How the Numerical Structure of the Our Father Makes it Intrinsically Liturgical

When I was speaking recently at St Patrick's Church in Columbus, Ohio, I spoke about the Little Oratory and in connection with that the pattern of prayer that underlies the liturgy. Much of the information is in the appendix in the book called A Beautiful Pattern of Prayer. I spoke at length about how the pattern of 7 + 1 appears in the annual, the weekly and the daily cycle of the liturgy. Seven is the number of the old covenant and eight is the number of the new with Christ himself representing the 'eighth day'. You can ead more about this here: the path to heaven is a triple helix...and it passes through an octagonal portal I described how even the structure of the texts has this liturgical pattern - so St Thomas tells us that the book is most appropriate for liturgy and praise of God because alone in the Bible  it contains 'all of theology'. He goes on to say that there are 150 psalms which can be broken up into 70 and 80 where '70 denotes 7, the number of the old covenant, and 8 denotes 8 the number of the new covenant'.

At the end of the talk the Dominican Friar, Fr Michael, told us how the Lord's prayer has this same liturgical structure. He directed us to St Thomas's commentary on the Lord's Prayer which 'among all prayers holds chief place'. He described how St Thomas considered each petition as given in Matthew's gospel into seven petitions. The first three petitions are all related to God:

Hallowed Be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven

and the last three relate to man and to earthly things:

And Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us.

And Lead Us Not Into Temptation.

But Deliver Us from Evil. Amen

He then described how at the center of the prayer and at the conjunction of the two sections is the petition, 'Give us this day our daily bread'. This is both the seventh and the eighth petition and they meet where God and man meets, in Christ, in the Eucharist. So this petition refers to daily sustenance in both temporal and spiritual terms. The temporal is our need for daily food. And the spiritual sustenance is both the Sacramental bread which is consecrated daily in the Church and the nourishing Word of God.

''It must be noted that in the first three petitions of this prayer only things spiritual are asked for—those which indeed begin to be in this world but are only brought to fruition in the life eternal. Thus, when we pray that the name of God be hallowed, we really ask that the name of God be known; when we pray that the kingdom of God may come, we ask that we may participate in God's kingdom; and when we pray that the will of God be done, we ask that His will be accomplished in us. All these things, however, although they have their beginning here on earth, cannot be had in their fullness except in heaven. Hence, it is necessary to pray for certain necessaries which can be completely had in this life. The Holy Spirit, then, taught us to ask for the requirements of this present life which are here obtainable in their fullness, and at the same time He shows that our temporal wants are provided us by God. It is this that is meant when we say: "Give us this day our daily bread."

One may also see in this bread another twofold meaning, viz., Sacramental Bread and the Bread of the Word of God. Thus, in the first meaning, we pray for our Sacramental Bread which is consecrated daily in the Church, so that we receive it in the Sacrament, and thus it profits us unto salvation: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven."

The Lumen Christi Hymnal

A Great Catholic Hymn Book That Focusses on the Liturgy of the Hours, and Discourages Hymn Singing In Mass

The Lumen Christi Hymnal is the hymn book that those who chant the Office in English will have been waiting for. Here we have liturgical hymns appropriate for the Office, translated well into English so that they can be sung to the chant melodies from the Liber Hymnalis. There are hymns for Lauds, Vespers and Compline for a four-weekly cycle in ordinary time, as well as hymns that are proper to the seasons, the commons and to particular days. The translations are from a variety of sources including the 19th century Anglicans and more recently, the community of St Cecilia's Abbey at Ryde in the Isle of Wight. These hymns and melodies suit the Offices for which they were designed far more than devotional hymns, ancient or modern, that most psalter seem to want to direct you to.

One great advantage is that, as with the ancient Latin hymns, the pattern of the texts hardly vary. This means that even if I am not skilled at sight reading the music, provided I know even just one melody then I can sing many other hymns to that melody. This possibility of interchanging so many melodies and texts suddenly opens up the possibility of the musically challenged, like myself, being able to sing very quickly a hymn for each Office each day. As I learn more melodies I can gradually increase the variety so I don't need to bet bored, but I am not bound to know all tunes before I can sing each hymn. The General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours allows for flexibility in choosing the hymns for Offices (within defined limits) and their melodies, so one does not need to feel absolutely bound by the format what is given here. This makes it a very adaptable and therefore practical resource for those who are beginning to learn to sing the Office.

As with the Lumen Christi Gradual it is attractively bound, a pleasure to hold and handle and comes at the reasonable price of $14.95. It is relatively thin, so could easily fit into the racks on church pews without putting strain on the carpentry. All of this is, I hope, is going to make it something that will make it desirable to parishes and families.

The first section of the book contains what it calls devotional hymns - 'traditional hymnody that Catholics in the United States know and love'. Many of these are quite old (there are several medieval carols for example). Some are more modern. These the ones that are likely to be familiar to us as hymns sung at Mass. However, while it does acknowledge that it is not illegitimate to sing hymns at Mass, we are discouraged from doing so. The thoughtful introduction, written by Adam Bartlett, tells us that these 'devotional hymns are meant to assist individuals, families and communities in their private and devotional prayer, further connecting the grace and prayer of the liturgy with everyday life' and preparing us for a 'more fruitful participation in the liturgy'. He expands on the place of hymns in the Roman Rite, and it is worth reproducing a section of this introduction. 'For Catholics, the hymn properly belongs to the Liturgy of the Hours, or Divine Office. Here, at the beginning of every hour, the Church places on the lips of all the faithful a hymn that reveals a particular dimension of the mystery of the hour, the day, the feast or the season. This hymn accompanies no other liturgical rite; the purpose of the hymn in the Liturgy of the Hours is for reflection on the poetic text, and an appropriation of the text from hands to lips to heart 'The Mass, however, contains fewer hymns in its proper structure. The model for the sung liturgy that the Church envisions includes the singing of the Order of Mass (the dialogues and the unchanging framework), the Mass Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, Sanctus and the Agnus Dei) and of the antiphons and psalms that form the Proper of the Mass (Entance Antiphon, Alleluia, Offertory Antiphon and Communion Antiphon). All of these chants, which are appointed by the Church can be found in the Roman Missal and the Graduale Romanum, and, by extension, in the Lumen Christi Missal and the Lumen Christi Simple Gradual. 'The antiphons and Psalms contained within the Propers of the Mass are best suited to the three Mass processions (the Entrance, Offertory and Communion). In each case, the antiphon is first intoned by the cantor, and is then repeated by all of the faithful or by the choir; then verses from the Psalm are sung by the cantor in alternation of the repeated refrain. In this way, the singing can be shortened or lengthened as needed, according to the length of the procession. Additionally, the faithful can sing the repeated refrain while observing and engaging in the ritual action taking place. 'This is one of the many reasons why the Eucharistic liturgy envisions the singing of the antiphons and Psalms at the Entrance, Offertory and Communion, as is seen in the first three options given for them in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (see articles 48, 74 and 87). The fourth and final option for these chants is the singing of "another liturgical chant that is suited to the sacred action, the day or the time of year, similarly approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop" (see GIRM 48), which over the past 50 years has taken the form of a hymn. 'The practice of singing devotional hymns during the Mass processions is a custom that emerged well before the Second Vatican Council, and is one that the Council hoped would give way to truly liturgical singing, and to the singing of the Mass itself. The Council, desired for the assembly of the faithful to participate in a fully conscious and active way in the liturgy itself, not in devotions that stand in the place of actual liturgical texts and rites.' The introduction also give clear explanations of how to sing the hymns. The music is presented in the five-line musical notation. I would have preferred that chant notation but found that inclusion of the familiar chant elements did help to make retain the intuitive aspects of chant notation that I like.

'

Wagner, Gargoyles, Shadow...and the Art of Gurning

So many people came in and commented on my article last week about Wagner, that I thought I would redirect you to two articles written about what happens when you put ugliness next to beauty. Provided the ugliness doesn't dominate, then in fact by the contrast it affords it can serve to heighten our sense of the beauty of the whole. In the context of visual beauty, Church Fathers wrote about this, monks incorporated it into their manuscript illuminations, baroque artists used it symbolically in their contrast of light and dark and gothic artists incorporated gargoyles into their buildings. As I wrote in response to one person who commented, I am not against all dissonance in music. There is a place for it, I think provided it doesn't dominate in such a way that it becomes the characterizing feature of the music. When used well, stepping in and out of key for example can heighten our sense of a full resolution and the beauty of the whole.

Anyway, here the articles: first a light hearted one called  Living Gargoyles - the Medieval Art of Gurning; and second here is a more sober presentation of the idea in Okay, Here's the Serious Article About Gargoyles and John Scotus Eriugina

Above, a gargoyle; below: more Arthur Rackham art; and then a real live gurner - you'll have to read the article if you don't know what this is...and finally one of Goya's black paintings from the 18th century.

Photos of a Italian sculpture of the Mother of God and Our Lord as a Child by Cody Swanson

Thanks to reader Ciro Lamonte in Italy for bringing to our notice the sculpture of Cody Swanson. I know little of him, but it seems from his commissions he is well known to others and I am guessing many NLM readers will already know more of his work than I do! Reading through his website, here, he is based in Florence and teaches at the Florence Academy.

I like this very much. Clearly Cody has great skill as a sculptor. Beyond this I offer just a couple of personal thoughts on what I like so much about it: first, I see first an idealised face of Our Lady that seems to me to draw on the classical ideal. I would rather see this than something that is so individualized that it looks like a portrait of the girl nextdoor dressed up in old-fashioned costume. I always feel that even in the naturalistic styles sacred art must have some idealization so that it emphasizes the common humanity - those aspects of Our Lady to which we can hope to emulate. Second, I see strong angular  folds in the drapery as one might have seen in 17th century sculpture and which gives the form vigour and acts against sentimentality.

I took the following photos from Cody's Facebook page. We see drawings, the development of the model in clay in which, as I understand the process the creative work of the artist takes place. And then finally the translation of the clay model into the final medium, which is more of a mechanical process.

Is Wagner the Great Destroyer of Beauty in Music?

Richard Wagner is a controversial figure in the intellectual sub-culture of American orthodox Catholicism. He is identified as one of the key architects of modern music, breaking the rules and so making it fashionable so that classical music today is has become the random noise that is Harrison Birtwistle. Wagner's musical sins were, as I understand it, two fold (we'll leave his personal life aside). First the opening of his opera Tristan and Isolde and the inclusion of the 'Tristan chord', that sounds dissonant in its setting; the second is his use of a compositional device called 'chromaticism'.

In regard to the first, the opening chord of the opera does sound discordant to me and I don't like what I am hearing. I heard the famous English conductor Sir Simon Rattle once describe this little passage as so influential that in his estimation it marked the beginning of modern classical music. Sir Simon thought this was a good thing, as far as I can gather, but if he is right then for people like me who can't stand dissonant music, then perhaps this does make Wagner the great villain...one who had in impact, we might say, of Wagnerian proportions.

Second is Wagner's free use of chromaticism. This the use of intervals and chord sequences that move freely between keys and modes. Again, I am old that it is in Tristan und Isolde particularly that he uses this device. Increased chromaticism is often cited as one of the main causes or signs of the "break down" of tonality. As a result the world of classical music that gave us Bach and Beethoven metamorphosed into one that gave us Boulez and Birtwistle.

But, and here's the problem for me, apart from those little passages referred to much of Wagner sounds sweet and harmonous to my inexpert ear. In fact Wagner's Siegfried Idyll is one of absolute favourite pieces of music. I heard a story associated with this. He wrote it for his wife's birthday and presented it to her on the day by having the orchestra play it on a boat on a mountain lake at dawn. It was a misty morning and as the boat approached the shore the music could be heard before the boat and orchestra could be seen. It is gushingly romantic and regardless of the truth of the story, I imagine that mountain lake scene every time I hear it.

It may be that like the Impressionists in art, whose influence for radical change is seen more easily in those that followed than in their own work, Wagner started the trend dissonance without actually employing it much himself. You can make your own mind up on this one, here is Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic.  The pictures incidentally are illustrations of the published stories of Wagner's operas painted in the early 20th century by the great English illustrator Arthur Rackham. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0QsSCPoa0w

Pictures of a Recently Completed Giant Mural of the Crowning of the Virgin from Malaga, Spain

The artist Raul Berzosa has sent me the following pictures of his recently completed project. It is of the ceiling of the Oratory of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Sorrows, Málaga, Spain.  It took him a year to paint. The total size of the roof is 12.20 meters long and 9.62 meters wide, with a total of 130 square meters approximately. It is painted in acrylic. His website for more information is here, http://www.raulberzosa.com/. This is a spectacular achievement and it is good to see work of this sort being commissioned and executed. I hope there will be more!  If I have one point to make, it is my usual one that my personal taste is to see more muted colour and shadow with the brightness concentrated on the principle foci of interest in the baroque fashion. Also, acrylic, the medium which he uses, can have an artificial quality, as though it is permanently lit by fluorescent strip lighting. However, I should state that I have seen only the photographs and so I have not seen the work in situ. For a work like this the impact can be very different when viewed from where it is intended to be seen - this would be viewed ordinarily from a great distance away by observers looking up from the floor. The artist has no doubt designed it with this with this in mind. 

Why Men Cultivate their Masculinity When they Grow Flowers

In the Office of Readings, on the Feast of the Visitation, the first reading is from the Song of Songs.

It seems to have been a common theme  in late medieval art to portray Mary interpreted as the 'Garden Enclosed' as referred to in the Song of Songs. As someone who loves gardens I like the idea of the garden having a place in sacred art. I am talking here of the garden grown for beauty, the 'flower garden' as it would be called here in the US. In Britain, where I come from, 'garden' always means a place cultivated for beauty.

I am not aware of this being a common subject for artists to paint today and one wonders why? The first answer that comes to mind, almost as a knee-jerk response, is that genuine piety for Mary has declined and this is just one more casualty in the devotional lexicon.

It might be this, but also, it is very likely a reflection also of a different attitude to gardens and to man's place in creation that is prevalent today and especially strong in the US.

Historically, the wilderness was seen the place of untamed nature which is the home of the devil. Christ went to meet him there for 40 days and when monks and hermits went out to the desert, it was not so much as we might think today, to escape the city, but rather to engage in spiritual battle in the wilderness, the lair of the enemy. In the painting below by the Flemish artist Robert Campin (scroll down to the second last), we see the father of monasticism, Anthony Abbot (with St Catherine of Siena, John the Baptist and, I think, St Barbara), now resting in the garden having completed, one presumes, his spiritual battles in the Egyptian wilderness.

Today, however, the beauty of nature as wilderness is seen as the highest form of natural beauty, of greater beauty than cultivated nature (which would be thought of as unnatural because it is 'man altered'). Here in the US, for example, people particularly prize their national parks as places of wilderness unaffected by man. They are wonderful and beautiful places to visit, but nevertheless very different from those in countries that are of the Old World. In the UK, where I come from there is no part of the land, as far as I am aware, that is not man-affected. Our national parks preserve the look of ancient farmland. The Lake District, for example, in the northwest of England is a landscape that has been shaped by man for centuries through agriculture. It's beauty was admired by the Romantic poets - it is the place, for example, where Wordsworth saw that 'host of golden daffodils' that he wrote about.

The wilderness is beautiful, but it is part of a fallen world and we know objectively that by God's grace man can raise the beauty of nature up to something higher than the wilderness (it should be said also, that as a fallen creature with free will, he is also capable of destroying its beauty too). It is a neo-pagan philosophy that makes nature untouched by man as ultimate ideal for beauty. It arises from an attitude that man and his activity is not natural and the influence of civilization is always detrimental to nature. This attitude took hold strongly in the US due to the influence of figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.

For the Christian, man is meant to cultivate the world (or large parts of it at least) and if he does so well, he elevates it's beauty because he raises it up to what it was meant to be. So farmland is more beautiful than wilderness and a garden, grown for the contemplation of beauty is more beautiful than farmland.

The second point that arises in my consideration of this is the question as to whether or not gardening is a male or a female pastime? Talking to many here in the US, the impression I get is that people see planting vegetables or rearing animals for food as a masculine thing; but growing a garden for its beauty as something intrinsically feminine. I have noticed since I have been here in the US that it seems to be a fashion among Catholic academics (especially those with distributist tendencies) who have even a small plot of land  to use it for rearing chickens, keeping bees or growing vegetables. But I don't see much interest in creating a 'garden enclosed'.

Again, this goes against the tradition and not the case elsewhere. Adam was a gardener, Christ, the new Adam, was mistaken for a gardener. Christ went to the wilderness to meet the devil, but when he wanted to pray to his Father, he went to the garden. Also, while Mary is identified with the garden itself, it was the man in the Song of Songs who cultivated that garden and gathered lilies for his love. Furthermore, to add a personal note, my great grandfather was head gardener of the Duke of Northumberland (so the family lore goes); my grandfather was and my dad still is a very keen amateur gardener (my father's garden was even featured once on national television).

Aristotle it seems to suggest that the natural home for man is not the wilderness but the city, where he lives in association with others. Scripture seems to support this: for example, in psalm 106 the city is the place of culture from which the wilderness is banished; and in the Book of Revelation, our final home will be the city of the New Jerusalem. That city, however, is not a concrete jungle, but rather is a garden city in which the Tree of Life flourishes and Eden has been restored by Christ the Head Gardener. The garden in these accounts is a place of beauty, a retreat for relaxation and contemplation for city dwellers.  Everything is grown for its beauty and to delight the senses - taste, smell, vision - as well as sustenance. The little bit of reading  about medieval gardens seems to suggest that, consistent with this, they were designed with both utility and beauty in mind (just as with architecture it seems, utility and beauty are seen as two different aspects of what is good). By this the work of man adds harmony to the hymn of the cosmos in proclaiming the glory of God.

Furthermore, Leo XIII said in his encyclical Rerum Novarum, that men  (I assume here in the sense of all humanity) should be encouraged to cultivate the land. I have heard this used as an argument by those Catholic academics to support the idea that they ought to be keeping chickens and bees in their backyard and growing vegetables. If you enjoy it then I say go ahead and do it, but I feel no such obligation myself. Frankly, I can't see the point as long as the local supermarket sells ready-cooked chickens for under $5 and jars of honey and vegetables and fruit from all over the world year round.

However, what is not so often remarked upon is that Leo says that in cultivating the land, man will, 'learn to love the very soil that yields in response to the labor of their hands, not only food to eat, but an abundance of good things for themselves and those that are dear to them [my emphasis].' He says specifically that he should cultivate for reasons that go beyond generation of food. This I suggest is the garden that man can contemplate for its beauty. I would even go so far to say that this is the higher goal. The Marian garden is higher than the Marthan.

In advocating that men grow flowers I am not suggesting that this should be the goal of unreconstructed men so that they can discover their 'feminine side'. On the contrary, the cultivation of beauty for contemplation should be seen as much a masculine occupation as a feminine one and a way in which the true masculinity is realized for it is part of what mankind is meant to do.

Perhaps there are parallels in the modern feminization of flower gardening with the feminization of prayer and contemplation that has lead to a drop in the number of priestly and religious vocations in the Church, and to the fact that in a typical congregation women always seem to outnumber men. Perhaps the antidote to both is the same - the reinforcement of the role of fathers in the family. In the first case, by leading the family in prayer, and in the second case by being happy once again to  cultivate natural beauty as an example to their sons...even if it is only by watering a window box to grow flowers to give to his wife!

Pictures below is  Noli me tangere by John of Flanders, 14th century - Christ with holy spade! And below that: Martin Schongauer, Madonna in Rose Garden, 15th century; and below: Gerard David, and Robert Campin, both late gothic Flemish. Picture above are from 14th century English psalters.

TMC student commissioned to design a Cosmatesque floor for her parish in Idaho

Here is a heartening story that went out in a recent newsletter from Thomas More College of Liberal Arts descrbes how college senior, Amy Green is designing a Cosmatesque floor for her parish, Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Driggs, Idaho. She is doing this through the weekly Guild of St Luke art class at the college. The article below was written by student Marlene Schuler, Class of 2017. In this Amy describes how this will be done through members of the parish volunteering their time to lay the tiles. She told me in addition that these professional tilers had also managed to negotiate a deal with the tile supplier, who offered them a good price simply because he was taken by how unusual this project is. This is the sort of result that makes it all worthwhile for me. I'm sure Amy will do a great job! Another point is that the article doesn't say so, but as this is done on a limited budget, they would welcome donations to go towards the finished floor. So here's your chance to contribute to the rebuilding of Catholic culture. Contact me if you would like to donate and I will put you in touch with Amy and the church.

Anyway here is Marlene's article, which was headed:

Rebuilding Catholic Culture, One Tile at a Time

What inspired you to start this project?

Initially, it was the Way of Beauty program in freshman year. Then, it was furthered by going to Rome and seeing the Cosmati floors in person; in particular, the floors of San Benedetto and Santa Maria in Trastevere.

(The Cosmati floor in the basilica Sancta Maria in Trastevere that helped to inspire Amy) 

Could you describe a little more how the Way of Beauty Program was able to help you with this design process?

In the second semester of freshman year, Mr. Clayton focuses in on Euclid’s geometry and how it is applied in various art forms. At the end of the semester, we were asked to design a Cosmati floor using the techniques we were taught through the program. I was so struck by how easy this project was and how beautiful the floors turned out; which was incredible for me, because I have never been able to draw.

Currently, I am taking the St. Luke art guild in which Mr. Clayton is able to help me with the design of the floor!

Where are you in the process of design?

I’m in the middle of designing the floor right now. Once I finish the design and our parish has raised the necessary funds for the floor, the project will begin. There are several parishioners who have offered to donate their time, talents, and materials to lay the floor. It’s going to be local parishioners and people from our town (including non-Catholics) all working together on the floor, cutting and laying the tile…. it’ll be like medieval times, when everyone from the village helped out.

I am also designing a website whereby people can donate to the project to help purchase the tile. I am hoping to have the website up and running by the end of this semester.

Is this something you would like to continue doing after the project is finished—after your tenure at Thomas More?

If there are other opportunities, I would definitely be open for exploring them. It’s so exciting to be able to use the education that I’ve received here so soon—even before graduating.

Announcing a Catholic Arts Conference for Fall 2016 in Omaha, Nebraska - Can Such an Event Be a Success?

There will be a conference for Catholic artists and patrons, covering painting, sculpture, architecture, music and film will take place in Omaha, Nebraska from October 27-29, 2016. Featured speakers are Anthony Visco, Fr Michael Morris (who writes the art articles for Magnificat, Denis McNamara and many other well known names, As well as sharing ideas about art, it will be a showcase for the artists and they will be able to interact with patrons, publishers, liturgical design companies and so on. I anticipate regular updates through the year.This is good news. I am not aware of something done on this scale before and so I pray that it is successful in furthering the new 'epiphany of beauty'.  The website is here.

However it does raise the question in my mind of what the aims of such conference should be and how might they be achieved? I am thinking particularly of the visual arts of painting and sculpture, the area I know best, as I write.

Over the years several people have suggested exhibitions to me as a way of promoting beautiful art and helping Catholic artists. As a rule I am skeptical about their value. The assumption seems to be that there are good artists out there who are unknown, and if we can provide a showcase for their work, it will give them a chance to become known and then patrons will commission them. I think that this assumption is wrong. In this age of the internet it has never been easier for artists to publicize their work. The reality is that there are very few good artists out there, most (not all) of these are trained iconographers and they are already generally known. Furthermore, the vacuum is so great, that anyone who really is any good will be noticed very quickly. So, when the call goes out for submissions and the art comes in, there are usually just a handful of good pieces but not enough for a whole exhibition and the organizers are forced to display much mediocrity just to fill the wall space. The overall, general impression for those who attend is that while the publicity speaks of a return to the values of timeless beauty produced by skillful artisans, they don't see it in the works on display. In the end art is a good as it looks, and people know what they are seeing. They see the disparity between the rhetoric and the product and will leave discouraged, believing that the future is bleaker than ever.

It might be that I am wrong and the work done in recent years in teaching artists skills and forming them so that they are aware of what constitutes Catholic sacred art has begun to pay off and there are now more good artists out there than I imagine. If so perhaps this event will put some patrons in touch with some artists who were previously unknown to each other. I am skeptical, as I have explained, but would be very happy to be proved wrong so I guess it is always worth a try!

I am a great believer in the idea that when the art is good enough, people will be clamoring to buy it. This is why Popes have stressed the importance of beauty. When it is present it connects with people regardless of how educated and how cultured they are and it sidesteps prejudice. I think that the evidence bears this out; good artists are able to get commissions. This says to me that the work to be done is not so much in publicising the work of artists, but rather in forming them.

Perhaps this conference can do more and play a part in sharing of ideas and in formation in way a simple exhibition does not ? Because of the stature of the people attending, it seems to me that it does offer the possibility of dialogue between creative people and with the Church and it's patrons. To the degree that it can achieve this, then I think that it can be useful. This dialogue is precisely what John Paul II called for in his Letter to Artists, so that there could be the development of new art that nevertheless participate in the timeless principles of beauty, goodness and truth. The desire is to create new popular forms that speak of and to the Church as it is today without compromising on the essential elements that make the art sacred and Catholic. Pope Benedict spoke of a similar need, for example in Sing A New Song, He talked of the need for artists to move out of the 'esoteric circle' (ie their friends at dinner parties!) and connect with 'the many'.

I believe that this will require all involved to be sincere in seeking to learn from each other try to understand what is needed today. On the whole artists are not good at listening to each other. I just think of my own reactions here. I am keen to meet patrons or people who might pay me for work, but it is easy for me to see other artists as competitors and my instincts are to avoid contact with them. This is my loss. I should be ready to learn from my peers. Raphael, no less, did not hesitate to copy the styles of others if he thought it would help his own, and I think we should be ready to do the same.  At such a conference, I would have to try to put aside this tendency and try to be ready humbly to learn from others and especially try to deepen my sense of how prayer and liturgy is connected to the form of art. This might enable my worship to inform my painting and in turn, one hopes, nourish that of others' too.

In this regard, I am pleased that the organisers have stated their intention to make prayer central to this. I hope that this a conference in which the liturgy - the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours -punctuates the days and that the organizers think very carefully about the environment in which they take place so that art, music, architecture and worship are all in harmony. By this the attendees might deepen further their instincts for how we engage with art in music in the service of our worship, which in turn will help them to paint better art.

As I have said I think that the signs are good here, so fingers crossed!

The website is www.catholic-artists.com.

Paul Jernberg's Mass of St Philip Neri - CD Available

One of the best Mass settings in English I have ever heard  A CD of the Mass of St Philip Neri, is Music Director of St Lucy's and St Monica's parishes in Methuen, MA. He is also Composer in Residence and Choir Director at Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is now available from www.pauljernberg.com.

The whole Mass is sung, rather like an Eastern liturgy in which priest intones and calls and choir respond on behalf of the congregation. The recording has been done by the Chicago based, Schola Cantorum of St. Peter the Apostle met under the direction of conductor J. Michael Thompson

This has been released to rave reviews (see for example comments from musicians and bloggers including Peter Kwasniewski at the Chante Cafe, here. He says the following 'Magnificent..one of the best English Mass settings I have ever seen.'

Charles Culbreth, a nationally respected choir director and composer, who has been a regular contributor at Chant Cafe and an important voice over the years in the Church Music Association of America commented: 'With the consistency of his expertise with Byzantine homophony, combined with near perfection and sheer genius of the harmonic/melodic construct of Paul Jernberg's setting, it cannot be just coincidence that Palestrina's patron bears the dedication of this Mass.'

The Our Father https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-0r5glY104#t=10 Glory to God in the highest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roxW_518SSg