Friday, April 30, 2010

Concert Season


There are several choral concerts in our diocese during these next few weeks. Here are a few (click on the links for more information):

Saturday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Bishop O’Connor Catholic Pastoral Center
Madison Diocesan Choir Spring Concert

Monday, May 10 at 7:30 p.m.
St. Andrew in Verona
The University of Notre Dame Liturgical Choir (pictured above)

Sunday, May 23 at 2 p.m.
Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Beloit
The OLA Parish Choir Concert

All of these concerts are free.

Incoming Missal


The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a press release today announcing that the revised Roman Missal has received the required recognitio from the Holy See.

A timeline for implementation has not yet been announced.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Publication of Roman Missal is "Imminent"

The National Catholic Register published an article today saying that the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments would issue the recognitio (approval) of the English-language Roman Missal today. While no official word has been given, Vatican radio reported on the meeting of Pope Benedict XVI and the Vox Clara working group of bishops preparing the final version of the Missal. Vatican Radio referred to the publication as "imminent."

As of noon CT, there is no official report acknowledging the recognitio.

Friday, April 9, 2010

In the Name of Jesus

The first reading for today's Mass is taken from the Acts of the Apostles (4:1-12) and is one which visitors to the O'Connor Center may find familiar. The artistic highlight of the chapel is floor-to-ceiling mosaic depicting the scene from this Scripture.

The 30-foot mosaic is original to the chapel, which was dedicated in 1964. It was designed by a German-born artisan in Milwaukee, Felix G. Senger, and assembled in Berlin. Many people involved in the project remember its installation because it first was laid out in the lobby of the seminary and then assembled--piece by piece--on the chapel wall. The mosaic is composed of glass and marble and is made up of over 360,000 pieces.

The Risen Christ stands radiantly as the focal point of the artwork, showing the glorified wounds on his hands in the familiar orans position.

On the lower third of the mosaic is depicted the climax of the account of Peter and John healing a disabled man outside of the temple (previous portions of this were read on Wednesday and Thursday of this week).

Peter and John were going to the temple for prayer, and this man, disabled from birth, was begging for alms at the "Beautiful Gate" of the temple. Upon hearing him, Peter looked him in the eye and said, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, (rise and) walk" (Acts 3:6). The man did just that, amazing all who were familiar with him.

Peter and John began preaching to all who had witnessed the miracle, but they were arrested on orders from the temple leaders. Jailed over night, they were questioned the following day. When asked on what authority they had healed this man, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and his testimony is inscribed in the mosaic:
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
whom you crucified,
whom God has raised from the dead,
even in this name
does he stand before you sound. (Acts 4:10)


This inscription highlighted the original name of the building, "Holy Name Seminary." The building was built by the first Bishop of Madison, Bishop William P. O'Connor (1886-1973). His episcopal motto, In Nomine Jesu (In the Name of Jesus), gave rise to both the building's name and the mosaic's image. Bishop O'Connor was a "Council Father," having attended the first two sessions of the Second Vatican Council.

The Seminary was formally closed in 1995 and was renovated in 1998. The building was renamed to honor that first bishop and is now the Bishop O'Connor Catholic Pastoral Center. The Chapel was renamed the Bishop O'Donnell Holy Name Memorial Chapel. The chapel was beautifully renovated at that time and magnificent stained glass windows were installed depicting Christ, the saints (including one of the first depictions of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta--Mother Teresa--in the world), and the works of mercy that we are called to perform as the Body of Christ.

On a side note, I have always felt that mosaics shed some light on the nature of the Church. Hundreds of thousands of pieces of glass and marble are used in this particularly mosaic, and each one is important. Some are made in brilliant colors--gold, maroon and red. Some are less brilliant and in muted tones. Some make up important figures--the face of Christ or the hand of Peter--while others are relegated to seemingly less important areas--an apostolic toe or perhaps a simple piece of the background far from where the eye is drawn.

Yet each uniquely shaped and colored piece is important and adds to the beauty of the whole. Each has a place and a job. If even one piece of glass was removed from the least significant portion of this mosaic, we would notice. The beauty of the whole would be diminished. If one piece was too brilliant it, too, would diminish the whole, detracting from the overall beauty and calling attention to itself.

Like a mosaic, we can't all be the most beautiful, eloquent, or influential in the Church. But each one is needed or the entire Body is diminished.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Enjoy this Festival!

My favorite Easter homily comes from the great Eastern saint, John Chrysostom (347-407). As priest and later Archbishop of Constantinople he was known for the eloquence of his preaching, earning the title Chrysostom (golden-mouthed).

The homily (below) is followed by a clip from J. S. Bach's (1685-1750) great Easter Cantata, Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ lay in the bonds of death). This cantata's text and melody are based upon the Easter Sequence Victimae Paschali laudes (Praise the Paschal Victim). The homily and music...written 1300 years apart by the greatest Orthodox preacher and the most gifted Lutheran musician, seem to make a nice combination.

Happy Easter!

An Easter Homily by Saint John Chrysostom

Are there any who are devout lovers of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Are there any who are grateful servants? Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary from fasting? Let them now receive their due!

If any have toiled from the first hour, let them receive their reward.

If any have come after the third hour, let them with gratitude join in the feast!

Those who arrived after the sixth hour,let them not doubt; for they shall not be short-changed.

Those who have tarried until the ninth hour, let them not hesitate; but let them come too.

And those who arrived only at the eleventh hour, let them not be afraid by reason of their delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first. The Lord gives rest to those who come at the eleventh hour, even as to those who toiled from the beginning. To one and all the Lord gives generously. The Lord accepts the offering of every work. The Lord honors every deed and commends their intention.

Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!

First and last alike, receive your reward.

Rich and poor, rejoice together!

Conscientious and lazy, celebrate the day!

You who have kept the fast, and you who have not, rejoice, this day, for the table is bountifully spread!

Feast royally, for the calf is fatted.

Let no one go away hungry.

Partake, all, of the banquet of faith.

Enjoy the bounty of the Lord's goodness!


Let no one grieve being poor, for the universal reign has been revealed.

Let no one lament persistent failings, for forgiveness has risen from the grave.

Let no one fear death, for the death of our Savior has set us free.

The Lord has destroyed death by enduring it. The Lord vanquished hell when he descended into it. The Lord put hell in turmoil even as it tasted of his flesh. Isaiah foretold this when he said, “You, O Hell, were placed in turmoil when he encountering you below.”

Hell was in turmoil having been eclipsed.

Hell was in turmoil having been mocked.

Hell was in turmoil having been destroyed.

Hell was in turmoil having been abolished.

Hell was in turmoil having been made captive.

Hell grasped a corpse, and met God.

Hell seized earth, and encountered heaven.

Hell took what it saw, and was overcome by what it could not see.

O death, where is your sting? O hell, where is your victory?

Christ is risen, and you are cast down!

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen, and life is set free!

Christ is risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead.

For Christ, having risen from the dead, is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Christ be glory and power forever and ever. Amen!


Below is the fifth movement of Christ lag in Todesbanden as sung by the gifted ensemble Cantus Cölln.

It was a strange battle where death and life struggled. Life won the victory, it has swallowed up death. Scripture has proclaimed how one death ate the other, death has become a mockery. Alleluia! (English translation for the fifth movement from www.bach-cantatas.com)





And, because it is such a wonderful piece of music, here is the first half of the cantata.
Christ lay in death's bonds handed over for our sins, he is risen again and has brought us life For this we should be joyful, praise God and be thankful to him and sing alleluia, Alleluia

EMHC Workshop on May 1

The Office of Worship is presenting a workshop for extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion at St. Bernard Church in Madison on Saturday, May 1 (9-10:30 a.m.). Contact the Office of Worship for more details.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Oil of Mercy

"In the lamp of our lives, the oil of mercy should never run dry."
Pope Benedict XVI, Chrism Mass Homily (April 1, 2010)

Earlier today the Chrism Mass was celebrated in Saint Peter's Basilica for the Diocese of Rome. In his homily, the Holy Father spoke very eloquently about the sacramental signs of the Church and the special symbolism of oil. The phrase above is certainly one that will remain with me for awhile (I hope!).

But more impressive (to me at least) was his discourse on love, joy and suffering.
In the early Church, the consecrated oil was considered a special sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, who communicates himself to us as a gift from Christ. He is the oil of gladness. This gladness is different from entertainment and from the outward happiness that modern society seeks for itself. Entertainment, in its proper place, is certainly good and enjoyable. It is good to be able to laugh. But entertainment is not everything. It is only a small part of our lives, and when it tries to be the whole, it becomes a mask behind which despair lurks, or at least doubt over whether life is really good, or whether non-existence might perhaps be better than existence. The gladness that comes to us from Christ is different. It does indeed make us happy, but it can also perfectly well coexist with suffering. It gives us the capacity to suffer and, in suffering, to remain nevertheless profoundly glad. It gives us the capacity to share the suffering of others and thus by placing ourselves at one another’s disposal, to express tangibly the light and the goodness of God. I am always struck by the passage in the Acts of the Apostles which recounts that after the Apostles had been whipped by order of the Sanhedrin, they “rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name of Jesus” (Acts 5:41). Anyone who loves is ready to suffer for the beloved and for the sake of his love, and in this way he experiences a deeper joy. The joy of the martyrs was stronger than the torments inflicted on them. This joy was ultimately victorious and opened the gates of history for Christ.
I have always been impressed by Pope Benedict's homilies and writings on love. We often say that it is misunderstood by "the world." I would argue that it also is misunderstood by many in the Church. I hope that a careful reading of, and deep reflection on, Pope Benedict's wise words will help remedy this.

We should glory in the cross

"We should glory in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for he is our salvation,
our life and our resurrection;
through him we are saved and made free."
(Galatians 6:14) Add Image

These words--the text of the introit or introduction of the Holy Thursday mass—start off these wonderful Three Days of prayer that we call the Easter Triduum. Lent ends sometime today without any fanfare. By the time we gather this evening for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Lent has ended. At the same time, Easter has not yet begun. It is as if we are standing in a threshold between rooms—we are in neither and both at the same time.

As the Triduum begins on Holy Thursday we savor the sweetness of the Eucharist in its fullest sense. We explore both the treasure and the cost. We eat and drink with “loins girt” as the Old Testament reading says—celebrating our Passover. We listen once again to Saint John's account of the Last Supper in which Jesus washed the feet of his disciples saying, "As I have done, you should also do."

On Holy Thursday we are reminded that Eucharist is both verb and noun…something received and given. It is something that we enter into. It is something that transforms our lives.

Below is a recording of the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos singing the introit for the day (the text is from Galatians, quoted above).