Songs For The Masses (Bradley BRC 4165/NALR 35178, 1974) Liberation Theology buffs will recognise the clever double meaning of the album's title. But this album, which ended up as part of North American Liturgy Resources' offerings, has some very strange aspects to it. To begin with, the albums performers are only designated as "students of …
Leo Nestor: Sons Of The Morning
World Library FR-1953-SM (1970) This pre-Novus Ordo Missae work (an important consideration if you're planning on using it liturgically) displays something that you don't see very often in this type of music: some classical training amongst the writers and performers. Leo Nestor is the Justine Bayard Ward Professor of Music at the Catholic University of …
School Sisters of Notre Dame: Choose Life
School Sisters of Notre DameChoose Life (Mark MC 4 329) 1976? If you're looking for an album that epitomises the guitar strumming, non-percussional style of music that dominated Catholic Masses during the 1970's, it's hard to beat this album. On top of that, the School Sisters (from Mankato, MN) perform in the cavernous, reverberant acoustics …
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Sister Juliana Garza: Mixed Expressions and Communion Muse
Today a great deal of Roman Catholic "folk" music used in parishes tends towards the bland and trite. Much of the blame for this can be laid at OCP's feet, and that fact has been an impetus towards the restoration of more "traditional" music in Masses, an impetus that has come from the Holy See …
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Hymn for the Fifth Sunday in Epiphany
The Epistle for the Fifth Sunday in Epiphany (which we don't always get to, but this year Easter is very late) is as follows: Therefore, as God’s People, consecrated and dear to him, clothe yourselves with tenderness of heart, kindliness, humility, gentleness, forbearance; Bearing with one another, and, when there is any ground for complaint, …
Some Thoughts on Happiness
From my Month of Sundays devotional booklet: …as is taught in the glorious Good News of the ever-blessed God, with which I was entrusted. — 1 Timothy 1:11 Blessed…we hear that expression so many times. We tell people to “Be blessed…” and hopefully people tell us that too. (The Wiccans turn that around and greet …
Why I Never Joined a Catholic Charismatic Covenant Community
One of the more rewarding parts of internet life I’ve been involved in is music blogging. Although sites such as The Ancient Star Song are by far more active in the field, I’ve done a few albums here. In the process I’ve had the honour to establish (or re-establish) contact with the artists of the …
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Book Review: Dante's Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso)
One of the points that the late scholar Allan Bloom used to make is that Americans are no longer impacted by great books. Music, other cultural influences, yes, but books? I would have to confess that, much of the time, that was the case for me, too. But in the spring of my junior year …
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The "More Catholic Than the Pope" People Head to Rome
Westminster Cathedral sees a mass defection from the Church of England: Up to 50 Anglican clergy, some of whom oppose women bishops, could convert to Catholicism by Easter under a new scheme approved by the Pope. The first of the converts, including three former Anglican bishops, two of their wives, and three former Anglican nuns, …
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Gloria in excelsis Deo. Now Let's Get That Pronunciation Right!
Christmas is a time when many "traditions" (that word has worn with use in our culture) get hauled out and paraded. Some, like standing out in the elements on Black Friday morning waiting for the store to open at 0500 (or earlier) could be dispensed with, especially with the internet, where we could do Black …
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Positive Infinity 