Thanks to the Catholic Key blog, which is from the Diocese of Kansas City, here is a video of the Gregorian chant Mass setting Missa Orbis Factor. It’s one of the sort of videos that shows close ups of the score so you can see how the square notes and the text line up.
I would be happy to get to the point at my parish where we regularly sang even the simplest chant Mass settings year around.
In a search for information about how much greenery to use for my Advent wreath—information sadly not forthcoming, by the way—I found a delightful video of a boys choir singing an Advent hymn I had never heard before.
It’s highlighted on the Diocese of Washington’s blog—go read the reflection and watch the video, and see if that music doesn’t make you want to rejoice.
You can tell when my quarter is nearly over because I start blogging again. I suppose a better blogger would set up auto-posts or some such thing so that people who stopped by wouldn’t give up if there were three months between entries. If I could ever decide on the real direction of this blog I might do that.
Two quick things to share with you on this last day of Ordinary Time:
A quote from a 14th-century Muslim mystic:
Pulling out the chair
Beneath your mind
And watching you fall upon God–
There is nothing else for Hafiz to do
That is more fun in this world!Shams-Ud-Din Mohammed Hafiz, Muslim mystic (1320 – 1389)
And this, from a sermon by my friend St. Augustine, who I encountered in this morning’s Office of Readings:
Even here amidst trials and temptations let us, let all men, sing alleluia. God is faithful, says holy Scripture, and he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. So let us sing alleluia, even here on earth. Man is still a debtor, but God is faithful. Scripture does not say that he will not allow you to be tried, but that he will not allow you to be tried beyond your strength. Whatever the trial, he will see you through it safely, and so enable you to endure. You have entered upon a time of trial but you will come to no harm—God’s help will bring you through it safely. You are like a piece of pottery, shaped by instruction, fired by tribulation. When you are put into the oven therefore, keep your thoughts on the time when you will be taken out again; for God is faithful, and he will guard both your going in and your coming out.
I’ve had a rough couple of days. Everyone knows that the holidays are hard for single people. Let’s just say I’ve decided on a different meaning for Black Friday: it doesn’t mark the shopping season, it marks the lonely season. And I am no different from anyone else in having to struggle through it. I can’t test out of it, or get a hall pass, or accrue anywhere near enough spiritual brownie points to make it easier.
I was arrogant enough to think that I wouldn’t have a hard time this year. These two passages help me to know that 1) my time of trial is not over but God will give me the strength to get through it; and 2) God has indeed caught my fall and all I need to do is surrender to Him.