... but I am fairly good at planning things logically. I've got a couple of names to start with to ask the questions of... but the bulk of the planning is still undone...

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Last year I also began doing some simple recordings of musical compositions written by a friend... we've never finished them up with the fine-tuning of my performance and the mixing... I'd really like to finish that before we leave the area, as it will be much more difficult from a distance.

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Tomorrow is a major housecleaning day... everything WILL go in its place... dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, bathroom and kitchen shining... yes it will be done tomorrow in preparation for my husband's return. Perhaps I'll even have a fabulous meal planned in honor of his return from out of town...

Busy Tuesday

It is a busy week... lots of kid schoolwork to do and their normal activities... We went to daily Mass today along with some other home schooling friends. Afterward, the boys enjoyed their bag lunches with their buddies and had a bit of (that desperately needed thing) socialization!

Today was also my youngest son's first violin recital. Yes, he played Twinkle, twinkle in all its wonderful variations along with his seven other graduating classmates this afternoon. In his white shirt, tie, suit pants and church shoes, he looked pretty spiffy. I was very proud of him.

We stayed for most of the rest of the music (until the fidgety kids drove me to my limit -- the enjoyment I received listening was not enough to outdo the irritation of wiggling, answering loudly-whispered questions, etc.). The final performance we heard was an absolutely outstanding cello solo by the son of the director of the Suzuki program here in Shreveport - John Henry Crawford. He has an amazing stage presence for one so young... and his playing was superb!

I am busily trying to put together music for an early Saturday morning Mass... I need to learn three new chant pieces by then. They are:

Introit: Sitientes
Offertory: Factus est Dominus
Communion: Dominus regit me

Time to get the boys to bed and get to reading! So much time, so little to do -- wait, reverse that!

Suzuki Method

My two little boys have recently begun learning to play instruments using the Suzuki method. I had heard about it for many years and how amazing the progress was for the children taught using it, but never experienced it firsthand. Well, it so happens that we live in a place where the program here is very well organized and the teaching is excellent.

Being a home schooling family, we were able to get into the program much more quickly than many others. Since I am able to bring my boys for their private lessons when other children are at school, we did not have to wait on a waiting list as so many others do. So, last fall we had the boys begin taking lessons... the eldest on the viola; the younger on violin. I must say it is amazing to see how much more quickly they progress than I did when I first began learning to play the violin in grade school group class many years ago.

Some key differences I have noticed are:

1. Much more parental involvement from the very start. This means the parents are active participants in learning what the children are to practice and to assure that they get effective practices between lessons. Those parents who haven't ever learned to play a string instrument are even encouraged to learn to play at least the basics themselves so that they understand better what the child is learning. The parents are present at lessons, listening, taking notes and reinforcing at home the key points the teacher makes...

2. Private lessons for each child from the beginning. I remember my wonderful elementary school orchestra teacher, Doris Welborne, faced with maybe up to 20 brand-new students all in the orchestra room at the same time, all needing instruments tuned, chaos reigning on many occasions... It was amazing that she was able to get us all to play together at the same time at all, much less foster the interest in continuing on and gaining proficiency as time went on. We certainly did not have that one-on-one attention for each child that allows each of the Suzuki students to have help with the particular problems he/she may have with the instrument and technique. We were taught not only to play the instrument, but to also read the music right from the start. This all necessarily slowed the class as a whole down a great deal. Some of us already had been taking piano lessons and could already read the music; others had no clue. I was so impressed with how quickly my boys moved through learning the various techniques and fairly difficult pieces in such a short time. It was a huge contrast with how I learned myself.

3. Listening CD's for getting the tunes etched in the child's memory. The technique of getting the children to listen daily to the music they will be playing helps a great deal in their ability to play the pieces. Particularly for the younger students, less emphasis on reading the notes and more emphasis on the technique of actually playing the instrument seems to be very effective.

4. Playful techniques in the group classes. Keeping the interest of the children and making it fun for them seems to help in the learning process. Each teacher has his/her own techniques and fun games or variations on the various pieces that keep it interesting for the children. Even if a child has been playing a particular piece a long while, the various techniques, bowing, fingering, etc. that are used to make it a bit different allows them not to become bored and reinforces the things they have learned over and over.

5. Frequent opportunities to play in front of others. Recitals, outdoor concerts for local events, playing in front of other classmates... these all take away the fear of playing and standing in front of an audience.

It has added a bit more driving and commitment of our time to a schedule than I had last year, but I think it has been a great confidence builder for the boys. Not only do I hope that they both become accomplished string players in time, but I believe that the ability to read music is a life skill that they'll be glad of for the rest of their lives.

We are getting ready for a music workshop for the boys this weekend... there will be guest Suzuki instructors working with the children tomorrow and Saturday. They'll have the opportunity to learn from someone new, who may have different techniques and be able to help the children progress by seeing things with fresh eyes... We are all looking forward to it a great deal.