Thursday, September 08, 2011

Explaining the Third Edition of the Roman Missal

This basic tutorial on the new Missal (in English) is worth listening to and sending around. Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth is not only a liturgist, linguist, and philosopher but also a musician and chant expert. So we have a very interesting coming together of ideals here: liturgy and music. This turns out to be a rare thing in Catholic history. Not even the Missal of Trent was put together with intense care for the musical element of the liturgy. This Missal that comes into effect in Advent, and the music is integral to it. This will have vast implications for the future of the ordinary form. For the first time, we will have a normative chant setting that applies to the vernacular - not intended as the one and only setting but it serves as the basis of foundation going forward. For those of us who work to teach parishes something about the musical element of the Roman Rite, it is a real gift to have official chants, prepared with care, as part of the Missal.



If that widget doesn't work for you, here is the direct mp3 link.

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