What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

My good friend Mr. John Allen of the NCR*, in his weekly blurb has this interesting quote:

We already had a confirmation from the Cardinal Secretary of State and other cardinals.  Here is one more.

Many factors affect the Motu Proprio’s release.  In fact, much of Mr. Allen’s article focuses on the fascinating issue of the objections Jewish groups and others have in fact expressed about some of the prayers in the pre-Conciliar Missale Romanum.  Despite those objections, the decision has been made.  This from the Holy See’s chief of interreligious dialogue with non-Christians, Card. Kasper.

Here are other interesting bits in Allen’s piece:

The hot tip now is April 30, the feast of St. Pius V on the Roman calendar, or May 5, the feast of Pius V on the older calendar.

Okay… that’s not really news, but it is interesting.

Mr. Allen is reporting/opining, based on his interviews, that the Motu Proprio won’t really make much difference, either to regular Catholics nor to the members of the SSPX. 

First, not many priests know how to say it.  Well… that could change fast. 

Second,

As one American bishop put it to me, "We wouldn’t have spent the last decade sweating blood over a new English translation of the Mass if we didn’t think this was going to be the normal liturgical experience for most of our people."

Third, the SSPX has more bones to pick than just the issue of the Missal being used.

Mr. Allen says:

In other words, the motu proprio may end up as a classic instance of one of those Vatican documents that unleashes a torrent of debate and commentary, but changes relatively little on the ground.

Maybe so…. maybe so.  And maybe not.   Just as a little yeast leavens the dough, so we have seen that the older form of Mass has created great interest among younger priests and laypeople.  Their perception of "Mass" has changed subtly.  The way these younger priests say Mass is affected by their learning about the older form.  More widespread celebrations of the older form (and that will surely happen), will continue the cross-pollination.

You will want to read Mr. Allen’s article in it’s entirety.

* Yes, don’t be shocked: friend.  It might have astonished the many to see the guys from the NCR and The Wanderer dining together and chatting. 

True Catholics can avoid funnel vision and can be gentlemen.

UPDATE: I am bumping this back to the top.  Let’s have another round.  If you have seen this before, thanks!  If you haven’t, read on!

The English language weekly The Wanderer has a new website and a new online edition available. 

It is possible to buy individual full editions of each number online.

I have been writing for The Wanderer for years.  The WDTPRS blog grew out of my weekly column in The Wanderer, which in its turn grew out of an project in the Catholic Online Forum many years ago.

Check out their spiffy new site and tell ‘em Fr. Z sent you.  I have been nagging for a long time to get something truly useful going on the internet and I see they finally pulled the trigger.  This is good news.

Do me a BIG favor.  Go to their site.  Consider purchasing an online edition of the paper.   If they get some good stats they will learn a couple things.  First, yes, the internet is here to stay.  Second, Fr. Z has some internet clout.

I want to hear them mumbling things like, "Fr. Z was right all along", and even, "Why did we wait so long?"

See if you can crash their server!  Heh heh!

PS: If you subscribe here, through Amazon, I get a small percentage.  This is for the printed edition, FYI.

You all know and love the video (La métamorphose d’un autel) embedded in my entry Talk about an ALTARation! in which we see a rather banal modern altar being dressed for an ad orientem Mass. 

Some of you have asked about the music. 

The music for this video is the Lagrasee Te Deum (this is St. Mary’s Abbey, Lagrasse in the Diocese of Carcassonne, the Canons Regular of the Mother of God).  

The Abbot of this monastery was recently a guest in the house I live in here in Rome. I had supper with him one evening.   Let me tell you, these guys’ve got game!  I was impressed.

I suspect the Te Deum is a composition of a fairly young composer, perhaps one of the canons?  It may not go down in history as a great piece, but it is decent.  The performance is by an amateur or student group, I guess, which reinforces the possibility that it is the composition of a young composer.

In any event, I extracted the audio, and you can listen here.

UPDATE: I tip my biretta to Abbé F.H.    o{]:¬)   who tells us that the Te Deum is a composition of Jeanne Barbey, you can learn more about her here (in French).

 

UPDATE to the update: I got a note from Abbé F.H. that you can purchase Jeanne Bareby’s music here and hear and interview with her in French here.  He said that when he listens to her talk about her illness, cystic fibrosis, he feels very small. 

This story keeps growing.

 

 

 Lagrasse Te Deum [4:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download