Chant, chant and more chant.
Gregorian chant, says Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, is characterized by:
- primacy of the word;
- free rhythm;
- unison singing;
- unaccompanied vocalization;
- modality;
- anonymity;
- emotional moderation;
- unambiguous sacrality
What is said about Gregorian chant largely applies to the single line English (plain)chant employed within communities of the Ordinariate, as found, for example, in the Saint Peter Gradual (click here for images).
With respect to the point Dr. Kwasniewski makes regarding anonymity, unlike most of the Latin chant corpus the composers of Anglican Chant of the harmonized (homophonic) variety are fairly well known (e.g., Havergal, Camidge, Upton).
Sir Sydney Nicholson did much to preserve the legacy of English chant. Collections such as The Saint Mary's Chant Book and The Plainchant Gradual, produced by G. H. Palmer and completed by Francis Burgess, organize English settings of Gregorian chant. The Saint Peter Gradual, an updated version of the The English Gradual (Burgess) edited and updated for the Ordinariate by Fr. Carl Reid, offers congregations the biblical texts in beautiful singable English.
One would have to be deaf to miss - or severely biased to ignore - the awesome beauty of the harmonized (homophonic) and single line syllabic forms of English chant preserved in the Anglican patrimony. Chant in hieratic English is as viable as Latin plainchant in terms of serving as a vehicle capable of bearing the weight of Holy Writ. Furthermore, chant of the venerable English tradition manages to supply congregations with the opportunity to authentically experience and practice actual participation (actuoso participatio), that orientation of mind-body-spirit true to the spiritual tradition of the Church and lauded by the Second Vatican Council, by presenting Holy Writ in the (sacred) vernacular. Which is to say English chant, as preserved in the Personal Ordinariates of the Anglican Patrimony, is of a both/and kind: both traditional - emerging organically in complete continuity with the Church's received musical heritage - and authentically progressive. That is, it is very well suited to the times in which diverse people may approach God using a vernacular language (syntax; poetry) that embodies robustly the transcendentals, and thus mirrors and points to (guides toward, forms worshipers in the way to approach) the One Who possesses the transcendentals to an infinite degree. Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Word Incarnate, beckons all to embrace Him, and the transcendentals as character references or compasses direct the worshiper to Christ, the embodiment and source of truth, goodness and beauty, to enter into a personal communion with Jesus Who is the only way to eternal salvation.
If, for example, the experience of our humble community of Blessed (soon to be Saint) John Henry Newman Catholic Church, a community of former Anglicans and Anglocatholics seeded among cradle Catholics and converts from a variety of other experiences, is any kind of confirmation or verification of the possibilities offered by English chant, other Catholic congregations such as those that worship according to the Missal of Saint Paul VI, once exposed to English chant, will readily adapt to and adopt the venerable tradition of proclaiming God's word in song as preserved and developed in the Anglican Patrimony that is now happily received into Holy Mother Church.
English chant, preserved and promoted in the Ordinariate, is exactly what the wider Church needs to offer believers who, perhaps due to poor formation, are starving for lack of a true, good and beautiful alternative to the banal renditions of paraphrased biblical texts (or worse, heterodox lyrics coupled with sugary melodies). English chant of the harmonized and plainchant varieties brings to the thirsty soul an authentic means by which the worshiper disposes himself to the action of the Holy Ghost, thereby readying his heart and mind, body and soul, to enter into dialogue with the Word Himself that saturates His word.
Ordinariate Catholics offer the wider Church the opportunity to drink from the well of divine goodness by singing the biblical texts of Mattins, Evensong and Divine Worship (i.e., Holy Mass) in a manner befitting the proclamation of the word of the Word Who is Jesus Christ the Lord.
With respect to the point Dr. Kwasniewski makes regarding anonymity, unlike most of the Latin chant corpus the composers of Anglican Chant of the harmonized (homophonic) variety are fairly well known (e.g., Havergal, Camidge, Upton).
Sir Sydney Nicholson did much to preserve the legacy of English chant. Collections such as The Saint Mary's Chant Book and The Plainchant Gradual, produced by G. H. Palmer and completed by Francis Burgess, organize English settings of Gregorian chant. The Saint Peter Gradual, an updated version of the The English Gradual (Burgess) edited and updated for the Ordinariate by Fr. Carl Reid, offers congregations the biblical texts in beautiful singable English.
One would have to be deaf to miss - or severely biased to ignore - the awesome beauty of the harmonized (homophonic) and single line syllabic forms of English chant preserved in the Anglican patrimony. Chant in hieratic English is as viable as Latin plainchant in terms of serving as a vehicle capable of bearing the weight of Holy Writ. Furthermore, chant of the venerable English tradition manages to supply congregations with the opportunity to authentically experience and practice actual participation (actuoso participatio), that orientation of mind-body-spirit true to the spiritual tradition of the Church and lauded by the Second Vatican Council, by presenting Holy Writ in the (sacred) vernacular. Which is to say English chant, as preserved in the Personal Ordinariates of the Anglican Patrimony, is of a both/and kind: both traditional - emerging organically in complete continuity with the Church's received musical heritage - and authentically progressive. That is, it is very well suited to the times in which diverse people may approach God using a vernacular language (syntax; poetry) that embodies robustly the transcendentals, and thus mirrors and points to (guides toward, forms worshipers in the way to approach) the One Who possesses the transcendentals to an infinite degree. Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Word Incarnate, beckons all to embrace Him, and the transcendentals as character references or compasses direct the worshiper to Christ, the embodiment and source of truth, goodness and beauty, to enter into a personal communion with Jesus Who is the only way to eternal salvation.
If, for example, the experience of our humble community of Blessed (soon to be Saint) John Henry Newman Catholic Church, a community of former Anglicans and Anglocatholics seeded among cradle Catholics and converts from a variety of other experiences, is any kind of confirmation or verification of the possibilities offered by English chant, other Catholic congregations such as those that worship according to the Missal of Saint Paul VI, once exposed to English chant, will readily adapt to and adopt the venerable tradition of proclaiming God's word in song as preserved and developed in the Anglican Patrimony that is now happily received into Holy Mother Church.
English chant, preserved and promoted in the Ordinariate, is exactly what the wider Church needs to offer believers who, perhaps due to poor formation, are starving for lack of a true, good and beautiful alternative to the banal renditions of paraphrased biblical texts (or worse, heterodox lyrics coupled with sugary melodies). English chant of the harmonized and plainchant varieties brings to the thirsty soul an authentic means by which the worshiper disposes himself to the action of the Holy Ghost, thereby readying his heart and mind, body and soul, to enter into dialogue with the Word Himself that saturates His word.
Ordinariate Catholics offer the wider Church the opportunity to drink from the well of divine goodness by singing the biblical texts of Mattins, Evensong and Divine Worship (i.e., Holy Mass) in a manner befitting the proclamation of the word of the Word Who is Jesus Christ the Lord.
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Personal conditions for an "active participation"
55. In their consideration of the actuosa participatio of the faithful in the liturgy, the Synod Fathers also discussed the personal conditions required for fruitful participation on the part of individuals. (168) One of these is certainly the spirit of constant conversion which must mark the lives of all the faithful. Active participation in the Eucharistic liturgy can hardly be expected if one approaches it superficially, without an examination of his or her life. This inner disposition can be fostered, for example, by recollection and silence for at least a few moments before the beginning of the liturgy, by fasting and, when necessary, by sacramental confession. A heart reconciled to God makes genuine participation possible. The faithful need to be reminded that there can be no actuosa participatio in the sacred mysteries without an accompanying effort to participate actively in the life of the Church as a whole, including a missionary commitment to bring Christ's love into the life of society.
Clearly, full participation in the Eucharist takes place when the faithful approach the altar in person to receive communion (169). Yet true as this is, care must be taken lest they conclude that the mere fact of their being present in church during the liturgy gives them a right or even an obligation to approach the table of the Eucharist. Even in cases where it is not possible to receive sacramental communion, participation at Mass remains necessary, important, meaningful and fruitful. In such circumstances it is beneficial to cultivate a desire for full union with Christ through the practice of spiritual communion, praised by Pope John Paul II (170) and recommended by saints who were masters of the spiritual life (171).
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