Lucernarium

The Return of Lucernarium

2009-12-21T12:48:00.003+10:30

Hi there,

I finally submitted by Masters thesis on Wednesday Decemeber 9.

The title is: 'Ancient Ways, Future Days: Praying Evening Prayer'.

Some of you may recognise the title which is the same as Liam Lawton's music collection from 2001. I asked his permission to use the title, which he generously agreed to.

Now the thesis has been submitted, I plan to return to blogging and to share with you ideas about a parish celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, liturgical music and liturgy in general.

I will begin posting again in January 2010.

Thanks for your patience.

Bye now.

Matt

Lucernarium in recess

2007-03-08T18:09:00.000+10:30

Thanks to everyone who has been leaving messages and emailing me about this Blog.

The idea of blogging still appeals to me, but my time is being eaten up by other things at the moment.

You will be pleased and interested to know, that following the general theme of this Blog, I have taken up a Research Masters program focusing on Evening Prayer in a modern Parish context. I am in the middle of writing it and along with being a Husband, Father and full-time school teacher - you will understand my reason for not blogging of late.

In fact, it might be best to say that Lucernarium will go into recess until after March 2009 [after my submission date for my thesis has past].

Those of you who enjoy the work I have started here, may be saddened by this - but the way I see it, by the time post-March 2009 comes around - I will have a lot more to say about the Liturgy of the Hours [and have the time to do so!].

So, for the meantime...Auf Wiedersehen. Please use this Blog as a resourse for your own approaches for the implimentation of the Hours in your parish, school etc.

March 2009 will be here before we know it.

Until then...

In the Heart of Jesus,

Matt

CD REVIEW: ST. LOUIS JESUITS ‘Morning Light’ [OCP Publications, 2005]

2006-09-07T23:46:00.000+09:30

After many years, the St Louis Jesuits have returned with a collection that shows precisely why they established themselves so firmly and successfully in post-Vatican II Catholic liturgical music.

While they haven’t recorded together in over 20 years, their liturgical compositions have found their way into parishes the world over with such classics as ‘Here I Am Lord’, ‘City of God’ and ‘Though the Mountains May Fall’ to name but a few. With so many other St Louis Jesuits hymns part of our collective liturgical music lexicon, I found myself asking, ‘do we need more St. Louis Jesuits music?’ or ‘will it be as good as the older stuff?’ My questions have been suitably answered and any anxiety duly satisfied upon listening, singing and praying along with this recording.

What we are presented with is a collection of 12 songs ranging in style and also displaying the individual songwriting talents of Dan Schutte, John Foley S.J., Bob Dufford S.J. and Robert ‘Roc’ O’Connor, S.J.. Additional input is given by one-time St Louis Jesuit Tim Manion.

Things begin with the Foley penned ‘Now My Heart’. There is an immediacy with this hymn which lends on a call and response type of approach. Foley sounds older (and wiser) as he calls ‘Now my heart is ready Lord’ with strong response by the other singers ‘Now to wake the morning’. Clearly a fine choice for early morning Eucharistic celebrations or Morning Prayer, the song diverts from this explicit theme halfway through and enters a subdued digression picking up themes of evening. This song seemingly has it all! Things then segue back into the rolling tempo established at the start of the song until it resolves on an optimistic note. The flute work in Now My Heart is particularly good and dances around the place giving it a Celtic influence. A strong start.

‘Give Us Faith Lord’ written by Dan Schutte is a flatter moment on this recording. The melody is a bit predictable and the instrumentation sounds like it has been exhumed from a forgettable 1980’s Kenny-G b-side. The saxophone and cheesy synth is distracting, which is a pity given the strong compositional influence Dan Schutte has wielded in the past with such classics as ‘Blest Be the Lord’ and ‘Sing a New Song’. This aside, the song has potential application in Reconciliation services or as a song of dismissal.

‘O Beauty, Ever Ancient’ is a triumph. Though penned by O’Connor the vocal is sung by Tim Manion who provides one of the vocal highlights of the entire collection. There is a warm strength to Manion’s voice and coupled with his well phrased guitar passages, creates a wonderful sense of yearning. The lyrics are poignant:

O late have I turned,
turned from seeking you in creatures,
fleeing grief and pain within

By the end of the song, the words speak of hope with Manion singing ‘Let me find my life in you’. For this reason, O Beauty, Ever Ancient would be perfect for selection throughout the season of Lent as a hymn of longing and the turning away from things that block the Love of God. The underlying themes of trust and hope along with the soothing tones of Manion’s voice and guitar work would contribute nicely in a retreat setting. One of the tall trees on the recording for sure!

The St Louis Jesuits have long been recognized for applying stirring melodies to scripture. ‘Well of Tears’ [Bob Dufford] continues this tradition using Jeremiah 8 as its backdrop. The track begins in a sombre fashion, but begins to rouse in the bridge leading up to the refrain. With a key change and thumping timpani drums heralding the climax of the chorus, this becomes a real surprise moment of the recording. The lyrics in places may be mournful, but this is turned around by the surging instrumentation of the refrains. It would make for a powerful selection in a funeral liturgy or even the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls).

John Foley offers another hymn in the form of ‘Teach Us To Pray’. This is a big, robust number and is presented more like an anthem. It reminds me of a hymn [and I do use the word *hymn*] I would hear in a big Cathedral. The choir in this particular track is prominent and is the ‘primary voice’. No solos here…just big congregational input. Trumpets are used to good effect, harking one’s mind back to the smart trumpet work achieved in ‘Here I Am Lord’…but perhaps not with the same sense of swagger. With its devotional leanings, it could work very well as a Reflection piece or as a Morning Hymn at Morning Prayer. Think Songs of Praise you will be moving towards the style in which Teach Us to Pray is written. It goes to show that this recording caters to a large cross section of musical styles for liturgy.

‘You Are the Light’ written by Robert ‘Roc’ O’Connor swings the pendulum back in the other direction to a more contemporary setting. The instrumentation is vibrant, complete with guitars and drums [!!] and will no doubt cause some members of our vast constituency to die of heart failure, but for the rest of us [!], it is a joy filled and happy moment of the recording. There are obvious applications here for use in Evening Prayer with lyrics in the refrain such as:

You are the light that shines in the darkness
You shine through the night
That we might seek and find our way
Christ be our light!
Let your love be a lamp to guide our way
Christ be our light!

The scriptural references keep on coming in ‘Behind Me and Before Me’ as a setting of Psalm 139. This particular setting has a pleasant guitar introduction similar to the light work displayed in O Beauty, Ever Ancient, but lacks the same level of conviction. The vocal work of John Foley and Bob Dufford are delivered in a pleasant manner, but things are a bit wishy-washy here. The strings are a bit over the top and a source of distraction rather than an enhancement to proceedings. There are some nice harmonies in the third verse which raise things a little, but nothing here rises to the same level of what we have already heard so far on this release. This track is a little disappointing. Sorry Bob.

Without a shadow of doubt, the clear standout track on Morning Light is the wonderful ‘Gather the People’ composed by Dan Schutte. This is great as a Song of Preparation [I have tried it in my parish – to a very enthusiastic response from members of the assembly!] The song also has possibilities as a song of Gathering or at Communion. The percussion from the very start of the track establishes a driving tempo that is maintained throughout the song without ever dominating. The song begins with the refrain which is instantly singable and moves nicely into a simple and rousing verse that could be sung either by a cantor or the congregation. Add this one to ‘Sing to the Mountains’ et al. This is an instant classic! Add it to your parish repertoire. It is simply that good.

‘Come Home’ [Dufford] is a slower paced track that speaks of longing. It could be used for any celebration throughout Lent or even in a funeral liturgy with its very appropriate and recurring lyric of ‘come home’.

John Foley’s moving setting of Psalm 42 and 43 - ‘Running Streams’ is one of the better settings of this psalm I have heard for some time. The solo cantor work by Foley is heartfelt and is given substance later in the song when Tim Manion joins in for some very nice harmony work. Mr. Manion seems very understated and perhaps even under-used in this recording. The times he is featured, he really shines. Perhaps this will be a springboard for more work by Manion in the future. [?]

‘The Saving Power of God’ rocks along. The rollicking nature of this track is reminiscent of ‘Lift Up Your Hearts’ taken from the 1981 Lord of Light recording. Saving Power perhaps has a bit more attitude…the guitars sound a bit tougher and the energy levels are high. This would make for a vibrant song of Gathering and also speak very nicely to Christmas themes. This O’Connor penned song is probably at the opposite end of the style/ sound spectrum compared with the aforementioned Teach us to Pray. The diversity on this collection by now is clearly realized displaying to all and sundry that the St. Louis Jesuits are still a force to be reckoned with even after all these years.

Dan Schutte signs off with the gentle ‘These Alone Are Enough’. With the refrain of:

Give me nothing more
Than your love and grace
These alone, O God
Are enough for me

...one could see the application of this song to moments of commissioning i.e.: Special Ministries within a parish, or even school graduations. It certainly has a sense of sending forth so it would work well at the conclusion of a celebration. Its choice as the final track on this timely release is also fitting.

At the beginning of B16’s papacy, I remember there being a lot of talk by some folk, that liturgical music such as the St. Louis Jesuits would not last. There were even some who boasted somewhat pompously that with the new Pope, such music would be outlawed and banned which certainly raised eyebrows in some quarters. What Morning Light does [apart from displaying that the St. Louis Jesuits are still a potent and talented group of composers] is totally dispel such arguments as false and furthermore, boldly assert that music can be unifying and heal such tiresome divisions. The musical scope and diversity on this recording is testament to the liturgical, musical and pastoral sensibilities of this rather extraordinary ensemble from St Louis. They show us through Morning Light a vision of church which not only is contemporary and fresh, but beautifully speaks to our tradition of sung prayer in a variety of ways. Morning Light is therefore an album of hope and for that reason alone – you know you must go and buy it.

The Wisdom of David Haas

2006-08-25T14:23:00.000+09:30

I have recently read a online report on the National Pastoral Musicians Western Regional Convention in Sacramento, USA. By all accounts it sounds like the occasion was an excellent gathering of liturgists and musicians. I wish I could have been there.

It seems to me that we need up-front and wise figures in liturgical music circles at the moment. Keynote spreaker David Haas [pictured] had this to say about the current *political* climate of liturgical music in the Catholic Church:

"We need to resist going down the black hole of anger regarding how we translate our texts, what we will sing, or which musical styles are most appropriate for our Masses,"

and later,

"We have to stop fighting, put down our swords, truly love one another --- intentionally and unconditionally --- and listen to one another in love," he said. "Because these debates are tearing us apart."

Over the past few months, there has been an increase in the amount of discussion about what types of music should be used for liturgy and whether certain types of music should be banned. This seems to originated from the comments made by Benedict XVI at a concert conducted in the Sistine Chapel, on Saturday, June 24, by Monsignor Domenico Bartolucci.

What has been of particular concern is the amount of 'ear play' that some sections of the media have had in suddenly thinking that they have the right to claim that all musical instruments that resemble any whiff of modernity will soon be outlawed by the Pope. Also of concern is the level of malice that has been sprewked by some in regards to musicians and exponents of post-Vatican II liturgical music. I wish there was something that could be done to stop the venom such writers have for those whose expression of faith is different to their own. I may very well be an open fan of David Haas and Marty Haugen and use their music to a great extent...but I don't hate other musical forms and those who have composed them and contributed to the 2000 tradition of the Church. I don't understand where a lot of these people are coming from.

Another thing that has been niggling me a bit lately has been the frantic and almost frenzied speed that some bloggers and journalists jumped up to say that because the Pope said a few words at the aforementioned concert at the Sistine Chapel in support of the tradition of music in the Church, that whatever he said is now rule and law of the Catholic Church.

I think all of us could do with a greater sence of restraint and disgression until the Pope has issued an official document that speaks to the ongoing development and reform of the liturgy and the music that is intergral to its celebration. It seems to me that that we should be careful not to lose our understanding of the work 'infallible' everytime the Pope opens his mouth.

Don't get me wrong. I think the Pope says some very striking and moving things (see: Deus Caritas Est)...but even the Pope's opinion is merely that. Opinion. Until he places his authoritive stamp in the form of a Papal Bull or some other official document, is it worth any of us squabbling over things that are not set in stone?

I think anyone who speaks of a loving response to our neighbour deserves big respect. David Haas speaks to this with authority and open, loving invitation. Jesus did the same. Let this Wisdom find its way into the hearts of all who are willing to listen.

CD REVIEW: TONY ALONSO & MICHAEL MAHLER ‘Songs from Another Room’ [G.I.A. Publications, 2005]

2006-05-29T14:58:00.000+09:30

Once more, G.I.A. have invested wisely in the talents of Tony Alonso and Michael Mahler to produce a recording of liturgical music that is instantly accessible, yet has all the hallmarks of excellence and liturgical sensitivity which will no doubt see ‘Songs from Another Room’ become an enduring release for time to come.

The bio from G.I.A. about this collection was an intriguing tease…suggesting the recording was an somewhat organic and acoustic affair recorded in a casual manner:

The range and versatility between these two young GIA artists surges with a palpable energy that only this kind of chemistry creates. Armed with only acoustic instruments, Alonso and Mahler deliver electric performances...it's acoustic music with a positive charge!

Upon reading this, immediate images of an era where simple, stripped back recording approaches were the norm in the production and marketing of liturgical music flashed before my eyes [i.e.: Neither Silver Nor Gold by the St Louis Jesuits, 1974]. I have previously blogged on this issue and wondered what exactly these two boys were up to.

Additionally, what was with the title ‘Songs from Another Room’. [??] What did that actually mean? Did it refer to the style and perhaps motivating factors that lay behind the composition of these songs? Did from Another Room allude to music whose purpose lay beyond merely liturgical practice? So many questions! And these were before I even had got my hands on a copy to discern what was going on.

Alonso and Mahler have consequently delivered perhaps their most diverse and eclectic sounding album of liturgical music to date and the results are exceedingly good.

Things begin with the lilting ‘Were I the Perfect Child of God’. The mood is distinctly Celtic complete with Fiddle, Mandolin [both played by Glen Duncan] and Tin Whistle played by the continuing talents of Dominic Trumfio who featured throughout the wonderful ‘As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets’. Not surprisingly, the words to this particular piece have been penned by Iona stalwart John L. Bell based on a traditional Scottish melody. By the third verse, the vocal harmony work of Mahler and Alonso come together beautifully accentuating a fine lyric of hope:

God grant me what I still require that I;
In others, might inspire the hidden hope;
The deep desire to love and follow Jesus

As a result, the piece would be best utilised as a song of gathering or dismissal.

Following this is the Mahler composition ‘My Savior, Your Son’. The feel of this particular track, more so than the others, is very contemporary in sound and style. In fact, when I first heard the track, I grabbed the liner notes to see if what I was listening to was in fact liturgical music. [!] It certainly doesn’t sound like liturgical music I have come to expect from the Mahler/ Alonso/ True catalogue in recent years.

This is the kind of music I would expect Christian Radio stations would gladly add to their play lists. Is this one of those songs from another room stated in the title of this collection? Does it come from the room where liturgical music is forged and created? Or from another room? Is ‘My Savior, Your Son’ a thinly veiled attempt by G.I.A. to diversify the target market audience of this collection? Would such a song be more at home on a Disciple Records release? Many questions.

Questions aside, the song has a lyric that speaks of discernment and faith-inspired action. Clearly, it would therefore make for a wonderful song of mission.

I do have one little niggle in listening to this song. The lyrical content and indeed the title focus explicitly on the self i.e.: ‘My Savior, Your Son’ and the many references to ‘I’.

I don’t whether it is just me being overly critical or perhaps it is a reflection on the seemingly increasing presence of Hillsong-style worship music that is infiltrating Catholic liturgical repertoires. It is well documented that Hillsong style of worship music tends to be incredibly self-absorbed and all about me me me. There is a big emphasis on my relationship with God and God as my savior and through all of this somehow the crux of the matter is about my salvation.

Very little of this kind of music I have listened to speaks about the ‘we’ or ‘us’ or the collective. It is these words of ‘we’ and ‘us’ that connect us more deeply together when we sing our prayer. The theology of ‘us’ and ‘we’ is celebratory in style. When we use these small but influential and powerful words we are entering into celebration and communion together…to use the words of St Paul, David Haas etc…we are the Body of Christ.

So it irks me when I hear all this music seeping into Catholic liturgy because firstly it is not composed specifically for Catholic liturgy [yet it is used] and second, the theology is weak [and in a Post Vatican II Church], dated somewhat.

It follows then, that when I hear Catholic composers like Michael Mahler sing in the first person and in a style that could fit very well into a Hillsong setlist, alarm bells begin to ring.

But then again, this is a collection of songs from another room…isn’t it? Perhaps Malher and Alonso covered their bases in the selection of the title. Clever.

I digress.

Returning to the recording, ‘Te Ensalzare (I Will Praise You)’ is the first of two songs sung entirely in Spanish…and are what add to the eclectic nature of this release. Previous offerings in Spanish by Mahler and Alonso appear on the very fine 2003 bilingual recording ‘Cantemos al Senor/ Let Us Sing to the Lord’. What sets ‘Te Ensalzare’ and the later track ‘Amore, Es Vida (Love Is Life)’ apart are that they are sung entirely in Spanish…and the results are wonderful.

Out of the two Spanish tracks, it is the latter, ‘Amor Es Vida (Love Is Life)’ which is the highlight…and one of the stronger moments of the album. While the English translation is included in the accompanying booklet, it does not read [or sound, if voiced] as poetic as the Spanish. There is a rhythm and eloquence to the Spanish…which prompted me to follow the Spanish along with the music and start singing. Singing along in Spanish had a powerful effect on me. Even though it is not a language I know or speak…knowing what I was singing due to the translation gave me an insight into the universality of our Catholic faith. A timely reminder of the power of language – given that we celebrate Pentecost this coming Sunday.

The words of the song are uplifting and speaks of pilgrimage and the celebration of creation. The third verse deals with ideas about the morning and could have application for Morning Prayer:

Yo soy feliz por cada dia nuevo,
por la illusion de ver amanecer,
por las estrellas y por el cielo,
por la alegria de renacer

Translated to English:

I am happy for each new day,
for the desire of seeing a new dawn,
for the stars and the new sky,
for the joy of being reborn

Again, the duelling recorder work of Dominic Trumfio is outstanding and adds to the Spanish feel of the song. Any song that has a refrain that states:

Alegra estoy,
cantando voy,
este es el dia que hizo el Senor

Translated:

I am happy,
I am always singing,
This is the day the Lord has made

…deserves to be sung from the rafters of any Church! This is a great song that would be perfect for an opening anthem of faith. It’s utterly infectious!

The Mahler penned ‘A Child Will Lead Us’ is a quiet triumph. This rolling acoustic number would be great for use in Baptisms…and perhaps even as a piece of preparation during the season of Advent. The Pedal steel guitar playing by Tom Bleu Mortensen adds a lazy and contemporary feel to the song.

‘And Jesus Said’ features the words of New Zealand native Shirley Erena Murray. I have previously mentioned the strengths of this gifted wordsmith…and the praise continues here. The encouragement of Murray’s text drawing upon Jesus’ mantra of ‘Don’t be afraid’ is ably supported by the gentle compositional structure of Tony Alonso.

‘My Love Will Be Waiting For You’ composed by Mahler follows in a somewhat similar vein to ‘My Savior, Your Son’ in its contemporary style and sound. What really sets this song apart from other tracks on the album is its lack of liturgical focus. If its liturgical application is there, you will really need to twist the song to make it fit into the context of liturgical celebration…and even then…you will be struggling to make use of it in liturgy.

The text is apparently an autobiographical account of Mahler’s life journeys so far and the love of his mother…which is nice I guess. It seems out of place on this recording and a bit too self indulgent. I’m sure Mahler’s mother will be as proud as punch for Michael having written it for her…but clearly this is one of those songs from [and perhaps for] another room. [??!!]

The scripturally based ‘Emmaus’ by Tony Alonso, interprets the account of the Road to Emmaus story from Luke’s gospel. The instrumentation is light and similar in tone to ‘A Child Will Lead Us’. Its application at the Preparation of the Gifts or as a Communion piece would make the best sense.

Without a shadow of doubt, the highlight of the recording is the Mahler composition ‘God Is Love’. Following some questionable compositional work in ‘My Savior, Your Son’ and ‘My Love Will Be Waiting For You’ Mahler is fully redeemed in ‘God Is Love’. This is an outstanding piece of liturgical music that tugs at the heart, mind and soul of the listener and begs immediate and active participation. I would go as far as to say that we are witnessing the emergence of an instant classic in the same way David Haas’ ‘You Are Mine’ or Marty Haugen’s ‘Gather Us In’ has become part of the modern Catholic liturgical lexicon. It is that good. The theology is perfect, the composition is refined, yet simple and inviting. One is immediately struck by its beauty and left in a state of inspiration and sublime joy long after the track has ended. This needs to be a song of focus at the upcoming World Youth Day in Sydney, 2008. The gospel of Love must be proclaimed – this song does that triumphantly – and what not better platform than in Sydney in 2008? Mr. Mahler has blessed us all with this gem.

‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken?’ by Tony Alonso speaks to themes of justice and inclusion and is reminiscent of ‘I Am Standing Waiting’ taken from Alonso’s earlier work Fresh As the Morning. This would be a logical choice for Social Justice Sunday.

The collection concludes with the gentle ‘This Is My Song’. Singing of universal themes that connect all peoples of faith throughout the world, the piece is a timely and welcome song that speaks very much to our current and turbulent global situation:

Let Christ be lifted up till all shall serve him
And hearts united learn to live as one
So hear my prayer, O God of all the nations.
Myself I give you; let your will be done.

‘Songs from Another Room’ continues to show that Tony Alonso and Michael Mahler have well and truly arrived on the liturgical music scene and are developing and growing in their ministry. While this particular recording contains some music this is at times seemingly at odds with conventional liturgical practice, it also contains new works that are enriching and, I would argue, essential for any parish musician’s repertoire. Clearly the standout track, ‘God Is Love’ is reason alone for one to purchase this release and tip your hat to the liturgical juggernauts that are Mr Michael Mahler and Mr Tony Alonso.

CD REVIEW: DAN MCGOWAN - Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs [Independent]

2006-05-11T13:18:00.000+09:30

‘Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs’ by Colorado-based Dan McGowan demonstrates a testament to passionate and skilful execution of sung prayer. The strength of this release lies in its understated simplicity. The songs are crafted simply, yet effectively allowing them to stand alone as vibrant and enthusiastic expressions of prayer.

McGowan begins this 15-track offering with the upbeat ‘Beautiful Day’. Swelling synths build to a crescendo with a pulsing bass line, which sounds very 80’s before seguing into a happy and rollicking hymn of praise. With obvious applications to morning services with the recurring catch cry of, ‘This is a beautiful day, this is the day that the Lord has made’, it makes for a good start to a solid recording.

Next, is the gospel tinged ‘You Did’ which highlights McGowan’s ability to show off his song craft. This self-penned track displays a simple message of the glory and wonders of God in nature. The refrain lifts very nicely into a harmonised passage that is stirring and motivating. Without downplaying the strength of the song, the simple and light style of this particular track would lend itself nicely to children’s liturgy. There is scope here for wonderful catechesis of children either in a school setting or perhaps in a parish setting as part of a Sunday children’s Liturgy of the Word.

‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ is one of three traditional hymns that appear on this release. The track shows McGowan as powerful cantor with a strong gospel influence in his vocal delivery. His lush vibrato accentuates the ‘traditional’ vibe of the hymn and made me grab the CD sleeve to check if the late Derek Campbell hadn’t made a guest appearance. No. It’s all McGowan here. Very nice.

Another McGowan offering, ‘His Love Remains’ displays a simple arrangement with a singable refrain. The percussion is light [a simple tambourine] and is typical of many of the songs on ‘Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Hymns’. Percussion can so often overwhelm production values, but here it is used sparingly to serve the song, which ultimately serves a higher purpose of prayer.

‘Dance With Joy’ is a snazzy little offering, which leads itself to congregational singing. The brass lines sound a little thin on this particular track and sound like they are being played through a cheap and nasty little Casio. One could imagine a honking and hooting live brass section really lifting this song into the stratosphere complete with sliding trombones and duelling muted trumpets. This aside, the mood is infectious and when that key change kicks in and McGowan exclaims a little ‘wooo!’ – things definitely end up on uplifting note.

The hymn ‘There Is A Harvest’ speaks of evangelisation and would make for a wonderful song of mission at the conclusion of a liturgy. Once again, the percussion is light and tasteful which accompanies the swelling moments of the song that are further helped by great sung harmony lines.

‘Amazing Grace’ is included as another traditional piece and is a welcome addition to the collection. McGowan’s working of this standard is sincere. The instrumentation is simple; piano and voice with a hint of ethereal keyboard interspersed towards the conclusion for good effect.

‘If We Only Knew’ is a song of hope and jubilant praise of God which uses images of raising one’s hands to give God praise. It is clear, as the title of the CD implies, that McGowan has been shaped by the beauty and poetry of the psalms. ‘My Soul Finds Rests’ continues in a similar vein to the previous track and features some flamenco style picked guitar in the background, which caught the ear of this little blogger [we all have our weaknesses, I guess].

‘I Cry Holy’ is essentially a love song to God and is the kind of tune that has you scratching you head thinking ‘I feel I heard this somewhere before’…but no…yet another McGowan penned tune. As ‘Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs’ progresses and with subsequent listens, you get a real sense that this release is the result of many years of active ministry. The theology is rich, rooted in the psalms and the songcraft is established and well and truly tested. You can hear it. This begs the question, where has Dan McGowan been all this time and why have we not heard more of his inspirational and prayerful music before now? Why hasn’t his music been marketed and pushed by some publishing house to greater effect? There are plenty of people out there who would have their prayer augmented by the riches that are found here.

‘You Love Me’ is one of the highlights of the recording. McGowan’s daughter, Rachel sings the main vocal line and the results are stunning. Rachel McGowan has an achingly beautiful quality to her voice and this adds to the sincerity of this already impressive recording. By the time the bridge hits and father and daughter harmonise vocally, there is no turning back…one can only say that this is nothing short of a triumph. Wonderful prayer. Just wonderful.

‘I Refuse’ follows a similar vibe to ‘Beautiful Day’…a punchy, straight-up hymn declaring the trust in Jesus. ‘Well Done’ is a fitting song to conclude the collection and would be ideally suited for use in funerals and memorial services celebrating the life of those departed. There is a wonderful sense of hope and optimism here with the line of:

When I’ve seen my last setting sun
I want to hear Well Done!

‘Psalms, Hymns, Spiritual Songs’ is a successful collection of hymns that will undoubtedly assist communities in their prayer. Dan McGowan’s songcraft and production techniques serves the prayerfulness of these texts and offer to all who will listen, an insight into how worship can be done simply and at the same time powerfully. The tracks lend themselves to congregational active participation with refrains that are easy to sing and memorable. One hopes this fine independent release will open doors for McGowan as a composer and prayer leader. Let’s pray for it.

For more information on 'Psalm, Hymns, Spiritual Songs' and online purchasing details go to Dan McGowan's Recordings page.

Proof in the Pudding: A Lenten experience of Daily Prayer in a Parish setting

2006-04-10T09:49:00.000+09:30

During Lent, the school which I work at offered ‘Lenten Communal Prayer’. I lead proceedings and found the process to be a positive experience of Daily Prayer based on the Liturgy of the Hours.

It demonstrated to me the adaptability of the Hours, and, in light of my previous blog, the proof that the Daily Prayer of the Church does not need to be an exclusive liturgical activity relegated to members of the clergy.

On the contrary, what was one of the most refreshing aspects of this experience of prayer was that it was open to many different types of people.

It was initiated at the school level and was open to students and staff. However, the location for ‘Lenten Communal Prayer’ was held in the neighbouring parish Church [pictured] of St Luke’s, Noarlunga. This in turn was an avenue for parishioners to join those already gathered – which they did. Therefore, weekly gatherings were a cross section of staff, students and parishioners and there was a wonderful sense of community and shared faith.

The structure of the prayer, revolved around the use of sung psalmody. A selected psalm refrain was interspersed throughout proceedings and also sung in full. Below is the structure that was used:

Sign of the Cross
Sung Psalm Refrain
Opening Prayer
Psalm [sung]
Gospel
Silence
Reflection
General Intercessions
The Lord’s Prayer
Sign of Peace
Sung Psalm Refrain
Dismissal

The length of our time together was relatively short...between 15 and 20 minutes. It was held during lunchtime on Wednesdays allowing students to come along if they wished. The average number of people who met was approximately 15, some of which were students who are in the process of becoming full members of the Church...so the experience for them was particularly special.

I was heartened by this experience and see no reason why it be a seasonal venture.

The possibility for it continuing in an ongoing basis is real and I look forward to developing the idea building on the experience of this past season of Lent.

New Wine, News Skins: A response to an article on Vespers at St Mary's Cathedral

2006-02-27T13:34:00.000+10:30

Last Friday, CathNews service reported about Vespers returning to St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney. For the story in question, go here.

Having read the story, I am concerned that what was put forward actually undermines what the Liturgy of the Hours can mean for all faithful – and instead, reinforces age old perceptions of the Hours that are outdated and not helpful.

My first concerns were raised when I read:

The Catholic Weekly reports that Vespers (Evening Prayer) is part of the Divine Office recited daily by priests and sung in communities of priests and religious.

Yes. This is true. It is recited by priests and religious on a daily basis…but the article implies in only mentioning those groups – that only they are the ones that do – and can.

This is a nonsense.

The General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours clearly states in Article 21:

Wherever possible, other groups of the faithful should celebrate the liturgy of the hours communally in church. This especially applies to parishes - the cells of the diocese.

…and later in Article 27:

Lay groups gathering for prayer, apostolic work, or any other reason are encouraged to fulfill the Church's duty, by celebrating part of the liturgy of the hours. The laity must learn above all how in the liturgy they are adoring God the Father in spirit and in truth; they should bear in mind that through public worship and prayer they reach all humanity and can contribute significantly to the salvation of the whole world.

This clearly demonstrates the role the laity play in participating in the Hours. So we see through this that the practice of the Hours is not confined only to religious and priests. The Prayer of the Church is exactly that! Not the Prayer of the Ordained/ Religious!

The scope for more and more people to participate in the Liturgy of the Hours was even pushed by the late Pope John Paul II. In December 2004, JPII granted a plenary indulgence for all those who participated in the Liturgy of the Hours. This was granted ‘to all faithful’…not just the monks, religious and clergy so accustomed to this form of prayer. The decree reads:

A Plenary Indulgence is also granted, under the aforesaid conditions, to the clergy, to members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and to other faithful who are by law obliged to recite the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as to those who customarily recite the Divine Office out of pure devotion, each and every time they recite - at the end of the day, in company or in private - Vespers and Night Prayers before the Lord present in the tabernacle.

Again, it is clear that this is a form of prayer open to all.

Further, the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours also highlights the importance of the domestic setting of daily prayer:

Finally, it is of great advantage for the family, the domestic sanctuary of the Church, not only to pray together to God but also to celebrate some parts of the liturgy of the hours as occasion offers, in order to enter more deeply into the life of the Church

The CathNews article does not mention this important aspect of what the Liturgy of the Hours can be for the domestic Church and families. Why has CathNews reported and contextualised Vespers – as part of the Liturgy of the Hours – in such a limited, exclusive way? This is not helpful in developing a clear understanding about what the Liturgy of the Hours can – and should – mean for all faithful.

The second issue of concern is the comment made by Bishop Julian Porteus that Vespers will be:

"a chance for people to witness the Vespers and also see our new seminarians"

There is a real danger here in seeing Vespers as something that people can ‘witness’. The prayer of the Church is not a spectacle! It is not a performance! It is the prayer of the Church.

Where is the Vatican II clarion call of ‘full, active and conscious participation’ when such a statement is made as quoted by Bishop Porteus? Sure, many people may not be familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours because it has been for so many years – a form of liturgical practice only experience by cloistered communities and the ordained….and the idea of people being ‘witness’ to this as something new to them is an noble idea. But these things can be said in ways that are more sensitive to the participatory needs of the faithful.

The experience might be new for people. It doesn’t mean the ordained have the right to - and continue the practice of it being seen as something that ‘only the religious and ordained do’.

No, new wine, fresh skins!

Yet another concern is the way in which Porteus has used Vespers as a platform to essentially ‘show off’ the candidates for the priesthood.

The way I see things, this is most inappropriate, un-pastoral and liturgically insensitive. If this is the way the Church are ‘showing off’ their seminarians – it strikes me as a real pity.

A pity - in the sense that for people to ‘see’ the seminarians - it is in a way that speaks more of the Church’s past – with great emphasis placed on a system of hierarchy instead of communal shared faith experience.

A pity - because it sends the wrong message to people about who can and should say/ sing the Hours.

A pity – because it implies the ministerial function of seminarians [and our future priests] to be only liturgical…where the Church of the future [including priests] need to be seen as being far more pastoral.

Where is the story of the seminarians working with those living with AIDS? Or the story about our seminarians evangelising through their witness to our Catholic School students? Where are the stories of Evening Prayer being publicly celebrated in a parish setting? Where are those stories? Why must we be subjected to this transparently inept triumphalism?

Why not move away from stories that focus on the seminarians doing liturgy – and instead demonstrate them immersed in the Liturgy of Life…with the rest of the Church!!. [??]

The beautiful tradition of the Liturgy of the Hours runs the risk of being diminished and made into an exclusive clerical practice when it is presented like it was last Friday. We need to hold the tradition in one hand but acknowledge in the other, that we live in a world that is crying out to be spiritually nourished.

I believe the Liturgy of the Hours is one way we can nourish people’s hunger. It can be adapted to suit the needs of various situations. We need to avoid the old, unhelpful and alienating stereotypes of this tradition and explore new ways that open the doors and windows of our amazing Church so all can be included and welcomed to experience the awesome power of the Prayer of the Church.

Liturgical Music Ministry: Pushing the boundaries to serve those on the boundaries

2006-02-13T13:02:00.000+10:30

Reflecting on the recent readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, I have been prompted to ask myself who are those in our society who are marginalised - and to what extent can liturgical music be used to minister to these people.

Who are the 'lepers' in our modern society? Who do we intentionally or unintentionally push to the fringes?

The old and infirmed? Those who are in prison? People living with AIDS? Those with mental illness?

All these groups are in need of a healing hand - a welcome smile and a friendly acceptance of who and where they are on their journey. Jesus in the gospel from this last weekend gives us inspiration in the process of reaching out to those who are different or who are the other. By his role modelling, we too can 'reach out' to our modern day lepers and use the gift of liturgical music to do this.

A couple of years back, after reading David Haas' book 'The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer' I began to think about ways in which liturgical music could be employed in scenarios outside the Sunday Mass. This line of thinking has ultimately lead me to where I am today in pursuing the role of liturgical music in the Liturgy of the Hours...but before this *epiphany* - I thought long and hard about using liturgical music in the wider community outside of our local parish church building.

So I gathered my ‘Dream Team’ of liturgical musicians who I had worked with previously on a couple of projects and began to talk about my ideas. Very loosely, my ideas involved formulating a core group of liturgical music ministers who would be available for working with parish communities in our Archdiocese to either start up or assist parish musicians to improve their skills in music and liturgy. As an extension of this parish based ministry – was an idea to reach out to those in the wider community – like those in prison, or in nursing homes etc and to offer the gift of music in a liturgical setting for these communities.

The idea was catching and excitement really started to build. I met with the Vicar General here in Adelaide on a couple of occasions and he was very interested and supportive of the initiative and encouraged me and the group to develop our vision and ideas.

We came up with a title of Seaview Music as a name to go by [drawing from the street address of 420 Seaview Road for Henley Beach Parish].

As of yet – those ideas have not been bought to fruition – but they are still lurking very close to the surface waiting to be activated and employed.

While one could lose heart and become despondent about such dreams not being immediately realised – I would rather focus on the positives and look for the openings that exist where such ideas about loving service to the ‘lepers’ can realistically be achieved.

Seeing others involved in a similar kind of ministry is a powerful accelerant towards action. Recently, I did a blog interview with Jerry Goebel and was heartily inspired by his work in prisons. To me, Jerry’s work is inspired and really connects powerfully to the sentiments in our Gospel of the past weekend of reaching out to the marginalised of our society.

Additionally, I am excited about the prospects of my new position as Coordinator of Liturgy and Ministry at Cardijn College, Adelaide. In one of the first acts in my new role, I have called for interest from the student body to be involved in a Liturgical Music Ensemble. I called for a meeting last Friday [Feb 10] for those who would like to play at Masses and other school based liturgies. I have 15 students who have immediately expressed interest to be part of this bourgeoning group.

I am really excited about this.

Sure – I will be able to introduce music into our Liturgies…but I am really interested in extending this role so that the students can see that liturgical music can be more. I have learned that a new Nursing Home has opened up recently in proximity to our school – at that one of the local priests has celebrated Mass with the Catholics of that community.

Is there scope for the students to play at the Masses at the local Nursing Home using the skills they have learned at school with me?

What a gift!

What a gift to give to the wider community and those who are marginalised! What a real connection to our Gospel story this past weekend!

This action would go a long way in developing a tangible spirituality for the music minister that beautifully ties in with the gospel message. And it is this spirituality of the music minister which I think is fundamental not only for high school students to develop – but for all involved in this kind of work and apostolate. We need to be rooted in what we do and the real reasons as to why we are doing it.

Not all of us may be in a position where we can be involved in this kind of ‘liturgical extra activity’ – but from what I have read and my own personal experience of Church ‘action groups’ with a social justice focus – I think the possibilities are exciting and worth pursuing.

To me, it all seems rather timely that this kind of liturgical activity of outreach and action is being discussed and thought about. Over the past week here in Adelaide, World Day of the Sick conferences and liturgies have been taking place. For me, the extension of these days of reflection, keynote addresses and prayer – must be focused on action.

I am reminded of a verse from the Marty Haugen song ‘Who Will Speak?’:

Who will speak for the shunned and the outcast?
Who will speak for all people with AIDS?
Who will speak so their voice can be heard?
Oh who will speak if we don’t?

Perhaps the original vision of Seaview Music is close to being fully realised.

CD REVIEW: LORI TRUE - There Is Room For Us All: Songs of Justice, Prayers for Peace [G.I.A Publications, 2005]

2006-01-27T15:11:00.000+10:30

Lori True first appeared on my radar with the release of the 1997 double live CD ‘Glory Day’ by David Haas. Soloing on the Haas penned ‘I Want To Call You’ [and appearing on many other songs on that recording], one didn’t need to be Einstein to realise that we were listening to a truly prayerful spirit in our presence whose star was rapidly rising.

Lo and behold, 4 years later in 2001, Lori True released her debut ‘A Place at the Table’. A superb recording, it demonstrated True was not only a consummate singer and interpreter of other people’s work – but an outstanding composer in her own right with songs such as ‘Turn To the Living God’ and ‘You Are Our Center/ Eres El Eje’ being of particular note. Musical collaborations with liturgical hymn wordsmiths such as Shirley Erena Murray, Ruth Duck and Brian Wren produced awe inspiring hymns such as ‘God of the Ages’, ‘A Place A t The Table’ and ‘Christ is Alive’. Pure gold.

True surfaced again on the excellent 2004 ‘As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets’ along with Tony Alonso and Michael Mahler, cementing in this blogger’s humble opinion that we were being witness to the development and push of GIA’s new ‘holy trinity’ of liturgical music.

Lori True does not disappoint with ‘There Is Room for Us All’. The production is flawless, the composition excellent and thematically, it is a very timely recording given the tensions we see around our world today.

The recording begins with the pulsing ‘One Lord’. Complete with wonderful antiphonal harmonies that beg to be sung, True establishes very quickly an easy formula of simple and memorable refrains with inspiring verses utilizing the vocal prowess of True and other guest cantors. The instrumentation is simple and uncluttered and would be a perfect choice for a Song of Gathering.

The reflective ‘You Are All I Need’ follows as an adaptation of Psalm 23. New settings of Psalm 23 are always welcomed as the stock-standard ‘Crimmond’ and Brian Boniwell’s ‘The Lord is My Shepherd’ can very quickly become dreary. It’s application as a responsorial psalm at Eucharist or as psalmody as part of Evening Prayer with the line of, ‘You lead me through the darkness of the night’ make it very relevant indeed. Again, a singable piece, it screams out to be used for meaningful and inspiring liturgical practice.

The tempo is pushed up a few notches with the infectious ‘Build Us a Table’. With a wonderful text supplied by the gifted wordsmith Ruth Duck and a dancing tinwhsitle line played by the amazingly talented David Livingstone – make this an obvious choice for Preparation of the Gifts, although application at the Communion sharing could also be a smart choice.

‘What Have We Done for the Poor Ones?’ is a simple piece with overt justice themes. Without a chorus [as such], but a repetitive series of verses with the same melody – this piece would work best with an ensemble comprising of different voices [as displayed on the recording]. Used as a communion piece, hymn of thanksgiving or reflection within a Eucharist would be a logical choice. Additionally, services of reconciliation would be good opportunities to use this particular song.

David Haas makes a happy appearance in the reflective ‘Peace, Be Not Anxious’. Like on 2001’s ‘A Place at the Table’ True shows her amazing vocal abilities on this track, particularly in the last refrain with a haunting counter melody. Reminiscent of the vocal style done in ‘God Is Our Center’ [A Place at the Table]…this is truly beautiful prayer! I could see this having wonderful application as a dismissal hymn at Evening Prayer as members of the assembly are giving each other a sign of peace. Fine work.

Is it just coincidence – or a clever connection to her debut with the following verse in ‘Who Is the Alien?’:

Who is the alien? Who is the outcast?
Who do we cast aside with foolish pride?
We must decide to walk beside.
Let none divide, let all abide
We must provide a place at the table

Regardless of this little mystery, the song is strong in its justice theme. Accentuated with liturgical movement or a powerful PowerPoint slideshow – all kinds of possibilities begin to manifest themselves. Tom Franzak on vocals and Bobby Fisher on guitar are welcome guest musicians harking one’s memory back to the wonderful moments of prayer found on the 1997 masterpiece ‘Glory Day’ by David Haas.

‘One In Body, Heart and Mind’ is a magnificent Fraction Rite/ Communion piece that seamlessly morphs from one to the other. The music is inviting and lilting with a mantra-like refrain that will be very easy for any congregation to pick up and sing along with. Guest vocalists on this particular recording include Michael Mahler and Joe Comacho which make for happy listening.

Fr. Ray East. I love this guy. I have raved about him previously for his work on Marty Haugen’s ‘That You May Have Life’ and also the epic David Haas’ track ‘You Can Make Me Whole’. East has a wonderful timbre to his vocal tone and it naturally leads itself beautifully to gospel style singing. And while ‘I Lift My Soul’ [an adaptation of Psalm 25] starts off as a quiet little number, by the end of the track it is a thumping and galvanizing gospel epic with East singing superbly. True obviously feels similarly to this as she has dedicated and composed the song for East. Clever. Oh so clever! Please, please Ms True – do more work with the good Padre! Amen!

Set to the music of ‘Dona nobis pacem’ the next song ‘Dream a Dream’ features the vocal appearance of Lori True’s own daughter Katherine. True Jr. has a pure, sweet and clear voice which compliments the Christmas theme of the song. The text appears courtesy of Shirley Erena Murray and is reminiscent of ‘Child of Christmas Story’ [which appeared on 2001’s ‘A Place at the Table’ – also penned by Murray – and also featuring the younger Katherine True!!]. There are lots of connections being made in this recording and certainly – lots of positive developments occurring too.

A couple of months back, I wrote on the ministerial function of Vigils. In this article, I raised the issue that I had not heard of a recording devoted entirely to music to be used as a resource for Vigils and that this could be something to be explored. True certainly offers us a possible inroad to this debate with the Vigil themed song ‘We Await With Wakeful Care’. Clearly the result of caring and spending ‘vigil’ with a sick child, ‘We Await with Wakeful Care’ is a revelation moment on the album as to how we implement music in a Vigil setting. There is much work to be done here, but True has certainly contributed in a positive way. Perhaps this will be an area we see Lori True develop in the future as a nice connection to her work done with the Liturgy of the Hours on ‘As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets’. On this front – ‘we await with wakeful care’. [!]

The setting of the Magnificat, has been taken from ‘As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets’ and sits well with this collection. Connections. Connections!

An original musical setting of ‘Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace’ [St Francis of Assisi] is a positive inclusion here and works very well thematically. Melissa Cuddy and Michael Mahler do well to give voicing to this new setting of an age old [and much loved] prayer. The tone and feel is pulsing [not unlike the opening of ‘One Lord’] but perhaps with a more ethereal vibe aided masterfully by the expert sax playing of Kenni Holman.

The bilingual piece ‘On the Mountain of God’ using the language of the indigenous Hawaii people reminds me of the Haas ‘E Na Lima Hana (The Working Hands). Again we are treated to the dulcet tones of Joe Comacho and the sweet singing of Katherine True to reinforce the message of welcome and transformation.

The vocally driven ‘Let It Go’ with its gospel feel lends itself to a hymn of thanksgiving after communion. Never having been one to subscribe to the idea of pre-destination, I am somewhat grated by the refrain:

Oh, let it go, let it go, let it go, oh, let it go
Don’t you know
God’s got a plan and it’s bigger than this

This aside, the harmony work is outstanding and would provide a happy challenge to any choir or vocal ensemble to attempt in a parish setting.

The final track of the album is the simple and stark ‘Quietly, Peacefully’. Musically based on the Antonín Dvořák symphony No. 9, ‘From The New World’ – it rounds the collection off in a very sublime manner. True excels herself again with counter melody vocal lines in the final moments of the track which lift it all to an other-worldly finalé.

‘There Is Room For Us All’ is an excellent offering by Lori True. It acknowledges her previous recordings and boldly breaks new ground and sets a path open for future liturgical exploration. Clearly a master of her craft, Lori True has cemented her position as a liturgical composer of note and along with the likes of Michael Mahler and Tony Alonso, is paving the way for dynamic and inspiring liturgical musical practice in the twenty first century.

Tenebrae: A Viable Option for Morning Prayer in a Parish Setting?

2006-01-17T14:13:00.000+10:30

I raised the question last year as to whether one could offer Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday night. This idea came after the success of Lenten Evening Prayer in my parish in 2005 – with the thought that Evening Prayer could be extended into the Easter Triduum somehow.

Liturgically, the Easter Triduum officially ends with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday – so I was thinking I was onto to something rather good.

I was informed by a number of different people that such an idea was not going to work. I was told that people ‘would be Eastered out’ by Sunday night having been to a number of liturgies over the preceding days and the last thing they would want to do is to go to another liturgy.

However, it was suggested to me as an alternative to Easter Sunday Evening Prayer – the service of Tenebrae could be offered – perhaps on Good Friday morning as a form of Morning Prayer.

I had never heard of Tenebrae and it lead me to do a little study on what it is. I was also heartened as I had previously been at a loss as to how to effectively offer Morning Prayer in a parish setting.

So what is Tenebrae?

The official celebration of Lauds [Morning Prayer] on the days of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday are referred to as Tenebrae. The term Tenebrae is another word for darkness – and the liturgies themselves have a strong focus on the extinguishing of lights/ candles to mirror the death of Jesus and the observance of the three days in the tomb.

In the past, Tenebrae has been celebrated at varying points of the day. In the seventeenth century, some monasteries, such as St-Maur and St-Vanne in France, held the service at 2 a.m. Earlier than this in 1200 CE, the Benedictines celebrated Tenebrae in the late afternoon.

Evidence suggests Tenebrae existed as early as the eighth century with commentators such as Amalarius of Metz, a ninth century Gallican liturgist saying the following:

That the lights of the church are extinguished on these [nights] seems to me to be in commemoration of the Sun of Justice Himself, who is buried for three days and three nights…Our church is illuminated with twenty-four candles and at each song – where we might otherwise rejoice – we choose sadness because our true Sun has set; and thus during the individual hours the lack of the sun is increased until complete extinction. This happens three times because it recalls the three-day burial of the Lord.

This shows us that - in the past - Tenebrae was indeed celebrated by some as a nocturnal liturgical activity. However the 1955 Catholic Church Decree Maxima Redemptionis brought about liturgical changes in the way the Easter Triduum was to be celebrated. Instruction was given that saw the celebration of Lauds and Matins to be observed on the actual day [not the evening before as was done in some places]. Therefore the office of Tenebrae was from 1955 onwards, seen best celebrated ‘in the morning [of the day itself] at the appropriate hour’.

This idea of Tenebrae being celebrated as Morning Prayer over the Easter Triduum has remained since this time – although the celebration of Tenebrae itself is uncommon.

The actual rite and structure of Tenebrae involves participants entering the Church and seeing a large 15 candle candelabra with all the candles lit. This candelabra is officially known as a ‘hearse’ or ‘Tenebrae Hearse’ [see picture above].

Following opening rites, a number of psalms are sung and also the chanting from the Book of Lamentations, which creates a very dramatic mood.

Coupled with this, is the extinguishing of candles after each psalm or lament is sung. One tradition associates the extinguishing of lights with the desertion of the Apostles who fled Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Psalms, canticles, readings and other hymns are sung until all candles are extinguished – except one – which is then removed from the ‘hearse’ and – still alight – is momentarily placed behind the altar. Traditionally, Psalm 51 is then sung [also known as the Miserere]. Then the sound of a loud crash is made [made by a cymbal – or in some places the congregation stomping their feet] to symbolise the earthquake at the moment of Jesus’ death. Some congregations also at this point throw 30 silver coins at the foot of the sanctuary for added dramatic effect.

The candle is then brought from behind the altar and shown to the assembly symbolising the inextinguishable light of Christ. People then leave the Church in absolute silence.

One can see there is rich symbolic imagery at play in Tenebrae with some claiming it as their favourite of the Easter services. [!!]

My hope is that I will be able to offer it to my Parish this year on Holy Saturday morning. My thinking here is that I will maximise the chance of people being able to attend as on Holy Thursday people will still be at work. Good Friday will be busy with preparations for the Ecumenical Walk of Witness, which begins in our Church and draws a huge crowd.

Which leaves Saturday morning. We’ll see how things go.

The Congregation for Divine Worship released a document in 1988 focusing on the Easter feasts and attempted to restore the ‘forgotten day’ of Easter by encouraging the celebration of Tenebrae, stating the following:

On Holy Saturday the Church is as it were at the Lord’s tomb, meditating on his passion and death, and on his descent into Hell, and awaiting his resurrection with prayer and fasting. It is highly recommended that on this day the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer be celebrated with the participation of the people. Where this cannot be done, there should be some celebration of the Word of God, or some act of devotion suited to the mystery celebrated on this day.

Watch this space for more developments on the celebration of Tenebrae.

Morning and Evening Prayer: An interview with Tony Alonso

2006-01-03T12:43:00.000+10:30

Over the past three weeks I have been interviewing noted liturgical musicians to get their views on Morning and Evening Prayer. I conlude this 3 part series with a interview recently conducted with Tony Alonso.

Lucernarium: Do you, or have you, used music in celebrating Morning and Evening Prayer? What has been your experience of these ‘hinge’ hours of prayer? How has music enhanced these times for you and the gathered assembly?

In my experience, music has always done far more than enhance my experience of celebrating morning and evening prayer. It is impossible to imagine the richness of this profoundly beautiful and simple way of praying without music; music is an integral part of these celebrations. Music puts the words of the psalms and scriptures on our lips and in our hearts. While it is difficult for most Catholics to recite any of the psalms, once they have sung them, it is difficult for them to forget them! The Liturgy of the Hours gives us a wonderful opportunity to learn the psalms and canticles of our tradition, but more importantly it allows them to take root in our whole prayer lives, to shape our relationship and conversation with God and one other.

Lucernarium: What do you see as the challenges facing Morning and Evening Prayer in a parish setting? Are there other settings where it can be celebrated?

Some people make it more difficult than it needs to be. The beauty of morning and evening prayer is its simplicity and in the fact that most of the “work” belongs to the assembly. It need not be complex to be prayerful and engaging. In fact, sometimes the more complex these services become, the more the assembly is robbed of its opportunity to pray and sing as one. In addition to the parish setting, morning and evening prayer have been some of the most wonderful parts of retreats and conferences I have attended.

Lucernarium: Is there a saturation of Eucharistic celebrations throughout the duration of any given week in a parish setting? Is there scope to balance the liturgical diet of the faithful by replacing weekday Masses with Lauds and Vespers? Comment.

Absolutely. We should come to the table hungry Eucharist is wonderful; it is the summit of our liturgical prayer. But the hours offer us another rich way of praying in community. If all we celebrate is Eucharist, we miss out on some wonderful opportunities for richness and also risk neglecting to appreciate the uniqueness of Eucharist.

Lucernarium: The developments in scriptural and liturgical music since Vatican II have been quite remarkable. In your opinion, where will we be in 10-15 years time? What developments do you think will occur, given present liturgical understandings and practice?

It is impossible to say where we’ll be in 10-15 years. This is a multi-faceted question, especially since my experience of the Church in the United States in comparison with the experience of someone in Nigeria, Ireland, Australia or Mexico is vastly different today! Whatever the case, it is fascinating to watch. I watch with sincere hope that the next 10-15 years are a progression to fulfill the vision of Vatican II. It is such a young vision, it needs to be given more time; there’s still so much possibility for growth. Some people say it’s gone far enough, I say we haven’t even scratched the surface!

A sincere thankyou to Tony for taking the time out to do this interview. For more info on Tony Alonso, his ministry, his music and written publications - go to the link at the side of this page entitled 'Tony Alonso'. Additionally, go to GIA Publications to view [and hear snippets!] of songs from his most recent collection 'Songs from Another Room'.

Morning and Evening Prayer: An interview with Bobby Fisher

2005-12-26T21:15:00.000+10:30

This week, I continue in interview mode – and have the pleasure to present the talented guitar player extraordinaire Bobby Fisher. Bobby has appeared on many recordings as accompanist to such luminaries as David Haas, Marty Haugen as well as new comers Lori True and Tony Alonso.

Bobby Fisher has many collections of his own including Season of Peace [G.I.A Publications] and If We Dare To Hope [OCP Publications]. He has written books on liturgical guitar playing and is a seasoned workshop clinician.

Check out more info on Bobby Fisher at OCP [here] and at GIA [here].

Now…here’s Bobby to talk about his experiences on Morning and Evening Prayer.

Lucernarium: Do you, or have you, used music in celebrating Morning and Evening Prayer? What has been your experience of these ‘hinge’ hours of prayer? How has music enhanced these times for you and the gathered assembly?

Bobby Fisher: Yes, we currently celebrate Morning Prayer at my parish every Saturday at 8:00 A.M. I find both Morning and Evening Prayer to be excellent ways to begin a day and to reconnect spiritually in the evening. Music enhances these experiences by drawing one deeper into the prayer through the singing/chanting of the texts. We use simple chant tones at Morning Prayer and more familiar hymns/songs for our Advent and Lent Evening Prayers. Our Saturday Morning Prayer has been fairly well attended.

Lucernarium: What do you see as the challenges facing Morning and Evening Prayer in a parish setting? Are there other settings where it can be celebrated?

Bobby Fisher: The challenges of having Morning and Evening Prayer in a parish setting primarily deal with issues of time and the busyness of people’s lives. Other settings where Liturgy of the Hours can be celebrated would include individual prayer time, small group or community settings. I’ve had some wonderful experiences of this form of prayer at conferences, workshops, retreats with people of a number of ages. When celebrated well, I have found youth and young adults to enjoy this form of prayer.

Lucernarium: Is there a saturation of Eucharistic celebrations throughout the duration of any given week in a parish setting? Is there scope to balance the liturgical diet of the faithful by replacing weekday Masses with Lauds and Vespers? Comment.

Bobby Fisher: Given today’s climate with a growing shortage of priests, celebration of Lauds and Vespers is a most viable alternative. However, there are still a number of people who are used to attending daily Eucharist. At my parish when a priest is not available to celebrate weekday Mass, we have offered Communion Services, led by a deacon or other parish staff person, myself included.

Lucernarium: The developments in scriptural and liturgical music since Vatican II have been quite remarkable. In your opinion, where will we be in 10-15 years time? What developments do you think will occur, given present liturgical understandings and practice?

Bobby Fisher: At present there is a great deal of tension within the Church, liturgically and musically. After the initial renewal and growth brought about by Vatican II we see the institutional church pulling back on the reins in response to what has been perceived as some of the “negatives” brought about by this renewal. It’s hard to predict where we’ll be 10 to 15 years from now, but as a composer and liturgist I tend to mix the old with the new and my hope is that we’ll see a balance which celebrates both our rich heritage of traditional forms of music along with an ever expanding repertoire of new quality music for liturgical celebrations. I also hope to see an increase in tolerance and recognition that what might be deemed “inappropriate” stylistically in one culture might be appropriate and accepted in another culture.

Big thanks to Bobby for taking the time to do the interview. Next week - Tony Alonso!

Morning and Evening Prayer: An interview with Jerry Goebel

2005-12-20T16:28:00.000+10:30

Recently, I have approached three well known figures in the liturgical music world and asked them to be part of a blog-interview. They have all been asked the same four questions – but as you will see – their responses are quite different and provide a fascinating insight as to how liturgical music is utilized in their experience of Morning and Evening Prayer.

This week I am presenting US liturgical musician and speaker Jerry Goebel [pictured]. Jerry has 6 music collections to his name and is an enthusiastic writer with 2 books under his belt too. His latest book is The Deepest Longing of Young People: Loved without Conditions and will be released next year through St Mary’s Press.

Jerry does sterling work in prison ministry and has created his own ministry outreach organization called ONEFamily Outreach.

Without further ado – here is Jerry….

Lucernarium: Do you, or have you, used music in celebrating Morning and Evening Prayer? What has been your experience of these ‘hinge’ hours of prayer? How has music enhanced these times for you and the gathered assembly?

Jerry: Most of my work is with the incarcerated nowadays. I do outreach concerts but also I have ongoing ministries with local juvenile detention centers, jails, and prisons. In the jail and prisons I do a great deal of morning and evening prayers with the men. We use the Psalms mostly and the inmates tend to be more attuned to contemporary music as my groups are ecumenical and often new to the Christian faith.

Lucernarium: What do you see as the challenges facing Morning and Evening Prayer in a parish setting? Are there other settings where it can be celebrated?

Jerry: Fortunately, I have a “captive audience.” People want to come early and they want to stay as late as they possibly can. Yet, they don’t have to come back on a regular basis. We started a 24/7 Christian community in a local jail almost a decade ago and it is very much like a monastic approach to life. We can only take 64 guys and we have a waiting list of well over 80 right now. Men want the order in their life. They respond to it and it changes them. Often times—after being there a few days and feeling the emotional and physical safety of their surroundings—they will spontaneously break into sobbing. They truly sound like newborn babies and everything stops while those around them pray and hold them (I have pictures of this on my web site—it is truly the movement of the Holy Spirit).

For people who have known nothing but chaos most of their life; this is a huge change.

With the kids we do something different. We work with them on gratitude lists that they read every morning and every night in their cells. I tell the kids that all dysfunctional behavior (including addictions) begins with a lack of gratitude and the words; “What about me?”

Their morning and evening prayers are to go over their lists and remember what they are grateful for. We also tell them that the world is wide open to the person who can express gratitude to others. They practice this daily and it changes lives incredibly.

That’s our morning and evening prayer.

Lucernarium: Is there a saturation of Eucharistic celebrations throughout the duration of any given week in a parish setting? Is there scope to balance the liturgical diet of the faithful by replacing weekday Masses with Lauds and Vespers? Comment.

Jerry: Not being in the parish setting I am not sure I am much help here. Also, I cannot be particularly denominational in our approach to worship and biblical study. However, we look at what Christ did at the Eucharist and the very essence of the word: Eucharisteo.

That term literally translates into good (meaning whole and holy) gifted or thankfulness. Christ takes the bread, breaks it and says something amazing; “Thank you (Eucahristeo).” “This is my body; it has been broken for you.”

It is stunning that Jesus would thank God for the privilege of being broken for us and… as Paul would say, “While we were yet sinners!”

Our emphasis with the guys is learning to become thankful anywhere and everywhere to God. I always ask them: “Are you a prisoner of the State or a prisoner of the Lord? Paul called himself a prisoner of the Lord and never a prisoner of Rome.”

Can we thank God for being broken for others on his behalf?

Lucernarium: The developments in scriptural and liturgical music since Vatican II have been quite remarkable. In your opinion, where will we be in 10-15 years time? What developments do you think will occur, given present liturgical understandings and practice?

I think the church faces a time of turmoil. Mother Theresa said something like: “The closer we are to the wounded body of Jesus; the closer we are to God.”

I deal largely in ecumenical and even secular circles most of the time; especially in my work with expelled, incarcerated, and recovering kids. The closer I am to them; the more I have to present a simple, relational gospel.

We tell them that the Hebraic tradition and the gospels are both personal AND communal. We want them to be change-agents for Jesus in their neighborhoods, schools, institutions, even their gangs. It is much like Jesus sending the man possessed by a Legion of demons back to his town or the woman at Jacob’s well running out to her city. With no ritual, background, or biblical study; they changed an entire culture. How? All they said was: “You know what I was; now look at who Jesus made me.” No one could argue with that.

We put it like this; “Don’t be Christian; be Christ.”

It seems that the further we get from the wounded body of Jesus; the more religious and ritualistic we become. I pray that we can find a way to reconcile the two into the type of church laid forth in the 10th Chapter of Matthew when Jesus says who will receive the prophet’s reward. 1) The Prophet (the one who pro(forward) claims his community for Christ; 2) The righteous (the one who makes what is wrong—right); 3) those who feed and house the prophetic and the righteous (providing the emotional, spiritual, and financial support for the prophetic and righteous to do their work; and 4) the one who goes way out of their way to go down to the well and get a fresh glass of living water for the least, little (micros in Greek) one.

It takes everyone…

Here ends the first of a three part interview series of blogs focusing on the role of music in Morning and Evening Prayer. Special thanks to Jerry Goebel for sharing his experiences. Next week I will be posting an interview with that wondrous guitar player from Cincinnati – Bobby Fisher!

Towards a Theology of Inspiration: Part 2

2005-12-13T10:46:00.000+10:30

The sixth Annual Manning Clark Lecture was delivered by Hugh Mackay at the National Library of Australia, Canberra on Thursday 3 March 2005.

It was a fascinating breakdown of societal developments since World War II and how these various developments have aided and contributed to the current world we find ourselves in.

Towards the end of his speech, Mackay insisted that in the not too distant future [he predicts] – we will see a rise in a number of individuals who will ‘enlarge’ the vision[s] for society – rather than narrow and restrict it with dogmatic rules and regulations. These will be, he suggests, leaders in our society who will inspire us all. And while he does not know from which quarter of the community these individuals will emerge, he is confident of their imminent appearance.

While Mackay’s speech refers to the secular world – I am convinced much of what he advocates is relevant to our Church and precisely the kind of discussion and language necessary for a revitalization of current liturgical practice.

Liturgically speaking, the Church is in need of significant inspiration…and as I mentioned in last week’s article, the idea of participation that is ‘full, active and conscious’ is no longer a good starting point for liturgy in today’s Church.

In the immediate post-conciliar Church, such a point of view as expressed in Sacrosactutm Concilium was appropriate, satisfying a desire and real need to participate fully by the laity.

That has now changed – as has the Church and its demographic.

Members of any congregation [whether they be regular members of the assembly or the ‘Christmas and Easter’ clientele] – now have different needs than to merely ‘participate’. To get to that point – they need encouragement.

They need to be inspired.

And…unfortunately, this is not happening.

Now, I acknowledge that high quality, theologically appropriate and contemporary liturgical music is not the panacea to the Church’s woes. Nor is it an answer to fledgling congregation numbers over the last few decades.

But it would help.

It would help a great deal.

And unfortunately, over the last number of years, there has been a complacency developing where liturgical improvement is seen as less important compared to say… building developments…or economic rationalism [even within the Church!].

Liturgy is in need of major help – and the issues are endemic throughout all stratum of the Church…from the way the hierarchy conducts itself right through to the administration and liturgical implementation at a local parish level.

…and so to the tough questions.

When it comes to us celebrating Liturgy - what causes us to be inspired? And what are the effects of this inspiration on us?

A simple response to the first part of this question is that God is our source of ultimate inspiration – and through Jesus and the movement of the Spirit, we are constantly inspired by a very beautiful and incomprehensible Mystery of Love.

But how is this Mystery of Love made known to us? The celebration of Liturgy is certainly an excellent way to be spiritually nourished and inspired – but within these moments of ritual – who inspires us to be inspired enough to engage in ‘full, active and conscious participation’? Is ‘participation’ our ultimate objective? Or is it something else?

Scriptural evidence abounds that displays the cause and effect of inspiration.

In Exodus 15, we witness the flight of the Israelites out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and free from the armies of Pharaoh. Immediately following this, Moses and the Israelites sing a song of praise to God. A similar act of praise quickly follows in the form of Miriam’s Song.

What is happening here?

Moses and the Israelites have experienced the saving power of God. Through this salvivic act – they are in awe of God. They are awe-inspired. [!] And through this inspiration, they raise their voices in song and then participate fully, actively and consciously as one unified assembly to God. Their inspired song has become a source of our inspiration too.

Essentially, the very act of inspiration is catching and infectious. It [inspiration] compels us into actions and gestures that recapitulate our way of being and give us a renewed sense of meaning [as seen in Ex 15]. This gives us wonderful purpose to want to celebrate and participate in that celebration. And then, having participated, we are then further inspired to go forth and live out this inspiration in the world we live. In short, [and to connect back to Mackay], we become the inspirers.

We might view this ‘Cycle of Inspiration’ like this:

GOD=inspiration=participation=inspiration=GOD

The song of Miriam [Ex 15] also displays the way in which those inspired can have an effect on others to stimulate inspiration and consequently active participation.

We watch Miriam as an inspired person taking on a leadership role and [in an act that resembles Psalm 150] playing tambourine. This encourages the other women to take up tambourines too and dance and sing to the Lord a triumphant song of praise.

And this very act of Miriam singing, dancing and playing an instrument as seen in the scriptures has continued to inspire people throughout time. People have been inspired to mimic her actions and those as described in Psalm 150 to inspire them in their prayer life.

I recently wrote a piece looking at this highly interactive way of praying the psalms. It is an inspirational way of living out the scriptures in a jubilant way. It inspires us to want to participate.

In this Advent season, it is appropriate to look at the Magnificat as an inspirational piece of evidence in our discussion.

Mary was inspired by God. Her amazement of God at her own pregnancy, as told to her by the angel Gabriel is evident in the scriptures. Further, her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy also astounds her with Gabriel saying to her:

‘For nothing will be impossible with God’

Here stands a most inspired woman. A woman very much in tune with her God and inspired enough to proclaim her inspiration in a most beautiful and dramatic way as seen in the Magnificat [Luke 1: 46-55].

Like Miriam and Moses, we see the figure of Mary as a figure of inspiration to all of us. Her song has become our song. It inspires us to participate. My experience of Evening Prayer earlier this year, has given me a renewed appreciation for Mary through singing the Magnificat every week. Her yes to God was total – and is a wonderful model for all of us seeking God’s will.

Mary’s song inspired me to sing – and then the gathered assembly were inspired by my leadership to sing and participate. This experience of Evening Prayer has lingered with many of us at my parish and has propelled us forward into a prayer filled life.

Having said this, can we say that our celebration of Liturgy is as inspiring as it could be?

As a teacher, I often have discussions with my students who are very quick to tell me of their frustrations with current liturgical practice.

There major reason for not going to Mass is that it is devoid of inspiration. To them, Mass is ‘boring’. They site extremely uninspiring music as a major source of their dissatisfaction. Coupled with this is an inability for the vast majority of priests to engage meaningfully with their world view to make relevant connections.

My students will ask me questions such as ‘How are we meant to be inspired to go to Mass – if the Mass and the music and the priest are not inspiring us’?

These are valid questions…and the questions are real. They reflect truths that lie behind the questions that, to my understanding and knowledge are not being serious addressed by the Church.

I have lost count of the amount of Diocesan-level conferences and meetings I have been to where the catch cry is hailed; ‘We must read the signs of the times!’

From my point of view, [and most certainly from the point of view of my students] – the Church are simply not reading the ‘signs of the times’. One could argue, the Church have become illiterate on this front. And there is proof of such an assertion.

In a recent article from http://www.chiesa/ , Mosignor Grau, president of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music has gone on record to say:

‘I would go so far as to say that without Gregorian chant, the Church is mutilated, and that there cannot be Church music without Gregorian chant.’

There are other statements made in the article that are reason for concern. A Church that prides itself on reading the ‘signs of the times’, are not doing themselves any favours when such divisive and exclusive words as these are spoken and posted around the world via the internet.

An insistence on Gregorian Chant by individuals such as Grau is exactly the kind of music and liturgical diet that so many young people [and students I teach] find repellant. They struggle so much with current practices which they see as restrictive, old fashioned and irrelevant. The insistence on Gregorian Chant is like adding insult to injury. They are crying out to be inspired!

They will be the first to tell you they do want to sing and be involved in liturgical music – but in a genre that speaks to them and inspires them to want to participate.

And so…they don’t participate.

A Perth Marist Brother who lectures at Edith Cowan University last month delivered a report that claimed almost all students who graduate from Catholic education regard the Church as irrelevant. Regarding Sunday Mass obligation, the majority of students (62.4%) did not agree that missing Mass on Sunday was sinful, nor did they agree with the Church's teaching on Sunday Mass. [Br Luke Saker: The Record]

This is precisely the reason why the Vatican II clarion call of ‘full, active and conscious’ participation is not an appropriate starting point for liturgists, musicians and catechists. The Church is saying one thing. Young people [and also other people who aren’t necessarily young] are saying another thing. There is a lack of connection.

Inspiration could be the key to the connection being made.

We need to invest heavily in devising ways of inspiring people into wanting to participate in our liturgical life. I feel an important way of going about this is through the inspiring power of music.

The role of the music minister is vital to this revival of inspiration. With dwindling numbers of priests and also a rapidly aging and ailing priesthood – who will be able to inspire? In my diocese, the average age of priests is 65. Where will our priests be in 5, 10, 15 years time? As figures in the community who have traditionally been seen as agents of inspiration and spiritual leadership…who will replace them when they are infirmed…or dead?

If the Church continues to hold the stance of not changing the conditions of ordination, then it will become the responsibility of the people like the music minister to take up the role of leadership and inspire people to want to participate.

But, we need not wait until that point.

We can start inspiring people – now.

Towards a Theology of Inspiration: Part 1

2005-12-01T15:53:00.000+10:30

Earlier this year, I was responsible for coordinating the Liturgy of a major celebration marking a 100 years of Loreto education here in my home town of Adelaide. Nearly 3000 people attended and celebrated Eucharist together.

I am happy to say all went well – and afterwards – in the Vesting Room – I had a couple of minutes with the Archbishop and Vicar General. The tone of the conversation was congratulatory and relaxed. I mentioned to the Archbishop my studies in Liturgy and he casually suggested that I perhaps look at a theology of participation.

It’s not every day you have a conversation with your local Archbishop – so I have not forgotten our conversation – nor his suggestion.

Of course - the suggestion of a theology of participation is not really surprising coming from a Catholic Archbishop [or any Catholic for that matter with a passing interest in Catholic Liturgy].

The Second Vatican Council spoke very explicitly in Sacrosanctum Concillium 14 for ‘full, active and conscious participation’ of the gathered faithful in the Liturgy.

This has been a catch cry of many liturgists and musicians in the post-conciliar period of renewal – in their attempt to galvanise the assembly so that sung prayer [and Liturgy in its completeness] may be fully experienced and participated in by all.

I have, for some time now, agreed with this idea of ‘full, active and conscious participation’ as a goal [but also a starting point] to aspire to when charged with the responsibility of ministerial leadership of sung prayer. I have presented numerous workshops and seminars where - from the outset – I have said that it is our aim as Catholics [in concordance with the ideas presented in Sacrosanctum Concilium] to participate fully. Holding this up as the ideal and ultimate liturgical aim – we are somehow encouraged to work towards this with conviction and gusto.

For me, things have changed.

What does participation actually mean or imply? ‘Full, active and conscious participation’ seems to imply that everybody can participate…that everyone wants to participate…and that everyone should participate. Does this actually happen? Is it the reality? I will return to these important questions in greater detail in Part 2 of this blog-article.

We need to put such language as ‘full, active and conscious participation’ into a historical perspective and understand what its authors were trying to convey in 1963 when it was written.

The desire for such enthusiastic participation – was [and perhaps still is] a response to the changes in the use of the vernacular for the celebration of the Liturgy. Up to that point in time - all members of the faithful had experienced Liturgy in Latin - and one would question to what extent participation was ‘full, active and conscious’.

Liturgist Gabe Huck argues that there was a distinct lack of participation by the assembly in the pre-Vatican II Church. In an article from the National Catholic Reporter dated January 16 2004, he puts forward the argument that there was ‘the quiet anonymity of the old rite’ where one was ‘left alone to pursue your own prayerful thoughts’.

Hardly a picture of what we might consider ‘full, active and conscious participation’. [!]

Similarly, Bill Huebsch from his 1997 book ‘Vatican II in Plain English’ says this about participation [or lack of] in the pre-Vatican II Church:

‘The Latin made the Mass seem to belong to someone else. It was the bishop’s or, more likely the Pope’s Mass and we were guests there, watching them do it. We “attended” Mass, more than we “celebrated” it then.’

And then later, he continues:

‘There were no missalettes then. No song books. Nothing in the pews to help us understand.’

All of this paints a fairly grim picture of the participation factor in the Tridentine Rite – and perhaps explains why such a big deal was made of the clarion call of ‘full, active and conscious participation’ by the Council Fathers which coincided with the massive changes that came out of the Second Vatican Council.

It was a concerted effort to reverse past liturgical practice – and – this catch-cry, which was part of a larger, theologically stellar document, acted as a force of propulsion into a new age…an age of participation.

Things have changed.

I am no longer convinced that a theology of participation is a viable starting point for our discussions where liturgical music is concerned. While participation may be our ultimate goal – something needs to take place before this happens.

And it is this particular starting point [before we even begin to talk about participation] that I think is missing in a major way.

To say to people ‘Ok everyone – our aim is to participate fully in the liturgy’ is not enough. People will need to want to participate. They need to be inspired to do so. Then – sure! – they will participate…but not before. Participation is not spontaneous! It doesn’t just happen! It needs a significant trigger!

What I believe is absent in all of this discussion is the development of a theology not of participation – but of inspiration.

One only needs to look at numbers of Church participants [!] on any given Sunday as a guide for levels of inspiration in our Churches. Parishioners are voting with their feet! And have been for some time – and will continue to do so!

So the need for action is crucial.

Here ends Part 1 of ‘Towards a Theology of Inspiration’. Part 2 will be posted next week.

The Ministerial Function of Vigils

2005-11-17T14:55:00.000+10:30

Earlier this year in wake of the Indonesian Tsunami disaster, my parish decided to have a Prayer Vigil. This idea of holding vigil [vigiliæ] is very old and dates back to the earliest moments of the Church.

And yet, the term vigil has crept into the vernacular and used so often that I would argue, for many, has lost its original meaning and liturgical significance.

We so often hear of families gathered around a dying relative ‘holding a bedside vigil’. Similarly, it is commonplace, particularly in school environments for people to gather as part of a ‘Prayer Vigil’ in the school Chapel upon the news of a member of the school community passing away [or extremely sick]. The other noticeable time for Vigil is perhaps best recognised on Holy Thursday after the Altar of Repose has been established and a Vigil is kept until the early hours of Good Friday.

What is the cause for this kind of liturgical activity?

There is early patristic evidence of Vigils. Tertullian in his Apologeticum [circa 197 CE] speaks of vigils being the normal act of a good Christian. [!] Later, the ascetic monk John Cassian in the fourth century gives us the first instance of the all night vigil being broken up into three ‘mini offices’ – what has become known as Nocturns. By the fifth century, St Benedict had established the monastic cursus [a complete cycle of praying the entire Psalter], influenced heavily by Roman customs of the time. Further a field in the Coptic Church of Egypt we see the use of the Psalmodia which indicates traces of an ancient night to morning vigil.

Biblical reference to Vigils can be found in the New Testament. In Matthew 26:38 while in Gethsemane, Jesus urges his disciples to ‘remain here and stay awake with me’. The early Christian Church as seen in the Acts of the Apostles display fervor for nocturnal prayerful activities, most dramatically seen in the story of Eutychus [Acts 20: 7-12]. In the Hebrew Scriptures there is evidence of vigil activity in Leviticus [23: 32] in describing correct prayerful observance for the Day of Atonement.

This is all fascinating background information – but there are perhaps more interesting questions to ask. Firstly, why did our parish feel compelled to hold vigil for the victims of the Tsunami on that night in January earlier this year? Secondly, how can music enhance and punctuate a vigil to sharpen our focus so that we ‘remain here and stay awake’ in the presence of Christ?

Firstly, let’s look at some possibilities as to why we hold Vigil. Apart from the biblical and patristic evidence which has produced a beautiful and enduring tradition of prayer which is lovely to uphold – are there other reasons? Is there a ministerial function to the action of Vigils which speaks to us at some deep and profound level propelling us into this age old format of prayer?

In his book ‘Visions of Liturgy and Music for a New Century’, Lucien Deiss says this of ministerial function:

‘To define the ministerial function of liturgy in regard to the liturgy itself…is to define it according to a single reality: a singing People of God celebrating Jesus Christ’

With this in mind, can we say that there is a ministerial function to Vigils? Does this ministerial function give us cause to gather in this manner? We are certainly celebrating the presence of Christ in our midst when we come together – in the case of Vigils – there is no distinction. In the context of a Vigil, we are praying, singing psalms and hymns to God in a way that can only be seen as celebratory. Our moments of silence in such instances are cause for delight and celebration in God also. And while there is an eschatological element to ‘keep awake’ - as most clearly seen in the recent Sunday Gospel of the Ten Bridesmaids [Matthew 25: 1-13] – it does not seem to over ride what Deiss is alluding to as an active celebrating of Jesus Christ.

The idea of dispelling darkness with light as a symbolic reference to the presence of Christ is known to us through such liturgical actions as the Lucernarium as part of Vespers [Evening Prayer]. The act of Vigil then becomes an extension of this acknowledgement of light in our lives.

Certainly, the 2005 Tsunami in Indonesia was a ‘dark’ moment for many of us. It is interesting to observe that in this ‘darkness’ we elected to gather in the night [the darkness] to keep the flame of prayer, light and hope burning. There is a liturgical richness here of drawing upon the overt symbolism of night to correspond with the ‘darkness’ of our lived reality. In this instance, one is reminded of John’s Prologue and that darkness can never prevail [John 1: 5].

Even though the circumstance of us gathering was born out of despair [the Tsunami] – this in itself mirrors much of the accusatory tones and sentiment found in the Psalms and the Book of Lamentations. In these times of destruction and hopelessness, one can easily become angry and bewildered with God. But this is simply a human response – and a response that has permeated throughout the ages – even back to the time when the Psalms were composed.

But, like the communities of the Hebrew Scriptures as seen in the Psalms – there remains a covenantal-knowing that God is with us even when there seems to be a glaring absence of God’s presence! [see Psalm 22]. In the aguish of despair…we still have the faith to call out to God in prayer i.e.: ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’ and address our cry to our Creator knowing we will find light where there is darkness. Our cry is the cry of Jesus himself. Our song is the song of Jesus.

It is here where we enter into a far deeper understanding of what celebration can mean for us. We become aligned and with Jesus in a poignant way. In his presence – we can rejoice, even if our circumstance for us getting to that place may be otherwise. We don’t aim to actively pursue and celebrate suffering…but we can say that in suffering we find ourselves hanging on the cross with Jesus. And through this we see the resurrection and the cause of our hope…and celebration.

Returning to the earlier question: how can music enhance and punctuate a vigil?

The experience of the ‘Tsunami Vigil’ at my parish once again showed me the galvanizing power of sung prayer. We begun the Vigil with a lighting of a candle – a Lucernarium - which acknowledged the presence of Christ as our light and peace. Accompanying this action we sang a simple little round which I had composed [which was then subsequently used for Evening Prayer during Lent].

It was easy for people to pick up and people sang with enthusiasm. After some general intercessions, a hymn was sung. We sang ‘Prayer for Peace’ by David Haas which people knew very well – and given the earlier round of singing, the gathered assembly really warmed to the occasion with their voices.

People made particular comment after the Vigil – saying the music used at the beginning [as just described] was a very powerful moment of prayer for them. The rest of the Vigil was mainly unstructured. Essentially, there were vast stretches of silence with occasional spontaneous petitions offered.

Similarly, my observation of our parish Holy Thursday night Vigil after the ‘Washing of the Feet Mass’ [!] is a silent and observant watch. Can there be scope at this particular Vigil and other Vigils [such as our ‘Tsunami Vigil’]…where music is employed in a more structured way that perhaps gives greater meaning and symbolism to the passing of the hours that we keep watch? Would it be appropriate to sing a hymn or a psalm on the hour and every hour of the Vigil? Would this not give the participants greater focus and enhance and aid their prayer?

But what to sing?

There is evidence to suggest that John’s Prologue could well have been used in the early Church as a hymn during evening services. The vesperal qualities of the Prologue are clearly evident, but could it have been used in Vigil offices too? What scope is there for it to be used in today’s experience of Vigil? Are there new adaptations which have been written that would benefit assembled communities?

For the purists, Marty Haugen has a setting of the Prologue which is actually sung in the original Greek! [Marty Haugen, That You May Have Life, 2005, G.I.A. Publications]. This is a recent recording and has the refrain sung in Greek i.e.: "En arch¯e ¯en ho logos," (In the beginning was the Word)…with English sung in the verses. It begins in a drone like fashion but then jumps into a lively celebratory style. It would require the music minister to instigate a mini-lesson in the pronunciation of Greek, but if it were explained properly in its historical context, I would imagine it to be a powerful expression of prayer linking us back to the very early tradition of our Church. Try it if you dare!

The popular Taize chant ‘Stay Here’ could be a good and logical choice for sung Vigil prayer. I have seen this used to start the Holy Thursday Night Vigil – but only played on CD through the church PA system. It could be argued that people know that particular piece very well now and it would not take much to have it sung live by a small ensemble or a strong cantor. The live approach also commands a greater sense of the sacred [and the attention of people] – which is the tone and mood that you would be wanting to establish for such an occasion. Too often I have seen a wonderful sense of prayer broken because someone has put on CD music over a PA. For some strange reason, doing so seems to invite and warrant people to burst into loud and disruptive chatter. [!!] The possibilities here are worth investigating further…

Other songs and hymn that aren’t explicitly devoted entirely to ‘keeping watch’ throughout the song – but have snippets or lines scattered throughout the song that speak very directly of Vigil style prayer are worth considering too. Songs such as ‘Blest Be the Lord’ by the St Louis Jesuits with its refrain of:

Blest be the Lord!
Blest be the Lord!
The God of mercy;
The God who saves!
I shall not fear the dark of night
Nor the arrow – that flies by day!

…have potential to be used. Similarly, David Hass’ ‘Increase Our Faith’ has wonderful applications with the refrain saying the following:

Lord, increase our faith
With all our hearts
May we always follow you
Teach us to pray - always

This idea of praying always has particular relevance to participants involved in a Vigil. It is one thing to be involved in a vigil of prayer – but if we are singing about what we are actually and physically doing – this reinforcement can only lead us into a greater sense of prayer.

The use of sung psalmody [or quick antiphons using selected and relevant verses] opens up many options – particularly psalms with reference to light. The light references mirror our own vigil of ‘light’ which is kept through the hours of night. Such Psalms could include:

Psalm 27: 1 ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?’

A recent setting of this psalm can be found on the exceptional collection ‘As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets’ by Tony Alonso, Lori True and Michael Mahler [G.I.A. Publications, 2005]. For an in-depth review of this recording go here.

Another option is Psalm 18:

Psalm 18: 28 ‘Since you are my lamp, O Lord, my God, enlighten my darkness’

Robert Taft, in his excellent book ‘The Liturgy of the Hours in the East and West’ speaks of night time Psalmody used in Southern Gall [circa 589 CE] as reported by St Caesarius of Arles. Psalm 104 is given particular mention and has a powerful sentiment which could very nicely be incorporated into a Vigil setting:

Psalm 104: 19-20 ‘The sun knows its setting, you bring darkness and it is night’

There is room for composers to create settings to these psalms which would speak to our contemporary experience of Church in the modern world. The style(s) presented on ‘As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets’ would be a good starting point to gain some inspiration and ideas. In fact, to my knowledge, I do not know of a recording devoted solely to Vigil hymns and psalmody in a contemporary style. This appears to be uncharted territory that warrants liturgical attention, methinks.

A recent recording I have stumbled across is a very early [if not his first collection] of liturgical music by Marty Haugen called I Send My Light [I Send My Light, 1978, G.I.A. Publications]. There is a song towards the end of the collection called ‘Sing Every Morning’ which would lend itself very well to an all-night Vigil. The song would work well as the participants were approaching sunrise after the watch of night. The lyrics of the song are most fitting:

Sing every morning!
Sing all night long!
Give of yourselves now;
Bring the Lord your song!

If we are to, [as the song suggests] ‘bring the Lord our song’ – then in the context of a Vigil – this seems a most fitting thing to do. The ministerial function of the Vigil can only be augmented with the addition of sung prayer which will allow us to enter into a richer experience of celebration.

Haunted by Gelineau: Local Music for Local Church

2005-11-03T11:33:00.000+10:30

My Masters supervisor once had the fortune of taking a class with the great Psalm composer Joseph Gelineau [pictured] in Paris in the late 1970s.

My supervisor told me of an occasion where he commented to Gelineau that while his early *career* had produced many settings of the psalms used by Catholics across the world – there seemed to be [at that time] a cessation of compositional activity.

Gelineau then responded something to the effect of:

‘But I have been composing all this time…I have been composing material for my local church.’

Gelineau’s influence on my supervisor has clearly run deep and this idea of ‘local music for local church’ is a phrase my supervisor likes to use a lot…and it makes good sense to me to not only voice it – but to act upon it.

And for the last number of years I have acted upon this notion. I have been responsible for writing liturgical music for my immediate local parish by way of writing a complete Mass setting, composing theme songs for parish retreats…and also Psalms that have been sung at Mass as the Responsorial Psalm and also for Evening Prayer. The music that I have written originally for my immediate parish community – has now even spread to other parishes and also to various Catholic schools. While there is a certain sense of pride and excitement in my written works being used by others and in different places – it is pleasing also on another level that this adheres to the catch-cry of ‘local music for local church’.

That there is a healthy home grown organic flavour to liturgical music being used for celebration – I think – can only been seen as a good thing…and as such, should be encouraged.

However, I have often felt alone in this area of liturgical composition.

When I first started giving serious attention to liturgical music composition [circa 2000], I sent some of my works to a local liturgical music publishing company here in Australia. After a number of weeks, I received a reply that was encouraging – but also frustrating.

The response applauded my efforts in the realm of liturgical composition and even said that the work was good. They suggested that I would benefit further if I were to work and collaborate with other liturgical composers to benefit my own gifts…and to stay in touch with them.

This was encouraging – but also frustrating – because at that time – I was the only other person I knew who was actively writing liturgical music with the same degree of gusto and passion. I knew of no other Catholic musician who was as obsessive about purchasing the latest offering by David Haas or Marty Haugen…listening to it…absorbing it….and then being influenced and inspired enough by it to then compose my own works.

There were people I knew who were involved in liturgical music – but not active composers. And while I felt stifled by this and not able to take up the advice of the Publishing company to ‘work with other composers’…I did not let it stop me from continuing.

Through this period of apparent ‘local liturgical isolation’ – I found myself asking the question ‘Why aren’t there more people like myself who are interested enough in using their gifts of music to compose for liturgy’?? I knew at that stage of only two other people in my home city of Adelaide who composed liturgical music – and both were a lot older that I was….like 30 years older than me. [!!!]

It has only been in the last 12 months that I have seen evidence of (and met) other [younger] Catholic composers who are writing liturgical music – for liturgy…and who live in around my home town of Adelaide. While this is heartening – the numbers are few.

Why the absence? Why the lack of young liturgical composers? Why is there not more ‘local music for local Church’ happening?

Some would argue that the 1991 Australian Liturgical Music Convention held in Melbourne has a lot to answer for in regards to this absence of ‘local music for local Church’. I have mixed feelings about it.

I did not go to the above mentioned event – but have since heard from different people who did go that it was a phenomenal gathering of talent from across the globe. Everyone who was anyone was there…Marty Haugen, David Haas, Michael Joncas, John Bell from Iona etc etc. Local talent was also there…and there were opportunities for participants to host their own workshops to present ideas on Liturgy and liturgical music.

But from people I have spoken to who went – the bulk of attention was directed towards the overseas US artists such as Haas, Haugen etc. They essentially ‘stole the show’ – so to speak.

As did their music.

And in doing so, [according to some] stifled and crushed local music in a major way.

Curiously, at the approximately the same time of this liturgical music expo extravaganza, a new hymnal was introduced to Australian shores – Gather Australia.

Curiously…but perhaps also timely [?], the bulk of the music found in Gather was much of the US/ GIA music that went down so well at the ’91 Melbourne gathering. Is it by some strange coincidence that the two events occurred approximately at the same time? Or was it a planned and calculated operation by GIA to break into [and some would argue – to dominate] the Catholic liturgical music landscape in Australia – for optimum financial gain?

A positive spin-off to a well timed venture for GIA? Or – a vulgar display of cultural imperialism?

The question I have is: to what extent has the prevalence of GIA liturgical music across Australia stifled ‘local music for local Church’? Have we become complacent in the way we use and select liturgical music – and simply defer to the Gather Hymnal [and other similar hymnals]? Has this easy reliance quelled our own desire to compose our own music for our local churches? Has the seeming over-abundance of US based GIA/ OCP composers and the ‘safety’ in using what appears in a hymnal put us off from investing and supporting – and advocating – local liturgical composers?

On a personal note, it is interesting for me to look at these kinds of questions – because I have benefited greatly from many of the artists on the GIA roster. They have given me great optimism and inspired me to define my own compositional style and ultimately, allowed me to create music that I have given back to my local celebrating community.

And this action of singing liturgical music as common prayer with a flavour that is unique and particular to the local setting [be that parish, school etc] is a great way to enhance and augment the power of celebrated liturgy.

More of it needs to happen…but how do you light and create a fire in such an apparent void of liturgical musical creativity? Do you have locally run seminars on liturgical music – run by local liturgists and theologians? Do you host liturgical music concerts to highlight the power and wonder of sung prayer? Do you invest in local and aspiring liturgical composers to give them a voice and standing within the local Church? Do you create new and dynamic publishing companies who will produce printed sheet music and recordings of local artists that will enhance people’s appreciation for liturgical music? Do you employ liturgically savvy and musically competent teachers in our Catholic schools to inspire the next generation of Catholics so they can in turn become ‘agents of change’ for liturgical music?

I think you could answer ‘yes’ to all of these questions. These are the questions that must be asked…but more importantly enacted upon if we are to realise Gelineau’s vision of ‘local music for local Church’.

The Musical, Liturgical and Pastoral benefits of a literal approach to the Psalms: A cost-benefit analysis.

2005-10-16T22:42:00.000+09:30

I often find myself warning others about the dangers of literally interpreting the Bible. I tend to think and suggest that the Bible is a complex collection of writings that must be investigated at depth, opened up and explored at an exegetical level for a richer, fuller understanding to be reached. Accepting mere words on a page as the final word is simply not sufficient – there is always a deeper story and meaning to be found…

However, I recently read a blog at Dandy Kat Konnection that challenged this viewpoint of mine and made me think twice. [I would suggest you to read the hyperlinked article above as a bit of a backdrop before continuing any further here.]

The blog spoke about a congregation praying Psalm 150 in their worship space. As people entered – an assortment of percussive instruments were placed at the foot of the sanctuary and people were asked to select one of them as they entered and to ‘play’ it when the Psalm commenced.

Quite literally, the action of playing these instruments was a direct mimicking of Psalm 150:

‘Praise God with tambourine and dance;
Praise God with strings and pipe!
Praise God with clanging cymbals;
Praise God with loud clashing cymbals!’

What we see here is scriptural literalism occurring…seemingly at its [dare I say it] best! Apparently, the celebration was energising and a prayerful encounter with the joyful flavour of the final Psalm.

While, I am aware this kind of very interactive style of liturgy may not suit everybody – or congregation for that matter – there are a number of things happening here which I feel are worth exploring a little further.

There appear to be pastoral, musical and liturgical pros and cons to consider here. I will work through each of them individually and see what emerges:

PASTORAL: In the referenced story from Dandy Kat Konnection, the pastoral needs of the congregation are held as central. Their direct involvement in the playing and propulsion of the psalm places them in a wonderful position to [as Dr. Kathleen Harmon would argue] become the psalm.

There is a drama at play here that has an accompanying action that is in-sync with the words emanating from the Psalm. This in turn, reinforces the lyrical beauty of the Psalm – and I would argue creates for people a tool to remember the psalm. This is a great thing, as it makes it possible for the psalm to become something that will travel with the individual. It will more likely become a part of the prayer life of the person in their weekly pilgrim journey because of this event of memory which has been created by a visual, physical cue married to the text…and in a sung form at that! There is great pastoral benefit here…full, conscious and active participation!!

MUSICAL: Bring people together in this fashion and inviting them to actually play the music of the psalm is an ambitious venture. Quite possibly, the music might be enhanced – if you have some rhythmical members of the assembly. The power of sung prayer in this instance could be enhanced and ‘owned’ by the assembly in a very real way.

But what happens if this is not the case? What if people don’t have a rhythmical bone in their body and the music becomes overrun with banging and clanging and becomes very ‘unprayerful’ and a distraction? It would be best to avoid such a situation. Solution: target your ‘players’ perhaps prior to the liturgy? Issue: Would this in turn break the sense of spontaneity? This seems to be an area where there are more questions and unknown quantities. Do you take the risk and allow the Spirit to lead proceedings? Or is a more cautious and reserved approach warranted?

The idea of inviting anybody to play is a very community-driven, welcoming and dynamic thing to do. Musically however, I would say you might be setting yourself up for unforeseen and potentially sloppy musical delivery.

LITURGICAL: The liturgy in itself is a powerful manifestation of scripture. This is what Dom Cyprian Vagaggini O.S.B says about the scriptures in relation to the liturgy in his 1976 opus ‘Theological Dimensions of the Liturgy’:

‘The liturgy is concerned with the mystery of sacred history, the mystery of Christ, the mystery of the Church. But the liturgy does not invent this mystery; it simply finds it in the scriptures’.

The liturgical merits of praying the Psalms therefore seem grounded theologically. That participants of the liturgy are literally reinforcing what is being celebrated in the text of the Psalm itself by way of physical gesture and action – is surely highlighting the value and beauty of the Word.

This idea of literal mimicry within Catholic liturgy is nothing outlandishly new.

The gesture of raising one’s hands or arms in prayer to God is known as the Orans. Mostly associated with the Presider, it can also be used by members of the assembly to heighten their own prayer [although it is rarely seen]. The evangelicals love doing it at praise and worship sessions – you’ve probably seen it on television – all that arm waving - all the ecstasy of prayer and the like. The Catholics aren’t really into it and see it as the priest’s job to flap his arms about.

In the Roman Rite, the Orans take most notable effect at the beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer with the priest calling ‘Lift Up Your Hearts’ [with arms elevated gesturing the assembly with word and action to follow]. There are of course many other points in the liturgy where the Orans is used.

Elsewhere in Catholic liturgy, such as in Evening Prayer, the use of physical gesture in Psalm 141 ‘Let my prayers rise up like incense before you – the lifting up of my hands – as an offering to you’…is also a place where the Orans can be used. On a personal note, it has been with a sense of delight that my wife and I have watched our two children spontaneously adopt the Orans when we sing Psalm 141 as part of our domestic adaptation of Evening Prayer. Their use of the Orans has developed simply by hearing the words being sung and deciding to literally mimic the words being recited with an appropriate and accompanying action. It has been fascinating to watch, because they were not prompted to do so my either my wife or myself.

Literally enacting the words of the psalm in this instance has enhanced our experience of Liturgy…as it no doubt did for Dan’s community and their rhythmical interpretation of Psalm 150. Biblical literalism may not be as dirty an idea as I once thought!

It seems to me, the Psalms can often come off second best in the liturgy and people often overlook them [or fail to see them] as the wonderful source of prayer that they are. They are essentially, as I have said previously, the prayers and songs of Jesus himself. It is necessary and important that we therefore make them our own songs too.

Dan at Dandy Kat Konnection might be onto something in the way his community celebrated Psalm 150. Are there other Psalms that could be investigated in a similar interactive way that will heighten the pastoral, liturgical and musical needs of the gathered faithful?

CD Review: TONY ALONSO and GABE HUCK, By Heart – Seasonal Songs for Gathering, Interceding, and Communion (GIA Publications, Inc.)

2005-10-08T16:32:00.000+09:30

The more I listen to this CD – the more I like it.

But when I first purchased it, took it home and played it – I wasn’t that enthused. Now with hindsight, I realise I was listening to it in the wrong way. I would argue that ‘By Heart’ is a collection more-so geared towards communities and Liturgy Committees who are looking at ways in which they can sing the rites – and not [as Alonso and Huck stress in the liner notes] sing during the rites. This is a recording to give ideas about how liturgy can be celebrated – not a CD to be ‘listened’ to for enjoyment or pleasure per se. This being said, imagining how music and ritual could be fused as displayed on ‘By Heart’ is a pleasurable experience to hear.

The CD comprises 12 tracks and is divided into 4 parts: Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. Each of the four liturgical seasons are presented by three different songs: a Gathering Rite, Intercessions and a Communion Rite.

Tony Alonso and Gabe Huck have worked together to produce a helpful resource. Huck has been responsible for the spoken texts, while Alonso has been charged with the music and arrangements. There exists a gentle and obvious symbiosis between the two, which is helped by the production of Marty Haugen. The collection attempts to create various moments of the Mass, punctuated by the music and texts presented. And while Huck and Alonso in the liner notes acknowledge that ‘it is impossible to capture the life and rhythm of a liturgical celebration on a studio recording’ – they have certainly captured my imagination about how things might look [and sound] by adapting what is presented here and applying it to various liturgical settings.

The collection begins with Advent. The Gathering Rite is an adaptation of ‘Come, Emmanuel’ – a popular hymn of Advent. The treatment given here is reflective and bordering on being somber. This is not an upbeat version of ‘Come O Come Emmanuel’ as heard on Alonso’s 2001 ‘Fresh As The Morning’ which had a great sense of urgency that seemed to mirror our own propulsion to the Christmas event. No – this is a much more measured affair. The music begins which lasts for a few minutes, then the spoken liturgical greeting is given by Fr. Ray East [yeah!] whose arresting and excellent spoken word delivery as seen on ‘You Can Make Me Whole’ [Reach Towards Heaven, David Haas, 2003] and also as the Narrator in Marty Haugen’s recent opus ‘So That You May Have Life’ is gladly welcomed. The text spoken by East [written by Huck], are justice-driven and stand as the highlight on this particular track. After the spoken welcoming rites [with music being played in the background all the while], a final refrain of ‘Come, Emmanuel’ is collectively sung. Nice.

The Intercessions are spoken verbally with a sung refrain of ‘Come Quickly, Lord’ - which is an adaptation of the traditional chant ‘Conditor Alme Siderum’. The texts are focused and concise with the music providing a gentle under-current to help things along.

The Communion Rite begins with the Lamb of God with the cantor being provided by Marty Haugen. The music for the setting is based on ‘Blow the Candles Out’ [a traditional English folk tune]. The rhythm is driving and stirring, but not overpowering. This segues into the Communion Song ‘God Shall Gather In’ [still using and adapting the melody] which flows nicely.

The next three tracks are devoted to the season of Christmas. The Gathering Rite is based on African American Spiritual ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain’. The music is upbeat with some tasty Soprano Sax being played by John Wojciechowski. The gathering song fades away to a spoken liturgical greeting by Fr. Bob Oldershaw. After this brief welcome, the Gloria is sung based on another African American Spiritual, ‘Plenty Good Room’. The gospel feel of this entire Gathering Rite is galvanizing and infectious. What a way to celebrate the Christmas event!

Marty Haugen again sings as cantor on the track ‘Child of Mary’ which is the sung response to the Intercessions for the Christmas season. Haugen sings, ‘All creation, raise your voices: Child of Mary, Hear Our Prayer’. Haugen’s singing is sweet and inviting. The instruments are piano and gently strummed guitar are simply arranged and this works to great effect.

Next, the Communion Rite. Again starting at the Lamb God, but with a musical setting called ‘Come to Bethlehem Manger’ based on yet another Spiritual ‘Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow’. ‘Come to Bethlehem Manger’ starts immediately after ‘..but only say the Word and I shall be healed…’ which provides insight as to the timing of the Communion Song. This immediacy sits well with the flow of the entire piece and flow of the Liturgy. David Haas says in his book ‘The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer’ the Communion Song should start immediately begin after the Lamb of God – and the settings as shown on ‘By Heart’ indicate this. Quite often, this time during Mass is an awkward silence…not here. I like it. It makes good musical, liturgical and pastoral sense.

The next bracket is devoted to Lent. The mood is sorrowful and serious. The Gathering Rite and Intercessions are musically based on traditional chants; with the Intercessions based on ‘Parce Domine’. The arrangements are stark and bare – even haunting. The Communion Rite is based on the Iona ‘Take, O Take Me as I Am’ written by John L. Bell.

The collection concludes with attention given to Easter. The mood is joyous with the setting targeted for Easter Sunday celebrations. ‘Halle, Halle, Halle’ begins proceedings with light and bouncy percussion. Fr. Ray East again gives the spoken liturgical welcome. A blessing of the water follows after the general greeting [for the purposes of a Sprinkling Rite?]. The text here is excellently scripted by Huck with wonderful references to scripture dealing with the image of water.

The Intercessions are a celebration with the spoken petitions referring to ‘those baptized last night’. Tony Alonso sings the response ‘Hear Us, Saviour: Hear Our Prayer’. The language is relevant and appropriate with a musical sense of optimism.

‘Joyous Cup’ concludes the Easter season as the Communion Rite. Starting out quite slowly, the tempo increases as soon as the Lamb of God ends. The pace quickens and swirls to a triumphant anthem with various cantors adding to the joyful melody including Tony Alonso, Jeanne Cotter, ValLimar Jansen and Marty Haugen. It fittingly concludes the collection on an optimistic and uplifting note.

This is not a ‘song-fest’ CD such as i.e.: The Best of David Haas Volume 1 & 2. What is presented here is an ‘ideas’ CD. Listen to it and give yourself some new ideas about how Liturgy may be enhanced with the powerful medium of music at your local parish center. It might be rather timely to go a purchase ‘By Heart’ as we are nearly in the season of Advent - and Christmas will be upon us before we know it. Having a resource such as this at your disposal may well prove useful.

Does Liturgical power corrupt? Or does it set us free?

2005-09-29T13:47:00.000+09:30

I recently spoke with a confrere, during which I complained bitterly about a school based liturgy I had to endure which was comprised entirely of Hillsong music.

His response to me was abrupt and unapologetic:

‘Use your power to change the music that is used or played’, he said.

‘I am not in a position to make such changes’, I replied.

‘Well then’, he continued, ‘Work at getting yourself into a position where you do have that power and put a stop to it and tell people that the music is theologically incorrect and is not to be used’.

This conversation has stayed with me now for over a week and I find myself in a bit of a dilemma over how to wield liturgical power in a way that is pastorally accommodating and sensitive to the needs of others. In fact, the more I pursue Liturgy in an academic way and the more I learn about the ministerial function of music – the more I get frustrated by what I see happening [or not happening] around me.

Do I follow the advice of my confrere and work hard at securing the power, prestige and position within a faith community to shape -and in essence - *control* what music is to be played? He didn’t have a bother with this notion – but I am experiencing great tension with this thought.

I have great reservations about wielding liturgical power because I have experienced first hand the devastating effects of those who have come down heavy on me and others I know – who, while having liturgical knowledge – have been totally devoid of any pastoral fibre in their body. They have employed a rigid rubric approach to Liturgy – held it as absolute - and left no room for the feelings or welfare of others. This can be extremely crushing and if not done tactfully [as I experienced] can leave people resentful, wounded and bitter. This is not good!

I sometimes feel with all the new information coming my way – all the books on Liturgy and Liturgical Music I read – that I am becoming increasingly intolerant and angry at what I see happening around me in Liturgical settings. Dare I say it, I sometimes feel as thought I might be etching towards the kind of intolerance and ‘liturgical absolutism’ employed by the individual mentioned above. This scares me and I don’t like it.

It is fascinating that nearly all people who I have met who call themselves ‘Liturgists’ – or students of Liturgy – have a very high and mighty self opinionated confidence about them. They seem to revel in the Liturgical knowledge they have – and wave it around almost like a flag of ‘I-know-this-and-you-don’t-so-you-better-take-heed-of-what-I-am-saying-because-I-have-studied-this-area-and-I-have-all-the-answers’ type of attitude. Does the acquisition of Liturgical knowledge – which can form an intoxicating sense of power automatically lead to a corruption of the individual in question - and therefore block the pastoral needs of others?

On the other hand – does Liturgical knowledge and power set us free? Does it help us in constructing liturgical practice that is life giving and opens up more fully the heart of mystery? Does using the knowledge we come to know about Liturgy set us free and into the arms of Love?

I would like to think so – but what must be done to get to this point? Will we be able to fall freely into Love via the celebration of Liturgy if we have music that doesn’t help and enhance our understanding of the rite?

In his book ‘Visions of Liturgy and Music for a New Century’ Lucien Deiss states:

‘Each age experiences the need to sing to Christ according to its own charism, its own particular vision of the Christian message, and the sentiments that the Spirit awakens’.

This may be well and good – but what happens when the music of the ‘age’ – or the music of the ‘moment’ - such as Hillsong – is used as the music of choice in Catholic community worship?

Let me return to the school based liturgy I spoke about at the beginning of this blog. As people entered the worship space – Hillsong music was playing over the PA. After a brief introduction, ‘Shout to the Lord’ was played live. This was followed by another Hillsong piece played over the PA in conjunction with a slide show. The end of the Liturgy was another [!!] CD rendition of ‘Shout to the Lord’. The music continued on the PA as people recessed out of the sacred space. The lasting [and disturbing] memory I have of this *Liturgy* was of many many students singing on top note ‘Shout to the Lord’. Afterwards, the teachers were ecstatic saying how pleased they were to see the students singing. I didn’t share this sentiment.

In this instance, I felt the use of Hillsong music was not appropriate or – dare I say it! – liturgically correct. The theology presented in a song such as ‘Shout to the Lord’ presents an image of God that is removed and far away from us…so much so…we are encouraged to ‘Shout’ to God. Does not our contemporary post-Vatican II theology teach and inform us that we believe in a God who lives and breathes very much within our midst. To borrow a song title of David Haas…do we not believe instead that ‘God is Here’. [???]

There are other issues I have with Hillsong – the main fact is that it is written for Pentecostal praise and worship and not Catholic liturgy. Why then, do so many Catholics use it incessantly?

We don’t need to replace it with old school Catholic hymnody…there are a plethora of new contemporary Catholic composers that write explicitly for Catholic Liturgy – that play in a musical style not dissimilar to Hillsong – but with a theology that is conducive to Catholic liturgical practice. Why do we still opt for this rubbish?

But how do I proceed? Do I exert liturgical authority and say this kind of music should not be played because its theology is not consistent with contemporary Catholic liturgy?

From where I stand – I would see such removal of Hillsong music as a perfect example of Liturgical power setting us free from erroneous theology into a deeper understanding of sung prayer. But surely this enforcement would come at a cost to those musicians and ‘ministers of the play button’ who are hooked on Hillsong. They could be crushed by such a move on my part. I don’t want this to happen – because I have been crushed before and I didn’t like it one iota.

I feel like I am the world’s first pastorally sensitive Liturgist.

The tension is enormous.

Morning Prayer in a Parish setting: Issues, challenges and options.

2005-09-17T17:44:00.000+09:30

Following on from the success of sung Evening Prayer during Lent this year at my Parish, [see Evening Prayer: Reclaiming and living our Liturgical tradition], I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about the idea of offering Morning Prayer in a parish setting. The conversation raised a number of issues in relation to Lauds [Morning Prayer] that warrant further investigation here.

The first question which is raised is: when to offer Morning Prayer? The second question is: how are you going to offer it?

To answer these two points – I will need to bring into the picture the way the Liturgy of the Hours has been celebrated at my parish in the past. For the most part, Morning and Evening Prayer has been [said] by a devoted handful of parishioners – all elderly – for some time. This group says Morning Prayer at 6:40am before 7am Mass every weekday. It usually lasts about 10 to 15 minutes. There would be a core of about six individuals who would drive it and others may enter into the prayer as they arrive early for Mass.

Similarly, the same group gathered at 5:45pm for Evening Prayer each weekday at the Parish. There were only 5 or 6 elderly parishioners who did this, occasionally supported by one of the priests. Evening Prayer in this setting was spoken and took about 15 minutes. To my memory, both Morning and Evening Prayer have never been advertised in the weekly parish Mass sheet. Not surprisingly, Evening Prayer celebrated in this way has now ceased in our parish.

The only other time Evening Prayer has been celebrated was when I offered it to the parish community in Lent 2005. Knowing the method and format of my predecessors, I was determined that the way I offered it would be very different and that music would feature at every available opportunity. It was advertised as being so – and the turnout throughout Lent was very impressive. It seemed to satisfy a hunger that people were experiencing.

So…with all this floating around in the background…it became very obvious early on in the discussion with my friend that if we were to offer Morning Prayer – it would need to include a number of things. Drawing on the Lenten Henley Evening Prayer experience, we agreed that Morning Prayer must have a strong musical component. The spoken word simply is not enough. While it is powerful and poetic, there can be no denying the power and beauty of sung prayer…so that was just a given.

Secondly, it would need to be advertised…not only that is was happening…but also what Morning Prayer actually is. It became obvious in the build-up to Evening Prayer this Lent, that so many people had no understanding at all of what the Liturgy of the Hours actually is.

And finally…when to actually celebrate Morning Prayer? What a conundrum!

For Morning Prayer to be relevant to parishioners – a relevant and realistic time must also be offered. To hold Morning Prayer at 6:40am is no earthly good to anyone [except a very small minority of parishioners]. Such an early time will exclude many – and this is not desirable – or acceptable – especially if we can offer a better alternative. For the vast majority of parishioners, early morning services [whether they be Morning Prayer or Eucharist] during weekdays are simply an impossible task. Even those who would dearly love to partake in such celebrations, are furiously busy trying to get ready for work, or trying to organise their kids to get ready for kindy, child care or school…to be down at the parish at such an early time is just a nonsense. Young people are getting ready for school or a day at university…buses need to be caught…young adults are setting off early for work and in many of our bigger cities are commuting large distances [and time] to get there. It simply is an impossible expectation for people right across the age spectrum to attend their local parish for Morning Prayer on weekdays.

Let’s get real. So…with weekdays out of the equation, what about weekends? Sunday mornings are usually taken up with Eucharist celebrations…and there may be some scope here to introduce Morning Prayer as a pre-cursor and build up to the celebration of Eucharist. But in discussion with my friend, we felt the format and the tasks involved, the individuals required and the musicians needed to effectively hold a celebration of Morning Prayer would surely compete with those already involved with various ministries connected to the celebration of the Eucharist. So we crossed Sunday off the list too.

Which left us with Saturday mornings. This seemed to us to be the best day of the week to offer Lauds in a parish setting…but even this day had its associated drawbacks. In an increasingly busy world, we acknowledged that Saturdays, for many people, are just another working day of the week. For young people, involvement in Saturday morning sports, either connected to a school or for personal leisure featured high on people’s agenda. Associated with this, were parents running their children around town to this sporting function or that sporting function.

Saturday mornings seem to be an ideal time in the week for families and individuals to go and do shopping, because the rest of the week is so busy.

But of all the days which we thought about as a possible day to have Morning Prayer – Saturday morning seemed like the best possibility. It would also mean, we could perhaps hold Morning Prayer a little later in the morning at a time which was perhaps more agreeable with people. We floated the idea of perhaps 9am or 9:30am…and this seemed like a good step forward. This also raised the liturgical question of whether a celebration at this time would constitute it being the celebration of Terce rather than Morning Prayer…but this was a minor consideration for us.

What about the issue of frequency? Weekly would be a huge undertaking for it to be done with music, and other people involved performing various ministries…so the idea of Morning Prayer being offered at seasonal times [i.e.: Advent, Lent] might be perhaps more attractive [and would also allow plenty of preparation time for advertisement and gathering people to be involved]. Such seasonal celebrations would stand the best chance of attracting maximum participation that would be meaningful and significant for the most amount of people possible.

But what about a more ongoing celebration of Morning Prayer? Would it be reasonable to offer Morning Prayer every Saturday, week after week? Perhaps, after people had been exposed to the formula over an extended period of time, it would become second nature to them – and the idea of having it as a weekly celebration would not be so hard to organise. N.b. [A recent Blog I posted focused on the importance of employing Parish Liturgists – and I would see such workers as fast-tracking the ongoing celebration of Morning Prayer in a parish setting…these things just don’t spontaneously happen! They require thorough planning, organisation and delegation…which can certainly be done by parishioners willing to offer their skills…but I would imagine someone who is being paid to coordinate such liturgical endeavours will allow a much quicker way in getting the job done! I’ll say it again – bring on the paid parish liturgist!!]

But there is another part of me – that dares to ask the question – is this fanciful thinking about parish celebrations of Lauds simply ‘pie-in-the-sky’ kind of thinking? I would like to think that it isn’t – but there is a part of me that questions. And this questioning part of me considers yet other options and possibilities to Morning Prayer which may satisfy the pangs of social intercourse by some parishioners – but may leave the liturgical needs of others wanting.

…Could the compromise be in the form of Parish ‘Prayer Breakfasts’?? Such events could begin with prayer – very simple and brief – followed by a breakfast in the parish Hall. This could be opened up not only to parishioners, but also be organised as a kind of outreach to homeless or the poor who would benefit from a hot breakfast amongst friendly people – that might also be able to provide follow up and assistance where possible and appropriate.

Such ‘Prayer Breakfasts’ would certainly involve an active extension of faith that would be immediate, apostolic and tangible – perhaps in ways that aren’t clearly noticeable for those who partake in Morning Prayer which would occur in the Church building and involve no immediate interaction with the wider community including the poor and needy. These might be people we ‘go out to’ after partaking in Morning Prayer…but usually aren’t there at the actual liturgical celebration.

So, there seems to be merit in such ‘Prayer Breakfasts’…but are they simply a succumbing to laziness because we can’t get our act together to host Morning Prayer?

Perhaps there are still other ways Morning Prayer can be celebrated…in ways that are liturgical, relevant and attractive to people in their business.

The rise of Podcasting throws a new light on issues such as Morning Prayer and opens up many possibilities that are worth exploring. One of the most popular Catholic podcasters is Father Roderick Vonhögen, a priest from the Archdiocese of Utrecht in the Netherlands. On his website CatholicInsider.com he has podcasts of Morning and Evening Prayer. The beauty of such pods is that they can be easily downloaded and put onto such devices as iPods, mp3 players or laptops and listened to at people’s own leisure.

I myself have downloaded pods of Morning and Evening Prayer from CatholicInsider.com and found them to be good to listen to while in the car on the way to and from work in the mornings and afternoons. My criticism of Fr Roderick’s pods is that they are entirely spoken. I am absolutely sold on the idea of integrating music wherever possible for the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, be it Morning or Evening Prayer to enhance its power and beauty. Perhaps we can work towards a more musical adaptation of the Hours and offer them in podcasts…? Perhaps they already exist out there in the land of pods.

There are advantages and disadvantages in podcasting the Liturgy of the Hours.

The advantage is that the Hours become immediately accessible for everyone who is connected and plugged into the net. People who are too busy to attend a parish celebration of Lauds, can download it and listen to it on their journey to work in the mornings whether that be in the car, bus, train, bike…or however! It would appeal to many of the X and Y generation who are so connected to the internet and multi-media savvy – that downloading pods would be a happy extension of their online activities. It would be a highly relevant way to offer the Hours that is for sure!

The disadvantages are that such pods relegate celebrations of the Hours to an individual experience which seems to go against the idea of the Hours being celebrated best when they are celebrated communally. Are such individual pod listenings no more than private quasi-devotional activities? To combat this idea, perhaps it would be good to include in such podcasts a disclaimer at the beginning of each recording which suggests that the Podcast being listened to may be an impetus and movement towards a communal experience of Morning Prayer for the listener. [??]

While not ideal, the rising trend of podcasting is certainly an area worth pursuing as a way of getting the idea and knowledge of the Liturgy of the Hours ‘out there’. The fruits of such exploration may well have a positive flow on effect in our parish communities.

A Directory for the Liturgy of the Hours…with Children?

2005-09-05T12:56:00.000+09:30

I recently read the Directory for Masses with Children and was struck at how little my parish [and other parishes I have visited who offer a ‘Children’s Liturgy of the Word’] seem to be offering our young people.

I am a parent and accompany my two young boys of 2 years and 4 years of age to weekly ‘Children’s Liturgy of the Word’ while by wife sits in the Church with the ‘big people’. So, you could say over the last few years, I have been able to see what goes on at such Children’s Liturgy first hand. And I must confess, up until recently, I have been fairly pleased with what I have seen – that is – until my recent reading of the aforementioned Directory.

For the most part, the children are whisked away after the Opening Prayer – and at my Parish don’t return until the Sign of Peace. During their time in the Parish Hall [or Presbytery in other parishes I have visited], the general structure involves a simple gathering and welcome, followed by the reading of the Gospel. A [brief] reflection is offered by the Parent Leaders interspersed with some questions to the young people present…but all this takes place very quickly…to give way to colouring-in activities or crafty exercises. Time permitting, the Lord’s Prayer is said – before quickly being ushered back into the Church for all to marvel at the children’s works of art.

After having read the Directory, it seems to me we are only offering a small sliver of possible faith development to our young people in the way we currently offer the ‘Children’s Liturgy of the Word’. I know some individuals who refer to these parish initiatives as nothing more than ‘glorified art classes’.

Be that as it may [or may not be], it does appear to me that current practice seems to have fallen into a rut of only focusing on one aspect of what the Directory says. Article 36 states:

‘For the same reason, the use of art work prepared by the children themselves may be useful, for example, as illustrations of a homily, as visual expressions of the intentions of the general intercessions, or as inspirations to reflection’.

This seems to be the main – and in some parishes I have frequented with my children – the only ‘activity’ attributed to Children’s Liturgy. This falls under the heading of Visual Elements in the Directory. But there are of course many other ministries suggested in the Directory for children to be involved in such as singing and music, proclaiming the readings, bringing gifts to the altar and preparing and ornamenting of the altar. In my parish at least [and I would imagine in many others] these extra ministries for children to partake in are not exercised – and this is a real pity.

The logical flow-on question I have in regards to this is: is there a Directory for the Liturgy of Hours…with Children? And further, what is being done in this regard to introduce the concept of the Hours to our young people?

I am familiar with the work of Elizabeth McMahon Jeep who works for Liturgy Training Publications of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Her written works produced annually called ‘Children’s Daily Prayer’ are a welcome addition to the issue of the Hours being introduced to children, but these are a resource that appears [at least to my research and inquiry] stand-alone publications that have arisen out of a perceived gap in spiritual formation of young people.

There seems to be no official documentation by the Church in regards to the Hours and its association with children.

While Jeep’s efforts ably assisted by Liturgy Training Publications are to be applauded, surely an ecclesiastical push on the issue would bring about a renewed awareness and perhaps even interest in the whole concept of the Hours.

Perhaps this is an issue that can be tabled at the Bishop’s Synod in Rome this October.

CD Review: DAVID HAAS, God Is Here (GIA Publications, Inc.)

2005-08-28T23:59:00.000+09:30

This record is timely.

With a subtitle of ‘Liturgical music for the journey of reconciliation’, the latest offering by Liturgical juggernaut David Haas speaks immediately to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and has all sorts of applications in that sort of setting. In many ways this latest project has a tone that is very reminiscent of Marty Haugen’s 2003 ‘Turn My Heart’ which dealt with similar themes of healing and personal reconciling. This aside, ‘God Is Here’ is important given the current political and religiously charged world we live in. Within all the mess…within all the brokenness…and [as the front cover art suggests] in the desert we find ourselves in [or have created]…God Is Here.

In the liner notes, David Haas pays credit to Bill Huebsch whose many texts feature throughout this recording. Haas even states Huebsch’s texts ‘inspired much of the music on this recording’. This is a welcomed confession, as Bill Huebsch is one very talented and gifted fellow. His three volume book on the Second Vatican Council released a couple of years ago were eloquently written. His first volume’s prologue focusing on Catholic Culture and Memory stands as some of the most evocative observations I have yet to read on the Second Vatican Council…quite brilliant.

So, it was with interest and pleasure I read Bill Huebsch’s name scattered throughout the CD booklet before I even played it. Obviously, David Haas has been similarly taken with Huebsch’s work…and the culmination of the words Huebsch has written with the music of Haas is nothing short of a triumph.

Things begin with the simple – even stark piano phrasing of ‘God Is Here’ with Haas singing solo. The track builds slowly into the refrains which exhibit hinted-at gospel leanings. Subsequent verses are sung by Kate Cuddy, a finely harmonized stanza by up and comings Tony Alonso and Michael Mahler. Lori True lifts things with her beautiful voice accompanied by the first of many key changes [I counted three in total]. Then, Tom Franzak gets all gospel and with the choir hamming it up, handclapping happening everywhere, the song turns into a pulsating gospel tour-de-force! It is a great start to the recording.

‘The God of Second Chances’ is gentle and flowing.

‘You Belong to Us: Litany of Welcome’ is a Huebsch inspired piece and frankly – masterly. I am usually not one to get into spoken pieces with musical tinkerings going on in the background…but in recent times, I have become accustomed…even appreciative. Things began to change for me in this department on David Haas’ 2003 ‘Reach Towards Heaven’ with the track ‘You Can Make Me Whole’ [interestingly with a theme of healing too]…and now we see a similar method being employed here.

The accent of James Bessert takes a few listens to get used to – particularly his early speaking of ‘Are you married with kids, worrying for them?’ Wow! What an accent…I don’t think I’ve ever heard the word ‘worrying’ spoken like that before! I think I am still in a state of wow-ness as I listen to the track for the umpteenth time! Don’t let this put you off – you get over this very quickly and appreciate the beauty of this tack.

The words written by Huebsch are skillfully inclusive and the refrains are joyful proclamations of welcome and elation. This could be easily adapted and used in a parish setting of communal Third Rite of Reconciliation [where it still occurs – it’s been abolished here in Australia!?!] and also in the Second Rite.

‘All Is Ready’ is a song of gathering that borrows the refrain melody of ‘You Belong To Us: Litany of Welcome’ and presents it in a simple-to-sing congregation friendly manner.

Bill Huebsch’s research into Vatican II comes into the fore in the track ‘Abide, O Spirit of Life’. This text is an adapted setting of a prayer that was prayed before each session of both the First Vatican Council [1869-1870] and also the Second Vatican Council [1962-1965] though to be originally composed by St Isidore of Seville [circa 619]. The tradition of this beautiful text continues here in classic Haas style. Gently paced, wonderfully arranged and prayerfully executed, it is a welcome inclusion on the collection.

The joyful bursts of ‘We Will Rejoice’ played in a very tribal African fashion are infectious and uplifting. Lots of percussion at the hands of Marc Anderson add propulsion and movement to the track with a fitting refrain of; ‘We will rejoice with gladness! We will rejoice! All our days we’ll sing to God in praise! We will rejoice’. Oh yes!

‘Come and Dine’ is a feast song for communion which speaks to the theology of Reconciliation in its opening words; ‘Take and eat of my brokenness’. This again is Haas as we have come to know and love: simple, direct, melodic.

The disappointment on ‘God Is Here’ for me is the track ‘God Weeps’. Whenever I read the name Shirley Erena Murray, I tend to get quite excited. Her texts have appeared on recordings by Tony Alonso and Lori True and are in my experience, uplifting and challenging texts. This text doesn’t quite do it for me…perhaps it will grow on me…it surely doesn’t hit you like a clap of thunder like ‘A Place at the Table’ or ‘Fresh As The Morning’…and the arrangement is far too downbeat...too sad. Even the sung phrasing by David Haas lacks conviction, especially at; ‘God Bleeds at women battered and afraid’. The half sung-half spoken ‘afraid’ in this sentence just doesn’t cut it and taints an already less than excellent piece.

The following track ‘God Alone Is Enough’ is a gospel style anthem dedicated to memory of Derek Campbell (1963-2004) – and this came to me as a shock. My enduring memory of Campbell was as a singer on the Glory Day record/video of nearly ten years back now. The text is inspired by the writing of St Teresa of Avila and is an uplifting piece.

‘The Ways of God’ and ‘Be God’ are reflective pieces once again showing the prowess of Lori True as a cantor.

Perhaps the standout track on ‘God Is Here’ is ‘I Am There’. Derek Campbell is yet again honoured posthumously with the liner notes stating that the song was composed at Derek’s piano the day after his funeral celebration. The compositional skills of Joe Camacho are outstanding as he delivers a stirring melody and thoughtful text that speaks of the presence of God in all moments of our lives. Joe Camacho begins the singing and the welcome inclusion of Marty Haugen as added cantor in the second verse is a lovely addition. Camacho’s chord phrasing is truly special, the melody achingly beautiful and hints to much greater things from Mr Camacho in the future…a solo release perhaps? This would be a fine thing indeed. Early Christmas wishes aside – this is an excellent song that would be perfect for Reconciliation services, Lenten celebrations or retreats. Excellente!

Like Shirley Erena Murray, text writer Ruth Duck has emerged in recent years as a powerful Liturgical lyricist. ‘I Will Give You Rest’ shows off her skills in constructing simple and delightful texts which speak of God in inspiring, hope filled ways. The music by David Haas in this instance is light, acoustically driven and inviting. Nice one…and one that will get better with every listen I am sure.

The recording finishes where it began with a derivative of ‘God Is Here’. A ‘Litany for Peace and Reconciliation’ is offered which speaks to need for reconciliation in many places around the world including Darfur, Iraq, Washington – even the Vatican gets a petition for healing and prayer. Cantor Jesse Manibusen sings some freely sung petitions over a gospel driven children’s choir.

‘God Is Here’ by David Haas is an excellent recording and a most valuable resource. It is uplifting to hear so many voices, some old friends [Haugen], but also new ones [Camacho, True, Alonso] who Haas is employing to create such an exciting and rounded sounding record. The texts of Bill Huebsch are a stroke of genius – may it continue on future recordings!

The sentiment in the songs themselves is a call to all of us to return to the beauty and calm of prayer in our daily lives. May we all ‘sing a new song’ in the many happy additions of sung prayer found on ‘God Is Here’.

You need this. You really do.

To be – Or not to be: the Parish Liturgist is the question.

2005-08-20T00:54:00.000+09:30

It is an increasing worry to me when I participate at Mass, that by the end of the celebration – I feel as though I haven’t really celebrated.

This is coming from someone who is a student of Theology and Liturgy and has been exposed to the underpinning theology of the Eucharist…and why we gather, what Sunday means to Catholics, the concepts and moments of anamnesis and epiclesis on so on etc.

These are wonderful things to know that have deepened my understanding of the things we do and why we do them. And while this is all great – the lived reality of Parish ‘celebration’ is sometimes in stark contrast. At times, I feel I am being too critical of what I experience at a parish level and these cautionary…perhaps even negative feelings are just a figment of my liturgically charged brain.

But then I find myself talking with 16 year olds in a classroom scenario – and I begin to hear frighteningly similar views to my own. And in the opposite age direction – people are voting with their feet. I have read somewhere very recently [although exactly where escapes me at present] that the largest group who seem to be leaving regular celebrations of Liturgy are the baby boomers [40 to 55 year olds]. So - I am not alone in the way I am thinking and feeling about the celebratory perceptions of liturgy!

What can we identify as possible causes for people’s dissatisfaction?

It is fascinating to talk to young people [and also the young at heart]…but particularly the young, that they find ‘celebrations’ of Eucharist boring. Doubly fascinating that young people I talk with have no interest in the Church, period, because of their ‘boring’ experiences of Mass. They see ‘the Church’ as Mass…and Mass as the only manifestation or expression of Church. This is a shameful tragedy which needs serious attention.

One of the first things that will be said by young people I talk with in regard to how boring the Liturgy is – is the kind of music that is played. They see it as antiquated and not speaking to their lives, their hopes or their lived realities.

They speak of tired, old priests who lack a vitality of faith – which makes it near impossible for people such as themselves sitting in the pews to be inspired and nourished in their own faith journey.

They speak of the sameness of the Liturgy, week in, week out with no adequate explanation to them as to why they say and do the things they do. They see no passion, no zeal and essentially no joy or life in what is meant to be a CELEBRATION.

So they don’t come.

There are many other reasons experts will tell us regarding the reasons for people’s lack of participation at Eucharist i.e.: increase in work demands on weekends, sport commitments, fear of long term commitment etc…and I won’t go into these now…but just say that there are a plethora of reasons for our current predicament.

So what can we do?

To the many reasons for the current crisis we find ourselves in, I would like to throw one idea into the ring as a possible suggestion forward. It is not THE panacea – but simply A way of working towards a better place than we find ourselves in at the moment.

My idea is for parishes to begin employing full time Parish Liturgists.

Let’s stop spending money on buildings and start investing in the pastoral and liturgical welfare of our people! A liturgist employed by a parish would be able to devote their full attention to the way we celebrate and make them uplifting, inspiring and life giving occasions for all who attend and partake.

Our priests aren’t getting any younger; they are stretched beyond their limits and while they try – obviously aren’t translating the celebratory nature of Eucharist as best as they could. But it’s not all up to the priest either – the laity have responsibilities too…but even in conjunction with the priests – people are sill voting with their feet!

We need to take steps NOW. We need to have vision and foresight and use that phrase so often thrown around in Diocesan consultative circles of ‘reading the signs of the times’ and act.

Ordained leadership solving this tricky issue is not where the answer lies. They are stretched enough as it already is – and according to the many young people I speak with, aren’t really doing terribly much to improve the current situation. If not here and now – where?

Do we wait and hope and pray that the conditions for ordination change…that married clergy and women can become priests who will pull us out of the rut? This will be some time coming [some would argue it will be no time coming!]…but we live in hope. Further, this is [in reality] a mid to long term hope…not an immediate short term practical real step we can take to tackle the issue.

But…even this idea has its limitations as is re-enforces this old fashioned idea that only the ordained minister has the ‘power’ to be involved in such liturgical and pastoral endeavours. No…we need to be thinking more broadly than this.

We need to start financially investing in our lay people to receive liturgical, pastoral education…significant qualifications…university standard qualifications which will empower and form them in leadership to help our faith communities to CELEBRATE. This will cost money…significant sums of money…but it won’t do any good in 15 years time to be wallowing in despair because ‘we don’t have a priest anymore and can’t celebrate Liturgy’ [I’m sure this is a reality already for many many parishes…aren’t we reading the signs so clearly in front of our faces??!! Twinning parishes, amalgamating parishes…making super parishes…is a short term solution [and in my view a misguided one] surrounding the shortage of priests…to an ultimately longer term issue of education, empowerment and lay leadership that will take us into [and sustain] the future church.

Employing parish Liturgists will be a step [one step] in the beginning of a process that will start to enhance and make relevant the way in which we celebrate Eucharist…in the way we use Liturgical Music to augment the Liturgy. Parish Liturgists would go a long way in introducing age old [and largely lost] beautiful, wonderful traditions such as the Liturgy of the Hours…which could be ‘re-packaged’ and complimented by contemporary scripturally based music.

The sad reality is – that for many – young and old alike – the first impression of ‘the Church’ in its totality is found in the way we celebrate Liturgy. Let’s make it amazing. Let’s make it relevant. Let’s make it ‘now’. Let’s reclaim the spark. Let’s start employing Liturgists in our parishes!

This debate over employed parish Liturgists has been discussed on the Online Catholics Discussion Board this week – a discussion which I have been a part of. While I am a strong supporter for the idea, others think differently and more cautiously. The following was posted by Maree:

…’I agree that a parish liturgist would be a step in the right direction but my experience has shown me that there are ever increasing obstacles which restrict how the liturgy is 'allowed' to be celebrated. Many of these obstacles are self-appointed "liturgists" on the parish liturgy committee, who, with the best of intentions, control what can and can't be done. There are also restrictions on what is and is not 'liturgically correct' from the hierarchy. I think a more collaborative approach to planning liturgy and openness to what liturgy has the potential to be is necessary before all can be active, joy filled participants in the celebration….’

And there is truth to Maree’s words here. The ‘self appointed liturgists’ who ‘control’ what can and can’t be done exist. They are out there – and they are real. Unfortunately, in my experience, most are so liturgical; there is no space for pastoral tact or vision. Indeed, my experience with one such individual caused such pain and hurt, I actually left the Church for a time. So Maree’s words of wisdom of a more collaborative approach must be listened to – and perhaps even followed.

But there is still something inside of me – suggesting we are on the brink of change – and we need to begin to get ready for it. A collaborative approach is fine – but does it really work in a sustained way if people aren’t getting paid for their efforts? It may have in the past – but people are more skilled now and less accepting of doing something for nothing - especially when they are qualified in the field of Liturgy and Theology.

People see the role of the ordained and laity and what the laity can do in a much more different way today. The laity are more theologically and liturgically trained than ever before in our history of being Church. It seems criminal to me that so many well educated people – even in this moment of our history – are not being utilised in a more pro-active way in our parishes…and being employed.

And there's that little voice inside me again, now yelling at me and saying that WE ARE READY AND THE TIME IS NOW!

Here is one little vegemite who will gladly put his hand up for the job.

Prisoners of a Sound Cage: changing trends in acceptable sound quality of recorded Liturgical Music and its pastoral and liturgical effects.

2005-08-13T18:27:00.000+09:30

I recently read a 2 part article called ‘Sing a New Song’ written by Jim McDermott that appeared in the Jesuit US Publication America.

The article tracked the rise and enduring legacy of the St Louis Jesuits and was a fascinating insight into the development of Liturgical Music since Vatican II.

Upon reading the article, I went and found myself a vinyl copy of the first St Louis Jesuit record – Neither Silver Nor Gold – which was released way back in 1974 [a year before I was born!].

I listened and was amazed at what I was listening to.

Many of the selections I was familiar with – others were new to me. But this wasn’t what caught my ears. What struck me was not so much the songs – it was the sound quality and production that immediately hit me. And from a sound quality/ production point of view, the record was very basic and what I would consider below average.

Early on in Part 1 of McDermott’s story, he mentions that…‘songs on their first album [Neither Silver Nor Gold] were recorded in a church basement or someone’s dorm room. On some songs you can hear a refrigerator door clicking shut in the background when the room’s occupant go for a drink…’

Indeed, the sound was very raw and what I might even consider amateurish.

But to leave the discussion at such an accusing level – is not to acknowledge the full picture of why it sounds the way it does.

We know, through McDermott’s article that the St Louis Jesuits were under pressure from people all over the world to actually get their songs ‘out there’. St Louis University was frequented from people all over the world who went there to study, who while there, were exposed to the music of the St Louis Jesuits and took with them unpublished hand written copies of music. Essentially, their music was in circulation and popular even before it was distributed in recorded format! The title of the release speaks to the ideology and circumstances surrounding its conception and construction. It takes its name from the Acts of the Apostles: ‘I have neither Silver nor Gold, but what I have I offer to you’. (3:6). Further, many of the group were approaching the end of their studies at St Louis University and would soon be ordained and sent off into pastoral ministries.

So there seems to be various mitigating factors that contributed to such a seemingly slap dashed effort: lack of money and resources, lack of time and the huge demand that was coming in from all over the world.

Yet, their efforts as far as poor sound quality was concerned – had no apparent effect on people’s hunger for new and relevant liturgical music. It didn’t stop people buying the record and it didn’t stop people using the music for liturgical celebrations. Perhaps way back in 1974 – the rawness of what people were hearing didn’t matter at all – because it was new, fresh and exciting.

But times change…as does what people consider to be acceptable sound quality.

What was released in 1974 and recorded amateurishly would, frankly, not see the light of day in 2005…which raises all kinds of interesting questions. We’ll explore some of these shortly.

By way of contrast, I have recently purchased the latest offering by Marty Haugen – ‘That You May Have Life’ which is a musical setting of stories taken from the Gospel of John. This recording is technically flawless. The production techniques are pristine, the musicians are the cream of the crop on the GIA roster. The mixing of various instruments and different voices is superb…and there certainly isn’t the sound of refrigerator doors closing shut in the background!!!

You could go as far to say that in 30 years, the professionalism that has evolved with audio recording in many instances has similarly created a culture of perfectionism that leaves no room for even the slightest musical deviation or irregularity. What one might call the ‘earthiness’ of recordings produced in a bygone era are now what would be labeled as un-releasable market product.

I myself have spoken with store managers of religious bookshops who play Liturgical Music in the store – who refuse to play recordings of some local Liturgical musicians, not so much because the songs are bad – but because they sound terrible.

How have we arrived at this point where we have such high expectations of the way our Liturgical Music [in recorded format] must sound? Firstly, technology has significantly improved over the last 30 years. Recording programs such as Pro-tools have lifted the bar on not only how we record, but the quality in which we hear it when we listen to it. Gone are the days when recording a song in a studio, you had to get the song in one take – and if you dropped a note, you had to start all over again. No! If mistakes are made today in the studio, a studio engineer/ producer simply goes back to the point of error, deletes the mistake and ‘drops’ the artist in at that point to re-sing or re-play that particular section of music. Purists might call this cheating. Others will call it a God-send and time [and ultimately money] saver.

How else might we have arrived at this point?

Record companies such as OCP and GIA, who have capitalised on the success and popularity of artists such as the St Louis Jesuits have cornered and captured a niche in the music market place where people expect quality product for the money they fork out to purchase music. Just because we’re dealing with Liturgical Music doesn’t mean it needs to sound lousy! On the contrary, I’m sure the large companies would think that precisely because we are dealing with Liturgical Music – which ultimately is used to praise and worship God – it needs to sound perfect and deserves nothing less!! So, it seems, the big companies such as GIA and OCP have a fairly legitimate agenda for the way in which Liturgical Music sounds – which includes its production techniques.

From where I stand [!] – it seems as though in 30 years there has been a big change in the way Liturgical music has been recorded - and the way it sounds when we ultimately hear it through our speakers…and this has changed the way people use recorded liturgical music – but also what they expect to hear when they go to Sunday Mass. I think we have become so used to the excellence of sound production that it has begun to taint our appreciation for the real life music ministers hard at work in our parishes and that we have become prisoners of a ‘sound cage’. Let’s explore this.

As common as it is for there to be real people playing Liturgical music at any given Mass on a Sunday in my parish [and I’m sure this is the same in many other parishes all over the place] – it is as equally common for there to be not a Liturgical Music Minister – but a new breed of individual who we might like to called The Minister of the Play Button. [!]

This fascinating bunch of people either find themselves in their position due to last minute cancellations of Music Ministers – and desperately feel the need to present something to the gathered assembly. Still, others may even offer to simply select pre-recorded music to play at Mass – not because of any last minute apologies given by the real life musicians – but because they want to contribute in some way to the celebration [which is a very lovely and admirable thing to do]. And while they may choose hymns that gather a sung response from the assembly – there are issues going on when this happens that need to be raised.

More often than not, the music that is played on CD by these Ministers of the Play Button is taken from such sources as ‘As One Voice’ [in Australia] or other hymnals that have accompanying volumes of CDs (As One Voice is the best example). Without getting all political, [but let’s face it], the bulk of material in these hymnals [particularly Gather Australia] is comprised of (particularly) GIA and to a lesser extent OCP compositions. While the songs are excellent for worship purposes, the fact they are artists signed to the rosters of GIA and OCP means that they have been recorded and produced brilliantly and sound perfect to the ear. David Haas gets thrashed. Bernadette Farrell’s ‘Everyday God’ is seemingly an eternal endurance and new comers such as Lori True and even local Australian John Burland get a spin too. People are happy to select and play this stuff because it sounds so good. People are happy to sing along with it [even if it’s not the same as singing along with real musicians] because it similarly, sounds really good.

On the surface, there seems to be no issue. Great music being played that sounds great – what’s wrong with that?

I think there are serious ramifications at play in such scenarios that threaten to undermine the integrity of the liturgy. The 1982 document ‘Liturgical Music Today’ issued by the Bishop’s Committee on the Liturgy of the National Conference of [US] Catholic Bishops says this about the issue pre-recorded music:

‘The liturgy is a complexus of signs expressed by living human beings. Music, being preeminent among those signs, ought to be “live”. While recorded music, therefore, might be used to advantage outside the liturgy as an aid in the teaching of new music, it should, as a general norm, never be used within the liturgy to replace the congregation, the choir, the organist or other instrumentalists.’

…But we know that it does. And as a result, I would argue that such music played at liturgy through the sound system, that has been produced and sounds absolutely flawless, has the very real potential to raise the standard of what the assembly expects to hear from other music presented to them by the real life musicians…and in a way that is impossible for the average Liturgical Music Minister cannot hope to replicate.

More and more – I speak to people, students and even other Music Ministers who speak of Liturgical Music being played live that ‘doesn’t sound good’ or is a distraction and hindrance rather than a liturgical aid. Has our reliance on pre-recorded music at Liturgy contributed to occasionally dismissive views on the quality of our Liturgical Music Ministers? Are we judging the musicality and the sound of musicians playing at weekend Masses against the impossible perfection of pristine sounding recordings?

The effects are Liturgical but also pastoral – as the welfare and encouragement of Liturgical Music Ministers may well be being compromised. Encouragement rarely comes in my experience if things don’t sound good. Unfortunately, people in the pews are happy to say how much they don’t like the sound of a Liturgical Music Minister to others, but rarely say this to the face of the artist in question in case those involved have their feelings hurt. And while I’m not solely blaming the changing trend of CD sound production as the only reason for this, I do believe it is one of many contributing factors.

In our pursuit of ‘good liturgy’…have we gone too far? Are our hopes for a perfect sounding Liturgy given way to unreasonable expectations of our Music Ministers?

Perhaps we should start making Liturgical records that once again have compulsory ‘refrigerator doors clicking in the background’ and see what comes out in the wash!

Did Jesus Sing? Implications for Music Ministry Today

2005-08-06T20:29:00.000+09:30

There are many ways in which Jesus is thought about and perceived. Some of us might look upon Jesus and see him as the Suffering Servant. Other points of view steer towards the Messianic Liberator and model of peace and justice for all. Still, other points of view see Jesus as the High Priest, or, the perfect manifestation and incarnation of Love.

There are, of course, many other ways we view Jesus.

But how often do we stop and think of Jesus as a singer? As a Liturgical Music Minister, I have often thought about this and wondered if in fact Jesus actually sang. If he did, what did he sing? How does this idea of a singing Jesus have any relevance or impact on how we live our lives as Music Ministers…and as a Church? With this image of Jesus in mind, are we able to construct a spirituality for the Music Minister?

Scriptural reference to a singing Jesus is fairly limited. There is explicit mention of Jesus and his disciples singing the evening hymn at the Last Supper prior to them going to the Mount of Olives (Matt 26:30; Mark 14:26). In his introductory commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Michael Fallon msc, suggests what we are witnessing in this particular instance is a singing of the final three Hallel psalms (psalms 113-118) of the Mishnah (the Mishnah being the first written recording of Jewish oral law composed and redacted about the year 200CE). It is possible, Fallon suggests, that at the time of Jesus, such psalms were sung which speak about the wonder of God in creation and history and are perhaps part of the evening hymn which is mentioned in the Gospels.

This singing Jesus we see in this particular scene, occurs in the context of a meal. But this example of ritual meal, commonly held and understood to be a Passover Meal [although many scholars dispute and question this], is but one of many kinds of ritual meal that occurs in Judaism – and which Jesus would have been involved in.

By looking at the different kinds of meal rituals that were custom in time of Jesus, we get an insight as to what was, or could have been celebrated by Jesus, but perhaps more importantly for our discussion on the idea of a singing Jesus; whether or not these meal rituals involved singing, how this was done and the implications for us today.

All meals in Jewish lived experience are considered as sacred, and in the time of Jesus, this was also the case. Throughout the Gospels we watch Jesus using meal times as a place to teach, which in turn gives all a glimpse into what and who God is and how we come to know Love. Some commentators such as David R. Holeton have suggested that the Eucharist which we celebrate today, [which draws upon varied Jewish meal customs], is an ‘antipasto’ to the Eschatological Banquet!

So what are these different meals?

Three forms will be examined here. They are the Paschal Meal, the Habburah and also the Todah Meal.

The Paschal Meal [Passover] has many ritual moments throughout, but essentially has three major sections: the Haggadah (the narrative story which gives the meal’s relation to salvation of the people of Egypt), the Berekah (which is a thanksgiving for the things that have been narrated) and also an explanation of the symbols used in the meal. Towards the end of the Paschal Meal is a moment of song and singing accompanied by the consumption of wine. This moment is known as the Hallel which involves the chanting/ singing of psalms 113-118, more often than not on joyous and festive occasions. Is this what Jesus was singing with his disciples as the ‘evening hymn’ at the Last Supper? Whether the Last Supper was a Paschal Meal or not [as many scholars dispute]; it is certain that Jesus did celebrate the Paschal Meal during his life as a Jew…and consequently, would have sung the Hallel.

Another form of ritual meal is the Habburah. This type of meal was principally celebrated in the Synagogue. In Luke 4 we witness Jesus at work in such a Habburah where he reads from the scroll and explains the fulfillment of the scripture as himself. In such situations, people gathered in communion at the synagogue, usually around the scriptures, with various teachings given from the Rabbi. This was usually done around a table as a sign of religious companionship of those gathered where additional prayers and psalms were offered. Interestingly, these occasions were bread-alone celebrations, often celebrated without wine. For our purpose of discussion, this is an aside. The recitation of scripture and in particular, the psalms in the Habburah is a given. The chance of those psalms being chanted, intoned or sung is a given. As a practicing Jew, who frequented the Synagogue, Jesus would have been exposed to the Habburah, partaken in it and prayed and sung the psalms.

Many scholars see the synagogue celebration and elements of the Haburrah as the ancestor of the Liturgy of the Hours. With such heavy usage and emphasis on the psalms, one can easily make the connections to this line of thought.

The Todah is another ritual meal which involved singing of the psalms. It was principally a form of Jewish Liturgy that occurred in the Temple and was experienced with others present, and involved offering animal sacrifices to God. While the idea of burnt offerings and sacrifices may be familiar to us from our reading of the Hebrew Scriptures (see Genesis 22:9-14 and Leviticus 7:12-15), these forms of worship and praise to God can be traced back to and resembles the thanksgiving offering given to God by Melchizedek and shared with Abraham in thanksgiving for the rescue of the people of Salem (Genesis 14: 18-20).

In the Gospels, the Todah occurs as seen at the Canticle of Simeon (Luke 2: 22-38).

Usually, the Todah would be offered by someone who had been delivered from great danger, such as the recovery from a grave illness. The person giving thanks would gather family and friends to the Synagogue where a lamb would be sacrificed along with bread and wine which were consecrated and shared with all present (including the wider community/ the poor who were also in the Synagogue at the time). Accompanying these ritual actions were the recitation of prayers and songs of thanksgiving, such as psalm 116.

So yet again, we see the use of sung psalmody in Jewish liturgy, which would have been unavoidable for Jesus to not experience in some way. Was he a leader in such song? Was he an active participant in such ceremonies? It seems unlikely that Jesus brought up as a Jew and portrayed even as a Rabbi in the Gospels as previously discussed in Luke 4, would have not partaken in singing in some form or another. Ritual practice and structure expected people to sing Hallel (as seen in the structure of the Passover for instance).

The Last Supper scene depicts the group (including Jesus) singing the evening hymn; ‘When they had sung the hymn…’ We see from this that Jesus did sing and wasn’t afraid to sing. Further, one can confidently say that he wasn’t ideologically opposed to singing, or even that he felt self conscious about singing and decided for the benefit of his disciple’s aesthetic sensibilities, he would politely decline from singing. No! Jesus’ sung involvement was communal and participatory and it most definitely is shown by the use of the word ‘they’.

Establishing this willingness to sing is a solid foundation to assert that Jesus’ openness to sing in other Jewish Liturgical settings is highly likely, if not certain.

But still, are there further, (perhaps less explicit, yet plausible) references in the Gospels which suggest that Jesus did actually sing? To explore this idea, we need to look at a most defining moment of Gospel narrative: the Crucifixion.

At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “E’loi E’loi lema sabachthani?” which means, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’ – Mark 15:34

The scene of the Crucifixion is not a place where one would think or associate the use of singing. However, what we see here is Jesus from the depths of his being, crying out to God. Crying out! This is no mere verbal utterance or under-the-breath type of statement. Crying out implies a raising of pitch, other than a normal tone of voice…but can it be viewed as singing per se? To open this question up further, we need to look at precisely at the words Jesus is saying.

It is fascinating and not really surprising that Jesus’ final words ‘E’loi E’loi lema sabachthani’ are the opening words to Psalm 22. And while these words suggest extreme despair and anguish not only on the part of Jesus but also the Psalmist, to only think that Jesus in his agony on the cross is somehow connecting his own suffering to the suffering of the Psalmist in Psalm 22 – is to not see the entire picture of what is happening in this moment.

As was the custom in the time of Jesus, very often the citing of the first words or verse of a particular text or scripture passage was a way of identifying an entire passage or body of text.

In this instance, we see Jesus calling out the opening lines of Psalm 22; a plea to God for deliverance. But for us to leave this scene with only the first few lines of psalm text is not sufficient. For if we continue to read the rest of the psalm, the text moves through a stage of misery and hopelessness at the beginning and then suddenly turns to become a psalm ending on a note of optimism and hope.

Out of seeming despair comes triumph.

Is this what Jesus was doing while dying on the cross? Was he crying out in despair – and only despair? Or was he alluding to the rest of Psalm 22 and acknowledging that his Crucifixion was not a failure and defeat – but a triumph that would give rise to a new creation through his resurrection?

We have already touched on the psalms being used in Jewish liturgical practice. We know that many were composed as songs by David to be played with instruments and singing before King Saul. As Judaism developed, in many instances, the psalms were sung, chanted and intoned. With such a musical origin and connection applied to the psalms, is it possible in this final moment of Jesus’ life – the moment, in which he fully fulfilled the scriptures, that the crying out of Jesus does in fact become the penultimate Song of Jesus?

So what does all this mean for us today? In particular, what does this mean for musicians who are actively involved in a ministerial capacity in the Church? Is there scope here for us to construct an underpinning spirituality for music ministers that helps and propels us deeper into our ministerial calling?

Absolutely.

The act of speaking words said by Jesus himself for many is a powerful experience. The Lord’s Prayer, the prayer taught by Jesus to his followers has remained with us through the centuries and remains a unifying prayer for all Christians. It is powerful as it is a prayer we all know and can say [or sing] to form communion with each other and God. It is powerful too, because they are the words which Jesus spoke himself. This idea of actually speaking words that Jesus himself spoke is a holy and sacred thing – that leads itself beautifully to prayer and a deepening into Love.

The words of Institution in the form of the anamnesis, which priests and those ordained speak to recall the words of Jesus at the Last Supper at Eucharist are also powerful words we can speak (or sing/chant), that connect us to what Jesus actually spoke himself. And while there is great drama and prayerfulness in hearing these words spoken, not all of us actually get the chance to speak/sing/chant these words. This seems to be a grace filled pleasure reserved only for the ordained!

Where else are there words and phrases which Jesus spoke which we too can say and pray that will help form us in the prayer of our lives? The Psalms are clearly the answer.

But for music ministers, there is added significance for us using the Psalms as a ‘backbone’ to our prayer life. For the Psalms are simply not words alone that Jesus spoke – they are also texts that were sung and became the songs that Jesus himself was to fulfill. This knowledge is enormously empowering.

What opportunities and situations present themselves in our Catholic liturgical tradition where we can actually sing the Psalms? The first place, which is probably most accessible, is to be found at any given Eucharist celebration in the form of the Responsorial Psalm. As music ministers this is an important responsibility to prepare and sing the psalm at Eucharist and encourage antiphonal participation by the congregation. The psalm is vital in the Liturgy of the Word as it forms the link of the Hebrew Scriptures to the Christian Scriptures and further highlights Jesus as the fulfillment of the Psalms. It also presents us with a small sliver of the bigger story of salvation, from which we draw inspiration and hope.

Many scholars have commentated on how one should go about preparing for the delivery of the Responsorial Psalm at Mass. Many speak of a prayerful study of the text in the days leading up to a given Eucharist celebration so that the Cantor can lead the psalm in a prayerful manner that hopefully is catching to others in the assembly.

Prompted by the wisdom of Joseph Gelineau, Kathleen Harmon in her recent book ‘The Ministry of Cantors’, suggests that one who sings a psalm, becomes for God [and I would further add here - for all of creation] that psalm.

While initially, the idea of ‘becoming a psalm’ may seem fanciful and an outrageous statement to bolster a spirituality for the psalmist/ music minister/ assembly, given the fact that in a similar way, we speak of becoming a ‘Eucharistic people’ through the consumption of consecrated bread and wine – the initial suggestion does have a ring of truth to it that is worth pursuing. From another perspective, we can call upon the wisdom of St Augustine where he suggests that instead of a Eucharistic Minister administering Communion and saying ‘The Body of Christ’ to which the recipient says ‘Amen’, one could simply offer the bread saying ‘Receive who you are’.

Obviously, this idea never caught on and became standard liturgical practice…but it does have a lovely sentiment which speaks to what Harmon is getting at when she suggests that we ‘become the Psalm’. It stands to reason that, we who receive the richness of the psalms, particularly via singing them, are transformed by their beauty and in just the same way we aspire to become a Eucharistic or even a ‘Gospel’ people…we can become a ‘Psalm’ people, who like Jesus, not only sing the psalms, but like Jesus too, find our fulfillment and discover our own story of salvation within their words. Here lies the foundation of a spirituality for any music minister…which includes the assembly who are of course the primary singing voice of any Liturgical celebration!

But singing the responsorial psalm at Mass isn’t the only place where the Psalms can be sung. The Liturgy of the Hours is perhaps a far more concentrated place where one can be exposed to the psalms…to the songs of Jesus.

For many parishes in Australia [if not elsewhere], the Liturgy of the Hours is a foreign Liturgical practice. If it is celebrated, it often doesn’t include singing, but instead, involves a small group of people speaking a series of psalms, Canticles and responses. Is it possible for this limited experience of the Liturgy of the Hours to change? Is it possible for the number of people exposed to this beautiful and powerful tradition of our Church to increase? Is it possible for the way in which the Liturgy of the Hours is currently celebrated [by and large, in a spoken capacity] to become a Liturgy that is predominately sung?

Sacrosanctum Concillium states that the Liturgy of the Hours is composed and performed by the church but because of the Church’s union with Christ, the Head, he claims the prayer as his own, so that when the Church sings the Liturgy of the Hours, he himself is wholly engaged before God. “It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father” (CSL 84). The extension of this is that we become the body of Christ in offering and becoming the Psalms to God.

Elsewhere, in the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, we read the Hours is the counterpart of Jesus “singing his divine song of praise” throughout eternity (GILH 16).

Can the Liturgy of the Hours become a staple part of Parish liturgical life? My previous post ‘Evening Prayer: Reclaiming and living our Liturgical Tradition’ speaks to this question and offers some practical steps as to how this might be played out [not just in a parish setting, but school and domestic settings too]. Essentially, I feel change will not come, unless people are exposed to the Hours in a positive and well organised way.

Do we dare take the risk and rise to the challenge of singing the songs of Jesus? Walking in the steps of Jesus is often a hard thing to do…actually singing the Psalms that Jesus sang and fulfilled through his incarnation, likewise, is a challenge. But the gauntlet is down. Before us we have a treasure trove of psalmody that is the gateway to a spirituality that we can claim as our own to further and sustain our faith journey and ministry. The avenues to pursue the psalms lie in the form of the Responsorial Psalm and the Liturgy of the Hours.

The idea and image of a singing Jesus is hopefully now more real. We too, can sing the songs of Jesus [in the form of the Psalms] and become empowered and enriched by his song.

What a song to sing!

Back to the Future: Working towards the education and empowerment of emerging liturgical music ministers in light of Instrumentum Laboris

2005-07-30T10:34:00.000+09:30

While I always live in hope, the more I walk the journey of being a musical minister, the more I feel as though I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand, if I listen and take to heart the writings of many people on the internet via Blogs, Discussion Boards, eGroups etc – I could be mistaken in sometimes feeling as though my post-Vatican II lived experience with all its Liturgical Musical influences i.e.: St Louis Jesuits, Marty Haugen, David Haas etc [which have been instrumental to my faith development and growth] is somehow ‘not correct’, and such music should be avoided at all cost [so they say].

I am constantly surprised and concerned at the anger and loathing that some people have towards this kind of music and those who compose, play and pray it for use in Liturgy. I often feel when reading such scathing positions with such a staunch longing for a return to ‘the old ways’ that I am somehow ‘less than’ those who demand a return to Gregorian chant and polyphony.

On the other hand, I often feel like the [not so old] stooge to the younger liturgical musicians I encounter at a parish and school level. To some of these teenagers and young adults – I am sure that I come across as an unbending, opinionated old-school-fool who ‘has no idea’. My position on not using ‘relevant’ secular Top 40 or ‘meaningful rock’ music in Liturgy, my steering right away from Hillsong music is seen as out of touch and just plain lunacy. How do I know this? Because, even after all my workshops or seminars about the importance of interlocking music that fits the structure of the Liturgy has been blurted out for all to hear…it [Hillsong, Top 40] still gets played and old habits, long held - refuse to die.

Why not replace that rendition of U2’s ‘All I Want Is You’ as a Communion Hymn [!] with a spirited playing of David Haas’ ‘Glory Day’?

The young people’s response will probably fall along the lines of; ‘none of that Liturgical Music please…that’s so boring and lame. Can’t we do something good?’

Those others who long for a return to more traditional forms of Liturgical Music would probably also scoff at such a suggestion but would say something such as…this ‘dreck fills me with monotonous languor and the ennui of despair’.

While I feel no need to align myself to either camp of thinking, this is the tension that exists.

So what of the emerging ‘next generation’ of Liturgical Music Ministers? What can be done to form them in their ministry?

Reflecting on my personal experience may shed some light on possible answers.

I remember in the early 1990’s, our then Parish Priest being totally supportive of the young people taking an active role in parish music ministry and fiercely protective of us against any ill spoken words by unhappy parishioners (we had a few detractors). I remember vividly him saying: ‘If anyone has a bad thing to say about our young musos – they can come and talk to me’.

While he was Parish Priest – no one said a word. Clerical power has its good points I guess.

And while a great sense of community formed amongst those other musicians (with many of those friendships still alive and well today)…and while this period instilled in all of us a keen sense of commitment, week in week out – our Liturgical formation and the knowledge of what music to apply to Liturgy, in hindsight, was poor and wanting attention.

That didn’t stop us trying.

We chose some pretty liturgically inappropriate selections and the kind of songs that I now ironically suggest to my students and those who I workshop to avoid are precisely the kind of songs I often played. I remember on many occasions singing ‘Annie’s Song’ by John Denver (!?). On another occasion, I remember playing Midnight Oil’s ‘Put Down That Weapon’ to commemorate Hiroshima Day.

I do remember us needing to expand our repertoire as we felt we were playing the same songs over and over…but not knowing where to look or who to ask. The Parish Priest was a great admirer of our work and input to parish life, but wasn’t a Liturgist – or a musician, so in this regard, little help was found here.

There was the then-Parish Liturgy Committee, but they were a very demanding and non-compromising group which was a real turn off for the young people at the time. The life lines that were thrown to us were sheet music with forceful written demands that such a piece be played on such a particular Sunday. Once, we were even handed a piece of music literally five minutes before Mass was to begin – of which we had never even heard of before – and told that it had to be played as the song of Gathering! The Liturgy Committee members were not musicians – which on a practical level, didn’t help us at all. All they offered were commands and expectations. This was really off putting to the musicians and a tension developed that sadly became quite destructive.

This whole experience lead me to eventually fine tune my musical skills while at the same time learning about the Liturgy and how to best serve it with music. Ten years on, I feel I am now at a point that enables me to offer both an understanding and insight of Liturgy to others while at the same time being able to practically demonstrate with confidence the music that is being suggested. It’s taken me ten long years of honing a craft of playing and gaining a knowledge base – that continues to grow and develop.

Surely, this is the way to proceed when forming emerging music ministers?! To hold the knowledge, theory and tradition of Liturgy up on the one hand and on the other, actually play and sing its practical possibilities for people to take a look at and see for themselves how things could be when celebrating. (??)

The issuing of a recent preparatory document for the Bishop’s Synod, scheduled to be held for 2-23 October 2005 in Rome, has dampened this happy insight and joyful optimism. The document in question, Instrumentum Laboris, published on July 7 2005, is rather critical of certain types of music played at Eucharist. The document specifically mentions Youth Masses as a place where questionable selections have been reported. Section 62 reads ‘A few responses made particular mention of music and singing at Youth Masses. In this regard, it is important to avoid musical forms which, because of their profane use, are not conducive to prayer.’

This section of the document I find to be very unhelpful. By my own admission in this article, I have myself in the past contributed to selecting liturgically inappropriate music at Eucharist and am keenly aware that such poorly chosen selections of music for Liturgy continue today by various young people (and others).

While I can understand the gist of this statement, there are too many gaps in what is being implied that I find to be unsatisfactory and pastorally irresponsible.

The language is ambiguous and is not specific in solutions to issues it sees as a threat to the integrity of Liturgy. What is the issue here? The music? What does that actually mean? Does this mean secular music is being used? Does this mean post Vatican II music is being used and that is deemed as inappropriate? And what of singing? Does this mean the singing is not tasteful or tuneful? Does it mean perhaps the singing isn’t done enough in Latin?

And why does the document relegate abuses in Liturgical Music only to ‘Youth Masses’? While I am ideologically opposed to the idea of a ‘Youth’ Mass [Eucharist/ Mass is for everyone and should not be ghettoed to various interest or demographic groups!] – I see it as an injustice to highlight that Youth Masses are the cesspit of all that is bad and wayward in Liturgical Music. Equally poor and inappropriate music selections also happen elsewhere by ‘Demographically Challenged Masses’ too. Why are these not mentioned? Who exactly has made mention of and ‘reported’ the Youth Masses in the first place?

These questions must be asked. And even though the answers may not initially come [they may not come at all!], it is not at all helpful to just say such things without being more specific and offering solutions.

The Synod of Bishops will hopefully move towards such practicalities, but these practical steps are most certainly required so that written words, as expressed in Instrumentum Laboris that may be seen to condemn, are simultaneously held up with actions that address the issue.

These kind of blunt statements and demands like we read in Instrumentum Laboris remind me of the manner our old Liturgy Committee used to like to employ when communicating to the younger musicians. It never worked. It still doesn’t. This heavy handed and patronizing approach is actually counter productive in addressing the need of playing and singing great Liturgical music. A grounded, but gentle approach is called for with practical modeling to best address the issue of mediocrity of Liturgical Music across the whole spectrum of the Church. Mere words in the form of an ecclesiastical telling off are just not enough – or appropriate. Instrumentum Laboris’ section on Liturgical Song only seems to scapegoat and inflame an already tender issue in a sensational manner that various media outlets are able to latch on to [and have] quite easily to further perpetuate the often negative spin on Youth, whether the publishers are sympathetic to young people or not.

It would seem the Synod of Bishops have a lot of work to do in October.

Our emerging Liturgical Music Ministers need to be inspired. They need to have role models who not only inform them with words, but also form them with action and practical empowerment. They should be encouraged to look at scripture and watch Jesus closely as their greatest role model. They should be exposed to avenues of Liturgy like Evening and Morning Prayer so that when they come to Eucharist they are enriched in prayer – and sung prayer at that! Let music that reflects the person of Jesus who we meet through scripture be our song and cause for our hope.

‘Awake from your slumber; arise from your sleep,
A new day is dawning, for all those who weep.
A people in darkness have seen a great light,
The Lord of our longing has conquered the night’.

Extract from ‘City of God’,
- St Louis Jesuits

CD Review: TONY ALONSO, MICHAEL MAHLER & LORI TRUE - As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets: Psalms, Canticles and Hymns for the Liturgy of the Hours, GIA

2005-07-23T08:33:00.000+09:30

First, some background.

With the onset of the 1980’s, US Publishing Company GIA Publications became very organised and efficient at packaging and marketing Liturgical Music to a worldwide market. Some would argue they continue to do so and are now a monopoly where Liturgical Music publishing/ recording is concerned. Whether this is true or not – one thing is certain: GIA have been responsible for putting out some of the most widely recognised (and loved) Liturgical Music in the past 25 years.

There are many artists and composers on the GIA roster, but, there are three who stand out more than the others who are considered giants in the Liturgical Music world: David Haas, Marty Haugen and Michael Joncas. Ground breaking albums such as ‘Come and Journey’ (1985), ‘Mass of Creation’ (1984), ‘We Come To Your Feast’ (1991) and ‘You Are Mine: The Best of David Hass Volume 2’ (1995) have cemented these three as true leaders in the field.

I have watched with interest the way GIA have been marketing and pushing their ‘up and coming’ artists in the past few years. In 2001, Tony Alonso’s debut recording ‘Fresh As The Morning’ was heralded with much fanfare with GIA boasting Alonso as ‘the new voice in Liturgical Music’ (!). Similarly, Lori True and Michael Mahler have released a couple of albums of their own to much liturgical-critical acclaim.

Indeed, Alonso’s ‘Fresh as the Morning’ was produced by none other than David Haas himself – in a move that could be construed as a ‘passing on of the baton’ to the ‘next generation’ of Liturgical music composers. I would argue this might not be too far from the truth…and if the 1985 album ‘Come and Journey’ was a crowning jewel for GIA showcasing the extraordinary talents of Haas, Haugen and Joncas – then I think ‘As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets’ is GIA’s attempt to hold up Alonso, Mahler and True as the next ‘Holy Trinity’ in Liturgical Music. Whether or not ‘As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets’ succeeds in doing this remains to be seen – but I get the strong sense this is what GIA are hoping for and moving towards. We shall see…

Enough postulating…let’s look at the music.

We are presented with 17 tracks whose primary purpose is for use in The Liturgy of the Hours (Morning and Evening Prayer). The bulk of these are psalms, which therefore have other potential application as Responsorial Psalms at Eucharistic Celebrations.

The recording is divided into three sections: Music for Morning Prayer, Psalms for Morning and Evening and Music for Evening and Night Prayer.

‘We Arise’ begins proceedings in a sprightly fashion with a noticeable and prominent alto saxophone line running throughout played by Kenni Holman whose prowess was most clearly demonstrated on the 1997 David Haas double CD live masterpiece ‘Glory Day’. The production is crisp and the song gradually evolves working towards an inspiring choral refrain while also displaying the solo singing skills of the composer Michael Mahler and a supporting vocal by Tony Alonso.

The song ‘Fresh as the Morning’ appears on this recording in a more acoustic flavour compared to grand antiphonal choral workout it received on Tony Alonso’s debut of the same name in 2002. However, the sentiment is still as strong with the text being provided by Shirley Erena Murray who like fellow US Liturgical lyricist Ruth Duck are currently doing amazing work and writing inspiring and empowering lyrics that are popping up on many liturgical recordings.

‘Let Us Sing!’ an adaptation of the standard ‘morning’ psalm - Psalm 63, appears next with the vocal powers of Lori True rising to the occasion. The track is highlighted by the synthesizer work of Tom Franzak using a Hammond organ sound, which accentuates the gospel feeling of the song.

These first few tracks are presented in a vibrant and energetic way that would start anyone’s day off on a prayerful and joyous note. Placed in the context of Morning Prayer, these would be inspirational settings to engage with that have singable refrains.

The next section of the record is a collection of 8 Psalms that we are told can be used for either Morning or Evening Prayer. The picks of the bunch are Tony Alonso’s setting of Psalm 138 ‘You Answered Me’ which is beautifully composed and soothing on the ear…a good choice for Evening Prayer. Michael Mahler kicks things up a gear with his rollicking setting of Psalm 27 ‘The Lord Is My Light’ which could have application to the themes of the rising sun and resurrection in Morning Prayer, or could be used to highlight the Lucernarium, or lighting of the lamps or ‘Christ Light’ at Evening Prayer. The other stand out track is Tony Alonso’s ‘I Have Found My Peace’, which is a setting of Psalm 131. This is an acoustically based track with some lovely three way harmony work occurring in the refrains. An Irish tin whistle also played by Dominic Trumfino rounds the track off very well.

The recording concludes with a section devoted solely to Evening and Night Prayer. Lori True’s ‘Stay With Us, Lord’ is reminiscent of ‘Go Now In Peace’ from her 2002 ‘A Place at the Table’ recording and is quite good as an Evening Hymn. My pick of the bunch here is Tony Alonso’s ‘Let Evening Fall’, which also is an Evening Hymn. The remaining tracks, Psalm 141, and the Canticles of Mary and Simeon are solid, but do not surpass other versions I have heard elsewhere. Nevertheless, they create a prayerful mood that would be a happy addition to Evening Prayer services.

While the CD is geared towards use in Morning and Evening Prayer, I would argue that this music presented could also be used in small prayer groups or individual prayer and reflection. As Morning Breaks and Evening Sets highlights the power and adaptability of the Psalms as a wonderful resource of scriptural prayer and would be a fine addition to your music collection. It also displays the emerging talents of Tony Alonso, Lori True and Michael Mahler and certainly suggests other wonderful recordings will see the light of day by these three in the future. You need this – you know you do. Go on then…make a mad dash to Pauline Books and Media and grab yourself a copy. You won’t be disappointed.

Evening Prayer: Reclaiming and living our Liturgical Tradition

2005-07-16T11:32:00.000+09:30

Throughout Lent this year, Evening Prayer was offered to Henley Parish. People from the Parish and elsewhere, gathered together on Friday evenings for the duration of the Lenten Season to partake in something that for many was a new and unique experience, but I would like to think, not an isolated one.

Earlier on, in January this year, I spoke at all Mass times one weekend and informed the various congregations about my plan to offer Evening Prayer to the Parish with an extended invitation. The response was very positive, with quite a number expressing interest and support for the idea. What I found most fascinating in this process was that a number of people approached me after Mass to say they had never heard of the Liturgy of the Hours and also didn’t know what to really expect if they were to come to Evening Prayer. What was the format? What was the structure? What’s actually going to happen? What are we going to do? These were the questions being asked.

The lack of information and knowledge about what Evening Prayer is - which was expressed by many Henley Parishioners was interesting, but not really surprising.

The Liturgy of the Hours, has also gone by the name of the Divine Office, or Breviary, and, nearly exclusively, has been a Liturgical practice only celebrated by cloistered religious communities and the clergy. Some Liturgical scholars would argue that such a format of prayer at set times of the day has been with us from the earliest moments of Christendom, with many Jewish religious practices and observances fusing themselves to become what we now know to be the Liturgy of the Hours.

From its Jewish ancestry, the consecration of time in the early Christian Church had taken root by middle to late antiquity and certainly by the time of St Augustine in the fifth century, variations of the Liturgy of the Hours in both a monastic and ‘Cathedral-style’ had taken root and become very much an intrinsic part of people’s prayer life, both in the West and in the East for clergy and laity alike.

This developed throughout the centuries, with a growing tendency for the Hours to be celebrated in only monastic settings, as religious and clergy not connected to the cloister were driven into missionary works (i.e.: the Jesuits, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart etc) and consequently could not commit the time necessary to honor the complete daily cycle of the Liturgy of the Hours, known as the Horarium.

So, more and more, the Hours became a liturgical celebration only experienced by monks, cloistered sisters and also clergy who were able to carry with them a portable collection of daily readings known as the Breviary. It was a foreign liturgical practice to the laity not readily accessible for centuries – until Vatican II.

Sacrosanctum Concilium, Vatican II’s prime document on the Liturgy urged for all religious to engage with the richness of spiritual treasures found in the Liturgy of the Hours, but also put the invitation out to all lay people; ‘The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually.’ (S.C. 100)

The documents of Vatican II are essentially only 40 years young and we have a long way to go to fully reap the benefits and richness of ideas that were presented. I believe the Liturgy of the Hours and moments of daily prayer like Evening Prayer are yet to be widely rediscovered and reclaimed. For many of us, we simply do not know of the existence of such prayer. Over 1500 years of liturgical tradition that for the most part has not been experienced in the public sphere of the laity – is unlikely to change over night…even in 40 years since Vatican II!! This much was made clear from the partially confused response I received from many parishioners when I flagged the idea in January 2005.

However, I also believe by offering Evening Prayer, in a parish setting like we did this Lent at Henley, will undoubtedly give people an experience of what it is actually about and begin to raise awareness of it - and perhaps even move people towards integrating into their own prayer life. It is a largely untapped area of our liturgical tradition which has all kinds of potential possibilities and applications. I would like to return to this point later on.

Wherever possible, I attempted to utilise music during Evening Prayer. This proved to be a very powerful and attractive part of the whole experience for people. I took the line of thought when preparing for Evening Prayer very similar to what David Haas suggests when he says; ‘It is one thing to say Alleluia…and it’s another thing to sing it!’

To give you an idea as to what actually happened on any given night, I will attempt now to describe the format and structure of Evening Prayer as it happened at Henley…

People entered the Church via the foyer areas which had a little table with a candle burning. Welcomers were present to greet people as they came in and were given handouts to accompany the evening’s prayer.

Upon entering the Church, people may have thought they were at the Monday night candle lit Mass…as the Church was dimly lit with some quiet instrumental music playing in the background. Indeed, this kind of ambience so familiar to us at the candle lit Mass was something I deliberately wanted to establish and link in people’s minds. My original idea was to have Evening Prayer offered on a Friday night in a similar, atmospheric and ambient manner complete with candles so that the week could in a sense be ‘bookended’ on the Monday evening with Mass and then on Friday evening with Evening Prayer. I hope it worked. I think it did.

We began at 8:30pm sharp every week and began with me welcoming and greeting people. A few cursory thoughts were given, usually linking the Gospel of the previous weekend and how that was sitting with us as we were moving towards the Gospel of the next weekend.

Following this, the Service of Light began utilizing a sung antiphon while someone processed down the centre aisle of the Church with a candle to then arrive at the foot of the Sanctuary to light our ‘Christ Light’. This ‘Christ Light’ was in fact Lemon Essence which we have used here in Henley on occasions such as Pentecost and the annual Mass of Remembrance. It was a stunning visual element to the drama of the unfolding Liturgy.

Following the Service of Light, was a hymn that spoke to the themes of evening. Songs which were used at these times were rotated and included ‘At Evening’ by David Haas and ‘God of Day and God of Darkness’ by Marty Haugen.

Next came the first Psalm for the evening which was always a sung setting of Psalm 141 which reads ‘Let my prayers rise up like incense’. As this psalm was sung, incense was burned – again a very powerful symbol that tapped into the senses of sight and smell! The setting of Psalm 141 remained constant throughout Lent.

After a brief silence, the second psalm was sung and this psalm was different each week. The second psalms were all composed by myself and were simple antiphonal style pieces that were very quickly learned so that participation of the gathered faithful was at a maximum.

In response to the psalms, a short New Testament Canticle was sung and this was set each week based on a passage from Revelation.

After another silence, a passage of scripture was read. This was the first reading of that day’s Mass and for Lent this year, those readings were taken from many of the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures; Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea and others. These proved to be very rich texts that provided many Lenten themes to be extracted for a detailed reflection. A reflection was then given on the reading and tied in Lenten themes and ways in which we can live out the underlying messages explored from the reading in practical and active ways.

This reflection on the Word was then highlighted further by a sung setting of the Magnificat. The version used throughout our Lenten Evening Prayer was a setting that appears on Marty Haugen’s 1990 ‘Now the Feast and Celebration/ Holden Evening Prayer’ recording and was particularly lovely.

General Intercessions were then offered with a sung response to each prayer, with time at the end of the set written prayers for spontaneous petitions. The culmination of all of this prayer was a collective singing of the Lord’s Prayer which was a new ‘evening’ setting I had composed especially for Evening Prayer.

To conclude, a Presider spoke a concluding prayer and then I sang a sung blessing. A sign of peace was then exchanged between all who were present and while this was happening, I either lead the singing of ‘Prayer for Peace by David Haas, ‘Watch, O Lord’ by Marty Haugen or a setting of the Nunc Dimittis.

And that, in a nutshell, is how we experienced Evening Prayer at Henley for this Lent!

There were many positive things that came out of conducting Evening Prayer this year. Firstly, the experience itself for the participants. Many people, who came, were very moved by the impact of the liturgy itself and commented very positively on it. Some said the use of music was a highlight. Others said the use of symbols such as the fire of the Lemon Essence and the incense added an extra sensory dimension to the process. Some made particular comment about the impact and relevance of the reflections on the Scripture that were given each week. Many commented that it was a very fitting way to mark the Lenten period.

But perhaps the most frequent comment that came was ‘Are we going to have this again at Henley?’

On a personal level, I have found the whole journey of preparing and actually offering Evening Prayer to be a very faith enriching and empowering experience. When I started to think about how Evening Prayer could be offered at Henley, I was basically starting from scratch. I certainly had never experienced the Liturgy of the Hours in a predominately sung format like I was hoping to offer, (as a matter of fact, I hadn’t experienced the Liturgy of the Hours at all!!), so I had to research the area, read a lot of books and listen to a lot of music to see what might work. It was very time consuming!

This process alone was fascinating and gave me a good grounding in the structure and flow of the format of Evening Prayer so I could prayerfully lead the sessions with confidence.

In addition to the format research of Evening Prayer was the rather difficult choice of which musical settings of the psalms should be used. Part of this process was the actual composition of Psalms, responses and Canticles which I did. This above all, was probably the most time consuming element of the whole process – and also the most rewarding. As each setting of the Psalms was being composed, it gave me a greater sense of appreciation for the Psalms and the way they can be used in one’s prayer life. My spirituality has been deepened and made richer through this experience and realisation of scriptural based song.

An unexpected and really pleasing outcome of my Evening Prayer experience this Lent has been the adaptation of Evening Prayer into our own family’s prayer life at home. Following Lent, we began a ‘mini Evening Prayer’ every night before our boys go to bed. Each night, a candle is lit (which at first, reminded the boys of the candles on a birthday cake and they were very excited!!). The Service of Light Antiphon is sung as we did it at Henley. We then give thanks and praise to God for one positive thing we have experienced that day and each take a turn to say that followed by an ‘Amen’ at the end of the prayer. We then light a stick of incense and sing the refrain of Psalm 141. The songs are short and simple and have been easy for our boys Declan (4) and Darcy (2) to pick up and sing. Our nightly Evening Prayer at home is something that our boys actually ask us to do each night and they are very much active participants in the liturgy. It’s really great to watch.

In a similar way, I have been able to adapt the format of Evening Prayer used at Henley for a recent Year 11 Retreat I directed at Loreto College. On this occasion, I also offered Morning Prayer on the second day of the retreat and the girls responded very positively to the symbols, music and structure in both instances.

While all of this has been happening, I have been studying my Masters in Theology which has dovetailed very nicely to all these varied set of experiences. Over the course of the first semester this year at Uni, I met with a lady from Seacombe Gardens Parish who was in some of my classes. After telling her of my experiences here at Henley with Evening Prayer, she became very excited and after some initial discussions we are now working in partnership towards Seacombe Gardens Parish hosting Evening Prayer in Lent 2006 which will be offered to the entire southern region of parishes.

Over the next six months, while I am assisting Seacombe Gardens to prepare for their own experience of Evening Prayer, I too will be preparing for the next chapter of Evening Prayer at Henley. It promises to be prayerful and inspiring journey...I look forward to sharing the time with you in Lent 2006.