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Sunday 13 November 2016

Out of the depths of rigidity

If you are a rigid Catholic and have attended the non-modernist and grown-up Roman Mass over the last few weeks, you'll have noticed a constant theme. The Mass texts are taken now from those of Epiphanytide interrupted for Lent. The theme to which I am referring is the Psalm 129 (130), De profundis.  



It is all a little confusing and has to do with the movable date of Easter. Rather than abandon Mass texts of the Mass, sometimes for many years between the 7th and 13th Sundays in Ordered Time as in the non-rigid modernist rite known as the Novus Ordo, the traditional calendar keeps those from the 3rd to 6th Sunday after Epiphany and moves them to this time to fill the gap. Yet, Gregorian Propers for the 3rd to 6th are the same as are those from the 22nd Sunday to the Last. More confused? 

The Psalm is to be found in the Alleluia verse, the Offertory chant and the verses of the Communion Antiphon. You may be surprised but these are actually the Proper chants to the modernist non-rigid novus ordo for this Sunday.

If you are not rigid and attended the modernist non-rigid liturgy did you hear these today? 

While they are preferred in the Latin melisma, here are simple versions in English. You can scroll down today to the 33rd Ordered Sunday and see for yourself.


Did your Cantor chant these? Did your choir sing them? You mean, they are being "rigid" and not giving you, John and Mary Catholic, the liturgy the Church intends? As if Carey Landry can best the Prophet and King, David of Israel.

Image result for de profundis chant
As Pope Bergoglio declared in his scandalous and repugnant statements on "rigidity" combined with his psychological assessment of those, particularly young people, who attend the traditional Mass, the "Reform of the Reform," is dead. Formally, it is in abeyance until he is. It will be reformed by a Catholic Pope in the future, because it must be. 

But, make no mistake. Sacrosanctam Concilium and the GIRM in the modernist, non-rigid, Missal already call for "ad orientem" worship, Gregorian chant, Latin, incense and more. No priest must be forced to use Extraordinary Ministers and people can always receive Holy Communion on the tongue and kneeling. Even with that, we know, it is still deficient. My point here is not to believe those who insist it must be "reformed" formally, or that any mandated reform closer to the traditional, is "dead." it is only dead for now.

Below is a profound setting of De Profundis by Arvo Part. I had the pleasure to sing that second bass line you hear at the beginning in a few performances of the Victoria Scholars during my time with them.

Out of the depths I have cried to Thee O Lord! Lord, hear my voice. Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If Thou, O Lord! wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it? For with Thee there is mercy: and by reason of Thy law I have waited on Thee, O Lord!My soul hath relied on His word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord. From the morning watch even until night:let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy; and with Him plentiful Redemption. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.


2 comments:

Kathleen1031 said...

I recognize some of the words you are saying Vox, because I speak English, but I am as confounded as I could be on what you are saying, because I have been cheated out of the real and true liturgy of our Catholic faith. I do comprehend that now.
We are "stuck like Chuck". There are no Masses in the Extraordinary Form around us, only Novus Ordo. While singing Protestant hymns and hearing tampered wording of prayers bothers us, what is really beginning to sting is the suspicion the Missals for the Novus Ordo are now being dumbed down, and worse, we see creeping emphasis in NewChurch terminology. Buzz words, equity, diversity, etc. Even the Responsorial Psalms seem, well, insipid and the music banal and bland.
Do you happen to know if this is indeed the case today? Are the Missals being used likely going to deteriorate until they would be fit for second graders and include buzzwords? That would be a bridge too far, but how can we possibly know if this is what is happening? I hate to bother you, and maybe you have no idea, but I'd welcome your opinion. If you have an opinion, many thanks in advance. God bless.

Fr. Michael said...

Arvo Part has a profound understanding of polyphonic chant and loves Russian Orthodox chant in particular. You can hear both influenced in this moving rendition of De Profundis.