Comments on Athanasius Contra Mundum: Summorum Pontificum Notes: A music professor's per...

Father Fryar is AMAZING! We have him in Ocala now...

2008-07-31T19:42:00.000-07:00

Father Fryar is AMAZING! We have him in Ocala now as well and he is doing an excellent job. We owe him many thanks!

I think the first thing that needs to be changed i...

2007-11-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

I think the first thing that needs to be changed is where the choir is. It is amazing how much talking and moving and dancing is "needed" to sing;) I mean our parish has a singer who must weigh about 300lbs and she wears really tight clothes, low dippy shirts and she sways and dances or talks all during mass even during the homily and consecration. She is the music director for this church: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seaton in Las Vegas. Well she and my father have had quite a few run ins. But she is one of many choir directors that my dad had tangled with. We went to a mass where the young priest had just learned how to say the Latin mass, but the Choir director, who has taken years worth of classes in modern music, thought that she could just wing the Gregorian. Well that was horrible! Even worse than the woman at the Novus Ordo because at least that woman could sing on key and could pronounce the words she was singing. The woman at this LM could not figure out how to sing this Gregorian Chant so my mom, who grew up going to the LM offered to coach her. The woman said GREAT!, but when my mom tried to help she just said that she knew more about music than my mom could ever hope to know. We went a few more times, but it was hard to stand. I am 18 and I had not attended a LM in quite a few years and even I could tell she was pronouncing all the words wrong. It was painful. Now we try to get up on Sundays and attend a NO that is partially in Latin at 9:30 at Saint Bridget's Parish. The church has bright blue pews and smells horrid, but the priest is great and though almost no one in the parish has ever heard a real Latin mass, the priest is slowly teaching them the Latin. Part of his sermon is instructing them in how to sing this or say that. The progress is slow and there are only about 50 people there, but it is better than listening to the rest of it. And we are tired of coming out of mass angry and tired of Choir directors ignoring the truth. Actually a few weeks ago my dad confrunted a choir director. He was loud and red in the face, but very polite. The choir director told him to shut up and to leave the church (we were arguing in the church because she would not come out and argue with us outside). When my father refused saying that the church belonged to him as much as it belonged to anyone except maybe the bishop she called security so we left. But the priest got a very strong letter. These people were using the most rediculus arguements and rather than arguing they started insulting my dad and questioning his faith. "Are you Catholic? Are you baptized? Did you go to Catholic school? (as if that means anything)" These were the questions they were trying to trip my dad up with. Of course his answer to all of these was yes.

Very sad. It is endemic of the draconian policies ...

2007-10-01T12:21:00.000-07:00

Very sad. It is endemic of the draconian policies instituted by charismatics in high places in Steubenville.

What a small world. I looked at the picture of the...

2007-09-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

What a small world. I looked at the picture of the woman on this post and then recognized it as my music teacher! I sing in the men's schola at AMU. I talked with Dr. Treacy at breakfast this morning about the future of chant at AMU. President Healy this past week restricted all use of Latin music to the 8am Sunday (Latin Novus Ordo) Mass only. Before, the women's schola sang at an otherwise vernacular Mass at noon. We then discussed making a student petition about this, since a whole lot of students are upset about it.

"Thus, for now, don't worry about women in the cho...

2007-09-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

"Thus, for now, don't worry about women in the choir, neither St. Pius X's nor St. Pius XII's legislation could have foreseen the crisis we are under today, and just to have gregorian chant at all should be counted a blessing!"

Yes, and no. The emphasis can be on "for now", but the problem is that it could be a slippery slope. "For now" -- since we dont have enough men to form a proper choir -- we can accept female singers. But what happens later when we DO have enough men? Are the female singers going to relinquish their roles and humbly return to their place of silence in the Church?

Regarding women in the choir: this is why so many...

2007-09-12T07:08:00.000-07:00

Regarding women in the choir: this is why so many older churches have the choir loft in the back of the church and up. This takes the choir out of the sanctuary and away from view.
My TLM community has an all women choir because we cannot find enough men to make up a men's scola. We have a grand total of three men who sing polyphony with the women and that only happens on special occasions as they do not want to be permanent choir members.
Like you said, the times we live in require a greater amount of flexibility.

Incidentally, an all women choir sang at my weddin...

2007-09-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Incidentally, an all women choir sang at my wedding Mass. Maybe that makes me a terrible rad trad, but there you have it.

The issue of women in the choir is a thorny one wi...

2007-09-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

The issue of women in the choir is a thorny one with respect to tradition. However, it does not apply today because of the provisions of the 1958 Document De Musica Sacra et Sacra liturgia:

Wherever such a choir cannot be organized, a choir of the faithful, either mixed or consisting only of women or girls, can be permitted. But such a choir should take its place outside the sanctuary or Communion rail. The men should be separated from the women or girls so that anything unbecoming may be avoided. Local Ordinaries are to issue precise regulations about these matters, and pastors are to see to their enforcement

This is legislation is still in force for Traditional Masses. The reason why women are frowned upon for scholas and parish choirs is on account of the fact that the role of a schola is historically a clerical one. That is the origin for example of choir vestments, which evolved from ancient albs, to cassocks and surplices.
Thus, for now, don't worry about women in the choir, neither St. Pius X's nor St. Pius XII's legislation could have foreseen the crisis we are under today, and just to have gregorian chant at all should be counted a blessing!

God Bless you, Dr. Treacy! I hope you are doing w...

2007-09-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

God Bless you, Dr. Treacy! I hope you are doing well and flourishing at Ave Maria. Franciscan didn't know what and who they lost when they let you go! I will bet they still don't!!!

-Kevin J. Symonds
FUS graduate '03, '06
StMi49531@aol.com

http://benedictkjs.blogspot.com

The only thing I'm unsure about is the clause in S...

2007-09-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

The only thing I'm unsure about is the clause in St. Pius X's motu propio is that women are forbidden from singing in choirs at Mass. Does this still apply today? Should it apply today? I personally don't mind hearing a woman sing at Church - they can sing along in the congregation, although I do see the point St. Pius X made when he decreed it.