Mass for the Suffrage of Pope John Paul II

[benedictgal]

I am currently watching the replay of the Mass for the Suggrage of Pope John Paul II. The entrance antiphon was magnificent, “Our glory is in the Cross of Christ”, which comes from one of St. Paul’s epistles.

The choir singing this was composed of youngsters (not just the Capella Sistena choir). I believe that the choir comes from th Diocese of Rome. It’s not being sung in Latin; it’s in Italian. Nonetheless, it sounded beautiful. I wish I could get the words and the melody. It would be nice to hear this.

 

[benedictgal]

Actually, the Capella Sistena choir was not singing. It was the choir from the Diocese of Rome. The music was powerful. Even though there were lots of youth from Poland, Australia, Spain and Rome, the music was solidly traditional. It was beautiful, solemn, dignified and magnificent. The young people certainly did not seem to mind. For communion, one of the hymns was Anima Christi.

In addition, young people proclaimed the readings and read the General Intercessions. Even the response to the General Intercessions was chanted. So, you can have a Mass with youth that is chock full of tradition. Pope Benedict just gave us an excellent example.

 

[benedictgal]

The Holy Father, as usual, preached a magnificent homily. He tied in the faith of Abraham with Pope John Paul II. I would take that a step further.

Abraham was an important figure precisely because he believed that God’s promises to him would be fulfilled. Now, he was about 100 years old when the Lord promised him that he would be the father of many nations. His body as as good as dead; Sarah’s womb (she was about 75) was pretty much dead. However, God caused new life to come from the dead and barren.

During his later years, Pope John Paul II received criticism from folks who thought that he should step down due to his infirmities. However, while his body was weak, the Holy Father’s mind, heart, spirit and soul were quite strong. He was still able to preach the Gospel through his suffering. Even when he could no longer speak, his silence spoke volumes. In a sense, through his faith, the Holy Father continued to serve as the new Abraham, serving as the “father”, if you will, of many nations. Just look at the sea of humanity that converged on Rome (5 million) when he died. Representatives from every corner of the globe came to see him (and it was not just the heads of state).

 

[tobinatorstark]

Actually, the Capella Sistena choir was not singing. It was the choir from the Diocese of Rome. The music was powerful. Even though there were lots of youth from Poland, Australia, Spain and Rome, the music was solidly traditional. It was beautiful, solemn, dignified and magnificent. The young people certainly did not seem to mind. For communion, one of the hymns was Anima Christi.

In addition, young people proclaimed the readings and read the General Intercessions. Even the response to the General Intercessions was chanted. So, you can have a Mass with youth that is chock full of tradition. Pope Benedict just gave us an excellent example.

It was a great mass and I followed readings along in my Vulgate. I wish I was there personally. Seeing that mass and seeing the Maronite mass on EWTN just blew my mind away