Hell is a real possibility for all of us. It's not a happy thought, but it's an appropriate introduction to today's Music Monday selection, our last musical offering before Ash Wednesday. It's not really sacred music, but it is very relevant indeed to the Lenten themes of sin, repentance (or not), and damnation. This is the finale* of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni (a.k.a. Don Juan), one of the most powerful scenes in the history of musical drama.
Christ Came To Serve (Holy Thursday)
When he takes on the servile task of washing the Apostles’ feet, Jesus doesn’t simply speak but acts out his message, in the manner of an Old Testament prophet. He is showing the Apostles through his example that the purpose of their office is to serve, and not to exalt themselves.
A Hymn For Holy Week: O Sacred Head Surrounded
J.S. Bach's magnificent St. Matthew Passion is perhaps the most prominent musical composition that we associate with Lent. The most well-known part of the St. Matthew Passion itself is the "Passion Chorale", which often appears a hymn called "O Sacred Head Surrounded", or "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." What's not as well known is that Bach is … Continue reading A Hymn For Holy Week: O Sacred Head Surrounded
Who Are Those Cheering People? Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday
There’s something a little unsettling about Palm Sunday. It appears that the same people who welcome Jesus as a victorious king at the beginning of the week are screaming for his death by its end. The liturgy reminds us of this incongruity by putting Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday together (at least in the Ordinary Form; … Continue reading Who Are Those Cheering People? Palm Sunday/Passion Sunday
Why did Jesus ‘Take the Form of a Slave’?
Christ has broken our chains, but here's the catch: we need to be willing to shake them off, get up, and follow him. "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Matthew 16:24) . . .
Music for Lent: J.S. Bach’s “Erbarme Dich” (from St. Matthew’s Passion)
Yesterday was the fifth Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Passiontide: the liturgical prayers and observances of the Church are building ever more urgently to the climax of the Triduum. Today's musical selection, my second-to-last Lenten music post, is from what is perhaps the greatest musical composition created for the penitential season, Johann Sebastian Bach's … Continue reading Music for Lent: J.S. Bach’s “Erbarme Dich” (from St. Matthew’s Passion)
Attende Domine: More Music for Lent
We hear the moving ancient hymn "Attende Domine" frequently during the season of Lent, especially at TLM masses. It is the cry of repentant sinners imploring God's forgiveness: Attende Domine, et miserere, quia peccavimus tibi: literally, "Take heed, Lord, and have mercy, for we have sinned against you." The Latin text dates from around the tenth … Continue reading Attende Domine: More Music for Lent
Do You Consider Yourself a Leper?
A few years ago, during a previous Lent, I attended a mass in which the Gospel reading came from Matthew 8, which included the following passage: . . . and behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." And he stretched out his hand … Continue reading Do You Consider Yourself a Leper?
Confession, Jonah, and the Prodigal’s Sons
I had never before considered how closely Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son parallels the last two chapters of the book of Jonah, but the comparison is striking. In the Old Testament book Jonah is sent to warn the people of Nineveh to repent their sins, or face the wrath of God. The Ninevites listen to the words of the prophet: like the Prodigal Son himself, they whole-heartedly repent, and in turn receive God's whole-hearted forgiveness. Who could object to that? As it turns out, Jonah could, and does, object . . .
Stabat Mater (Pergolesi)
One of the greatest of Marian hymns is the Stabat Mater, written (most likely) in the 13th century. It's authorship is unknown; it has been attributed to Pope Innocent III (1160-1216) or, somewhat more plausibly, the Franciscan Jacopone di Todi (c.1230-1306), although both are doubtful. The hymn itself begins with Mary at the scene of the Crucifixion: Stabat … Continue reading Stabat Mater (Pergolesi)