Merry Christmas!

For while all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, Thy almighty Word leapt down from heaven from Thy royal throne. (Wisdom 18:14-15)

Happy Thanksgiving!

All Souls Day 2013

Our Latin Mass community had our very first Solemn Requiem Mass for All Souls Day last Saturday.  I hope we sprang a lot of souls from Purgatory!

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine

et lux perpetua luceat eis.

More pictures here: Solemn Requiem Mass 11/2/13

The Real St. Francis

The Real St. Francis

Blessed feast day of St. Francis of Assisi!

Here is a little something different for St. Francis' feast, because sometimes you've just gotta have a Sequence!

Medieval Sequence for St. Francis of Assisi

Apple Cider Donuts

In Florida, the seasons are early summer, midsummer, late summer, and February, so the only way to experience autumn is with food.  I used this recipe to make a batch of apple cider donuts:

apple cider donuts made in my Babycakes donut maker

 

 

I had to work quickly before my husband drank all the apple cider! ;)
Blessed autumn to all.

Chocolate Kahlua Trifle

Tonight was the end of year party for my husband's Toastmaster group.  He asked me to make this, figuring that he'd get to finish the leftovers!  Bon appetit!

Recipe here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/150805816/Chocolate-Kahlua-Trifle

First Missa Solemnis in Tampa!

It's Here!!! 


First Missa Solemnis to take place in Tampa on the Feast of Pentecost

Please join us and bring a friend!

from a recent Missa Cantata at Incarnation

 

Daily Prayer For Priests by St. Therese of the Child Jesus

O Jesus, I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
for your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields;
for your tempted priests;for your lonely and desolate priests;
For your young priests;
for your dying priests;
for the souls of your priests in Purgatory.

But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me:
the priest who baptized me;
the priests who absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
the priests who taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way (especially …).
O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart,
and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity.    Amen.

Happy birthday, Papa Bene! (emeritus)

I'd love to deliver this to Castelgandolpho!
Ad multos annos!

A new chant blog for Tampa

I've started another blog page which will be dedicated to promoting sacred music, chant, and polyphony in the Tampa, FL, area.  It's just the bare bones right now, but hopefully it will be more active soon:

Sensus Ecclesiae

Thank you, Holy Father!

Thank you, Holy Father!  I will miss you!  I love you!




Source:  Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

Latin Mass Promo Video!

This was filmed at our Latin EF Mass here in Tampa, now offered every Sunday afternoon at 4:30PM at Incarnation parish.  Deo gratias!  Please feel free to join us and bring a friend!

Winter Chant Intensive- Day 5

The fifth and final day at last arrived.  The 2013 Winter Chant Intensive was quickly drawing to a close.  After a short (one hour!) practice, it was time for the chanted OF Mass!  Amongst the congregation there were students from three local parochial schools in attendance. 

Here is a clip from the video done by the local media:  Gregorian Chant Mass at St. Joseph Church, Macon, GA  You can't see it on the video, but Communion was offered by intinction!  (Sadly, this is currently not allowed in my home diocese.)

Some still shots:

Altar set up for Mass ad orientem



Last minute conferring before Mass begins

Men's schola
(I said 'look holy!' and this is what I got...)

Alleluia!

Gospel and homily

preparing the incense



incensing the altar

Offertory antiphon

Rose window


 Next year, the Winter Intensive will be held somewhere in Florida, so mark your calendars all you chant enthusiasts!

Here are a couple of pictures of me, my Plurk buddy Suzanne, her friend Kathryn, and  our fantabulous schola director Arlene at our last meal together before returning to our respective parts of the country:

Plurkettes:  Jjoy and MakeMeASpark

Women's Schola director Arlene Oost-Zinner
and
Kathryn of Michigan









Winter Chant Intensive- Day 4

Today was packed with more practice for tomorrow's OF Mass.  I have been assigned 2nd cantor (no pressure - ack!), so I will be intoning the Alleluia.  Another alto and I will chant the verse and the Gloria Patri of the Introit together (whew!).  The Ordinary will be Mass IV.  We reviewed the Alma Redemptoris Mater this afternoon; it will be the recessional.  The men's section has the Offertory, and the women's has the Communion antiphon, alternating with the men chanting the verses.

A reporter from Georgia Public Radio arrived and interviewed several attendees, and also recorded the women's section while we were practicing in the church this morning.

After lunch, we learned how to point psalms using the Office tones, and practiced marking and analyzing the chant sheets for chironomy.   :)

Winter Chant Intensive- Day 3

This week is just flying by!  I can hardly believe we have passed the halfway point of our week of chant.  Today we learned the rest of the Ordinary for Friday's Mass, and continued with work on the Propers.  We spent a lot of time marking our chant sheets for placement of the ictus, following the hierarchy of ictus rules. It is not quite totally unlike diagramming sentences LOL.  In our 'spare time', we learned a little bit of conducting, mixed with a good bit of laughter.  Let's just say that I will never be able to watch the Wicked Witch of the West's guards marching without thinking of conducting chant!  :)

At the end of the day, we sang Evening Prayer in alternatum in the church, ending with Benediction.  Afterwards, we joined the parish in the basement (!) for their weekly supper, followed by a talk from the pastor, Fr. Allan McDonald, on "Reform of the Reform within Continuity: A Personal Perspective".  I wish someone would have recorded it.

Tomorrow, if there is time, we are supposed to learn the Te Deum, just 'for fun'.  Woot!!

Here are a few more pictures:

Rose window above the organ pipes

St. Cecilia is in the central round window

Marian side altar
The Nativity scene is blocking the view

Cupola

Lots of saints in stained glass :)

St. Peter Claver and St. Vincent de Paul
Keys above

St. Aloysius is on the left,
and on the right is
St. John Berchmans (for my mom).

Winter Chant Intensive- Day 2

Day Two started out a lot better than Day One-no vehicle issues!  (and only 3 layers for the chill ;)  )

We are learning Mass IV; so far we have done the the Kyrie and Agnus Dei.  Since the EF calendar is still in the Octave of Epiphany, we are also learning the Epiphany propers- today's agenda consisted of the Introit and Communion propers.  We also learned the first part of the highly melismatic Alleluia, with verse to follow tomorrow.

The day closed with a quiet, reverent Low EF in the church. Here are a few pictures of the inside of the church:

Apse ceiling over the high altar



High altar



Side altar

I couldn't get a picture of the other side altar because the Nativity scene was being displayed in front of it.  I'm fairly certain it is a Marian theme.  Only the edges were visible, in a rich blue with similar gold painted details. 

Winter Chant Intensive 2013- Day 1

I was all set to head out bright and early this morning, heading up to Macon for the Winter Chant Intensive.  I packed all my coats, sweaters, socks, scarf, a couple of hats- this Florida woman was taking no chances with the extreme cold of the North.  What's that, you say?  Macon is in the deep South?  Yeah, uh huh, talk to the mitten, I mean hand.... ;)

Little did I know that the possibility of Absolute Zero was the least of my worries.  20 miles from home my car died- dead as a doornail.  Left home at 7AM, called AAA around 7:45AM, got towed back home by 9AM (nota bene:  stalling out on the shoulder of the interstate gets your call routed as priority, due to the danger therein.  I was handling everything fine until that little tidbit sank in, btw....).  Regrouped, hubby transferred all my extreme weather laden luggage into his car, and by 10AM I was at last on my way, for real this time.

After a quick stop across the border for some hate chicken (where I apparently lost my Rx polarized sunglasses :(  ) I arrived at St. Joseph Church

St. Joseph Church
Macon, GA

in Macon- two hours late, but was still able to catch the last hour of the first session.  I have lots of sol-fege homework to finish for tomorrow.  :D

This should be an awesome week, especially with all the adversity leading up to just getting here.  Please pray that my car will be fixable and inexpensively so. 

Gratias tibi ago! 

Blessed Feast of Mary, Mother of God!

Salutation to the Blessed Virgin Mary

by St. Francis of Assisi

Hail Lady, Holy Queen, Holy Mary Theotokos,

who art the Virgin made church

and the One elect by the Most Holy Father of Heaven,

whom He consecrated with His Most Holy beloved Son

and with the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete;

Thou in whom was and is all fullness of grace and every good.

Hail His Palace;

Hail His Tabernacle;

Hail His Home.

Hail His Vestment;

Hail His Handmaid;

Hail His Mother

And hail all you holy virtues,

which through the grace and illumination of the Holy Spirit

are infused into the hearts of the faithful,

so that from those unfaithful

you make them faithful to God.

Amen.

Source:  Our Lady of Solitude Monastery