Requiem Friday, Jun 27 2008

When a friend of mine asked me to recommend a recording of a Requiem Mass, I was at first puzzled by her question, and asked her for specifics. There are all sorts of Requiem Masses, did she mean one by a composer or a Gregorian Chant recording?

Now I know why she asked the question. I finally had time to open up my Good News Planner, the same one Elizabeth is using for planning the year. The Gregorian Chant Requiem Mass is the project for November, the month of All Souls.

I did notice there are a few missing pieces of information on these pages, so it might be harder to track down examples of the chant (as per the instructions “Obtain a recording of the Gregorian Chant Requiem Mass.”)

First of all, the Requiem Mass is also called Missa Pro Defunctis, or Mass XVIII, with Kyrie B being used. The Requiem is the Introit, or Entrance Antiphon of the Mass, and the Lux Aeterna is the Communion Antiphon.

Some of these parts of the Mass chants were collected and used in the Masses called Jubilate Deo and Missa Primitiva. Lucy E. Carroll explains: “In the wake of the [Vatican] Council, certain chants were culled from the great repertoire and put into a little book called Jubilate Deo. The easiest Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus were put together into a Missa Jubilate Deo. The same Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus, with a different Gloria, became known as the Missa Primitiva.” This was to bring back Gregorian Chant, and give a mininum repetoire of chant every Catholic should know.

Jubilate Deo contains:
Kyrie from Mass XVI
Gloria from Mass VIII
Credo III
Sanctus from Mass XVIII
Agnus Dei from Mass XVI

Missa Primitiva contains:
Kyrie from Mass XVI
Gloria from Mass XV
Credo I
Sanctus from Mass XVIII
Agnus Dei from Mass XVI

The Mass numbers are from the Liber Usualis. This is hard to find, so a 1961 version can be downloaded here. The Liber Usualis is really overwhelming for a beginner starting chant, so that’s the reason for these masses.

I found two good recordings of the entire Requiem Mass:

Gregorian Requiem by Gloriæ Dei Cantores Schola. You can preview the cd at Amazon.

The second is an older but very beautiful recording by the Monastic Choir of St. Peter’s Abbey, Solesmes, Requiem Mass. You can’t go wrong picking anything by the the Monks of Solesmes!

If you already have the Adoremus Hymnal 4 cd set the only chant missing is the Communion antiphon, Lux aeterna.

I also found Gregorian Chant - Requiem Mass which sounds wonderful, but I’ve never heard of this site, so I’m a little hesitant.

There are free recordings in .mp3, this page has the various masses from the Kyriale and these are the masses for the Liturgical Year. Choose either Mass XVIII or All Souls Day mass. But again, the communion antiphon isn’t included.

If I find the Lux Aeterna online, I will post the link. Or if someone else finds one, please let me know!

Hope this helps, Marilyn!

One Response »

 

Loving Our Patron Saints Tuesday, Jun 24 2008

Thursday is the Optional Memorial of St. Josemaría Escrivá. This is one of my son’s patron saints. We named him after this saint in thanksgiving to St. Josemaria. In 2002 we made a pilgrimage to Rome for the canonization of Josemaria with the intention of having a child, as we were having difficulties getting pregnant. The next year our son was born, so in thanksgiving his middle name is a form of Josemaria.

Dh and I have told him this story over and over again, and include our “St. Josemaria, pray for us!” every evening in our night prayer. Now at the ripe old age of 4 1/2 our son has totally embraced this saint. And although it’s been really busy this month with many a feast passing by with just a few words and prayers, we are definitely celebrating this nameday.

This site on St. Josemaria has a section for young readers (see sidebar), with this link going a nice short biography. There are also recommendations for reading.

Through the Mountains is the first book we read together. It’s in comic book format, but a very detailed presentation of St. Josemaria’s life. We all learned so much about him reading this every night to our son. Some of the materials was over his head, but he wanted to read it all, so we read it in small chunks every night. We had many discussions stemming from the book.

Our current read-aloud is Yes! The Life of Josemaria Escriva for Young Readers. This is better for younger readers (or listeners). I believe this is a translation into English from another language, as there are some awkward phrasing and several typos. But my son really, really loves it, because it really is detailed on his early years in his family life and has lovely illustrations.

I didn’t realize how much this book was making an impression on him until the last two nights. As I was reading one of the chapters, my son starting talking out loud. I paused and asked if he wanted to continue, and he replied, “Yes, I was just praying.”

I didn’t think much about that until tonight when we said our night prayers together as a family. Our usual prayers are Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be, Angel of God and invocations to saints, and then spontaneous prayer which include prayer requests and going over the day. When we got to the Hail Mary, ds said we need to say 3 Hail Marys and then led them.

I was puzzled as to where he got this idea of adding the two extra Hail Marys, so after prayers I asked him. He said “We’re praying three Hail Marys to the Virgin Mary, like St. Josemaria’s family did!” And then I remembered that we read that chapter of Josemaria’s family prayer the night before.

It impresses me how absorbent a child is. I have never said explicitly that we read about saints to imitate them. And yet, how easily my son was inspired and made his own decision to imitate his patron saint.

We will be attending a special Mass in honor of St. Josemaria Thursday evening. I know it will be a little difficult due to usual bedtime routine, so I pray St. Josemaria will help the boys (and Mommy!)

And although the suggested feast day food is crespillos (see bottom of page), the recipe doesn’t fit our food allergy needs (nor, I admit, our tastebuds. Fried sweetened spinach?). So I am making allergy safe brownies for dessert, and we have a special favorite cereal for breakfast.

St. Josemaria’s teachings are simple and straightforward, but so helpful for me. Everyone is called to be a saint, echoing Vatican II’s “Universal Call to Holiness” — even lay people are called to be holy and become saints. And in our ordinary daily lives we must have a sanctification of our work.

“Since 1928 I have understood clearly that God wants our Lord’s whole life to be an example for Christians. I saw this with special reference to his hidden life, the years he spent working side by side with ordinary men. Our Lord wants many people to ratify their vocation during years of quiet, unspectacular living.”

The ordinary Christian can seek holiness in and through the ordinary circumstances of life. “Ordinary life can be holy and full of God.” And in everyday life, the Christian practices all these virtues: faith, hope and charity, and the human virtues – generosity, industriousness, justice, loyalty, cheerfulness, sincerity, and so on. In practising these virtues, a Christian imitates Jesus Christ. “The Supernatural value of our life does not depend on accomplishing great undertakings suggested to us by our overactive imagination. Rather it is to be found in the faithful acceptance of God’s will, in welcoming generously the opportunities for small, daily sacrifice.”

For the majority of Christians, marriage and the family are among the things upon which sanctity should be built, and should thus be given a Christian dimension. “For a Christian, marriage is not just a social institution, much less a mere remedy for human weakness. It is a supernatural calling.”

I forgot I had written these posts.

And I’ll close with my favorite prayer to the Holy Spirit written by St. Josemaria:

Come, O Holy Spirit:
enlighten my understanding
to know your commands;
strengthen my heart
against the wiles of the enemy;
inflame my will…
I have heard your voice,
and I don’t want to harden
my heart by resisting,
by saying ‘later…tomorrow.”
Nunc coepi! Now!
Lest there be no tomorrow for me!
O, Spirit of truth and wisdom,
Spirit of understanding and counsel,
Spirit of joy and peace!
I want what you want,
I want it because you want it,
I want it as you want it,
I want it when you want it.

3 Responses »

 

4Real Meetings! Wednesday, Jun 11 2008

4Real Learning Forums has been such a blessing as I’ve made so many online friends. And sometimes I get to meet them in Real Life and make them 4Real friends. This is one advantage living in the Washington DC Metropolitan area is that there are many travelers that come this way.

I met Gwen in May. Last week I had two meetings back-to-back. I’ve been so busy I haven’t been able to post much since then.

KC left her Cabbage Patch and visited with her entire (gorgeous) family on Tuesday. She came bearing Starbucks mochas, and joined Maryan and Mary Chris at my house. (Sorry, didn’t have time to crop the photo.)

Time was too short, but it was so nice to chat and share, and see the children play so well together.

The next day we met another 4Real Friend, Natalia at Fair Oaks Mall with Irene, Mary Chris, and Marilyn.

We gathered for a little ice cream social, and it ended up being an eventful time with Tornado Warnings and power outages. The children had such a nice time. My son made new best friends, but it was hard to tell him that one lives in Louisiana, so far away!

Being a native Texan (from Houston) and then having lived in Shreveport, Louisiana for 8 years, it was especially nice to hear stories of Texas from KC and my old stomping grounds in Shreveport from Natalia. My heart still lies in the deep South.

I do hope to meet again, and to meet more 4Real friends in the near future!

6 Responses »

 

Our Growing Time… Thursday, Jun 5 2008

I have lots to share about our week, as we met some new friends! But I’m out the door for some errands. I did post on Ordinary Time at Catholic Cuisine. I still have a Part Two to finish but no time for that right now, either!

No Responses »

 

Now It’s My Turn Wednesday, May 28 2008

Elizabeth might be thankful for Matilda planning this party, but I know my son will be singing the praises of Waltzing Matilda forevermore if I can pull this birthday party for him.

Now how to make a gluten free cake shaped like that?

3 Responses »

 

What They Said Wednesday, May 28 2008

I would love to chit-chat about these posts. They both echo so many of my thoughts right now. But I have to do laundry, a Sacred Heart Craft, a walk, and some gardening. So I’ll just leave you with these great food for thought:

Elizabeth’s Summer Reading (with Let’s Clear This Up…)

And Colleen’s Like Coming Home…

Back to Elizabeth and her Summertime Lessons and her Herald article on a similar vein.

No Responses »

 

Making a Plan for Religion Wednesday, May 28 2008

Things have been quiet over here for various reasons. For one, I was away on retreat this past weekend. But I’m also making plans for my son’s upcoming Kindergarten year. This is taking a lot of time to read and research, pray, and make a decision.

I came across two fantastic resources the past week that are some of the tools I’m using to form our religion plans.

The first is an in-print book by Scepter Publishers, An Anthology of Catholic Teaching on Education edited by Leonard Franchi. This is a collection of 10 Church documents from this past century on the Catholic teaching on Education. It includes:

Acerbo Nimis (1905)
Divini Illius Magistri (1929)
Provido Sane Consilio (1935)
Gravissimum Educationis (1965)
The Catholic School (1977)
Catechesi Tradendae (1979)
Lay Catholics in Schools (1982)
The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School (198
General Directory for Catechesis (1997)
The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millenium (1997).

I’ve been looking for a printed version of the updated General Directory for Catechesis (1997). And this book is worth the price just for the Thematic Study Guides, seven different themes with direct references to the documents. And $15 is such a good price for this hardcover, 530 page edition! Also included are appendices that include the Canon Law, Scripture, and Catechism readings on Catholic teaching, also the Credo of the People of God, Prayers to learn, and a Questionnaire.

One question that reoccurs in my mind is the role of the Baltimore Catechism questions and memorization. Do we incorporate memorization or not? I was thinking of a balanced approach, and was relieved to find the section from John Paul II’s Catechesi Tradendae so refreshing and reaffirming. The General Catechetical Directory repeats John Paul and elaborates. I’ve emphasized the quote from Pope John Paul II, because it is SOO fabulous:

Memorization in catechesis (11)
154. Catechetics forms part of that “memory” of the Church which vividly maintains the presence of the Lord among us.(12) Use of memory, therefore, forms a constitutive aspect of the pedagogy of the faith since the beginning of Christianity. To overcome the risk of a mechanical memorization, mnemonic learning should be harmoniously inserted into the different functions of learning, such as spontaneous reaction and reflection, moments of dialogue and of silence and the relationship between oral and written work.(13)

In particular, as objects of memorization, due consideration must be given to the principal formulae of the faith. These assure a more precise exposition of the faith and guarantee a valuable common doctrinal, cultural and linguistic patrimony. Secure possession of the language of the faith is an indispensable condition for living that same faith. Such formulae, however, should be proposed as syntheses after a process of explanation and should be faithful to the Christian message. To be numbered amongst them are some of the major formulae and texts of the Bible, of dogma, of the liturgy, as well as the commonly known prayers of Christian tradition: (Apostles’ Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary…).(14)

“The blossoms—if we may call them that—of faith and piety do not grow in the desert places of a memoryless catechesis. What is essential is that texts that are memorized must at the same time be taken in and gradually understood in depth, in order to become a source of Christian life on the personal level and on the community level”.(15)

155. Again, more importantly, the learning of the formulae of the faith and their profession must be understood in the traditional seed-bed or context of the traditio and the redditio, for which the handing on of the faith in catechesis (traditio) corresponds to the response of the subject during the catechetical journey and subsequently in life (redditio).(16)

This process encourages a greater participation in received truth. That personal response is correct and mature which fully respects the datum of faith and shows an understanding of the language used to express it (biblical, liturgical, doctrinal).

The second resource is an out-of-print (and unfortunately hard to find) series entitled Handbook for Teachers of Religion by Ellamay Horan, 1947, W. H. Sadlier, Inc. I have two books, one for grades 3, 4, 5 and 6, 7, 8. What at first got me excited was the monthly course of study charts in each volume for all 8 years. Here’s an example for First Grade:
Page One and Page Two.

What is not included in the outline is the Friday preparation/discussion of Sunday’s Gospel. And here in a nutshell is an exact overview of what I was trying to do, incorporating the Catechism, the Bible, the Liturgical Year, Saints, Church History and the Liturgy. The books also have supplemental material which is very rich and informative.

I had a few more thoughts but I have some more pressing needs today!

2 Responses »

 

Baby Pics Tuesday, May 20 2008

Just a few gratuitous pictures from our little outing to the zoo a few weeks ago.

4 Responses »

 

Meeting Friends Sunday, May 18 2008

Last Monday I experienced the blessing aspect of the Internet. An online friend from the 4Real Learning Forums informed me she was coming to DC from Denver for a sightseeing trip with her daughter. Could we meet up?

The answer was of course! I was so thrilled! So I met Gwen and her daughter Michaela in DC last Monday. I brought the two boys, and we rode Daddy’s train (VRE) to Union Station, where we met. Then we went over to the Postal Museum until lunchtime, and then ate in the food court at Union Station. They had to get over to the Capitol for a tour at 2:00, and so I took the 1:15 train trip home.

I’m not very good at adventures alone, but I managed to keep somewhat calm despite the torrential and flooding rains and very windy and cool conditions. It also helped that dh worked right next to Union Station, so we got to see him, too. I might not have made the greatest impression since I’m such a worry-wart when out in public!

(This is our photo. It’s quite revealing how much baby weight I need to lose. Yikes!)

It was so wonderful meeting Gwen! Of course she’s even sweeter and nicer in person (and calm, unlike me). There were no awkward moments, only the problem of trying to decide what things to talk about in our short time together — there were too many things to share. I loved being able to hear some tried and true wisdom from a homeschooling mom veteran, and a very wise Catholic mother. Unfortunately it went by too fast…I had way more things to ask and share!

Her daughter was so sweet to my boys, especially the older one, who attached to her like glue.

The day was such a blessing! Thanks so much, Gwen! Auf Wiedersehen!

2 Responses »

 

First Holy Communion Fair Friday, May 16 2008

Don’t miss Catholic Cuisine’s first From Thy Bounty Fair on First Communion Celebrations. There are such wonderful entries that really give you a taste of the love and enthusiasm for this most special occasion of receiving Jesus for the first time.

If you have been missing reading new blog posts from me, I have two entries, First Holy Communion Breads and First Holy Communion Dessert.

And now for some reason I would really like some cake….

One Response »