March 2021 Praenotanda

FROM THE DIRECTOR
As we near the dawn of spring, I am encouraged both by the change in weather and the progress we continue to make as a society in defeating this pandemic. Thank you for your continuing ministry in our parishes, schools, and other institutions throughout the archdiocese, helping people encounter Christ in our worship and sacraments, especially during these challenging times.

Below you will find information and links to a myriad of resources that you will find helpful in your liturgical and sacramental ministries. Of note, our free virtual formation sessions for EMHCs begin on March 9 and unfold throughout the spring.

While the health crisis continues to evolve (and hopefully improve!) over the coming months, we will do our best to keep you updated on any changes in liturgical protocol and provide you resources to help encourage the faithful to safely return to in-person worship. I hope to see you on March 24 for our Beacons Roundtable online meeting of parish leaders, focused on this very topic.

As always, if there’s anything that Matt, Monica, or I can do to assist you in your worship and sacramental ministries, please let us know.

Jeremy Helmes
ODWS Director

FROM THE MUSIC DIRECTOR
In the February edition of the Catholic Telegraph, Dr. Mary Catherine Levri talks to us about beauty, and how it’s a Catholic thing, whether we want to claim it or not. Often we hear the phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” This can make music selection and performance difficult, as what is beautiful to hear for one person can be ugly to someone else.

Being confronted by something beautiful can be challenging. I think of the music of French composer, Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992), as challenging, yet beautiful. His choral motet O Sacrum Convivium is a short but daunting work. There is much moaning and complaining from the chorus, until they start to know the piece. Once learned and performed, the beauty of the work comes through.

The past year has certainly challenged us all to re-think our planning of music. What might have been easy to plan (Lent, Easter, etc.) has become more difficult as our choirs and ensembles have gone tacet for the time being. I know you work diligently to find the right music to fit the current situation in your own parish. Here are a couple of websites you might not know about: www.cpdl.org, and www.imslp.org. Here you will find a plethora of music for choirs, solo voice, other solo or small instrumental works that you may freely download (though some works are still copyrighted here in the states – double check!). Much of the music is categorized by season, or even particular Sundays or feasts.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Matthew J. Geerlings
Music Director

Archbishop Schnurr will celebrate the Chrism Mass at 1:30 PM on Tuesday, March 30 at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains. Due to the ongoing pandemic and restrictions of social distancing, attendance at the Mass will be limited to priests and invited representatives from other groups. Priests should have received a separate letter via email regarding details of how they may register to attend the Mass, which will be live-streamed through the Cathedral and Archdiocesan webpages. For the schedule of the distribution of oils in each deanery, please click here.

Plan to join other priests and parish leaders for Beacons Roundtable, a web series focused on building vital parishes that are beacons of light. Every Beacons Roundtable session will include timely information, examples from Archdiocesan parishes, and opportunities to share your experience, thoughts, and ideas with others.

Beacons Roundtable will be held from 1:30 – 3:00 PM on the following upcoming Wednesdays:

March 10: Welcome and Hospitality is Key

March 24: TOGETHER - Encouraging Parishioners to Return to Public Worship

Have you ever considered providing resources for parishioners with blindness or vision loss? There are a variety of free resources available ranging from large print missals to religious books in braille and audio recording. There are even Lectionaries available that would assist clergy or a lector with blindness or vision loss. These resources can be found through Xavier Society for the Blind. We have samples of their products available in our office, but they offer a huge array of materials. Here's an interview that reviews these resources. This is an important means of accessibility for many parishioners, and these materials are a very simple step in the direction towards creating a culture of inclusion.

Q. Why does the ending of each Collect (Opening Prayer at Mass) no longer include the word “one” before the word “God”?

A. The translation of each liturgical text around the world is based on a master text in Latin (a “typical edition”) which helps to unify the language used in liturgical prayer throughout the universal Church. In the Latin, the word “one” (unum) is not used in the formula that concludes each Collect, and thus shouldn’t be included in the translated texts, even though it had been since the texts were first translated after Vatican II. Since the third edition of the Roman Missal was re-translated in 2010, the question of adjusting this text in has been considered by both the bishops of English-speaking nations and the Holy See. Finally, in the winter of 2021, the Holy See confirmed the change made by the U.S. bishops to bring the English text back to fidelity to the Latin. You can find more details here.