Monastic and Liturgical

Benedictine Weekly Psalter now in hardcover

2011-08-27T18:38:00.004-05:00

I really need to post here more often. Hope this starts a trend. For now, I merely point out that the Benedictine Weekly Psalter is now available in hardcover. This is the second edition incorporating some typo corrections and is the same as the second edition that's available as a spiral-bound paperback.

Why not "just pray"? Great post by Prior Peter

2010-07-27T19:55:00.008-05:00

A gem of an article on the monastic Divine Office has been posted by the prior of Holy Cross Monastery here in Chicago: This past Sunday after Mass we had our monthly coffee hour, and I found myself in a discussion of the complexities of the Divine Office. I was speaking with a group of laypersons, all of whom pray some form of the Liturgy of the Hours–pretty impressive I must say. Somewhere along the line, however, after I floundered trying to explain why the layout of our soon-to-be-published books has exercised my ingenuity so much, someone admitted, “Sometimes I think that God must look down on us and say, ‘Just pray!’” Read it all here.

Video for The Fatima Pilgrimage Project

2010-06-07T11:49:00.003-05:00

Benedict's Rule Line by Line With Michael Casey OCSO

2010-06-02T22:46:00.004-05:00

Hear a weekly podcast on one verse from the Rule of St. Benedict from highly regarded Cistercian author Michael Casey of Tarrawarra Abbey in Australia. Tarrawarra Abbey Podcast

Wantage plainchant books in PDF

2010-02-22T16:06:00.005-06:00

This is a bit of an historic day, in my opinion: the Plainchant Gradual, Sarum Antiphoner, and Introit book from St Mary's Convent in Oxfordshire are now available as PDFs. I can't tell you how long I looked for the Plainchant Gradual some years ago and eventually paid dearly for a copy via eBay. This superb resource of English-language chant propers for the Mass is a treasure, and now it's available to all.

Benedictine Weekly Psalter updated

2010-02-08T11:39:00.003-06:00

http://tinyurl.com/yhfkfjz

Corrected typos; new cover. Spiral-bound or PDF download.

Liber Usualis in Modern Notation...of possible interest

2010-02-04T21:20:00.003-06:00

Liber Usualis - Modern Notation - Gregorian Chant Book

http://shop.ebay.com/260548581363

On Being Anglo-Catholic « thoughtsinsolitude

2010-02-01T17:38:00.000-06:00

On Being Anglo-Catholic « thoughtsinsolitude

Anglican on Purpose

2009-10-21T11:15:00.004-05:00

I wasn't going to weigh in on the current news about provisions for Anglicans going to or returning to the Roman Catholic Church, but another blogger has summarized my feelings about being Anglican eloquently and in a way that I can agree with in every respect.

Contemporary Monastic Liturgical Song

2009-10-13T17:41:00.005-05:00

One of my prized possessions is a giant binder containing a copy of a doctoral dissertation by a Benedictine nun, Sr. Victorine Fenton OSB, who in the early 1980s visited just about all of the Benedictine monasteries in the United States and wrote about their music: how they chanted the psalms, hymns, and other parts of their Divine Office and Mass. Today my various Google Reader sweeps brought me word of a similar study of selected European monasteries to find out how they are singing the Opus Dei today. One can download a PDF of the 410-page dissertation. It's in Swedish, but do not fret: go to p. 358 for an English summary. I've put the Pluscarden Abbey (Scotland) chapter through Google Translate to get a general idea, but I hope someone can translate the whole thing for us sometime. And perhaps now would be a good time for someone to redo Sr. Victorine's work and find out the current state of affairs in USA monasteries?

Get the 1961 Graduale Romanum as a PDF

2009-09-24T17:25:00.009-05:00

It's online here, and it's of very high quality...

Daily Office for Corpus Christi

2009-06-13T19:44:00.007-05:00

For those praying the Daily Office of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer in places where they celebrate Corpus Christi (the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ), there's a bit of a gap, as our prayer book provides propers for Mass (Various Occasions 5) but not for the Office. The parish of St. Mary the Virgin, New York City, comes to our aid with its excellent online documents giving the lessons for each day, and, in the footer, the psalms. As our parish celebrates Corpus Christi tomorrow (Sunday), I'm using these for this evening, tomorrow morning, and tomorrow evening.

YEAR 1 & 2, EVE OF CORPUS CHRISTI, EVENING PRAYER: PSALMS 111, 116; EXODUS 16:2-4, 9-15; JOHN 6:27-35

YEAR 1 & 2, CORPUS CHRISTI, MORNING PRAYER: PSALMS 63:1-8, 96; EXODUS 12:21-27; LUKE 22:7-20

YEAR 1 & 2, CORPUS CHRISTI, EVENING PRAYER: PSALMS 110, 147; PROVERBS 9:1-6; JOHN 15:4-17

Photo: Scott Smith

Opaque (to me) languages are oddly fascinating

2009-03-19T21:36:00.004-05:00

I'd like to learn Welsh. Trouble is, I'd also like to learn Polish and am having a hard time with the basics of that. I guess I thought that being of Polish ancestry would mean I have a latent Polish-language talent that would be activated with just a bit of study. Nope. I learned German in the proper way: four solid, step-by-step years of daily classes, with very gradual language-lab experience and a three-week trip to Germany for immersion, and then four years of university German literature and discussion. Polish with a book and a CD is proving tedious, and there's nothing Germanic nor Latinate to hang my hat on. It's really very different. And so is Welsh.

Spanish would, of course, be very useful; I don't know why I haven't had an interest so far in learning it. I've picked up some reading facility from watching Spanish-language TV. I've also watched a lot of Polish-language TV without any results...it's so fast and still gibberish to me. I can't pick out phrases or even many words. Oh, I can hear "tak" for yes and "nie" for no, and maybe a "Czesc" or however it's spelled for "hi." Anyway, I was proud of myself this evening for recognizing that a Mexican restaurant's sign advertising "Especial por Cuaresma" meant "special for Lent."

Icelandic looks kewl to me, with those thorn and eth characters that earlier versions of English used to have. But Spanish and French seem more accessible and useful, although it would really be lovely to know some Polish, not only the language of my ancestors but also the third language of Chicago. I'll need to take classes, though.

A letter to the publisher of BDP

2009-03-19T21:25:00.004-05:00

Dear Liturgical Press:

I very much appreciate your publication of Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary, and as a Benedictine oblate, I find it very useful in keeping my promise to pray the Divine Office. My question: Are there plans to publish an updated or possibly expanded edition of Benedictine Daily Prayer and/or make available an ordo or guide to using BDP?

I know that the Short Breviaries published by you in earlier decades were at least at one point available in an expanded edition that included all 150 psalms; I think there would be many people interested in a complete-psalter edition. I believe this could be done by adding more weeks of Vigils psalms.

There's a real opportunity to make the BDP an ideal resource for Benedictine oblates and others who wish to pray according to the Rule of Benedict, and indeed I just read about a professed Benedictine monk who uses the BDP as his travel breviary; I'm sure there are quite a few Benedictine monks and nuns who do this.

So I'm writing to request a second edition of the BDP featuring:

1. A complete psalter achieved by adding weeks of Vigils psalms, perhaps making a total of four weeks that could be used as a four-week cycle at Vigils or could be doubled up as a two-week cycle of two-nocturn Vigils, with the second nocturn of psalms being prayed between the two readings.

2. More guidance for what to pray from the BDP each day, in the form of an ordo (could be a Web page or available for download).

3. Correction of typographical errors and omissions.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy this very useful prayer resource, and I thank you for publishing it.

Chant courses at Saint Meinrad Archabbey

2008-11-03T13:23:00.004-06:00

This just in from Saint Meinrad Archabbey:

Release Date: 11/3/2008

Chant workshops offered in July 2009

Two seminars on singing Gregorian chant will be offered in July 2009 at Saint Meinrad Archabbey, St. Meinrad, IN, by Fr. Columba Kelly, OSB.

The seminar, "Bringing to Life the Word of God in Song," will be offered in a beginner session on July 20-24, and in an advanced session on July 27-31.

Learn how the practice of Gregorian chant brings to life the Word of God in song, and study the intimate relationship between the proclaimed Word of God and its melodic setting.

The workshop includes study of the original chant notations as the key to unlocking the spiritual and artistic qualities that have influenced later Western music. Practice singing both Latin and English settings in chant style will be included.

Fr. Columba is an accomplished chant teacher. He earned a Licentiate in Sacred Theology degree from Sant' Anselmo in 1959 and a doctorate from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. He has led numerous workshops on chant, throughout the United States, at the Abbey of Solesmes in France and for Benedictine communities in Australia.

A monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, he served as choirmaster for the community, where he began his work of composing English-language chants based on the principles used to create the original Gregorian chant repertory. He is also on the faculty of Saint Meinrad School of Theology. He has published many settings in chant and two books on the subject. For information on the cost or to make a reservation, contact the Office of Group Accommodations, Saint Meinrad School of Theology, 200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. Or, call (800) 730-9910 or e-mail dkleaving@saintmeinrad.edu.

Emptying ourselves to pray in the name of the Church

2008-08-30T18:35:00.005-05:00

A reflection on praying the Divine Office by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB.

When we come to pray, it's important that we empty ourselves. As Benedictine nuns we have statio*-- that's a very important time for us. It must be a time in which we empty ourselves of ourselves-- of our cares, our jobs, everything we're doing. Our hearts have to be empty because when we pray the Divine Office, we don't pray our own words. We pray the psalms, and we must be empty enough that our hearts can take up the psalms as if they were our own, because we pray as the Church before the throne of God. The psalms carry every person in the world, every emotion, every situation.

Mary prayed the psalms, Christ prayed the psalms! When we pray the psalms, it's the Holy Spirit within us praying. But if we're not empty, how can that happen?

*Statio is the five minutes before Vespers which the nuns use to recollect themselves before entering the Church to pray.

Meg, discovered

2008-08-11T14:04:00.000-05:00

Meg Dea writes a lot about breviaries. I'm glad to have discovered her blog.

The Office among Roman Catholic laity

2008-08-11T13:38:00.002-05:00

Neil writes well in his blog about the Liturgy of the Hours, especially among Roman Catholic lay faithful, since Vatican II.

Fr. Perren Hayes on the Daily Office

2008-08-07T21:56:00.002-05:00

I highly recommend everything Fr. Perren Hayes writes on his blog, and this entry is a particular highlight.

Constants for human guidance

2008-08-04T18:24:00.010-05:00

I'm reading Tilden Edwards' Spiritual Friend: Reclaiming the Gift of Spiritual Direction:

The records of Jesus' ministry marked the path of spiritual guidance taken throughout the Church's history. Through a great variety of forms, there have been these constants:
a sense of serving and sharing with rather than "lording it over" another
a sense of confidence in human capacity and calling to be in contact with the Holy, and to mediate it to one another through word, sacrament, and deed
an integral relation of moral and spiritual development
a vision of bearing, struggling hope in the final reconciliation of all creation in its intimate Source
a willingness to work with all sorts and conditions of people, one to one, in groups, in crowds, near and far
a valuation of ritual/sacramental means of grace: bread and wine, water, hands, and words of reconciliation.
These "constants" for human guidance, I believe, are as much living waters for us today as two thousand years ago.

[p. 41]

Praying the Office alone vs. communally...clear distinction?

2008-07-26T13:14:00.007-05:00

My spiritual director made a comment this week: "How does it work for you to pray the [BCP 1979] office alone, as it's designed to be communal?" I made a quick comment about wanting to stick with the system I'm involved with when praying the office in church at least once a week, and that I do feel I'm participating in a communal prayer when I'm alone. But what do you think about prayer books for the Divine Office being designed for communal versus individual prayer? I've heard the RC Liturgy of the Hours described as having been (sadly, in the opinion of the one I heard say this) designed for individual priests' prayer, missing a chance to make it easily prayed in communities. Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary seems designed for individual oblates. The lines between communal and individual aren't clear, obviously, and one might even argue there is no such line. My SD was obviously just getting me to talk about this...looking forward to exploring that question next time, since it went by rather quickly this session. Anyway, Cynthia Bourgeault, in her Chanting the Psalms: A Practical Guide with Instructional CD, suggests that if one prays alone (and presumably is free to structure one's praying of the psalter in any way), one follow this pattern:

Invocation

Short scriptural reading

Psalmody (with or without canticle)

Meditation

I'm about to go looking through my library for books that will facilitate this most easily. Maybe I can use my Benedictine Weekly Psalter if I figure out a scheme for the scriptural readings, or even add such a scheme to the next edition...hmm.

I'm trying this out...

2008-07-24T11:56:00.001-05:00

I'm trying this out to see if I can Jott this message to my blog. listen Powered by Jott

Is "Right?" the new "like"?

2008-07-17T17:58:00.003-05:00

I don't know whether it's just a virus within our company, but in more and more meetings I attend (by phone), the speakers seem to have developed the habit of saying "Right?" at the end of almost every phrase, sometimes after a phrase that isn't even long enough to convey a complete thought: "What we need to do is...right?...spend more time in meetings...right?"I'm in the middle of listening to one of those speakers, right? I keep responding (with my phone on mute, of course), "I don't know; you're telling me"... "I don't know; you're telling me." Perhaps such speakers have found that "Right?" creates a pattern of almost automatic head-nodding, most people still having the idea that "Right?" is a question and that it's polite to indicate an answer at least by nodding. We're not used to it being punctuation. But they like seeing the sea of nodding heads, so they keep doing it.

New parish Web site goes live

2008-06-29T20:07:00.003-05:00

I'm thrilled to see our new parish Web site go live, and as Webmaster, I'm finding the tweaking thereof to be a fairly addictive activity. I hope to limit this activity to Sunday evenings, and I'll be getting help once I show a few volunteers how to do it. It's gratifying to see Anglicans Online pronounce our site "an attractive, thorough redesign" and to see the site pop up in first place in a Google search of "anglo-catholic" and "Chicago".

Blog of a kindred spirit

2008-06-12T09:51:00.005-05:00

Do visit Oblate Blog. There's an excellent related site, OblateSpring. I look forward to exploring the rich content on these sites.

On the Visitation of the BVM to Elizabeth

2008-05-30T22:11:00.010-05:00

I felt drawn to my copy of the Sanctoral volume of A Word in Season this evening, and now I know why: the first reading given for this holy day speaks directly to my sense of calling and where I am in the context of life right now. It's from The Reed of God by English psychotherapist and writer Caryll Houselander (1901-1954):

Sometimes it may seem to us that there is no purpose in our lives, that going day after day for years to this office or that school or factory is nothing else but waste and weariness. But it may be that God has sent us there because but for us Christ would not be there. If our being there means that Christ is there, that alone makes it worthwhile. ... It is not necessary at this stage of our contemplation to speak to others of the mystery of life growing in us. It is only necessary to give ourselves to that life, all that we are, to pray without ceasing, not by a continual effort to concentrate our minds but by a growing awareness that Christ is being formed in our lives from what we are. We must trust him for this; because it is not a time to see his face, we must possess him secretly and in darkness, as the earth possesses the seed. We must not try to force Christ's growth in us, but with a deep gratitude for the light burning secretly in our darkness, we must fold our concentrated love upon him like earth, surrounding, holding, and nourishing the seed. We must be swift to obey the winged impulses of his love, carrying him to wherever he longs to be: and those who recognize his presence will be stirred, like Elizabeth, with new life. They will know his presence, not by any special beauty or power shown by us, but in the way that the bud knows the presence of the light, by the unfolding in themselves, a putting forth of their own beauty.

[p. 77]

Ascension at Ascension

2008-04-28T13:46:00.003-05:00

I'm quoted in The Tablet

2008-04-11T16:01:00.005-05:00

The latest issue of the British Roman Catholic weekly magazine The Tablet quotes me reciting the expectations of Benedictine oblates of Saint Meinrad Archabbey.

It's part of a good article by James Roberts on the marked increase in oblates even as vocations to professed monastic life have decreased.

Here's my whole response to Mr Roberts' e-mailed interview questions:

How was your calling discerned?

It began as a curiosity I had about oblates after I found out our parish choir director was one yet was not a nun. After living at Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana for two weeks taking a Gregorian chant course, I inquired further and found out one didn't even need to be a Roman Catholic to become an oblate. I took my growing fascination and excitement about the idea as a calling to become a Benedictine oblate of Saint Meinrad Archabbey.

What is your faith tradition?

I am an Anglo-Catholic, belonging to the Episcopal Church (Ascension parish, Chicago). I was Roman Catholic from baptism as an infant until I was received as an Anglican by the Bishop of Michigan in 1986.

How demanding is the commitment?

The commitment is gentle but does ask us to take on Benedictine values and live the Rule of St Benedict as we are able in our life circumstances. One can take it all very seriously indeed and live a very monastic discipline, or one can simply incorporate the basic principles. In particular, the archabbey's oblates are expected to pray daily the Divine Office at least mornings and evenings, read from the Rule of St Benedict daily, practice lectio divina (meditative Bible reading) daily, receive Communion and make our confession regularly, and be attentive to God's presence in daily life. These are under the general promises (not vows) of stability, obedience, and conversion of life.

What are its effects (positive & negative) on family and work life?

I find that being an oblate gives me a structure and support system for living out a Christian life in a particular way, and it connects me to a Christian community of monks that I can feel a part of even though I'm not a professed monk. There's a mutuality of prayer and support between the monks and oblates, and the oblates form local communities in some areas (mainly in Indiana) that meet monthly. WhenI go on a diet, I cannot just plan to eat less and take more exercise; I need more structure than that. It's similar with spiritual life: being an oblate gives me a framework for being Christian.

Are you aware of many members who have gone on to become full members of an order?

No, I really haven't heard of many examples of this among the SaintMeinrad oblate community, although I'm sure it has happened. Most oblates are not on a path toward professed monastic life.

Please provide examples of how the Rule of St. Benedict is put into practice outside the monastery.

In the workplace, the Rule provides excellent advice on leadership in the chapters about "the sort of man the abbot should be." It asks for mutual respect and obedience but also loving flexibility, and it enjoins all to listen to new members and the young, as they may have been sent to the organization to contribute important points of view and skills.

From your perspective, are Oblate vocations growing?

I believe oblate vocations are growing as more people find out about the possibility of being oblates. And more monastic communities are seeing oblate programs as ways to develop networks of support "in theworld," to keep people aware of the possibility of monastic life as a calling, and to share the fruits of their own commitment to that life with those who cannot leave the world and enter a monastery but find much that is spiritually edifying in the lives of monks and nuns in community.

Do monasteries seek out Oblates, or do most people find their way (get in touch out of the blue, or other ways?)

I haven't seen monasteries mounting large campaigns to get more oblates, but most communities with oblate programs make information available through brochures, Web sites, and availability of their oblate directors. I think most people find out about oblates by meeting one, or by making a retreat in a monastery and inquiring about how one might be able to live a more Benedictine life short of entering the monastery as a monk.

What kinds of people pursue this calling? Walks of life, background?

Really all kinds of people, walks of life, and backgrounds. I would say that oblates on average might be a bit more contemplative, or quieter, in temperament, than others, but that may not even be true. I'm sure there are Christians who find nothing useful or attractive about monastic-style spirituality, but there are all types of people among those who do. Some people lead very extroverted, fast-paced lives and find monastic practices an essential balance to that. For others like me, monastic prayer and practice fit right in with our introverted nature.

Various Faith traditions?

There are oblates from every Christian tradition. I know Roman Catholic, Episcopalian/Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian,Congregational, and even Baptist oblates.

How does being an Oblate help one's private spirituality?

It helps motivate private spirituality, such as daily prayer, to know that one is praying along with a community. We receive some materials that help us pray similar prayers to those of the monks. We can pray the same psalms or pray at the same times that they do. Being an oblate provides us with tools to help feel part of a community even as we are alone. Other connections, such as being part of a parish, do that as well, but being an oblate expands that idea of community and gives an ecumenical flavor to it.

How much of the commitment is social?

If one lives near other oblates and there is an oblate chapter nearby, there can be a very large social dimension. This is also true if one can get to the monastery often and meet the monks and other oblates. There are retreats and seminars to help with this. Others of us are rather isolated, and we are connected by receiving a newsletter, exchanging e-mails (I moderate an online forum for Saint Meinrad oblates), and occasionally making retreats.

Sandwiches on the seashore

2008-03-25T18:03:00.002-05:00

I chanted the Abraham-and-Isaac lesson at the Great Vigil. I've done this one several times before, but what struck me, oddly, as I chanted it was the phrase about how Abraham's descendents will be "as the sand which is on the seashore." My profound thought as I continued: "Did I just say 'sandwiches on the seashore'? Who wrote this stuff?" Turned out a couple of the acolytes had heard it that way too, looked at each other, and giggled. All went well. Very sweet baby boy baptized.

Good Friday through Easter Day

2008-03-17T12:17:00.003-05:00

Derek on the RCL and lectionaries in general

2008-03-17T08:37:00.005-05:00

Derek's on target again, and I've got to link to him again.

We're continuing to use the BCP lectionary at our parish, as far as I can tell. So I won't be printing off the PDF and gluing it into my BCP just yet.

Thoughts from spiritual direction

2008-03-13T15:37:00.002-05:00

Thanks be to God, I've settled into a good place spiritually this winter: not a place to be inhabited forever, but a place to be appreciated for the time being. A lot of the restlessness has gone away, which is a good thing, as it's been a very constricted season of cabin fever and fewer options. Those negatives have been easier to deal with as I've accepted the settledness. Great spiritual-direction session today, and it brought out a good way of thinking about where I am now: There is a gift, there is living the gift, and there is sharing the gift. The gift is a spirituality that has welcomed monastic principles and practices into my lifestyle in the world, and I've found a realistic level at which that can be done; part of the gift is also a balanced appreciation of a spectrum of styles of spiritual practice -- worship, prayer, study, and the rest -- that can't be rigidly classified. I can appreciate both tradition and innovation, the given and the creative, the poetic and the direct. In the past I've felt wearied by the tension between such opposites and the rancor that tension generates among the faithful. Lately that's settled, and I feel more balanced; I'm living the gift. Next there's sharing the gift, and I'll be finding ways to do that. I was thinking of taking a hiatus from spiritual direction because things seem to be going basically well, and I wasn't sure I had much to bring up to talk about. Those are often the times, though, when direction generates more fruit, and that was true today.

Holy Week at the Ascension

2008-03-12T13:11:00.002-05:00

Sacred-music colloquium this June in Chicago

2008-03-12T11:58:00.005-05:00

Click here for all the information.

"Seven Days of Musical Heaven"

June 16-22, 2008 (Monday noon through Sunday morning)

Loyola University, Chicago, Illinois

Sponsored by the Church Music Association of America

Changes

2008-02-15T17:58:00.002-06:00

I'm about to get more focused and active on this blog, so I've focused the name of the blog and the bookshop. Besides, Glenwood Place is the name of a retirement community somewhere, and I thought I might as well make the name reflect the content. That's a good thing for a lot of reasons.

2007 in review: a meme

2007-12-31T15:17:00.000-06:00

Here's a look back, a year-end meme consisting of the first sentence of the first post from each month in 2007.
February: Nothing like a new blogging tool to make me post again.
April: A lot of my editing job involves creating, proofing, and fiddling with PowerPoint presentations.
May: This week's 10 random tracks with the Shuffle Songs setting switched on
June: Last full-choir Sunday until Michaelmas.
July: I'd have to say that the little book that introduced me to Benedictine values lived "in the world" was Fr. Brian C. Taylor's book Spirituality for Everyday Living: An Adaptation of the Rule of St.Benedict.
August: I've been meeting with a spiritual director for the better part of a year, every six weeks, and have been looking for some new directions or something to get passionate about in terms of ministry, growth in spirituality, and the like.
September: Here's the all-important, historic response of the bishops of The Episcopal Church to the Anglican primates' Dar es Salaam communiqué.
October: Almost a month since my last post; sorry about that.
November: Can I get an Amen to The Postulant's post about the importance of preaching doctrine?
December: Mark provides a very good basic introduction to the concept of the Daily Office, aka Liturgy of the Hours, and gives some good advice for getting started in the Roman Catholic editions.
Well, that could have been interesting, but wasn't so much. Worth the effort, I suppose. Here's to a more-interesting, higher-traffic 2008. Happy and blessed New Year to all.

Christmas at the Ascension in Chicago

2007-12-21T19:08:00.000-06:00

Happy happy versus joy joy

2007-12-18T15:32:00.000-06:00

Something a dear friend once said has encouraged me many times when I've remembered it. It went something like, "It's not always possible to be happy, but it is always possible to be joyful," and by joyful he meant deeply trusting that God is in charge, has triumphed in Christ, and, in words that I like from a priest, "has already given us everything." Our culture prefers happiness, a fragile and fleeting and immediate thing, and that's why there's so much anxiety about doing everything necessary to have "happy" holidays. What makes me seem like a Scrooge sometimes (maybe, to some people) is that I don't want the happy, I want the joy--especially because the joy is already there, deep within, and we have only to let it well up, and we'll know what the Incarnation means...God is with us. We need not act like Christmas will be a failure if we don't do it right. It's been done right already! To me, one of the main messages of Advent is that it doesn't really end with Christmas, but the bigger and better Advent continues, and it's what we get to live through while knowing well how truly joyful the outcome will be. Great to know it doesn't depend on us.

My problem with Christmas

2007-12-16T19:06:00.000-06:00

Duncan Maclaren puts apt words to how I generally feel about this time of year, now a sprawling "holiday season" full of expectations that just become annoyances, especially when all I want to do is focus on some things that aren't related to all these things we're supposed to do for four months every year.

Check out my new bookshop

2007-12-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

Visit The Bookshop at Glenwood Place. It carries books I like, and if you're a frequent reader of this blog, you might like them as well. It's got four categories of books so far: Daily Office, Monasticism, Gregorian Chant, and Anglicanism. Feel free, of course, to suggest other categories you'd like to see here. I may add music related to these categories as well. Happy shopping!

Another winner from The Topmost Apple

2007-12-08T11:32:00.000-06:00

From one of my favorite blogs:

I think the Church is in an identity crisis, actually; it doesn't really know what it's for anymore. I think that since it is the only institution that specifically concerns itself with the spiritual life of human beings - we can do politics, and have a social life, elsewhere, after all - that it might want to get back to prayer and worship and the mysterium tremendum of God as its main focus.

Daily Office 101

2007-12-04T21:36:00.000-06:00

~~Seminarian Matthew~~ Mark provides a very good basic introduction to the concept of the Daily Office, aka Liturgy of the Hours, and gives some good advice for getting started in the Roman Catholic editions. I like his personal comments and those of the commenters to the thread as to why one would want to pray in this way.

A new Advent resource

2007-11-20T07:58:00.000-06:00

Do check out A Little Office for the Advent Wreath, just published (by someone I know) and available in hard copy or eBook. From the Lulu.com description: "A prayer service for daily use when lighting the candles of an Advent wreath. Includes verses and responses, a hymn, a complete set of psalms for each day of Advent, short biblical passages, and collects. Based on prayer offices of The Episcopal Church."

Follow the Chicago election here...

2007-11-10T11:28:00.000-06:00

Here's the link to live blogging of the election of the 12th bishop of Chicago, now in its first ballot. Results should be along about 15 minutes after this post.

The site A Bishop for Chicago is doing a good job on this. I'm grateful, as it counteracts my whingeing about the diocesan Web site having gone bust.

Being Church

2007-11-10T09:17:00.000-06:00

I have to agree with First Apostle's post, which links to the first news I've been able to find online out of this weekend's Chicago diocesan convention. There's a classic false dichotomy out there that constantly asks us, "How can you focus on worship and spirituality when there's war and poverty out there?" And indeed, most episcopal sermons during visitations to our known-for-its-high-liturgy parish challenge us not to focus on "liturgy for its own sake," as though that's what we were doing, and to make liturgy a starting-point for mission.

Now, I don't disagree with those challenges, but some assumptions behind them are faulty, in my opinion. I'm not completely settled on a point of view on all this, but in these challenges I often hear an undertone of "stop being so churchy and get out and fix problems in the world." If anything, a parish church is intensely local, and I do think parishioners need to focus on meeting people's (and therefore God's) needs in the local community, alongside others engaged in the same work. Our parish, like most, could do more in local mission, and like most, is doing something. Some parishioners run a monthly program to meet, partially, a direct need: food.

But the other assumption I detect is that liturgy, Christian education, spirituality, and pastoral care are safe, inward-looking things that parishes do to busy themselves so they can avoid the harder work of mission in the world. If that's what's being said, we've got very divergent views on what it is to be Church. First of all, liturgy is to God, for God's glory, and secondarily for the edification and inspiration of its participants to go into the world and work alongside God in creating and loving. What the Church is best at is this worship, and the support services of education and pastoral care. I cannot fault a parish for focusing on these things, because that's what it's there for! The parish itself as an institution is not the best agency to go and do all that needs doing in the world: it's meant to equip its members to do that. If parishioners set up an effective referral service to help homeless people know and receive help that is available to them from government and charitable agencies, fantastic. But the parish isn't always the best agency to run such a service: perhaps a better work would be to join with other community agencies to press the city council for a permanent citywide agency to do this, if that's the most effective solution.

False dichotomies and "thinking in halves," as Frederick Schmidt puts it (What God Wants for Your Life: Finding Answers to the Deepest Questions), often make us lose sight of important parts of our mission as Church. It's not either-or, but it's not everything either. What Church needs to do better is not drop all the churchy stuff but help us see better where we need to go into the world, and where mission needs to be done, in very specific terms (indeed, I often cringe at speeches and sermons in which "mission" as a term is thrown around but never defined: the speaker assumes we know what is meant). One thing Church can help us do is realize that we do God's will by meeting others' needs: that realization ought to clarify instantly what we need to do locally. If we can't see any needs out there, we've got bigger problems to solve. But just pointing to "mission" doesn't create any compelling images in our minds about what our next steps need to be. A secondary effect of the churchy business is to show us where God is working in the world, waiting for us to show up and pitch in, with the assurance that what we do in the world is also holy business.

Diocesan site busts on convention eve

2007-11-08T20:56:00.000-06:00

There's a new look at the Diocese of Chicago's Web site: snappy new layout and well-organized links that lead to...pages filled with lorem ipsum placeholder text. Even on the Diocesan Convention pages, which one might need to consult on the eve of the Convention. Now there's nothing: no schedule, no e-mail addresses of diocesan contacts, no nothing.

I suppose live video and election scoreboard are not to be expected this year? Or maybe this is like the eve of a format change on a commercial radio station, where the station plays 24 commercial-free hours of "Seasons in the Sun," confusing and annoying all listeners, until the new format emerges sparkling in the morning sun. Yeah, that's it! I'll check tomorrow morning as the convention opens.

Anyone planning to live-blog from convention? Please?

For the election of a bishop

2007-11-07T20:49:00.000-06:00

Almighty God, giver of every good gift: Look graciously on your Church, and so guide the minds of those who shall choose a bishop for the Diocese of Chicago, that we may receive a faithful pastor, who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Preach it, Postulant!

2007-11-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

Can I get an Amen to The Postulant's post about the importance of preaching doctrine?

Eucharistic theology quiz results

2007-10-30T12:46:00.001-05:00

Eucharistic theology created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Catholic

You are a Catholic. You believe that the bread and wine are transformed by the priest and become the Body and Blood of Christ. Though the accidents, or appearance, of bread and wine remain, the substance has been changed. The Eucharist remains the Body and Blood of Christ after the celebration, and is reserved in the Tabernacle; Eucharistic devotions are proper. As the whole Christ is present under either species, you partake fully of the Eucharist even if you receive only one.

Catholic

75%

Orthodox

69%

Luther

69%

Calvin

50%

Zwingli

31%

Unitarian

What we can learn from Byzantine liturgy

2007-10-26T08:10:00.000-05:00

Christopher points to some apt Robert Taft comments about the Byzantine versus western approaches to liturgy, echoing my own less-articulate thoughts about the subject.

Fr. Chris blogs the Office

2007-10-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

Almost a month since my last post; sorry about that. Fr. Chris has inspired me to pop in and at least link to his latest entry with thoughts on the various forms of the Daily Office and Liturgy of the Hours that he's been using. Mother Laura has a good comment, too. My experience with the Anglican Breviary has been similar to his: love it, but once you've prayed Matins and Lauds, the day gets away from you swiftly.

Our bishops speak

2007-09-25T18:33:00.000-05:00

Here's the all-important, historic response of the bishops of The Episcopal Church to the Anglican primates' Dar es Salaam communiqué. I'd like to know what you think. Will it float? Is this anything?

My oblate story

2007-08-30T22:18:00.000-05:00

The concept of being a Benedictine oblate was new to me when I first heard that the choir director of our Episcopal parish was an oblate of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pennsylvania. I did not know much about monasticism at the time but was intrigued by the idea that lay people outside monasteries could take on a Benedictine identity of some sort and that this arrangement could happen across denominational boundaries.

Some years later, in 1998, another choirmaster gathered a group of parishioners interested in studying Gregorian chant notation and practice, at a two-week course taught by Fr. Columba Kelly, OSB, at Saint Meinrad Archabbey. I had heard that Saint Meinrad was a center of liturgy and especially chant, and the opportunity to experience a monastery was very appealing.

The two weeks were life-changing, both in newly opened doors to the world of chant and in a fairly lengthy (compared to typical retreats) experience of the monastic rhythm of each day and the week. Particularly compelling were the orderly progress of each day--with enough time for everything and no need to worry whether everything would get done--and the immersion in the beauty of sung prayer, bells, architecture, devotional art, and the daily round of praise as we chanted the psalms.

Another participant in that two-week session was a Lutheran woman from California who said she was an oblate of Saint Meinrad Archabbey. I explored what this meant both by speaking with her and by consulting the archabbey's printed materials about oblates, and I resolved to pray about whether I was called to be an oblate. I felt that many factors had come together to bring me to this decision.

It took some time and a couple of private retreats at the archabbey to decide to apply to become an oblate novice, and then I took a bit of extra time as a novice before making my final oblation. I still feel I was led to oblation and to Saint Meinrad, and at my final oblation I took the oblate name Gregory, for the saint traditionally associated with chant, which had brought me to the archabbey in the first place.

For me, being a Benedictine oblate means having a formal connection with a community and way of life that give a helpful structure to Christian living. Like many people, when it comes to something like losing weight or deepening one's spiritual life, I find specifics helpful: How do I start? What should I do, and when? What happens if...? On a diet, simply thinking I'll eat half of what I normally would eat isn't enough to make the diet successful. I need a daily structure. It's the same way with spiritual things: just deciding to pray more will not bring an effective improvement in the end. Becoming a Benedictine oblate meant that I was signing on to a proven structure, with a supportive community, and with real promises behind the good intentions I had. I have promised to pray in a certain way, daily; I have promised to pray for the Saint Meinrad community; I have promised to read the Rule, practice lectio divina, reach out in specific ways to those around me in the world, and be faithful in my parish's liturgical discipline.

But far beyond self-improvement is the benefit of having St. Benedict pointing the way to Christ at every turn. I often cringe when I hear phrases like "Benedictine living," or "yours in St. Benedict," because Benedict points always to Christ, not himself. It's Christian living with a particular kind of support structure and a tangible cloud of witnesses cheering us on. I stumble daily, many times, on this road, but being an oblate is the way I have found to have friends nearby to help me get up again when I fall. Thanks be to God.

Chicago bishop nominees

2007-08-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

Here they are, a minute late! I haven't even read the names yet. Just copying and pasting. Details here if the site has been fixed. It shattered shortly after the announcement, throwing sharp bits of Web-ola everywhere.

Five nominees for the 12th Bishop of Chicago were received from the Bishop Search Committee and announced Aug. 28, 2007 by the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago's governing body, the Standing Committee, subject to completion of background checks:

The Rev. Jane S. Gould, Priest-in-Charge / Rector,St. Stephen's Memorial Episcopal Church, Lynn, Mass.

The Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Rector, St. Thomas Church, Medina, Wash.

The Very Rev. Tracey Lind, Dean, Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio

The Rev. Margaret R. Rose, Director of Women's Ministries, The Episcopal Church

The Rev. Timothy B. Safford, Rector, Christ Church, Philadelphia

The praying man

2007-08-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

The reflection linked below is by Kate, whom I met a couple of years ago when I attended the Church of Jesus Christ Reconciler for a while. What a wonderful piece of writing...and uplifting. I think I may have seen this man once but didn't have the open eyes and heart that Kate had.

Derek on the daily office

2007-08-16T12:24:00.000-05:00

I'd be crazy not to call attention to another excellent post from Derek on my favorite subject. Excerpt: The Daily Office is one of the things that drew me into the Episcopal Church. Benedictine in spirit, evangelical in nature, the rhythm of psalmody, the constancy of the Scriptures and the experience of the ebb and flow of the liturgical year guided me into a deeper understanding of the Word of God and the way of the cross revealed therein. I can’t pretend I pray the Office every day and every night—but I know I miss it when I don’t or can’t pray it. It has slowly become a part of me, and a central part of what it means for me to be an Anglican, an Episcopalian. The rhythm of the Office punctuated by the Mass on Sundays and feast-days—this is the pattern of Episcopal life as I know it.

Spiritual direction progress

2007-08-02T21:23:00.001-05:00

I've been meeting with a spiritual director for the better part of a year, every six weeks, and have been looking for some new directions or something to get passionate about in terms of ministry, growth in spirituality, and the like. Each session has been rich and helpful, except perhaps the one during which I was hopelessly scattered, throwing in items from hither and yon, but my SD was able to make something of that as well.

Anyway, today he really opened some new doors of possibility and helped put words to what I seemed to him to be yearning for:

"You want to gather people into the interior experience of faith."

This rang like a bell as I heard him say it. And it helped me see why I've been sort of halfheartedly inquiring into theology classes at nearby Loyola U Chicago, looking at their Theology M.A. program, looking at other programs that in my mind could be a sort of substitute for seminary, as I'm not thinking I'm called to ordained ministry. He pointed out that no academic program, even in a church-run university or a seminary, is going to teach me how to do what I'm wanting to do: gather people into the interior experience of faith.

That statement gives rich food for thought and needs some careful unpacking in my mind, but my SD also gave me several new avenues to explore besides theology M.A. programs. I'm quite excited and am starting to explore those. I think there may be some courses out there, independent of a full program, that do explore these things. And I'm reminded of a diocesan course in spirituality that introduced me to friends like Julian of Norwich, Egyptian hermits, John of the Cross, and Teresa de Avila, whose lives and examples are well worth reviewing.

Not a complete picture (will it ever be?), but it's thrilling to get more pieces of it. Food for prayer indeed. And TBTG for my wonderful SD.

Harry Potter and the hordes of tourists

2007-07-21T16:34:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid Harry Potter is another cultural phenomenon that has passed me by, although I did catch up on Twin Peaks after the series ended, so perhaps the final Harry Potter book is my cue to get on board.

I was in both Borders bookshops in central Chicago today, and both were playing intense, sweeping, epic-sounding orchestral music over their sound systems. Barber, I wondered? Or who was that other guy who wrote the big epic film scores? Bennett? It took me far too long to figure out that the music had to be a Harry Potter soundtrack. Every so often an "associate" would announce that another box of the new books was being opened for sale to those who hadn't reserved one, in addition to the books set aside for those who had. Long lines formed immediately.

Gorgeous day to be walking out there among the happy tourists. I love doing that. I enjoy helping people who ask for directions, provided they ask for something I've heard of or are not hopelessly positioned to get where they intend to go. Feels nice to live in a place that has many, many tourists. Helps me re-appreciate everything that's available here and not take it for granted.

A kindred spirit

2007-07-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

For a moment I thought this was a photo of one of my bookshelves. I seriously have all of these but two. It can be an addiction. And unlike Confessing Evangelical, I've delved into the whole world of monastic daily prayer. But that's another shelf.

I'm interested in one of Confessing Evangelical's commenters who quotes George Guiver on the Office being mainly psalmody and intercession. Leaving out extensive Scripture readings would certainly make my imagined breviary project more manageable. Hmm. The idea of a one-book breviary isn't so far-fetched if that's the case.

Rescuing broken records

2007-07-16T15:23:00.000-05:00

I'm finding this very exciting: the prospect of rescuing sounds off deteriorating, even broken, records:

At the Library of Congress, in a small, white room with bright red carpet, physicist Carl Haber sits down to play a record from 1930. It's a recording of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Iolanthe." But here's the strange thing: This record is broken.

Here's the full story. Check the audio samples.

I guess it makes sense that there would eventually be a visual or photographic way to play old records.

Benedictine books of note

2007-07-15T19:27:00.000-05:00

I'd have to say that the little book that introduced me to Benedictine values lived "in the world" was Fr. Brian C. Taylor's book Spirituality for Everyday Living: An Adaptation of the Rule of St.Benedict.

Here's one reviewer's quote from the Amazon site: "I just finished this book last night, and I found it to be very inspiring, and insightful. The author is an episcopalian priest, married with family. He really brings an interesting insight to the Rule of Benedict coming from someone who is a pastor by profession and a parent. I found the book to be a concise quick read, and the page layout was just fine. For Oblates or those wishing to become Oblates add this book to your reading list. The author being someone who is married with children lays out simple ways for the laity to incorporate the Rule of Benedict in everyday life. I am Catholic and I did appreciate the neutrality of this book. I believe this book serves well as an excellent read for Benedictines of the Catholic or Anglican tradition."

Others I favor:

Abbot Parry's translation of the Rule, with intro by Esther deWaal and with reading dates.

Preferring Christ: A Devotional Commentary and Workbook on the Rule of St Benedict, by Norvene Vest (with Fr Luke Dysinger's Rule translation)

The Path of Life: Benedictine Spirituality for Monks and Lay People by Fr Cyprian Smith OSB

Subdeaconing

2007-06-19T21:54:00.000-05:00

Here I am subdeaconing for the first time yesterday...Chanting the epistle; holding the Gospel book for the deacon; here's our sanctuary; here's my favorite station of the Cross (the whole set will be refurbished by next Ash Wednesday thanks to a generous donor); here's a Baptism rite in progress (font is behind the celebrant; itscarved gothic cover has retracted into the ceiling); the Scotts and friends; wish I had a jacket with me, but I needed to cool down. Photos by David M. Smith, Loves Park, Illinois.

Last full-choir Sunday until Michaelmas

2007-06-05T17:55:00.000-05:00

A non-hateful post about Jerry Falwell

2007-05-23T09:40:00.001-05:00

Jerry Falwell Originally uploaded by etchasketchist.

I believe Jerry Falwell will get an earful from our Merciful Judge (and so will I when the day arrives) about many things and will then indeed be at peace. Transformed, even. And yes, may he rise in glory. So may it be for us all. I had the thought yesterday that when we get to the hereafter, "We will know the truth, and the truth will make us laugh." And then make us free. We'll laugh at how partial and tentative our understanding of it was and gasp at how intensely full and rich the fully revealed Truth is. And the freedom of that new understanding will be beyond anything we can now conceive as "free." And we'll know what it means to be "free indeed." And we'll laugh again.

Great new blog posts on the Daily Office

2007-05-15T12:22:00.001-05:00

vespers Originally uploaded by Fr. Pat Mulcahy.

Here's Chris with an important post on the Office as missing link. Here's Derek with an equally weighty one on the Office in the Roman Catholic Church, and pointing out a highly informative article on the Office.

Both very much worth reading. I resonate strongly with the idea of the Office, with its common thread of the praying of the psalms, as a much-underappreciated ecumenical link. True, non-Roman Catholics can't receive Communion in an RC church, but we can certainly pray the Office together if we're willing even to think of that option.

Must-view video on chant

2007-05-14T13:50:00.000-05:00

Commentary is in French, but of course the music is universal.

The Lost Song of Gregory (24 minutes; Google Video) Thanks to Shawn Tribe for pointing it out.

Roll of Worshipping Communities

2007-05-09T13:23:00.000-05:00

Tripp lists his history of worshipping communities and asks for ours. I'll list mine here and link this to a comment over there. Fascinating to have a glimpse at these places again via the Web.

Our Lady of Good Hope, Milwaukee - where I was baptized
Base chapels at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri? - I'll have to ask my mother.
West Bend, Wisconsin - I'll have to ask Mom on this, too; I'd be guessing.
St. Mary's, Hales Corners, Wisconsin - I think we went back and forth between here and St. Leonard's.
St. Leonard's, Muskego, Wisconsin - All I remember is bashing my head on the doorjamb on the way in.
St. Irenaeus', Rochester Hills, Michigan - the church I grew up in and in which I was confirmed
Resurrection Parish, Lexington, Ohio - during our year in Ohio (ninth grade for me)
St. Andrew's, Rochester, Michigan - where I sang in the choir for a while during high school
St. John's Student Parish, East Lansing, Michigan - attended here through most of my college years
St. Thomas Aquinas', East Lansing, Michigan - decided the music was better here; sang in the choir
Saron Lutheran Church, St. Joseph, Michigan - during my year of teaching in Berrien Springs
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Traverse City, Michigan - during my year of teaching in Traverse City
St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Rochester, Michigan - for several years; vestryman, warden
All Saints Episcopal Church, East Lansing, Michigan - for something like 12 years; vestry, choir
Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler, Chicago - a blessed respite for some months; hope to visit again
Church of the Ascension, Chicago - 2002 to present. Vestry, acolyte, officiant, teacher, delegate

Friday iPod Shuffling

2007-05-04T10:37:00.001-05:00

iPod photo Originally uploaded by vanou.

This week's 10 random tracks with the Shuffle Songs setting switched on: 1. "Antifona: Speciosa" Capilla Penaflorida, Salazar: Complete Vespers of Our Lady 2. "Justorum animae" Lassus. John Rutter, The Cambridge Singers, Lighten Our Darkness: Music for the Close of Day 3. "You Are My Love" Jamiroquai, Travelling Without Moving 4. "Bless the Broken Road" Rascal Flatts, Feels Like Today 5. "Mass for Pentecost: Benedictus" Palestrina. Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, European Choral Music 6. "Rhythm of the Night" El Debarge, Awesome 80's Disk 1 7. "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" Martin Luther. Deutsche Liedmesse 8. "For All of Us" Closer to Heaven - Original Cast Album 9. "North & Clybourn" DJ Creme Brulee, Red Line 10. "Missa Dum complerentur: Gloria" Tomas Luis de Victoria. Christ Church Cathedral Choir, Oxford, European Choral Music

I'm a phone-phobe

2007-04-30T21:24:00.001-05:00

2. he's on the phone... Originally uploaded by trischi_sushi_rider.

I'm phone-phobic, and if you take the anger and the word "hate" out of this guy's account of what phone-phobia is like, he's talking about me. I guess I'm a notch lower on the phone-phobia index, but definitely up there. Oh, another difference is that I love voice mail and would rather carry on a conversation by trading voice mails than by talking live on the phone, mostly.

But e-mail is a good and perfect gift from above, from the Father of Lights. :)

How's that again, Lord? Or bird?

2007-04-04T11:52:00.000-05:00

I was planning one of my Lenten adult-ed classes in our dining room, and I heard a bird with a complex call, part of which sounded distinctly like "Scott." I tried to hear a meaning in the rest of the call, and then I seriously said, aloud, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." The call didn't get any clearer, even though I tried to clear my mind and be open to what I heard, but the word "Scott" was always in there, at the end of the call. Then I said, aloud, "Speak clearly, Lord, for your servant is listening." I think the bird flew off at that point.

Urban coyote prefers Quizno's

2007-04-04T11:29:00.000-05:00

A small coyote was trotting around Chicago's Loop district yesterday afternoon and tried to cool off in a fridge. What's cute here is how quietly the story plays out and ends. It's almost not even news (although that didn't keep it from being covered extensively by ABC News' Good Morning America), just an odd hour in a fairly typical downtown afternoon.

What a beautiful animal...love the eyes and coat.

PowerPoint and reading in church get slammed

2007-04-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

A lot of my editing job involves creating, proofing, and fiddling with PowerPoint presentations. And at church we can read along with the Bible readings in a booklet. So there are two reasons why this article is interesting to me. A third reason is that I'm fascinated with theories of learning and instructional design. So do I think this theory - cognitive load theory - is right? Well, it certainly seems to make sense, even the bit about how giving students answered problems to study is a good thing. I can struggle with a problem that's supposed to help me learn a concept, and if I solve it, that may be an effective learning experience. But I'll learn the concept faster if I can see the problem solved and then get to work on one like it.

Want a DVD of Into Great Silence?

2007-02-06T15:09:00.000-06:00

The blog New Liturgical Movement is offering a way to get a DVD of the amazing film about the Carthusians, Into Great Silence (original title: Die große Stille).

Here's a Wikipedia entry about the film, with links to a trailer and more information.

Here's the film's English Web site.

Back with new tools

2007-02-02T14:38:00.001-06:00

Nothing like a new blogging tool to make me post again. This time I'm trying out Microsoft Office 2007, and I've discovered the blogging tool in Word. Makes a lot of sense to me. Blog posts are documents; Word is for making documents. It's great that I can create a post in Word and send it up to Glenwood Place with one click.

Welcome to TV ARK The Television Museum

2006-09-20T09:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to TV ARK The Television Museum

Cirque du Soleil is heaven on earth

2006-08-12T19:11:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe that's a little much, but I find myself still floating after attending Thursday's Corteo show under the Grand Chapiteau outside the United Center in Chicago. Such beauty and grace, awesome physical power and precision, wrapped in a musical, metaphorical, and visual whirl of a feast. It's a marvelous escape. No wonder they can get away with the ticket prices...granted, we had good seats, but $91? Whew. Gotta sell some more books on eBay now. When I experience something so creative and invitingly presented, I find myself very close to being awash in tears. Maybe I'm a sap, but it's a great catharsis. Didn't hurt that the show was full of liturgical stuff, too, as it was loosely "about" a clown imagining his own death and funeral cortege (corteo). I'd like a funeral like that, please. And the tightrope walker attended by three graceful, beautiful and so comforting-looking angels? "He will give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways..." Thurifers censing the stage, which was a rotating labyrinth? Cirque du Soleil rocks.

The AGO convention last week

2006-07-15T11:03:00.000-05:00

Thought I should blog about the American Guild of Organists national convention last week in Chicago, in which I was registered but also did volunteer work. Here's what I wrote to a friend who couldn't go... The AGO week was much fun. I did not go to everything--none of the evening events, for example--but I was very happy to work the hospitality desk, where participants could get information, parking discounts, and so on. I really enjoy helping people when I know I have ways to help, like knowing the city. I guess I impressed people with my knowledge of service times at downtown churches. :) Tom Gouwens of Fourth Prez came up and slyly asked when services were at Fourth Prez. I said, "8, 9, and 11, with music at all three, and identical services at 9 and 11." He said I was right and that there is a 6:30 p.m. service I should not tell anyone about because we want everyone to attend the opening concert. I met Edith Ho from Advent, Boston; Fred Swann formerly of the Crystal Cathedral; and probably some others, but nametags were hard to read. Some people magic-markered their names in huge letters to make them readable. Edith Ho should have come to Ascension--since she plays in a similar church--but asked for information about St James' Cathedral instead. She visibly cringed when I said they use Rite II. It is that East Coast fixation with traditional language being essential with Anglo-Catholic liturgy. Morning Prayer at St. James' was wonderful; I really like their choir, although I have never liked that they have to sit in the "card section" of "bleachers" off to the left. They should do a card routine during the sermon. Thierry Escaich played at St Paul's UCC in Lincoln Park and was ear splitting and amazing. For a German Evangelical and Reformed church, their organ is rather Saint-Sulpice. A woman in the front row stopped her ears the whole time and looked annoyed. Nobody is forcing you to attend the concert, lady! Anyway, he started his concert with the Tournemire Te Deum Improvisation, to give you an idea. Whew. I ushered at Ascension for the Alexander Fiseisky concert, which I found underwhelming but he seemed to get a good ovation at the end. I mostly heard it through the narthex doors. He wanted to practice afterward, and we told him he could but that there is a service (Evening Prayer) at 6pm. I vested and got ready to start just before 6, and he was still wood-shedding a phrase on the organ, so even though we don't normally ring a bell before Evening Prayer, I went to the sacristy door and gave the bell rope a good yank, and then went in and started Evening Prayer. Nobody else showed up, so I am sure he thought it odd that I was reciting a service with no congregation. Wednesday I ushered the Ascension Choir's Solemn Vespers and Benediction at St. Mary of Perpetual Help in Bridgeport. Scott the Younger was able to go, too, and even got to ride back with me on the AGO bus due to the kindness of the driver. It was a gorgeous service, and the choir was expanded for the occasion to about 25 from their usual 17. I didn't know they were going to do Benediction...it was interesting to hear 1,000 AGOers from many denominations saying together, "Blessed be God...Blessed be the name of Mary most holy...Blessed be her holy and immaculate conception..." :) Anyway, I hope the recordings of these events will be made available somehow; this will be one well worth hearing. Thursday I got to do whatever I wanted, so I attended the 9am concert of Carol Williams, the English-born civic organist of San Diego, at St Vincent de Paul, and then Thierry Escaich. He really uses his whole body...I thought his head would hit something as it flailed around. It was good to meet many people and especially to represent Chicago and our chapter to the visitors. I loved just standing at the entrance to Ascension, or St. Mary of Perpetual Help, ready to answer questions (mostly about the bathrooms) and have people smile at me and tell me how much they were enjoying themselves here. I cannot imagine the expense some must lay out to attend the whole thing, especially paying for a hotel room for six nights or so. However, I think the event was a great success. The chapter leaders seemed wired and very thrilled. I am sure there will be a Pipedreams show about it. I met Michael Barone at Ascension for the Fiseisky concert. Unfortunately, Barone was on a bus that was late coming back from Rockefeller Chapel, so I had to hold him and some others at the door until the end of the first piece, but he took it well. He has a long ponytail...who would have thought?

Discernment progress

2006-07-14T17:48:00.000-05:00

Is the Episcopal Church, or are its leaders and parishioners, too quick to focus on ordained ministry as the inevitable path for highly committed Episcopalians? We had a chat about this, and many other things, in my highly helpful spiritual-direction session yesterday. We also had some great discussion of what sorts of lay ministry I might be called to, and how I might consider the permanent diaconate as well, which I hadn't seriously considered. His great questions unearthed some exciting possibilities. The priesthood ordination process isn't out of the question, but we made some great progress on some important questions that I need to get clearer about. I remember how I used to think I had a strong desire to preside at the Holy Eucharist. While this would indeed be a wonderful role, I'm finding that I'm doing just fine not presiding at the Holy Eucharist. To me, this is central to being a priest. I'm just weighing such thoughts against the really long and involved Process and its effect on my partner and our relationship. That, and I'm starting to shake off the idea that not becoming a priest will be tantamount to wasting my life, and that I'm coming to these conclusions because I've waffled too long--ridiculous, I know, but there's a voice saying that within my thoughts sometimes. I don't think a genuine call would denigrate the ministry of baptized laypersons.

The liturgical beat goes on

2006-07-10T15:46:00.000-05:00

In our parish, six for MP or daily Mass is pretty good. No one has suggested these be cancelled. I'm the Monday EP officiant and often (especially in summer) recite the Office alone. This past Monday a Russian organist was practicing as 6pm approached, when EP starts. He had been told he had until then but that there was a service at 6. Sure enough, as the sacristy atomic clock hit 6:00, he was still fiddling with a phrase on the organ. I had half a thought of praying EP in the sacristy but then came to my senses and decided to cut him off by ringing the sacristy bell and then entering and saying the office as usual. I'm sure he thought it odd I would vest and recite a service with nobody else there, but the Office is part of what the church is there for, and it was my job to do it, whether anyone showed up or not. (Most of the time there is at least one other person, and we do get more if there's a Mass afterward, on BCP holy days.)

Current spiritual scene

2006-07-10T15:44:00.000-05:00

Discernment is under way in the form of spiritual direction with a very good director. Next session is this coming Thursday.

At the moment, I'm observing a wave of encouragement for me to enter the Process on the one hand; on the other hand there are concerns about how it would affect my partner and the thought, "Why can't I just decide I'm not called to ordained ministry? There are plenty of people who never ask the Church about this and who decide this for themselves."

Another possible vocation (that I have started already) is that of being a lay Benedictine contemplative oblate and helping others see that as a way of living out a Christian life, including prayer disciplines, the habit of hospitality/mission/outreach, a rule of life, and so on. In our diocese we have a whole parish that offers its members and friends a Benedictine rule of life and many resources for following it (St Paul's, Riverside).

Introductory post

2006-07-10T15:41:00.000-05:00

I'm just reviving my blog; this replaces my previous one on Blog-City called Letters From Edgewater. This will be an eclectic mix of reflections, diary entries, and interesting (to me) finds from the Web.