Pope Benedict's "Tender Tenacity"

I heard another great quote at the Sacred Music Colloquim XVIII in Chicago, this one from Father Frank Phillips, who spoke this evening about the success of the local St. John Cantius community.  Fr. Phillips spoke about the decline in sacred music after Vatican II, and how the community he founded is working to bring sacred music back to Catholic churches.  My favorite quote was about my beloved Pope: 

"With tender tenacity, he (Pope Benedict) is moving the church in a direction in which the fullness of the sacred liturgy and liturgical life will raise all mankind through her sacred art and sacred music."

What an apt and lovely phrase, "tender tenacity."  And what a high purpose we are called to!

The Sacred Music Colloquium is a wonderful mixture of high quality music lessons and high quality worship and devotion services.   Tonight we had an hour of Eucharistic Adoration, with Gregorian chants (of course),  extraordinary polyphonic singing (Tantum Ergo, Palestrina), capped off with a magnificent organ playing for the recessional (Three Versets on Pange Lingua from Premier livre d'orgue, Grigny).   Personally, I found that reciting the Litany of Loreto was heart rending (in a good way).  It made me cry to be reciting "Ora pro nobis" after the cantor chanted out each of the names for the Blessed Virgin Mary, in a church filled with people.  The Anchoress would have loved this.  Chanting does open the heart and calm the mind.  I've only ever seen the Litany of Loreto (or the Litany of Saints, for that matter) it on EWTN before.   Live is way better than TV. 

Youn can listen to Dr. Phillip's lecture - and the Litany of Loreto - here (scroll down). 

Comments

[Jill]

I know just what you mean about chanting a litany. Two or three times a year, the Litany of the Saints is chanted at St. Paul's.
I always weep.