While music has grown in technique and complexity since then, even the greatest composers of past 500 years haven't been able to surpass the sheer musical loveliness of the works of polyphonic composers such as Victoria, Tallis, Byrd, and Palestrina.
“Hallelujah” from Beethoven’s Christ on the Mount of Olives
We tend not to associate the word "hallelujah" with those penitential seasons. In Christ on the Mount of Olives it signifies the climactic moment when Christ says, "Not my will, but ours, be done" (Luke 22:42). This is when he commits himself to his passion and death on the cross. That, in turn, will lead directly to the triumph of Easter. Now that calls for a "Hallelujah!"
Something Strange is Happening: Holy Saturday
Something Strange Something strange is happening—there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. These are the opening sentences of the non-scriptural reading in today’s Office of Readings. Tradition calims St. Melito of Sardis as the author, but we don't know … Continue reading Something Strange is Happening: Holy Saturday
Is it I, Lord? – Good Friday
When Jesus says to them, “You will all fall away” (Matthew 26:31), he’s not speaking only to his Apostles, but to all of us who have been his disciples in the millennia since, as well as all those in the years to come.
Christ Came to Serve: Holy Thursday
I often find it easy to identify with Peter and the other Apostles. That is, when they are slow to catch on to what their Master is saying.
The Inner Struggle: Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday
We gain something, however, from seeing the joyful palm-waving crowd welcoming Jesus and the angry crowd demanding his death in the same liturgy. We see a reflection in today's mass of the struggle within each of us between the desire for salvation and the allure of sin.
“Let it Be” – The Annunciation and Us
Let It Be Done Unto Me Let it be done unto me according to thy word (Luke 1:38) I often used to admire a stained-glass window that looks down on the altar in the cathedral where I used to attend Mass with my family. The scene in the window is the Annunciation. It depicts the young … Continue reading “Let it Be” – The Annunciation and Us
Laetare, Jerusalem: 4th Sunday of Lent
Laetare Sunday represents more than a break midway through Lent. It's a demarcation, showing us that something is changing. It's a last breath of fresh air and a final glimpse of sunlight before plunging into the depths of Passiontide. We have a reminder of God's promise as we walk with Jesus on the Way of the Cross.
Music for Love and Marriage: Handel’s “He Shall Feed His Flock”
"He Shall Feed His Flock" emphasizes the love of the God who is Love (see John 4:8) for all of us, but especially for our own love as expressed in the Sacrament of Marriage.
The Convergence: Presentation, Nativity, and Passion
The Convergence Today is the convergence, the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end. Which is to say, today is the Feast of the Presentation, a perfect microcosm of both/and. The official Christmas Season ended a couple weeks ago on the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. The Presentation of the Baby Jesus … Continue reading The Convergence: Presentation, Nativity, and Passion