2022 archive of Music & Liturgy Musings
The Pallium
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 6/22/22
Published in the June 26, 2022 bulletin.
June 29 marks the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, the two great apostles of the early Church. On this occasion, the Pope celebrates Mass with archbishops appointed within the past year. During this Mass, he blesses and bestows the pallium on ... Read More »
The Celebration of the Most Holy Trinity
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 6/22/22
Published in the June 12, 2022 bulletin.
This weekend we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes, “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself” ... Read More »
The Ascension of the Lord: Thursday or Sunday? It depends…
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 6/22/22
Published in the May 22, 2022 bulletin.
Forty days after the Resurrection, our Lord ascended into heaven. We celebrate this event on the Solemnity of the Ascension of which the traditional date is this coming Thursday, May 26. However, in 1999, most of the ecclesiastical provinces (noted by an ... Read More »
Veni Sancte Spiritus: The Extended Pentecost Vigil
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 6/22/22
Published in the May 15, 2022 bulletin
In three weeks, we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. On Saturday, June 4 at the 4:30 Mass, we will celebrate the Extended Vigil of Pentecost! Pentecost is viewed in the calendar as the eighth and final Sunday of the Easter ... Read More »
The Good Shepherd: The Lamb Who Redeems His Sheep
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 5/06/22
Beginning today though we are still in Easter, we no longer hear resurrection accounts until Ascension and Pentecost. Our Gospels return to Jesus’s public ministry. The accounts of Jesus’s resurrection are few and by the third Sunday, whether in a Sunday or weekday Mass, they have all been proclaimed. ... Read More »
Lumen Christi: Our Baptismal Call
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 5/06/22
At the Easter Vigil, the new paschal candle was carried into the pitch black church. As that single light pierced the darkness, a single voice then pierced the silence: “The Light of Christ.” The response from those gathered then resounded: “Thanks be to God.” Then the light began to ... Read More »
Victimae Paschali Laudes - The Easter Sequence
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 5/06/22
“Christians praise the paschal Victim! Offer thankful sacrifice!” This is the translation of the first line of the Easter sequence which we sing today. The sequence—something we only encounter a few times during the liturgical year—is a poetic hymn on the Mass of the day, usually providing a commentary ... Read More »
The Rites of Holy Week
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 4/12/22
We now enter the most sacred and solemn time of the liturgical year. Once arriving at Palm Sunday, no other liturgical celebration can outrank the days of Holy Week—they are in the highest category on the table of precedence. Any attempt to summarize even one of the liturgies of ... Read More »
The Veiling of Statues
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 4/01/22
As you entered the church, you probably quickly noticed that the statues and altar cross are veiled. Why? We find this rubric in The Roman Missal on the top of the page for the Fifth Sunday of Lent: In the Dioceses of the United States, the practice of covering crosses and ... Read More »
Acts of Reverence for the Eucharist in the Liturgy
Posted by Anthony Gallina on 4/01/22
Fr. Poggemeyer notes in his bulletin letter that we treat holy things in a certain way, and the Eucharist is the holiest of all “things” because it is Christ himself. For cradle Catholics (myself included), we likely were taught at a young age acts of reverence to the Eucharist; ... Read More »