
Triumph of the Name of Jesus by Giovanni Battista Gaulli

Apse and High Altar

Cappella Sant'Ignazio with St. Ignatius' tomb

Cappella della Passione
Please visit Jesuit blogging friend John Brown's site, Companion of Jesus.
In the pierced heart of the Crucified, God's own heart is opened up--here we see who God is and what he is like. Heaven is no longer locked up. God has stepped out of hiddenness. ~Pope Benedict XVI
O Lord Jesus Christ, as I rise in the morning, be attentive unto me and govern mine actions and my words and my thoughts, that I may pass the whole day within Thy will. Grant me Thy fear, O Lord, compunction of heart, lowliness of mind, a pure conscience, that I may scorn the world, ponder heaven, hate sins, and love righteousness. Take from my heart the cares of the world...Guard my mouth, Lord, that I may not speak vanities, nor tell worldly tales nor detract others in their absence...that I may not answer cursing with cursing, but rather with blessing. O Lord, let Thy praise be continually in my mouth...I have been asked to pray for so many things and so many people which I have found 'blogging to be a stumbling block in being a friend in crisis. Those of you who know me can contact me through Facebook. For now, Argent is going to take the cue of all proper Romans and leave the heat behind and head for the hills. May you have a safe summer and may God richly bless and make holy your chronos time. Encounter Him in kairos.
Doing, in the restricted sense in which the Schoolmen understood this word, consists in the free use, precisely as free, of our faculties, or in the exercise of our free will considered not with regard to the things themselves or to the works which we produce, but merely with regard to the use which we make of our freedom.
This use depends on our specifically human appetite, on our Will, which of itself does not tend to the true, but solely and jealously to the good of man...This use is good if it is in conformity with the law of human acts, and with the true end of the whole of human life; and if it is good, the man acting is himself good -- purely and simply good.
Thus Doing is ordered to the common end of the whole of human life, and it concerns the proper perfection of the human being. The sphere of Doing is the sphere of Morality, or of the human good as such...
...In contradistinction to Doing, the Schoolmen defined Making as productive action, considered not with regard to the uses which we therein make of our freedom, but merely with regard to the thing produced or with regard to the work taken in itself.
...The sphere of Making is the sphere of Art, in the most universal sense of this word.
Art, which rules Making and not Doing, stands therefore outside the human sphere; it has an end, rules, values, which are not those of man, but those of the work to be produced. This work is everything for Art; there is for Art but one law -- the exigencies and the good of the work.
Hence the tyrannical and absorbing power of Art, and also its astonishing power of soothing; it delivers one from the human; it establishes the artifex -- artist or artisan -- in a world apart, closed, limited, absolute, in which he puts the energy and intelligence of his manhood at the service of a thing which he makes. This is true of all art; the ennui of living and willing, ceases at the door of every workshop.
But if art is not human in the end that it pursues, it is human, essentially human, in its mode of operating. It's a work of man that has to be made; it must have on it the mark of man: animal rationale.
The work of art has been thought before being made, it has been kneaded and prepared, formed, brooded over, ripened in a mind before passing into matter. And in matter it will always retain the color and savor of the spirit. Its formal element, what constitutes it in its species and makes it what it is, is its being ruled by the intellect. If this formal element diminishes ever so little, to the same extent the reality of art vanishes. The work to be made is only the matter of art, its form is undeviating reason. Recta ratio factibilium: let us say, in order to try to translate this Aristotelian and Scholastic definition, that art is the undeviating determination of works to be made.
Here are photos of the 2 crosses. If you have any information, call St. Paul Police at 651-266-5632
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The theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar has noted that beauty has an “intrinsic authority” and it is “self-evident” in the way that it points to truth, goodness and indeed, to God. Thus, Timothy Radcliffe OP says that “you cannot argue with beauty’s summons or dismiss it”. If this is true, then beauty is a powerful form of preaching, especially for preachers of truth such as we are called to be, and we must not ignore it. Our Holy Father, who we know is not anti-intellectual, once wrote something about this that has haunted me since I first read it. I would like to spend some time now considering his words. He begins by saying the following:As a musician, there is always the awareness of the intellectual part of approaching music, the apprehension of the piece of music one wants to incarnate via an instrument. Then in the learning of the piece, being struck by the beauty of passages, the turns of notes and the dynamics that they call for. Especially in fugal passages, where one seems to be wandering in the labyrinth, then suddenly there is resolution...it is that moment of wounding for me...to be in communion with the composer and his intent, to understand the responsibility to communicate the composer's vision, and to simply just enjoy the music. Sometimes, when I am in the choir loft, alone in the darkened church, and at the organ there is a deep sense of satisfaction in making the notes come alive. I may not be the most stellar of musicians, but for the people whom I serve at the moment, I can become part of that arrow that wounds and make for the hearer, a moment of transcendence. Then I realize, that there are times that God delights in my using this gift he entrusted to me...poor as I am.
“True knowledge is being struck by the arrow of beauty that wounds man… being overcome by the beauty of Christ is a more real, more profound knowledge than mere rational deduction. Of course we must not underestimate the importance of theological reflection, of exact and careful theological thought; it is still absolutely necessary. But to despise, on that account, the impact produced by the heart’s encounter with beauty, or to reject it as a true form of knowledge, would impoverish us and dry up both faith and theology. We must rediscover this form of knowledge – it is an urgent demand of the present hour.” This is an important realization and it points out to us Benedict XVI's many attempts as Pope to restore beauty to the Liturgy, and that includes a re-discovery of the beauty and riches of the pre-Vatican II form of Mass.
He then says: “Arguments so often have no effect, because too many arguments compete with one another in our world, so that one cannot help thinking of the remark of the medieval theologians that reason has a wax nose: in other words, it can be turned around in any direction, if one is clever enough. It is all so clever, so evident – whom should we trust?” Again, these words offer a challenge to us as preachers who rely on argument, persuasion, words. This multiplication of words is sometimes unnecessary and indeed, futile. The Church has long recognized this and we see this in the example of Christ. Jesus showed us how much God loves us through the beauty of his life and the saints reflect something of that beauty in their holy lives. Note that the pope is not saying that arguments are unimportant, but beauty must corroborate what we say; people must experience the beauty of the Church as well as hear her persuasions, but both together form part of our holy preaching. Thus Ratzinger continues: “The encounter with beauty can become the wound of the arrow that strikes the soul and thus makes it see clearly, so that henceforth it has criteria, based on what it has experienced, and can now weigh the arguments correctly.”
...The appreciation of beauty is something that our noisy world has to re-learn and this education begins with us in the Church. Timothy Radcliffe OP suggests that we have lost sight of beauty because we “fall into the trap of seeing beauty in utilitarian terms, useful for entertaining people, instead of seeing that what is truly beautiful reveals the good.” I believe that Gregorian chant and polyphony challenges us to really listen, to transcend merely entertaining music and to glimpse the mystery and beauty of God.
Can you guess where Fr. Giussani first begins to speak about authority? Not until we are a good three quarters of the way into Why the Church? do we find a discussion of the subject. Authority, Fr. Giussani stresses, is a function of the life of the community: "The supreme authority of the magisterium is an explication of the conscience of the entire community as guided by Christ. It is not some magical, despotic substitution for it" (page 172). Then he goes on to discuss the Church's teaching authority, pointing out that even in the case of the dogmas that seem to have come down from "on high," in fact, in every case (The Assumption, The Immaculate Conception, papal infallibility), they are the fruit of the whole community; debated, voted upon, and tested, these dogmas were not proclaimed until the popes had come to the firm conclusion that the entire community's conscience had been sounded. Fr. Giussani observes, "Clearly, then, the vast majority of people have no idea of the Church's procedure leading to the proclamation of a dogma, never mind comprehending the meaning of the expression. But, as we have seen, it defines a value when that value has become a sure and living part of the conscience of the Christian community" (page 174). In other words, the Church's teaching authority derives from its unity (and consistency). This is a very different picture from the one conjured by the term, "authoritarian." Then, in the final chapter of Why the Church? Fr Giussani returns to the question of authority. If the Church's catholicity, that is its universality and unity, is a sign of its authority within space, then her apostolicity "is the characteristic of the Church which signified its capacity to address time in a unitary, structured way" (page 230). Then he says something that is really worth pausing over: "...Just as Christ's will was to bind his work and his presence in the world to the apostles and in doing so he indicated one of them as the authoritative point of reference, so, too, is the Church bound to Peter's and the apostles' successors -- the pope and his bishops" (230). Jesus stooped to bind his work and presence to particular persons (colorful, even sometimes idiotic persons!), and the Body of Christ makes the same gesture, in obedience to its own nature. There is a beautiful and audacious symmetry in this thought! For the Body of Christ to fill time and space, in order to be truly "all in all," then it teaches what is true for all (preserving its catholicity/universality) and it remains faithful to Christ's original method, to bind itself to a particular succession of persons, who become its authoritative point of reference (preserving its definitive presence in time).More
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is a saint for the modern world, and especially for the young people of our time. Born in 1901 in Turin, Italy, his time on earth was short-only 24 years-but he filled it passionately with holy living. Pier Giorgio was a model of virtue, a "man of the beatitudes," as Pope John Paul II called him at the saint's beatification ceremony in Rome on May 20, 1990. He was described by friends as "an explosion of joy." As Pier Giorgio's sister, Luciana, says of her brother in her biography of him, "He represented the finest in Christian youth: pure, happy, enthusiastic about everything that is good and beautiful."
To our modern world which is often burdened by cynicism and angst, Pier Giorgio's life offers a brilliant contrast, a life rich in meaning, purpose, and peace derived from faith in God. From the earliest age, and despite two unreligious parents who misunderstood and disapproved of his piety and intense interest in Catholicism, Pier Giorgio placed Christ first in all that he did. These parental misunderstandings, which were very painful to him, persisted until the day of his sudden death of polio. However, he bore this treatment patiently, silently, and with great love.
Pier Giorgio prayed daily, offering, among other prayers, a daily rosary on his knees by his bedside. Often his agnostic father would find him asleep in this position. "He gave his whole self, both in prayer and in action, in service to Christ," Luciana Frassati writes. After Pier Giorgio began to attend Jesuit school as a boy, he received a rare permission in those days to take communion daily. "Sometimes he passed whole nights in Eucharistic adoration." For Pier Giorgio, Christ was the answer. Therefore, all of his action was oriented toward Christ and began first in contemplation of Him. With this interest in the balance of contemplation and action, it is no wonder why Pier Giorgio was drawn in 1922 at the age of 21 to the Fraternities of St. Dominic. In becoming a tertiary, Pier Giorgio chose the name "Girolamo" (Jerome) after his personal hero, Girolamo Savonarola, the fiery Dominican preacher and reformer during the Renaissance in Florence. Pier Giorgio once wrote to a friend, "I am a fervent admirer of this friar (Savonarola), who died as a saint at the stake."
The main characteristic of Dominican spirituality is the preaching or proclamation of Divine Truth to the world. This true for all branches of the Order, laity as well as religious. This sounds so basic that we may overlook its unique quality that sets it apart from every other type of spirituality. Yet the need to proclaim Divine Truth to the world is perhaps the greatest of our time.Click on the related links. We're happy to see our favorite Dominican Studentate site, Godzdogz included.
Ah, yes. The Hissing Lady. All too common in some places where the TLM is celebrated I’m afraid.I've not run into any hissing gents or ladies at E.F. Mass, though I have had a priest embarrass me at an N.O. Mass for kneeling after Agnus Dei and after receiving Communion...something about breaking the unity of the Church and my thinking I was more Catholic than the Church. It was quite memorable as I was a new Catholic.
There is no hard and fast rule about vocal responses. I think you have to go with the flow.
That said, various Popes before the Council encouraged congregational responses, the so-called "dialogue Mass".
On 3 Sept 1958 (anniversary is coming!) an extremely important document, De musica sacra, was issued by the Sacred Congregation of Rites. This document established rules for the outward participation of the congregation in three different levels for the Missa cantata and the Missa solemnis.
In the first, the people would also sing the liturgical responses. In the second, they would also sing the Ordinary. In the third, they would also sing the Proper.
De musica sacra also established rules for Low Mass in four levels of outward participation. First, answering aloud the short responses. Second, also saying all the responses the server would say as well as the Domine non sum dignus. Third, also reciting with the priest celebrant his parts of the Ordinary, the Gloria, Creed, Sanctus, Our Father, etc. Fourth, also saying the Propers, the Introit, Gradual, Offertory, Communion antiphon.
In my travels, I have seen various levels of participation. In some places the congregation is pretty silent, leaving everything to the servers or choir. In others, the Hissing Ladies are vigilant. In yet others, people speak and sing without censorship. Much will depend on what the priest wants and promotes.
But yes, congregational responses are permitted and, in many cases, a good idea.
Personally, I prefer responses from the congregation and have no problem at all with them saying the parts pertaining to the server, and even prayers like the Gloria and Creed.
What I do not like are the Hissing Ladies of both sexes.
But I think you have to go with the flow.
They have a real knack for naming holy stuff. Witness St. John of Shanghai and San Francisco (known in life with the plain old name of John Maximovitch), John of Moscow the Fool-For-Christ, the Holy and Bodiless Powers (so much nicer than the plain-vanilla "angels"), the Astoria, Queens institution called the Sacred Patriarchal and Stavropegial Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou, and my new favorite miracle of all time, the Miracle of the Moose, ascribed to the equally baroquely-named Venerable Macarius of the Yellow Water Lake and the Unzha*, the Miracle Worker. The long and short of it is apparently it is possible to catch a moose by prayer, and then enjoy a nice venison dinner afterwards. This is my kind of miracle. Practical and yummy.And lest any Orthodox brethren take offense, Matthew makes this qualifier:
The death of the Venerable Macarius of the Miraculous Moose post-dates the final 1439 schism by a few years, unfortunately, making him unsuitable for western veneration, but considering Russian Orthodoxy sort of drifted away from Rome rather than formally breaking with it (at least if you accept Solovyov's line of reasoning--though I understand when the news of the union of the Council of Florence reached Moscow in 1441-ish, people were not amused), maybe we can squeeze him in under the wire. I will see about endowing a chantry dedicated to the Invention of the Miraculous Moose in the Upper Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Flutius in Brooklyn. I think we have a spot between the broom closet and the fax machine. (It's a very small basilica.)
[NOTE TO HORRIFIED ORTHODOX READERS: These are supposed to be compliments. Well, pretty much. I would say exactly the same things if this were a western saint. If anything, the Russian aspect ups the P.O.D. factor in some indefinable way. Seriously, we're deficient in moose miracles here in the west; about the best we can do is the time St. Anthony of Egypt is alleged to have run into a centaur.]Note, if you have no sense of humor, got eat a tub of pistacchio ice cream...I guarantee you'll be smiling at the end.
The Anglican church is in "chaos" with the "moral authority" of the Archbishop of Canterbury lying in tatters amid growing splits over homosexuality and women bishops, rebel leaders claim.
In a direct challenge to the leadership of Dr Rowan Williams, three leading Archbishops said they had decided to "take things in hand".
Leaders of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (Foca), a newly formed network for millions of Anglicans angered by the rise of liberal theology, denied that they planned to "seize power" within the church.
But Most Rev Henry Orombi, the Archbishop of Uganda, Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney, Australia, and Archbishop Greg Venables, Primate of South America's Southern Cone, said they planned to "reassert the authority of the Bible".
Gustáte et vidéte quóniam suávis est Dóminus: beátus vir qui sperat in eo.I chuckled that this would have triggered the default "Taste and See" by Moore, in my former parish. But then, I found myself trying to fit the Latin text to the setting and soon, the ditty was stuck in my head.
Taste and see that the Lord is sweet: blessed is the man that hopeth in Him.
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King...soon and very soon....
My dear friends,More
I am happy to inform you that last June 18th, before Cardinal Castrillon and the members of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei in Rome, I humbly petitioned the Holy See on my own behalf and on behalf of the monastery council for our priestly suspensions to be lifted.
On June 26th I received word that the Holy See had granted our petition. All canonical censures have been lifted.
Our community now truly rejoices in undisputed and peaceful possession of Communion with the Holy See because our priests are now in canonical good standing.
We are very grateful to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI for issuing, last July, the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum which called us to come into undisputed and peaceful Communion with him.
Today Chant: Music for the Soul by Stift Heiligenkreuz is released in the U.S.; Amazon starting shipping last week. We can hope that it does as well in US charts as in UK charts, for that would mean several hundred thousand people, or perhaps millions, will be introduced to the holy sound of this great music, perhaps for the first time. Listeners will also be impressed at the sheer quality of the singing and the style. I think I can confidently say that I've never heard chant this well done, ever. It really sets a new standard in my own mind.More
Now, I've raised this topic one or twice here and not really seen it addressed, and I'll put this more in the form of a question because I really am not sure that I know the answer. By way of background, the monastery was founded in 1133. Recall that this is not the Roman Graduale they are singing but the Cisterian Graduale which is just slightly different, so there are charming surprises along the way for anyone who knows the Liber Usualis, for example.
What is striking to me is that the style is not exotic or artsy or experimental or edgy or randomized, or eschewing the musical line to place sole focus on the textual line, according to some far-flung rhythmic theory, as sometimes people imagine the chant might have been sung in the 10th century, such as you hear on some early-music CDs. Rather, what we have hear is peace and stability, a regular pulse behind the music that the monks stretch this way and that to better shape both the musical and textual phrase. To my ear this conforms precisely to what I read in Mocquereau's rhythmic treatise.