WYD Vestments Need Explicitly Christian Symbols

HT Absolutely No Spin... In an article in an online Australian news site, it was reported that Pope Benedict has rejected the proposed WYD vestment design. The reason for it is the Pope's opinion that all symbology on vestments must be explicitly Christian... not such a very radical requirement, in my opinion. A quote from the article:

The Pope is known to dislike vestment symbols that are not
explicitly Christian. He may, though, wear some variation on the vestment design, a WYD spokeswoman said.

Take a gander at the photo of the proposed design... the front of the vestment features a symbol of the southern cross constellation. The back features something called "Margorie's Bird" (I have no idea what that is).

Another quote from Angelqueen.org gives a little insight as to how the design came about:

"They feature the Southern Cross on the front, signifying
Australia as the Great Southern Land of the Holy Spirit. "This is reinforced by the indigenous image on the back of the chasuble - Marjorie's Bird - also representing the Holy Spirit. "We want to ensure we reflect our unique landscape, history and cultural influences when the international spotlight is on Sydney for this great event," he said. Marjorie's Bird was created by indigenous artist Marjorie Liddy from the Tiwi Islands in Northern Territory.

Both sets of vestments were designed by Melbourne firm Stuart Pettigrew Design and Sr Rosemary Crumlin RSM.

You can see a (not very good) small photo of the vestment back at a pdf here...

Schola Anniversary

Last night our schola celebrated our one year anniversary. Meeting at the home of one of our members, we enjoyed a great evening of chanting (not very much... just enough to sort of call it a rehearsal), eating, drinking and talking. I was very touched by cards and gifts given to me to take with me when we move... a beautiful crystal vase (which was jokingly recommended as a possible wine glass for me -- much better than those dinky glasses usually offered) and a wonderful coffee mug imprinted with the name of Jesus in various languages of the world... I'll drink my coffee from it and think of the wonderful friends I have had the pleasure of getting to know here...

We spoke of music, upcoming events in the parish and diocese, not the least of which is our upcoming Bishop's ordination / installation. We will be anxious to hear how the planning goes (where it will be held, etc.).

It lasted quite a bit later than our normal rehearsals... talking takes much longer than singing! Happy Anniversary, Schola!

Great post on Peggy Noonan...

HT Creative Minority Report... check out their post about Peggy Noonan's insightful analysis of the Democratic political candidates... attitudes, truthfulness...

As stated in the post, Peggy Noonan has an uncanny ability to make you aware of things you maybe knew.

She speaks of Hillary's untruthfulness and Obama's attitude toward middle class America, as exemplified in their recent actions and words. I think, particularly, Obama's attitude toward middle class America is not atypical of most priveleged liberals... that is the problem. They have no real regard for those they hope to rule.

Parish Book of Chant... give a listen!

Listen to Jeffrey Tucker tell what you can expect from the CMAA Parish Book of Chant that is to be available in June 2008. Pre-orders are also available... check it out!

By clicking on this link, you can hear much great information about this great resource!

http://www.musicasacra.com/media/pbc-explanation.mp3

For a list of contents... see the post Scelata has here...

Bishop-elect Anthony Basil Taylor (Little Rock)

Our neighboring diocese to the north in Little Rock, Arkansas has a new bishop. Father Anthony Basil Taylor, (almost) 54, who was born in Ft. Worth, TX will be ordained bishop of Little Rock on June 5, 2008.

Here is an excerpt from an article at Arkansas Catholic:

Father Anthony B. Taylor, a priest in the Archdiocese of
Oklahoma City, was named seventh bishop of the Diocese of Little Rock the
morning of April 10.

The word came at 5 a.m. CDT from Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic
nuncio to the United States, that Pope Benedict XVI had made the
appointment.
A press conference will be held at 2 p.m. today in Morris Hall
Chapel on the grounds of St. John Catholic Center at 2500 North Tyler Street.
Archbishop Eusebius J. Beltran of Oklahoma City will introduce Bishop-elect
Taylor who succeeds Bishop J. Peter Sartain, the Diocese of Little Rock's sixth
bishop, who was installed as the bishop of Joliet on June 27, 2006.

During the past 21 months while the Diocese of Little Rock has been
without a bishop, Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert has served as the diocesan
administrator. He also will be present for this afternoon's press
conference.

Anthony Basil Taylor was born April 24, 1954, in Fort Worth, Texas. He is
the oldest of seven children born to Basil and Rachel (Roth) Taylor who moved
their family to Ponca City, Okla., in 1960. Bishop-elect Taylor's parents and
two of his siblings and their families still live in Ponca City, which is on the
Arkansas River in northern Oklahoma.

As a seminarian Bishop-elect Taylor studied at St. Meinrad Seminary
College in Indiana and the North American College in Rome where he took classes
at the Gregorian University. He was ordained a priest on Aug. 2, 1980 in his
home parish, St. Mary in Ponca City. Serving among Catholics who are Hispanic
has been an emphasis of Bishop-elect Taylor's ministry since his ordination. His
first assignment was to Sacred Heart Parish in Oklahoma City where he began
Spanish Masses at Clinton and Hinton, Okla. From 1982-1986 he served in Queen of
All Saints mission in Sayre, which included ministering to the Hispanic
population in a five-county area. In 1989 Bishop-elect Taylor earned a doctorate
in biblical theology from Fordham University in New York City.

Bishop-elect Taylor also has served in various archdiocesan positions,
including vicar for ministries; minister to priests; director of the permanent
diaconate Program; chairman of the Presbyteral Council, Clergy Personnel Board
and Clergy Retirement Board; and as a member of the Archdiocesan Finance
Council. He is also a member of the board of trustees for Mount Saint Mary High
School in Oklahoma City, a sister school to Mount Saint Mary Academy in Little
Rock.

Bishop-elect Taylor was the founding pastor of St. Monica Parish in
Edmond, Okla., in 1993, a total stewardship parish, where he served for 10
years. In 2003 he returned to his first assignment as a priest, Sacred Heart
Parish, where he oversaw the final phase of its transition from being a
predominately Anglo to a predominately Hispanic Catholic community. Seven of its
nine weekend Masses are in Spanish, one is bilingual and one is in English.

The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City sponsored and staffed a parish in
Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, from 1963 to 2001. In 1981 Father Stanley Rother,
an Oklahoma priest, was martyred there. After the local diocese of Solola took
over the care of the parish in 2001, Oklahoma Catholics continued to provide
assistance to the parish, its school, a local hospital and a new planned alcohol
abuse treatment center, since 2005 under the direction of Bishop-elect Taylor.
In September 2007 the cause of canonization for Father Rother was formally
opened with Bishop-elect Taylor serving as the episcopal delegate for this
process.

The Diocese of Little Rock was established Nov. 28, 1843. It covers the
entire state of Arkansas whose 75 counties encompass 52,068 square miles.
Registered Catholics comprise 116,605 of the state's total population of
2,810,872.

Here is another tidbit taken from the Little Rock Diocese' biographical page...

Anthony Basil Taylor was born April 24, 1954, in Fort Worth,
Texas. His parents and grandparents on both sides were long-time residents of
Fort Worth. Two of his grandparents are converts (his mother's father from
Judaism and his father's mother from Protestantism) and both of his parents, as
well as the Taylor children themselves, were raised in a solid traditional
Catholic home.
Bishop Taylor is the oldest of the seven children of Basil and
Rachel (Roth) Taylor -- the 5 Taylor boys and 2 Taylor girls were born in a
little over 9 years and are as close personally as they are in age.
The
Taylor family moved to Ponca City, Okla., in 1960, where Bishop Taylor's parents
and two of his siblings and their families still live today -- the other 4 live
in Fort Worth and Dallas. Ponca City is on the Arkansas River in northern
Oklahoma.
Bishop Taylor attended parochial and public schools, graduating
from Ponca City High School in 1972. He attended the University of Oklahoma for
two years, after which he was accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of
Oklahoma City.

From Whispers in the Loggia, here is a little more personal article about the man...

Earlier today, a friend of Bishop-elect Tony Taylor's said he had a hard time
thinking of the Little Rock appointee in a cassock.Well, Taylor started getting
used to it a bit earlier than usual at today's presser -- house garb, zucchetto
and all.And when the Oklahoma priest started flashing his famed social-justice
cred, linking the witness of MLK to his call to priesthood, jaws were seen
dropping in the room.Statement; snips:

The Pope apparently needs a clearer response than: Oh my gosh! so Archbishop Sambi pressed a little further, asking: How do you feel about this? And all I could
think of was: humbled. Humbled by the trust the Lord is placing in me, humbled
by the confidence everyone who has had a hand in choosing me to be the next
bishop of Little Rock, humbled by the scope of this new calling which is far
greater than anything I have ever done before, humbled by my own inner
conviction that when the Lord calls the only answer that a faithful servant can
give is: "Yes Lord, I will do whatever you ask."

Every bishop traditionally comes up with a coat of arms and a motto, and I have taken my motto from Psalm 37:11 which Jesus quotes in Matthew 5:5 as one of the Beatitudes: "The Humble Shall Inherit the Earth." But there is a problem in that the word translated as humble is different from humble as we usually think of it -- a humble or timid attitude.

In Psalm 37:11 the underlying Hebrew word is Anawim, meaning those
of humble circumstances: the poor, the oppressed. Those of humble circumstances
will inherit the earth. Jesus' preferential love of the poor and marginalized
was courageous, not timid, and so also must we be if we are to be his faithful
servants. Not to the exclusion of anyone else but in recognition that those with
the greatest need have the greatest claim on us.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 40 years ago this month and on the day of his death God gave me an insight that helped me eventually hear his call to the priesthood. I was 14 at the time.

The insight was this: being a faithful Christian requires more
than just saying prayers, obeying the Commandments and trying to get your own
soul into heaven. If you're only interested in your own spiritual welfare in the
next life, you don't really believe in the redemptive power of the cross of
Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther King taught me that being a faithful Christian
required that I do whatever I could to help build the Kingdom of God here and
now, and that to do so would require courage not timidity, fear of God not fear
of man. If you don't align yourself with the Kingdom of God in this life, how do
you expect to be admitted into the Kingdom of God in the next?

And who are the people of humble circumstances of the Diocese of Little Rock?
Probably the same people whom I have served for over 27 years as a priest in Oklahoma, the same people whom my inspiring predecessors have served here in Arkansas in the past....And I pray to God that the Lord will make me as good a shepherd for the Church and people of Arkansas as those on whose shoulders I now stand.

New Bishop Announcements!

More bishop announcements today... see all the news at Catholic Heirarchy News. It looks like our neighbors to the north will also have a new bishop...

Bishop-elect William J. Justice was named an Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco, California, USA and titular bishop of Mathara in Proconsulari.

Bishop-elect Oscar Cantú was named an Auxiliary Bishop of San Antonio, Texas, USA and titular bishop of Dardanus.

Bishop-elect James Douglas Conley was named Auxiliary Bishop of Denver, Colorado, USA and titular bishop of Cissa.

Bishop-elect Anthony Basil Taylor was named Bishop of Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. The Diocese had been vacant since Bishop James Peter Sartain was named Bishop of Joliet in Illinois in May 2006.

Bishop Richard Edmund Pates was named Bishop of Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The Diocese had been vacant since the resignation of Bishop Joseph Leo Charron, C.Pp.S. one year ago today. Bishop Pates had been serving as an Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Another great Adoremus article by Jeffrey Tucker...

Just read the article in the April 2008 Adoremus Bulletin online... "The Decline and Fall of Catholic Music". In the article, Jeffrey gives a very good analogy about the loss of the musical skills within the Catholic church. Here is a brief excerpt:

Comics are rather popular among young people and have been
for many decades. But let’s imagine a world in which people never really went
beyond them. No novels, no poetry, no non-fiction. Just comics. Maybe not even
words. Just pictures.

Who would be surprised when the generation turned out
to be illiterate? Let this situation run for three or four generations, and you
would suddenly wake up to a world in which no one could really read and, more
shockingly, no one could teach people to read either.

At this point, you might expect people to suddenly
realize what they have done. A major part of the foundation of civilization had
been inadvertently smashed. If we could easily do a before/after analysis, we
would be shocked more so than if we live in the midst of
transition.

While it is happening, each generation knows
less than the previous generation and increasingly there are fewer and fewer
people around to even notice that there is a problem. People do not even know
what they do not know, nor even that the problem needs to be
corrected.

This, I fear, is pretty much what has happened in the
area of Catholic music — not entirely, but we have approached that fate and
perhaps might be saved from it with massive efforts today.

Check out the article... he made many very good points about why it is important to all of us to try to preserve the musical heritage of the Church...

Chant: for the Few? or the Many?

I read a wonderful article in the October 2007 Adoremus Bulletin (which is now online) by Lucy Carroll... it is a wonderful discussion about the history and the now of Chant.

HT Adam's Ale

The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber -- Book Review

On my birthday, my husband and boys gave me three books they selected for me from the local bookstore... knowing how much I love to read, it is always a sure bet. The first one I have read was The Book of Air and Shadows, by Michael Gruber. It was originally published in 2007; I have the paperback edition.

This was a very enjoyable read... interesting from the standpoint of being able to learn things about literature, bookbinding, reading old script, perhaps some idea of the attitudes prevalent at the time when Shakespeare lived... At the same time, I liked the style of the writing... it jumped back and forth, intertwining the historical parts with the modern parts...

The author did a nice job of developing some very interesting characters in the book... touching on many different issues... monogamy, abuse of women, dishonesty, greed, lust...at the center of the story was a intellectual property lawyer ( whose sister is a madam and whose brother is a Jesuit priest) who was unwittingly drawn into the mystery of the possible existence of an unpublished work of William Shakespeare's.

At many different points in the book, I happened to notice that Catholicism was a part of either the character or the subplot -- was William Shakespeare a Catholic in secret? While the author didn't gloss over certain problems with the Church, neither did he demonize it. In fact, I would say, overall, Catholic beliefs and characters in the book came off pretty well. This was quite refreshing to me.

I recommend reading this book... it was a lot of fun and quite interesting.

Step by Step... Recorded Music links

To sum up...

Last year when I first began working with the schola, I soon found that I needed a way to make recordings of myself singing the chants for our group to use for practice CD's. Even though we found recordings online, it was often difficult to hear the fine nuances of pronunciation, interpretation of neumes, etc. A simple, one-voice recording seemed the way to go.

1. I bought a simple recorder at one of the local computer stores... an Olympus DS-30. I love it for the fact that it is extremely simple to use and very compact -- about the size of a cellphone. With it and the uploading cable that came with it, I have been happily recording practice CD's for our schola ever since. It does record in a format denoted .wmv. This is, apparently, a proprietary thing and is not compatible with .mp3 or .wav, which are more common and easily edited. Although the recorder came with a simple editing package, it is very limited and doesn't even actually work on the new computer we now have with an XP operating system.

So... although it was still working wonderfully well for its original intended purpose, I was beginning to see the limitations in terms of sharing the music online (no good in .wmv format) and editing.

2. Next I bought a simple online program (available for $19.95) called Smart Audio Converter. It allows me to convert my files from the DS-30 to .mp3 format or .wav format.

3. In order to be able to do editing on the files, I downloaded a simple free program called Audacity. With it, I am able to do simple editing to remove the loud 'click' from the button pushing. I am sure there is much more capability than I am currently using, but I'll investigate that as time goes on.

4. Once the files are recorded, converted, edited, they are ready for uploading, sharing in emails, etc. I found that, if you want to be able to link to these files in a blog, you have to have a place on the internet to store them. I found a free web-hosting site -- fileave.com where I opened up a free account for the music file storage. There are many others out there... I didn't really spend a great deal of time comparing... I found uploading the files to this site was extremely easy -- idiot-proof even. Once they were uploaded to the site, I have unique addresses for each recording that I can link to my blog, or in emails, etc. The site even offers the codes for imbedding the files onto a blog (so I was able to place one of the files on my blog so that it plays when the blog site is opened up -- it doesn't play continuously... just once through).

So... maybe there was a simpler way to do all this... but it works! I'll continue recording my chants in the church foyer to leave behind (perhaps several) CD's for the schola to use after my departure... with the promise that I'll make more when they need them. Maybe I'll find another place to record with equally good acoustics in the new place... but will I have a key that allows me to go there when no one is using it? That is the question... the future awaits!

Babies and New Technology...

There is a wonderful story at Apprentice of St. Joseph about the ultrasound and accompanying photo of their yet-unborn child.

It reminded me again of the wonderful surprise we got concerning our eldest son...

Although my husband and I have been married over 25 years and always wanted a large family, it was not to be. After trying the various methods of increasing fertility (within acceptable practices, of course) to no avail, we had long decided it just wasn't in God's plan for us to have children. We accepted our lot and, while we considered adoption, found it was a difficult road for two such transient individuals such as ourselves to undertake. At one point we were actually qualified to be foster parents, but were strongly discouraged from thinking that it might lead to an adoption at some point...

At the time of my pregnancy with our eldest son (when we had already been married over 15 years) I was working full-time for a transit bus manufacturing company in the southwest. I was a program manager in the research and development department at the time, working long hours and traveling to Los Angeles every two weeks to check on the progress of a prototype bus build we had in progress. I can recall having some pains in my lower abdomen (which we later deduced to be the stretching of ligaments)... I discussed this fact with my mother, who was concerned that I could end up by myself, in L.A., trying to get to a hospital for an appendectomy or some such thing.

At her urging, I decided to go see a doctor before my next trip (which happened to be only one day away from my appointment). While there, the doctor talked with me about my symptoms and finally asked about the possibility of pregnancy. I laughed and said that I was quite sure it couldn't be, as we had tried to have children for years with no success, despite all the help modern medicine could give us. He asked that I humor him, so I (thinking we could at least eliminate that possibility) said, "Sure, go ahead and test me for it".

Not much later, he came back and said, "Well, let me be the first to congratulate you... you are pregnant."

At the same appointment, they got me in to have an ultrasound... being very cavalier about such things as my monthly cycles (and also having not a bit of morning sickness or any other symptom) I had no earthly idea how pregnant I was. From the ultrasound, we determined that I was already about 10 weeks' pregnant... I came home from the appointment with the ultrasound pictures to prove it. I went to see my parents, who lived in the same city where we were at the time, when they asked how the appointment went... I couldn't even speak for crying with happiness... I just finally handed them the ultrasound pictures of my little boy...

My husband was commuting to his unit in N. at the time and was in transit at that particular time... but when he called me later that day, he asked what the doctor had said... I told him I did not have appendicitis, but that I would have to start taking prenatal vitamins.

Dead silence on the other end of the phone... then the reality came through... great joy and excitement in our little family. I have a hard time understanding the dichotomy in our society... when a pregnancy is a much-awaited thing, there is no doubt (however early on the pregnancy) that it is another little human being there... yet, when it was not a desired thing, that same little person is considered a blob of cells? Especially with the advent of the ultrasound technology, and the visual evidence that there is a living - heart-beating - person, how can anyone justify abortion? That little person did nothing to cause his/her little life to be snuffed out for someone else's convenience, regardless as to how his/her existence came to be... OK enough soap-boxing for one evening!

Amateur Recordings...

Thought I would put a link to a few of the recordings... in case anyone is interested in the music our schola will be working on in the near future...

Kyrie cum Jubilo IX

Sanctus cum Jubilo IX

Agnus dei cum Jubilo IX

I love this cum Jubilo (especially appropriate for Marian feastdays) Mass setting and would love for it to be ready to do during the month of May...

Here are a couple of others I like particularly well...

Jesu Dulcis

Regina Caeli

If you tell me a particular favorite of yours from this list... it will be the next selection heard from the sidebar upon visiting the blog... You can also make requests for future recordings...

A Quiet Weekend...

It has been a fairly quiet weekend... we were all in the mode of trying to let my husband recuperate. The boys were on good behavior, offering to fetch and carry whenever needed. The eldest also did dishes (by himself and without breaking anything) twice! I got some bread baked and made granola for the coming week. We splurged this morning and I made Blueberry Buckle coffee cake (leaving one end plain for my picky eater).

I have stayed up way too late, but I have finally gotten all the pieces figured out on this recording/uploading thing. Although Audacity won't export in .mp3 format without another program, it works fine in .wav format. So... I just do my editing (to my limited capability, which primarily extends to removing the loud 'click' at the end of each recording), export the files in .wav format and then use my newly purchased file converter to put them back in .mp3 format. Whew!

It doesn't seem so hard now that I have it figured out... I'm inspired to do more before we leave here. With my discovery of the wonderful sound in the church foyer, I want to do a few more soon. This week, I recorded Veni Sancte Spiritus, Veni Creator Spiritus, Regina Caeli, Salve Regina, Kyrie cum Jubilo IX, Sanctus IX, Agnus Dei IX, Kyrie Orbis Factor XI, Sanctus XI, Agnus Dei XI, Alma Redemptoris Mater, Ave Maria (antiphona), Jesu Dulcis and O Salutaris. I had also recorded both versions of the Ave Maris Stella, but think I'll re-do them.

Next week, my recording plan is: Asperges me, Te Deum (solemnis), Gloria XV, Sanctus VIII, Agnus Dei VIII, Requiem Introit, Kyrie for Funerals, In Paradisum/Chorus Angelorum, Ego Sum, and Ecce Panis. That should give us plenty to work on for the coming weeks and perhaps even beyond my departure.

Still can't seem to use audacity...

Well... I figured out several pieces of the puzzle... I bought software to convert the .wmv files from my Olympus recorder to mp3. Then I found a free hosting site (instead of trying to make the other one work -- too hard) and uploaded several music recordings...

Now you hear the fruits of my labor when you open up the site. I am hoping to be able to figure out how to use the editing software to clean up the recordings... get rid of the street noise and the "click" at the end... but in the meantime, I have made much progress. I imagine I'll change the chants daily... makes it more interesting, don't you think?

The problem I am having with Audacity is that, after I've done my editing, I can't seem to get the dumb file to export back as an mp3 file. The software keeps telling me that I need another program to reconvert it to mp3... there must be something simple I could do to make this work... but I'm learning it all the hard way.

The recording on there today is O Salutaris, a chant from the Liber Cantualis. I may take that element off the side at some point... it could become annoying... but for now... it is there!

Tax Preparation avoidance...

Yes... I am, once again, waiting until the absolute last minute to complete our tax return. I have it started and it shouldn't really take me all that long this year... after all, we didn't move in 2007 (heh). However, I have found a good way to distract myself from that looming responsibility today.

I'm trying to figure out the way things work with web hosting, etc. With the help of Brian Michael Page from Christus Vincit I think I now know how to use my simple Olympus recorder to post a few recordings from time to time... I purchased a Smart Audio converter to convert my Olympus files (that are in .wmv format) to mp3 format. Then, I had to figure out how to use the website I purchased last year and never have used to upload files... I've still got learning how to use the mp3 editing software Audacity on my 'to do' list.

I'm still testing the accessibility with (probably unwilling) family members and friends to see if it works... if it all goes well... I'll be able to post a few of my recordings. I am hopeful that when I record something we sing at Mass that is particularly good, or when I visit somewhere and want to share the sounds... I can do it -- I do realize that any recordings will have to be non-copyrighted materials... so if you do hear things... they will be really OLD music (just sung recently). I may also post practice music here from time to time that is representative of what we are singing in the schola...

Calling all Hoosiers...

Any midwesterners out there? I so wish I could join in this Gregorian Workshop that is to be held April 11-12 in Lafayette, IN. Check out Scelata's post about this event... I had received word about this upcoming event from a friend I met at last year's Colloquium from Kokomo, IN (where we used to live several years ago).

Weekend update...

Well... as soon as the grass dries up a bit more, I am out to mow... with the lovely rain we have had the past few days, it has greened-up nicely. We do have a "For Sale" sign posted out front and I have the house within 15 minutes of ready to show status... so all is right with the world.

Thursday our family spent the day at the hospital... my husband had an outpatient surgery scheduled... so the boys (schoolbooks in their backpacks) and I took him there at around 5:15 am. The surgery went well and he is recuperating nicely at home. It was a very long day, though, for all of us. We didn't end up actually getting home until about 4 pm.

Later that evening, when I could see that the boys were well-situated and with orders to fetch anything their Dad might need... I headed out to chant practice. We are a bit uncertain of when our next Latin Mass will be with the announcement of our new Bishop. As such, the Latin Masses we had scheduled have been cancelled for now because of all the intense effort in the planning for his Ordination/Installation.

We worked on the beautiful sequence Veni Sancte Spiritus that is called for on Pentecost. It has to be one of my all-time favorite chants. We sang it antiphonally men/women. Also, we tried something a little different this week. In the foyer to the cathedral the accoustics are very live... perhaps how the cathedral itself was before they added all the sound-deadening acoustic panels to the ceiling whenever they did the last major renovation. We moved our group out to the foyer and sang... it was such a good sound!

I went back yesterday afternoon to record the chants we'll be working on for the coming weeks - general Marian hymns, two more Mass settings and a few other pieces we haven't yet done from the Liber Cantualis. I must say the recordings sound much better there (in the church foyer) than from my home bathroom recording studio! Even with my simple recorder, the sound was good... wish I could figure out how to upload some of the recordings I have made to the blog... but I am guessing I am really just going to have to learn how to use my mp3 recorder!

Cistercian Abbey Gregorian Chant - Stift-Heiligenkreuz

For chant lovers... a wonderful recording from the Cistercian Abbey in Wienerwald... apparently they have an abundance of vocations there...

http://www.stift-heiligenkreuz.org/

HT: Curt Jester

Msgr. Michael Duca update...

Yesterday at about 10:00 am, Monsignor Michael Duca was officially introduced at a press conference at the chancery... here is an excerpt from the news story:

Applause greeted the new bishop-elect of Shreveport before he was officially introduced at a press conference this morning.Pope Benedict XVI named Msgr. Michael Gerard Duca, of the Diocese of Dallas, as the second bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport today.

“I should thank Pope Benedict XVI for this awesome and exciting blessing,” he said to a group of media, priests and diocesan staff. “It’s a great joy to come to this diocese.”

Duca will fill the seat left vacant when Bishop William Friend retired in December 2006.Since he is a priest, he will be ordained bishop and installed as the head of the Shreveport diocese in a joint ceremony. It is tentatively set for May 19.

Duca, 55, is a Dallas native and attended Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas, where he is now the rector. Ordained in 1978, he has also served as vocations director for the diocese, campus minister at Southern Methodist University and associate pastor at several Dallas churches.

“This is a great day for the diocese,” said the Rev. Peter Mangum, pastor of the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans. “I believe the holy father has matched the right person with his background in priestly ministry, vocations and law.”

Some data about the Shreveport diocese:

Diocese of Shreveport by the numbers

11,133 square miles

40,000 Catholics

27 parishes

14 quasi-parishes

7 schools

2 early childhood centers

38 active priests

21 permanent deacons

3 active seminarians

'

Bishop-elect Duca will be the second bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport, which is located in northwestern Louisiana.

This information courtesy of the Shreveport Times.

A video of the announcement can be seen here...

'

One more bit of information from Zenit:

Established in 1986, The Diocese of Shreveport covers 11,124 square miles in 16 civil parishes and has a current total population of 788,793, of whom approximately 39,425 are Catholic.

'

Also check out James' (Opinionated Catholic) blog entry on the subject here...

Shreveport has a new bishop!!!

As we had rumored a few weeks ago, Shreveport will have a new bishop very soon... Monsignor Michael Duca, the longtime rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas, will be wearing the bishop's miter. The tentative date for ordination/installation is set for May 19th, so mark your calendars... I think the schola had better start working on a few ordination-type chants... just in case our services are needed!
'
Here is the web posting from the Cathedral of St. John Berchmans in Shreveport...

See the article at Whispers in the Loggia...
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Dallas News release:

Pope Appoints Duca to Lead Diocese of Shreveport
Dallas Seminary Rector Named New Bishop
(Dallas) A Dallas native will be the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport, Louisiana. The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, announced this morning that His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, has appointed Reverend Monsignor Michael Duca of the Diocese of Dallas to serve as only the second bishop of Shreveport.
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Bishop-elect Duca’s appointment comes just one month away from his 30th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood in Dallas on April 29, 1978. He has served as the Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas since 1996. He has also served on numerous boards and commissions in the Diocese of Dallas including: the College of Consultors, Presbyteral Council, Personnel Board, the Commission for Orders and on the Diocesan Tribunal, presently as a Judge and as Associate Judicial Vicar. He is currently the Director of the Office for the On-going Formation of Priests. He is also a Fourth Degree Knight of Columbus and a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher.
Early in his priesthood, Bishop-elect Duca served as Associate Pastor at several parishes in the Diocese of Dallas including: All Saints, St Patrick and St. Luke. He also served as Campus Minister at Southern Methodist University from 1985-1992 and as Vocations Director for the diocese from 1985-1992.
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In 1994 he was chosen for further studies in Canon Law. He attended the University of Saint Thomas in Rome (The Angelicum) where he graduated with a License in Canon Law in 1996. Upon his return from Rome, he was appointed to serve as Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary. Bishop-elect Duca has served as rector until the present.
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At the announcement of the news, Bishop-elect Duca said “I am humbled and honored by the Pope’s decision to appoint me as Bishop of the Diocese of Shreveport. It is an incredible blessing that I look forward to, but not without some mixed emotions. My 30 years as a priest in the Diocese of Dallas have been a very enriching experience. The opportunity to serve in parishes and to work with the future priests of our diocese as rector of Holy Trinity Seminary has helped me to grow as a minister and person.”
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The Most Reverend Kevin Farrell, Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas, issued words of support stating “I am delighted and thrilled for Bishop-elect Duca. The diocese has benefited from his ministry, his leadership and his many other talents. I will miss his support here but I am pleased the Diocese of Shreveport is getting such a strong and capable spiritual leader. We will pray for his success and happiness.”
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The new bishop-elect, son of Lewis and Aline Duca of Dallas, was born June 5, 1952. He was baptized at Sacred Heart Cathedral now the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe. He attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School through eighth grade and is a 1970 graduate of Bishop Lynch High School. Since Holy Trinity was a collaborative seminary with the University of Dallas at the time of his studies, Duca received both a B.A in Psychology and a M.Div. in Theology from UD.
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Bishop –elect Duca will be ordained a bishop and installed as the Chief Shepherd of the Diocese of Shreveport in a ceremonial Mass tentatively set for May 19th in Shreveport.