May 2004 Archives

Calvert House
The Catholic Center at the University of Chicago
May 30, 2004, 11:00am, Bond Chapel
Pentecost Sunday(C) Domenica Pentecostes

Antiphonum ad Introitum, When The Day of Pentecost, BFW 184, Psalm 104, Grail Text
Sprinkling Rite, Springs of Water, BFW 144, Dan 3:77-79, NAB
Gloria, De Angelis
Psalmus, Lord Send Out Your Spirit, BFW 131, Psalm 104, Lectionary 63
Sequentia, Veni Sancte Spiritus, Graduale Simplex`
Antiphona ad Acclamationis, Triple Alleluia, BFW 142
Antiphona ad offertorium, Alleluia Psalm I, BFW 186, Psalm 68
Sanctus, De Angelis
Post Consecrationem, Mortem tuam
Amen,
Agnus Dei , De Angelis
ad Communionem, Spiritus qui a Patre procedit, alleluia, Graduale Simplex, Psalm 78, Grail Text
Ite missa est, O Holy Spirit, By Whose Breath, RS 616

BFW= By Flowing Waters
RS= Ritual Song, GIA

I would like to pay tribute to the singers, the schola that has dedicated themselves to the 11:00am Mass these past two years. It has been an honor to sing and to pray with them. It was a pleasure to hear how well the congregation has progressed. They filled the chapel with their song, and even followed the lead of the choir, observing the dynamics set by the antiphon at the Offertory. The choir picture above was take last winter when Cardinal George came to celebrate with the Calvert House Community.

It is been a great joy. I will miss this part of Chicago. Thanks especially to Ann and Dawn who led the choir in my absences. Dawn will be continuing with the choir in the coming year.

... is going slow. Threw out the back this morning. Finally found my brace this evening. Still, with help from one of the choir members, we packed 33 boxes today. It will be Motrin tonight.

Tomorrow is my last time at Bond Chapel. I will miss them.

Happy Pentecost everyone!

It was 1985. I was director of Music at St. Edward Catholic Church. Doing packing today I came across one of my old journals. This entry was dated January 21, 1985:

The challenge of the pastoral musician and liturgist is not to come up with new songs and new forms all of the time, but to do what you have with great care and beauty.

Last week in my journal I was developing some other thoughts about liturgical music in the context of interviewing possible music directors.

It is occurring to me that liturgical music seems to be practiced in parishes in our country in two main categories.

The first category: Music is chosen to please us. It is supposed to make us happy, to make us comfortable. It confirms us in our current state. It fulfills us. It may even confirm us in some of our prejudices. It entertains us, it tickles our fancy. It appeals to something deep in our emotions, brings a lump to our throat, or a tear to our eyes. It pleases us and makes us feel at home.

The second category: This music is designed to take us somewhere else, to lift us from our present state and give us a taste of another world. It is supposed to challenge us and convict us. It is supposed to be a vehicle whereby we might give ourselves. This music puts us in relationship, not just with the people in the room, but with the people of the world and with all the cloud of witnesses throughout the ages who have gone before us marked with the sign of the cross.

This is rough thinking. The thesis has not been developed enough. I have only begun chewing on this. The categories seem a bit too black and white. Things are not all that clear. For example, “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” may fit into both categories. Examining individual songs may not be the way to go, but it may be best to look at the whole parish repertoire and approach to worship in general.

In general, it is my opinion that most parishes in this country are more comfortable with the first category.

Any thoughts?

I was pleased to find this article via other bloggers. Thanks to Rex Olandi, and Aris.

It has some interesting suggestions. One that resonated well with me was the very first suggestion to turn down the volume.

The Microphone has done more damage than good to parish worship. This is a realization that came to me slowly over the years, but I am firmly convinced now. It the parish where I was pastor for seven years we eliminated the cantor for everything but the psalm and the communion. Everything else was led by the organ. Of course that all changed after I left.

At St. Edward I had an experience that confirmed this. Last Christmas I presided at two masses there. The music and the liturgy were beautiful. After communion there was a meditation sung in the choir loft by the choir and two vocalists. It was too loud and even distorted coming through the microphones. It was jarring. It destroyed everthing they had done so far. Why did they even need microphones in the loft?

This is what makes it so difficult in choosing a music director. How do I find someone who is competant in organ and voice who also has a care for the volunteers in the choir, and also has a care and concern for the community at worship and has no need to entertain them?

Here are are some pictures of St. Edward Parish I took this week on a visit. I am looking forward to working here.

Back home for a brief respite. Greetings from Chicago. I am taking the day off. Our deacon and I are going to a White Sox game. I have been to Wrigley field many times but this is my first time at the South Side American League park.

[UPDATE: Excellent game, The Whites Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 4-0]

A Precious Blood Companion reports they took the article from my blog and used it for their meeting on Monday, May 24th, The Feast of Mary Help of Christians. I am delighted. I offer their experience as a vehicle for on-going discussion.

The article is here.

This is what our Precious Blood Companions did:

We started with Evening Prayer II from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When we had prayed the psalms and listened to the reading, we turned to your article on the Madonna of the Precious Blood to which I added three reflection questions.

1. How does the Blood of Christ draw you to a relationship with Mary?
2. What kind of response does the image of Mary as the Madonna of the Precious Blood inspire in you? (I also brought copies of the various images that appeared on your blog.)
3. What does it mean to you to be a "living chalice"?

We took 10-15 minutes for everyone to read the article silently and reflect on it. We had a lively conversation - good sharing and then we ended with the Magnificat, some intercessions, the Our Father and closing prayer and a blessing from Fr. Joe.

Keep the discussion going. How about responding to one of their questions in the comments?

Today was spent visiting the parish. I become pastor of St. Edward Parish in Newark, CA on August 1st. I interviewed two applicants for the music job, visited the school and spent some time speaking with the principal, and then had dinner with the current pastor and with the provincial.

Ahem. More that 200 people stopped by here in that past couple of days and only three people posted promises of prayer for Mike and David to see when they log on here from Iraq. Email addresses are not required, and you can post anonymously. Are y'all praying? A few posts here will give some encouragement to a few young men serving your country. Ahem. Ahem.

The highlight of the recently finished International Board of Directors Meeting of Retrouvaille International was Saturday morning when Bishop Vigneron of the Diocese of Oakland came to celebrate the Eucharist with us.

Mark and Betty Squier serve as the Resource Enrichment Team along with Fr. Jerry Foley. They are here in California serving on the International Board for Retrouvaille. All the while their sons are serving in Iraq. Recently Mike got a chance to cross paths with his brother Dave over in Kirkuk. Please keep these guys in prayer, and say one for their parents too. Mark and Betty are going to send this web address to Dave and Mike so they can see this and I am sure they would appreciate seeing you post prayers for them and their buddies over there.

It is a very busy time. I am at the Board of Directors Meeting for Retrouvaille International here in Pleasanton, CA. Meeting starts at 7:30am tomorrow and finishes with Night Prayer at 9:30pm, so not much blogging to be expected.

I took this picture on his birthday last year during an audience the Holy Father had with the Precious Blood Community on the Canonization of St. Maria de Mattias.

Something to remember for this month.

This is the image that St. Gaspar took with him on every mission.

This is a photo of the original painting after it was restored. It hangs in the St. Gaspar Museum, Albano, Italy.

This is a modern statue. It stands in the Cloister at Abbey of San Felice, Giano 'del Umbria, Italy. San Felice is the Motherhouse of the Precious Blood Missionaries.

This image hangs in the Precious Blood Spiritual Center, Columbia, PA

This image is from Peru. It hangs in the Motherhouse of the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood, O'Fallon, MO.

This statute stands in the Province Center, Pacific Province, San Leandro, CA

This is a wood carving that sits on my desk here in Chicago. I purchased the statute in 2001 in a little gift shop that is on the roof of St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.

This is a embroidered banner. It hangs in my bedroom and it travels with me on every mission.

Here is my latest article for Precious Blood Family. This month it is on the Madonna of The Precious Blood.

Mountains of mail and email. Just a bit exhausted. I am doing busy work and working on next week's projects. But home after a good Retrouvaille experience. More later.

Oh yes, and today is the anniversary of my ordination to the Diaconate, 1991.

....I will be away at a Retrouvaille weekend in Rockford, IL. Prayers appreciated for all the couples.

Found over at Mark Shea's:

It's time to re-evaluate our involvement.

Every day there are news reports about more deaths. Every night on TV are photos of death and destruction.
Why are we still there?

We occupied this land, which we had to take by force, but it causes nothing but trouble.
Why are we still there?

Their government is unstable, and they have no leadership.
Why are we still there?

Many of their people are uncivilized, or at least don't speak English.
Why are we still there?

There are more than 1,000 religious sects and almost as many languages and dialects, many of which we don't understand.
Why are we still there?

We can't even secure the borders.
Why are we still there?

They are billions of dollars in debt and it will cost billions more to rebuild, which we can't afford.
Why are we still there?

It is becoming clear.
WE MUST ABANDON CALIFORNIA.

It was a good for a morning chuckle.

..cleaning, dusting, tossing, packing, and long theological discussions with seminarians who are delaying heading off to school. Oh yeah, and paying bills. ugh!

It is Steve's night to cook and he apparently found something to cook by scanning the links on my sidebar.

Blogging as an experience of freedom.

I am still amazed that I was there. It was a fascinating experience and an incredible conversation. There were about 15 of us around the table in the hotel conference room for most of the day yesterday. The meeting was held in Chicago and it seems I was invited simply because I direct the Gregorian Chant Choir at the University of Chicago. It was a Consultation on Chants for the New Roman Missal conducted by the Secretariat for the Liturgy of the USCCB. Msgr Moroney conducted the meeting, and Fr. Bruce Harbert, the executive Director of ICEL was present. Cathedral Music Directors from Chicago, Seattle and St. Louis were present as well as the Directors from GIA, OCP and WLP. NPM was represented by its president, and then seminary musicians and chant directors from St. John, St. Meinrad, Sacred Heart in Detroit and St. Joseph, Rensselaer were there.

The Translations of the new texts will undergo many transformations in the next few months. There are, after all, eleven Bishops Conferences commenting on them at the moment, but there are already musicians around the country that are developing the principles by which they will be chanted. One thing is sure, the next edition of the Roman Missal for use in English will have a greater emphasis placed on presider chant.

[UPDATE: comments closed]

One of the highlights of today was the blessing and the opening of the new Sedes Sapientiae Adoration Chapel at Calvert House. Bishop Perry, the Episcopal Vicar for our region was the presider. Fr. Andrew Apostoli, CFR was one of the concelebrants along with Fr. Mike Yakaitis and myself. The chapel is in honor of the Servant of God Fulton Sheen. Members of his family were there. Fr. Apostoli is the procura for the cause of Fulton Sheen.

I had lunch with Fr. Bruce Harbert, the executive Director ICEL, along with Fr. Mike, Melissa, and fellow blogger Aristotle Esguerra. The discussion was fascinating and insightful as we got an inside look into the complexities of translating of the Sacramentary.

Check out the new website.

Guess who was at Mass this morning.

Have a safe trip down to Texas, Aris.

On the day of my Incorporation the event was celebrated as a part of the Liturgy of Hours. This was in order that the second reading might be from the writings of St. Gaspar, something that would not have been possible at a Mass. So Mass was celebrated in the morning at our Assembly, and then the Incorporation was celebrated at an evening prayer, structured closer to the Office of Readings than to Evening Prayer.

GDC preached. I remember it as being a pretty stunning homily, and memorable. Still I listened to it again today and it stills has the same power. The task, he says, is to walk by faith and to know that hope does not disappoint.

Here is the second reading, selections form the Eleventh Circular letter of St. Gaspar del Bufalo:

I suggest three things in particular for our consideration during these days.

First, that we examine ourselves in the light of the question which the Mellifluous Doctor was accustomed to ask his monks: Why have you come here? (St. Bernard.) For what purpose are we in the Society? To cooperate with the great designs of divine Providence in the sanctification of ourselves and others; to be united in the bond of charity? and to imitate more closely the life of Jesus Christ....

I am in the Society to look after the life of my soul, to offer myself for the glory of God with a holy abandonment in God himself, and to train myself in humility and obedience, all this with the purpose of knowing better his divine Will by being completely reliant upon him as I should.

The second point about which we must examine ourselves is the love that we are to show towards our Society and towards one another. We should always act according to the spirit of the Lord. ? We should act in such a manner that we, too, might have stamped upon our hearts the saying of the great St. Francis Xavier: May my right hand be forgotten if I should forget you? (Cf. Ps 136 (137):5.) In this matter, may our love be very, very special. Let it be generous and outgoing, patient and longsuffering, judicious and vigorous.

?May God grant that in the case of our Society the words following may be verified: The blossoming vines give out their fragrance.( Song 2:13) ?The cultivation of a vineyard requires skill, toil, vigilance and fruitful rain. Likewise, in the cultivation of our communities, we need special graces. These are obtained through prayer, through exerting ourselves in accomplishing good works, in being orderly and in being vigilant to gather the awaited fruit. In a marvelous way, our Prescriptions and our Rule, which cannot be too highly recommended, serve as our support.

Finally, the third point for our meditation is our activity in furthering those objectives which lead towards the glory of the Lord. This we do in seeking to give them permanence through the Associations which our Society promotes, using the means that it designates as well as the practices which it encourages. Here, let the apostle St. Paul speak. In his letters he reveals a very profound ardor for the salvation of souls and their constant perfection. The love of Christ compels us. (2 Cor 5:14) In all our trouble I am filled with consolation and my joy is overflowing.( 2 Cor 7:4)

Responding to God who calls me to follow Christ by a special vocation and in your presence Father Director, trusting in God who is ever faithful, and begging the intercession of Mary, Help of Christians, of St. Gaspar, our founder, and St. Francis Xavier, our patron, I, Jeffrey Robert Keyes, of my own free will, promise fidelity to the Society of the Precious Blood in accordance with its constitutions and statutes, giving myself entirely to the service of God for the rest of my life.

May 8, 1990

From left to right, Deacon Jeffrey Finley, CPPS (who now serves as pastor of St. Edward), Provincial Director Fr. Paul Link, CPPS, Doug Crandall serving as Acolyte, Provincial Formation Director Fr. James Sloan CPPS who was my predecessor as Pastor of St. Barnabas, and myself reciting the Act of Incorporation quoted above. Hidden behind Doug Crandal is GDC, the heretic, the Director of Advanced Formation. Hidden behind me is Sr. Suzanne Toolan, SM, a dear friend who directer the music. The Choir was made up of choir members from St. Leander, St. Edward, St. Francis DeSales and the Vineyard Choir, all choirs I had directed. It was a memorable moment.

One of the things about moving is that it is a trip down memory lane. Many files and papers get tossed. I think I have filled the dumpster once. Half the boxes in storage have been emptied and flattened. But then there are the pictures. I do not ever remember throwing away a picture. I think I have four boxes full.

Here is one I came across today:

It was taken May 17, 1991 before my ordination as a Deacon. It was held at St. Edward Church where I am to become Pastor on August 1st.

When I was a seminarian for the Diocese of Oakland, I was assigned to a year of Pastoral Internship. That was in 1978 and it was at St. Edward. The Pastor was Ricardo Chavez, a Diocesan Priest.

After I left the seminary and worked as a Music Minister, I was employed for four years as Director of Music for Parish and School at St. Edward. That was 1984-88. The Pastor was Marvin Steffes, CPPS.

Since ordination I have preached Missions and Retreats all over this country and in four other countries. In 1999 I preached a Parish Mission at St. Edward. The Pastor was Jeffrey Finley, CPPS.

In 2002 I was invited to give a Evening of Reflection as part of a series of six evenings on Precious Blood Spirituality. The series was designed to invite people to consider being Precious Blood Companions. The series was held at St. Edward.

On August 1, 2004 I become Pastor of St. Edward Parish.

.....left for packing. Today, however, I am back to the dentist, and then back here for a meeting on the budget. (ok, why is all this lenten penance packed into the Easter Season?)

For me it was celebrated May 7th, 1961. This day is also the anniversary of my definitive incorporation as a Missionary of the Precious Blood. The anniversary we observe is generally the day we make our first incorporation (profession). (just a hint: that anniversary is tomorrow).

For those of you who have never heard of a Society of Apostolic Life, that is what we are as Missionaries of the Precious Blood. We do not make a profession of the three vows as Religious do even though the Evangelical Counsels are included in the one act of Incorporation. We make a promise of fidelity to the Bond of Charity and by that act are incorporated into the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. So, Religious celebrate the anniversary of their profession and Missionaries of the Precious Blood celebrate the anniversary of their Incorporation. Sometimes we use the term profession just so people have a sense of what we are talking about. Incorporation sometimes sounds like we are starting a business, but our Incorporation is something very different. We look on it as a fulfillment and completion of our Baptism.

For several years now I have been writing articles on Precious Blood Saints for Precious Blood Family. One year they asked me to compose these along the lines of the saints referred to in St. Gaspar's 1827 Te Deum-like litany found in the letter to Fr. Santelli. So the next six articles posted here will be from that series:

Here is the first one:

...still packing.

I wasn't a neat freak before, but now the place is a real mess. But this afternoon I will get some time just to lie there and let the dentist work on my teeth.

One of the things about moving is the opening of boxes, tossing the stuff you don't need any more, organizing, downsizing, etc.

Then there's the stuff you haven't thought about in a long time. You find this disk and go, "what is this?"

Well, I have been trying lately to find all the articles that I wrote for Precious Blood Family and put them in one place. I cannot remember them all. Well I opened these magazines at the bottom of a box and discovered I had written articles on St. Paul and St. Irenaeus. I cannot find them anywhere on disk, probably the result of general computer meltdown when I moved to Chicago three years ago. Gateway finally replaced that computer and it was a piece of trash too. I have Dell now and it has served me well for two+ years. Anyway, there are a bunch of articles I wrote out there on some dead hard drive. I may type in the two articles I found and include them with the one's on my side bar eventually.

Anyway, I also found an old article I wrote in '97 for the Wine Cellar, an occasional magazine from the Kansas City Province.

The article is on Corporate Precious Blood Prayer.

Enjoy!

...still packing, cleaning, tossing, sweeping.

Letters 1801-2000 are now on-line.

They can be found on the Pacific Province Documents Page

16 Packing days left. I move on June 2nd. I am only in town 16 of those days between now and then. June and July I will be living out a suitcase in several cities. August 1st I land in a new parish, and August 2nd I fly back to Chicago. Go figure.

The recent liturgy document has fostered a great deal of discussion among Catholic Blogs, and even in this household. In many places there are some who take issue with the church's right to "meddle" in the liturgical affairs of the local assembly.

I have no desire to be a slave to rubrics. I simply wish to celebrate the Eucharist in a community that is focused, not on me and not on themselves, but on Christ. Too often I have seen the discussion develop into an apologia for what the presider or parishioner has a "right" to change or do with the liturgy.

I, for one, am happy with the document. There are a few things about it I question, and there are places to take those questions. Simply dismissing the rules as unreasonable does not serve the people well. The new GIRM and this new instruction seem to be calling for a greater reverence in and for the liturgy. I think this is a good thing, and I am more than willing to study the liturgy a little closer, and to make an effort for greater reverence in and for the Eucharist.

One Catholic Blog talked about this as receiving a document without theological justification. I do not want to quarrel with his experience, so much as to provide a different perspective.

He said, Good liturgy is not only faithful to the structure and rubrics of the Roman rite, but is also an artistic endeavor.

I wish to gently take issue with the idea that the liturgy is an artistic endeavor. Please do not take anything I say to mean that the liturgy should not be done well. But who is the artist? If the liturgy is a place for me to display MY art, then I am not serving the liturgy but using the liturgy as a way to serve me. At liturgy, I am not the artist. Jesus is.

I think the church has a perfect right to govern the course of the liturgy and how it is celebrated.

If how creative and artistic I can be takes priority over matter, form, structure and rubrics, then I have formed a plan to change the liturgy and not allow the liturgy to change me. It then becomes the liturgy of Jeffrey Keyes, not the liturgy of Jesus Christ.

American culture has not served the liturgy well because artistic forms are mostly based in entertainment values. The church is helping us rediscover some worship values.

The liturgy is not a set of rubrics or a recipe to follow. It is a home, a place to meet the one who hase loved me and poured out his last drop of blood for us. It is where I meet him.

We are to do the liturgy well. It is the center. It is the most precious event of any day. We are to provide our best. (Often this is quite difficult in the morning.) But evn if I have failed to cast off the sleep from my eyes, it is stilll a call to a relationship with another, and not an expression or exercise of my art.

This one is on St. Bernard of Clairvaux

This article is on St. John Chrysostom.

I found a bunch of articles in an old directory. Some of them have already been posted to this site, but three of them have not. So I will post them here and then provide links in the sidebar under articles.

This first one is on St. John Fisher.

This is another article written for Precious Blood Family

I was looking for this article the other day when we celebrated her feast. Today, when looking for something else, I found my article on Catherine. It was written for a series on Precious Blood Saints for the Precious Blood Family magazine.

Mariology in the Fathers of the Second Century

The Paper was written for a History class back in 1979. The Photo is of a Statue of the Madonna of the Precious Blood that stands in an alcove on the second floor of the Cloister at the Abbey of San Felice in Giano, 'del Umbria, The Foundation House of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

I am planning my vacation. Does anyone have any ideas? I have a bunch of free tickets and can go just about anywhere in the USA. I am looking for a restful vacation after all the packing and moving and before I become a pastor again.