Recording: O Quam Gloriosum, Victoria

Recorded at St Brigid’s Toryglen on the feast of All Saints 2020 Sung as a solo with the other parts supplied by the organ due to the covid restrictions on choirs.

O quam gloriosum est regnum, in quo cum Christo gaudent omnes Sancti! Amicti stolis albis, sequuntur Agnum, quocumque ierit.

O how glorious is the kingdom in which all the saints rejoice with Christ, clad in robes of white they follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

Christ the King Video Post

Music for the feast of Christ the King, comprising of sacred music written for the liturgies of the French monarchy.

Details of the organ can be found here

Prelude- Improvisation on the Kyrie from the Missa Regia, composed for the coronation of Louis XIV by Henri Du Mont.

Introit of the Mass-

Offertory- Duo from Clerambault’s Suite on the first tone. He was organist at St Sulpice, Paris and organist to the royal court.

The exception- Communion Motet-Jesu Rex Admirabilis. Palestrina. Written for three voices but sung as a solo due to the covid restrictions.

Postlude-

 

Recording: Not the Fauré you may think…

Here is the tail end of the communion antiphon and  J. Faure’s O Salutaris Hostia during Mass at St Brigid’s, Toryglen yesterday. Experimenting with solo motets duiring covid restrictions on choirs. Excuse the couple of blips- I put the tv monitor in a different place and a glance turned into a search!

Posting the odd mistake is good for efforts to get over one’s self. I’ll get there one day.

 

Tenebrae, Spy Wednesday

Tenebrae on the evening of Spy Wednesday is the anticipated Matins and Lauds of Holy Thursday. A perfect way to take advantage of a lockdown Holy Week.

Or live-stream at 7.30pm here

Booklet available here

The music may not be the same as the recording but you can follow the text if you wish.

The following notes are those of preeminent liturgist, Fr Adrian Fortescue.

Home Liturgy-Good Friday

The next in my series on how to observe the pre-1955 Holy Week liturgies at home is the Good Friday ceremonies.

Resources

  • A booklet can be downloaded here
  • I have put together another playlist of the sacred music that can be found here (after the liturgical music of the day, I have included some other pieces that might be used for the stations of the cross or just in the home to aid recollection throughout the day.)

Ideas for celebrating the liturgy at home

The traditional Good Friday Liturgy is celebrated in the morning.

  • If you followed the instructions in my Maundy Thursday post, you will have stripped your prayer space of any altar frontals/linens/cloths. The candles are not lit. No incense is used. A single crucifix (used for veneration later) is placed standing upright on the altar or table and is covered with a purple or black veil. 
  • The father of the house leads the family in the opening reading, in English or Latin and the accompanying tract can be listened to using the playlist. Then the prayer is said.
  • The mother of the family could then read the next reading and the accompanying tract can be listened to and followed in the booklet.
  • The Passion is then read. C- Mother, S- All, + – Father
  • The Great intercessions are prayed by the father. The mother may wish to say the “Flectamus genua, Levate”as these instructions are usually said by the deacon and subdeacon. 

The Adoration of the Cross

  • The father takes the veiled crucifix and holds it facing the family. He removes the top of the veil to reveal the top of the crucifix. He says or sings the Ecce lignum Crucis and the family respond with the Venite Adoremus. This could be done in English. All kneel.
  • He then reveals the right arm and repeats the chant, beginning on a higher note. 
  • The process is repeated a third time, now revealing the whole crucifix.
  • The crucifix is placed on a cushion covered with a purple or other dark cloth, on the ground in front of the altar/table 
  • The father imitates what the priest would do at this time by removing his shoes, kneeling several times in approaching the cross before venerating it with a kiss. The family follow as the playlist resumes at the Reproaches- Popule Meus. When not venerating the cross, the family meditate on the translation of the chants being sung. These are some of the most moving in the whole liturgical year.
  • The candles are lit towards the end of the Crux Fidelis

The Mass of the Presanctified 

  • The Vexilla Regis is listened to or sung. The priest would usually be retrieving the Blessed Sacrament from the altar of repose in procession at this time and so the family at home begin to prepare to make a fervent spiritual communion. 
  • In the absence of the Blessed Sacrament and given the liturgical character of the day, it might be best not to use incense at home at this point, although the Blessed Sacrament would usually be reverenced thus in the church.
  • The Pater Noster is said with the other prayer in the booklet and the family make an act of spiritual communion. 

The liturgy ends abruptly after the prayer “Quod ore sumpsimus”

It would be good if the house could remain in silence (or close to it depending on the age of the children) until Stations of the Cross are prayed at 3pm.

Remember my perpetual disclaimer, it is better to do less and do it well than to push small children beyond what they can handle. All or part of this can be used to enable the family to worthily observe the Passion of the Lord while we are not able to attend church.

Tenebrae

Once the children are in bed, the adults could pray the office of Tenebrae (Matins and Lauds of Holy Saturday anticipated).

Live-streamed from the Birmingham Oratory at 7.30pm here

 

Playlist for Palm Sunday

As we are all still in isolation, here is a playlist of the chant for Palm Sunday along with some motets. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a good quality YouTube video of the singing of the Passion.

Home Liturgy – Palm Sunday

We find ourselves in a situation where we need to keep the liturgies of Holy Week at home. This sort of situation is not unprecedented. My thoughts are drawn to the recusant Catholics of the Anglican persecution, the true Church in China and other underground Christians and even His Eminence Cardinal Pell who has been denied the right to offer the Holy Sacrifice for many months.

Rather than becoming angry and frustrated, let us resign ourselves to the permissive will of God as did Our Lady during the Passion. We should make the most of this opportunity to grow in our understanding and practice of the faith.

Collect for Saturday in Passion Week

We beseech Thee, O Lord, may Thy devoted people grow in the spirit of pious devotion, that learned in the holy rites, they may become the more pleasing to Thy majesty as they abound in spiritual gifts. Through Christ Our Lord…

In the Pearce household, we have greatly benefited from praying in union with livestreamed Masses and we are grateful to all priests who have made the liturgy available to us, especially the FSSP at Livemass.net. For Holy Week, however, we have decided not to livestream Mass but to do what we can to be present to the liturgy in our own home- a time for us to up our ‘Ecclesia Domestica’ game. (For that is our WiFi name after all!)

Being church musicians we are fortunate that we can sing most of the liturgy at home and have chosen (since no permission is required from Rome for a Missa Sicca or ‘Dry Mass‘) that we will celebrate according to the traditional Holy Week liturgy from before the reforms of 1955 which anticipated the promulgation of the Novus Ordo. The timing of these liturgies is more toddler friendly too!

Below I have provided notes on how this can be done at home. Some points to consider:

  1. We don’t have to try to replicate liturgical perfection at home. The point of this is to pray and absorb the theology of the ancient prayers and chants.
  2. This is an example of the maximum that can be done. If your kids get restless, cut things out and read them privately once they are in bed. The point here is to celebrate what we can and not to overdo things and put our families off. Better to do less for the greatest spiritual payoff than to try to do everything and end up with tantrums. It is consistent with my Benedictine spirituality to adapt things to the needs of those participating rather than making unattainable demands.
  3. We don’t allow toys in our home chapel but we do allow anything that we would pack in the Mass bag. Age appropriate books and colouring sheets are a good idea and since the ceremonies are longer than usual, we will allow a little more moving around than at the family rosary each evening.
  4. For those who can’t sing the liturgy, I have compiled playlists. These could even be used outside of the prayer time to keep a recollected atmosphere throughout the day.

Texts for each liturgy can be found here by selecting rubrics pre-1955 and selecting ‘Sancta Missa’ at the top of the page. Another option would be to print the relevant pages from a pre-1955 Missal such as the Fr Lasance Missal.

Palm Sunday

  • Resources: Either sing or listen to chants using playlist here. Chant can be seen and printed here. Generally speaking, chants in Latin, readings and orations in English. Fr Lasance Missal pg388 onwards.
  • Asperges III- Father of the family sprinkles home altar and family with holy water.
  • Antiphon. Hosanna filio David followed by prayer- Deus Quem Diligere
  • Lesson from Exodus 15
  • Ant. In Monte Oliveti
  • Father reads Gospel
  • Always replace Dominus Vobiscum with V. Domine exaudi orationem meam. R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat
  • Father reads through the blessings- Only a priest can command a blessing of an object but we can still pray that God will bless the palms/branches that we have prepared. We also benefit from the rich theology of the ancient prayers.
  • Sing the Sanctus.
  • Sing Pueri Hebraeorum while the Father hands branches to each family member in order.
  • Procession- (The door of the prayer room/chapel is closed when the last person leaves.) The Father can lead with a large crucifix if one is available. Think of a reasonable procession route that includes parts of the house and garden.
  • Sing Gloria, Laus et honor tibi sit during the procession.
  • Return to the prayer room/chapel in time for the ending of the hymn. (If your family is large enough, you could have some inside the chapel as in the rubrics of the missal, if not just continue).
  • The family wait outside the closed door of the chapel/prayer room.
  • The father knocks three times on the closed door with the foot of the large crucifix. (He could just knock if no such crucifix is available.)
  • Sing Ant. Ingrediente upon re-entering the room.
  • N.B. You may decide here to skip to your time of spiritual communion depending on how the kids are doing.

The Missa Sicca proper

  • Follow the missal as is.
  • The reading of the passion.
  • Option 1- Read the full Passion. C-Mother, S- All, + – Father
    OR (if your kids are getting restless by now!)
  • At what would be a low Mass, the Passion is substituted for the Gospel that is read before the blessing of the palms. You may decide that since you already read this earlier, you may omit it and give a summary of the passion in your own words for the benefit of the children.
  • Sing the Credo
  • Sing the offertory
  • After the offertory, select some prayers from offertory of the Mass to prepare for a spiritual communion. (Suggestion- Suscipe Sancta Trinitas, asking God to receive all the Masses throughout the world. The preface could be read and the Sanctus sung. Pater Noster, Agnus Dei, Act of Spiritual Communion, silence.)
  • Finish the prayers of the Mass. End with Benedicamus Domino in place of Ite Missa Est

I will post the same sort of resource for the Sacred Triduum in due course.

Homemade Paschal Candle
Making facemasks for priests and palm crosses for friends

Friday in Lent- Stabat Mater

The full text of the Stabat Mater:

STABAT Mater dolorosa
iuxta Crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.
AT, the Cross her station keeping,
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.
Cuius animam gementem,
contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.
Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing,
now at length the sword has passed.
O quam tristis et afflicta
fuit illa benedicta,
mater Unigeniti!
O how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother, highly blest,
of the sole-begotten One.
Quae maerebat et dolebat,
pia Mater, dum videbat
nati poenas inclyti.
Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying glorious Son.
Quis est homo qui non fleret,
matrem Christi si videret
in tanto supplicio?
Is there one who would not weep,
whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ’s dear Mother to behold?
Quis non posset contristari
Christi Matrem contemplari
dolentem cum Filio?
Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother’s pain untold?
Pro peccatis suae gentis
vidit Iesum in tormentis,
et flagellis subditum.
Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
she beheld her tender Child
All with bloody scourges rent:
Vidit suum dulcem Natum
moriendo desolatum,
dum emisit spiritum.
For the sins of His own nation,
saw Him hang in desolation,
Till His spirit forth He sent.
Eia, Mater, fons amoris
me sentire vim doloris
fac, ut tecum lugeam.
O thou Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord:
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
in amando Christum Deum
ut sibi complaceam.
Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ my Lord.
Sancta Mater, istud agas,
crucifixi fige plagas
cordi meo valide.
Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified:
Tui Nati vulnerati,
tam dignati pro me pati,
poenas mecum divide.
Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all my sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.
Fac me tecum pie flere,
crucifixo condolere,
donec ego vixero.
Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live:
Iuxta Crucem tecum stare,
et me tibi sociare
in planctu desidero.
By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.
Virgo virginum praeclara,
mihi iam non sis amara,
fac me tecum plangere.
Virgin of all virgins blest!,
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine;
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem,
passionis fac consortem,
et plagas recolere.
Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.
Fac me plagis vulnerari,
fac me Cruce inebriari,
et cruore Filii.
Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away;
Flammis ne urar succensus,
per te, Virgo, sim defensus
in die iudicii.
Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.
Christe, cum sit hinc exire,
da per Matrem me venire
ad palmam victoriae.
Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
by Thy Mother my defense,
by Thy Cross my victory;
Quando corpus morietur,
fac, ut animae donetur
paradisi gloria. Amen.
While my body here decays,
may my soul Thy goodness praise,
safe in paradise with Thee. Amen.