Magnificat Academy

Annual Spring Concert This Friday

2008-05-15T11:46:00.001-04:00

Magnificat Academy and Choir School is pleased to announce that it will be holding its third annual Spring Concert this Friday, May 16, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

Held at St. Paul's Church (1050 Main St., Rte. 67) in Warren, MA, the concert is FREE of charge to all. Refreshments will be served downstairs after the event.

Anyone with questions regarding the concert is welcome to call the school for more information.

We look forward to welcoming our many friends and supporters to what promises to be a lovely evening!

Magnificat Academy Chorale Takes Part in Annual Divine Mercy Sunday Mass

2008-04-09T11:29:00.005-04:00

On Divine Mercy Sunday, March 30, the Magnificat Academy Chorale was privileged to sing for Mass at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy. Televised live on EWTN, the principal Celebrant of the Mass was Archbishop Emeritus of Washington D.C., Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, and among the many concelebrating priests and bishops was Bishop Timothy McDonnell of the diocese of Springfield, Mass.

The Divine Mercy Shrine webpage has a lovely article posted which mentions the Chorale, and describes the day's events, as well as a Photo Gallery with images of the pilgrims, events, and includes one photo of our students singing!

Below are some of our pictures from the day, including pictures of the chorale giving a private "performance" for Cardinal McCarrick before the Mass! Enjoy!

It was a bright, beautiful Divine Mercy Sunday!

You can see the chorale (in black) here all the way to the right of the altar.

Two closer looks...

Before Mass, the chorale has an audience with Cardinal McCarrick, and performs a few songs for him.

Magnificat Academy, and Teacher Matthew Hart Receive Toyota Tapestry Grant

2008-04-09T10:17:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Magnificat teacher Matthew Hart, who recently was awarded a Toyota Tapestry grant for $10,000. One of just 50 grant recipients nationwide, Mr. Hart received the grant for excellence and innovation in science education. He and his students will be exploring the physics of music and acoustics.

The April 7 edition of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette ran an article about grant award, which can be read online at their webpage.

Again, congratulations to Magnificat Academy, Mr. Hart, and all who helped in the grant process!

Academy Receives Gift of Property, New School Building

2008-03-05T09:57:00.024-05:00

Coinciding with the Feast of St. John Bosco (one of the school's patron saints) on January 31, Magnificat Academy and Choir School acquired, through the most generous gift of a donor, a gift of land and buildings in nearby New Braintree, Massachusetts.

The land, nearly 14 acres, includes a lovely old New England style Colonial House, several outbuildings, and a main, cruciform building which was originally slated to become a monastery. Spacious and bright, the interior consists of a large lower and main floor, and includes in the central area an octagonal space intended for use as a chapel.

Two smaller outbuildings are also on the property - a garage, as well as a building which had been renovated for use as a hermitage.

Finishing the main building for use by the students will be quite an undertaking; planning is in the very preliminary stages at the moment, and no timetable is set for certain as to when the construction on the main building could be completed. It is hoped that the smaller building on the property, the former hermitage, could be used in the interim as classrooms while work on the main buildng is completed. Financing the construction is another concern, and while as always we trust in God's providence, which truly we have seen at work in helping the Academy grow and thrive, we must also call upon our friends and supporters for their help, their time, and treasures to fully make use of this property to best fulfill the academy's academic and spiritual mission. If you feel you can help us, whether through a donation, a gift of your time or talent, and of course through your prayers, please see our school's contact or donation page for details.

In the meantime, please enjoy looking at the photographs of the property, and once again, many thanks and blessings to our donor, and of course many prayers of gratitude!

Fr. Benedict Groeschel Joins Magnificat Academy Board of Advisors

2008-03-03T10:40:00.010-05:00

Magnificat Academy is pleased and honored to announce that Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, has agreed to become a member of the Academy's Board of Advisors. Fr. Groeschel is the founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (some of whom joined us for the school's retreat at the North American Martyrs Shrine last fall), host of EWTN's Sunday Night Live television show, and a well-known and well-loved Catholic author and speaker.

Fr. Groeschel joins an already impressive and talented group of Advisors, including:

Joseph Pearce, Catholic author of Small is Still Beautiful, biographer of G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Hilaire Belloc; Professor of Literature at Ave Maria University
John Galten, former Director of the Ignatius Institute at University of San Francisco and Founding Director of Campion College
Dr. Susan Treacy, Professor of Sacred Music at Ave Maria University; member, Board of Directors, Church Music Association of America
Philip Lawler, Founding Editor of Catholic World News, Editor Emeritus of Catholic World Report, author of The Faithful Departed

Magnificat Academy is certainly blessed to be able to draw upon such a talented and faithful group of Advisors in fulfilling its mission.

Preview of Phil Lawler's New Book up at CWN

2008-01-29T10:40:00.000-05:00

Catholic World News has published a sneak preview of Magnificat Academy Board of Advisors member and CWN founding editor Phil Lawler's new book, The Faithful Departed. The book is due out in February, 2008, but can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com.

Letter from the Pope: Educational Crisis is a Crisis of Trust in Life

2008-01-28T08:46:00.000-05:00

Last Monday, Jan. 21, Pope Benedict XVI released a letter directed towards Catholic educators, students, and parents outlining what he sees as an "emergency" in education today, and encourages all to work through the difficulties they face, and continue their work, "which has the Gospel as its focus, following an educational syllabus that aims at the integral formation of the human person".

At the close of the letter, the Pope cites his last Encyclical, Spe Salvi, and identifies hope as the "soul of education", warning that "our hope today is threatened from many sides and we too, like the ancient pagans, risk becoming men without 'hope and without God in the world'". He goes on to say that "(A)t the root of the crisis of education lies a crisis of trust in life. Hope directed towards God is never hope for me alone, it is always also hope for others. it does not isolate us but unites us in goodness, stimulating us to educate one another in truth and in love".

Read the press release regarding this letter from Vatican Information Services.

Glory to God in the Highest; and On Earth Peace to Men of Goodwill

2007-12-24T15:11:00.000-05:00

1 And it came to pass, that in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled. 2 This enrolling was first made by Cyrinus, the governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem: because he was of the house and family of David, 5 To be enrolled with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child.
6 And it came to pass, that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds watching, and keeping the night watches over their flock. 9 And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them; and they feared with a great fear. 10 And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: 11 For, this day, is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God, and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.

Christmas Eve

2007-12-24T15:01:00.000-05:00

Collect for Christmas Eve, Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord:

Come Lord Jesus, do not delay; give new courage to your people who trust in your love. By your coming, raise us to the joy of your kingdom, where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sanctity is For All Ages, says Pope Benedict XVI. Two Stories of Inspiring Courage

2007-12-21T10:26:00.000-05:00

Receiving a delegation of youth from the group Italian Catholic Action yesterday, the Pope spoke of young Antonia Meo, a former member of the group who died of cancer in 1937 at age 7, whose cause for canonization has been recently introduced. Citing her "faith, hope and charity" as a model for the young, the Pope said that "her existence, so simple and yet so important, shows that sanctity is for all ages: for babies and for young people, for adults and for the elderly."

He went on to remind all, that "God made Himself man to show us the way. Indeed, by becoming a child He made Himself 'the way', also for young people like you: He was like you, He was your age."

The rest of the article can be read at EWTN News.

A story from the Catholic News Agency earlier this fall highlights the heroic sanctity of another Italian youth, Carlo Acutis, who was just 15 when he succumbed to leukemia in 2006. According to the article, Carlo

was a teen of our times, like many others. He tried hard in school, with his friends, [and] he loved computers. At the same time he was a great friend of Jesus Christ, he was a daily communicant and he trusted in the Virgin Mary.
As a little boy, especially after his First Communion, he never missed his daily appointment with the Holy Mass and the Rosary, followed by a moment of Eucharistic adoration, recalls his mother, Antonia Acutis.

With this intense spiritual life, Carlo has fully and generously lived his fifteen years of life, leaving a profound impact on those who knew him. He was an expert with computers, he read books on computer engineering and left everyone in awe, but he put his gift at the service of others and used it to help his friends, she added.

His immense generosity made him interested in everyone: the foreigners, the handicapped, children, beggars. To be close to Carlo was to be close to a fountain of fresh water, his mother said.

Antonia recalls clearly that shortly before his death, Carlo offered his sufferings for the Pope and the Church. Surely the heroism with which he faced his illness and death has convinced many that he was truly somebody special. When the doctor that was treating him asked him if he was suffering a lot, Carlo answered: There are people who suffer much more than me!

The postulator for causes of the Milan Archdiocese suggests that the cause for Carlo's cause for beatification could be opened soon.

Read the rest of this story at Catholic News Agency.

As we prepare to welcome God among us as that little child on Christmas, these stories show how striving for sanctity is possible for all of us, even the very young!

Biblia Clerus

2007-12-16T09:59:00.000-05:00

The Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy introduced last week Biblia Clerus, which is both a powerful research website, and a downloadable tool which offers several different, searchable versions and translations of the Bible (NAB and RSV are offered in English; you can also choose the Latin, Hebrew, Greek, French, etc. Versions will differ depending on which language is selected), cross-referenced (and easily clickable) links to commentary on every verse from the early Church Fathers, Papal documents, Council documents, several catechisms, Aquinas' Summa Theologica and writings from other Doctors of the Church. From the Congregation's Clerus website:

This program offers Sacred Scripture, its interpretation in light of Sacred Tradition and the teachings of the Magisterium, with appropriate theological commentary and exegesis. The downloadable version allows you to connect Sacred Scripture to the complete works of many Doctors of the Church, Councils, Encyclicals, teachings of the Popes, Catechisms, as well as commentaries from secular literature, etc.

So far, after downloading and poking around the program a bit, I've discovered literature in English from Belloc and Chesterton (including his biography of St. Thomas, and the delightful Fr. Brown mysteries!), and the poems of St. Therese (cross referenced to scripture!). There is also an option for downloading the 2002 Roman Missal - all of it - including the propers for each day.

Latin students can, of course, check out all of these works in ... Latin!

This is an amazing resource for teachers, students, priests, everyone with an interest in reading and understanding scripture "in the light of sacred tradition" and magesterium of the Church, as the Congregation for the Clergy's site puts it. The website appears to still have a few glitches (I could only find the daily readings in French, for example, and the Antiqua Vulgata in Tibetan!), so I recommend, if you have the space (40ish mb) and a speedy internet connection, downloading the Biblia Clerus program and the texts to have on your own computer.

Third Annual Advent and Christmas Concert

2007-11-28T13:42:00.001-05:00

For our readers in the area, we'd like to invite you to our third annual Advent and Christmas Concert. Scheduled for Friday, December 7th at 7pm, it will be held at St. Paul's Church (Main St., Rte. 67) in Warren, Massachusetts. We will also be serving refreshments after the concert.

Admission is FREE, although a good-will donation to help offset costs is always appreciated if you're able!

Please help spread the word, and we hope to see you there!

New on the Web Page - Catholic World News Editor Phil Lawler's Speech to Friends of Magnificat

2007-11-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

With apologies for not adding a news item for this sooner, we're happy to finally be able to point our readers to a September speech made by Phil Lawler, editor of Catholic World News, to the Friends of Magnificat Academy. If you didn't hear it in person, please do take a moment to read the speech, as it is an excellent, wide-ranging look at how education - as offered at schools like Magnificat - shapes our children both morally and intellectually.

Some highlights from the speech:

Practical education trains students to discriminate, to recognize and apply first principles, in whatever field they find themselves in later in life. We teach our students to make distinctions; if they make distinctions well, they are well educated. The scholastic tradition had a slogan: “Always distinguish, never deny.” By making distinctions we clarify points and refine arguments. That is the effect of a practical education. So it turns out, I believe, that the most “practical” education we can find for our children will be education in the classic Catholic tradition.

Dante, Shakespeare, Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Aristotle, Augustine. Each time one reads these works, one draws new insights from them. These books are always relevant, because they address – and sometimes answer – the questions that people always ask themselves: questions about the meaning of life, about truth and goodness, about love and honor. These works have stood the test of time. We know that they have lasting value, because they have proved so useful to so many generations before us...
Students who grapple with these great works will find that the exercise brings lasting rewards. They draw something special out of these books, and they learn something that will serve them for their entire lives. Beyond that, in fact, they are introduced into a great conversation. If they study the great texts seriously, they become a party to the conversation that Plato had with Aristotle, the conversation that Albertus Magnus had with Thomas Aquinas. We can all join in that great conversation, through the works that these great thinkers left behind them... To be a party to the great conversation is a wonderful privilege: a priceless benefit of real education. Most of the time, for most of us, our role in that conversation will be as passive listeners. Most of us don’t pretend to be great thinkers. When Aristotle and Shakespeare are talking, it makes sense of us to be quiet and listen. To be involved in the conversation is enough. Perhaps we realize that we can’t grasp everything that they are saying, but just as children learn by hearing the grown-ups talk at the dinner table, we learn – bit by bit, gaining a bit more each year – by listening in on the conversations among the great philosophers...
To preserve the Christian tradition, and to advance the Christian tradition, one must live the Christian tradition. It isn’t enough to read books about the spiritual life; we must have an active life of prayer. To gain a really accurate understanding of the Catholic faith, one must live the faith: making use of the sacraments, participating in that special ‘great conversation’ of the saints down through the centuries...

Since the early days of Christianity, this is what Christian parents have done: Raise their children to understand the faith, to promote the faith, to practice the faith. This is what is happening today at Magnificat. And this is why it is so very important for us all to support the outstanding work this school is doing.

To read the full text of the speech, click here.

A New Generation Discovers Latin

2007-11-19T13:02:00.000-05:00

An interesting and at times amusing article by Elias Crim over at Catholic Exchange discusses an upswing in the number of students studying Latin (amongst private, homeschooled and public school students), as well as the use of Latin in the liturgy of the Church. From the article:

All of which leads me to conclude: While some liturgically progressive friends of mine seem to associate a study of Latin with a longing for Generalissimo Franco and the advent of theological firing squads, I personally associate the subject with the rise of evangelical Catholicism — a liberating force if there ever was such a thing.

Third, Latin is the language of one of the Church's greatest treasures: the psalmody of Gregorian chant. If you have never tried to read one of the great Psalms in Latin, you may be surprised to discover that the language of the Vulgate Bible is not only not difficult but quite beautiful. Try C.S. Lewis' favorite, Psalm 19, Coeli enarrant ("The heavens declare the glory of God"), or Psalm 137, Super flumina ("By the waters of Babylon"). Then perhaps you will agree with Chesterton: "Latin is not dead: it is immortal."

Read the whole article, as well as some interesting reader comments following it here at Catholic Exchange.

Magnificat Chorale Tapes Christmas 2007 Program

2007-11-13T19:44:00.000-05:00

Last Thursday, members of Magnificat Academy's Chorale spent the day at Comcast Studios in Springfield to tape our 2007 Christmas Program. The performance included traditional fare such as What Child is This?, O Holy Night, and Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming, songs from around the world with Sankta Lucia (traditional Swedish, in honor of St. Lucy, whose feast we celebrate mid-Advent), Gamano N'Etam (Senegalese), and Il Est Ne (traditional French), as well as some lovely sacred music and chant, including Mozart's Ave Verum, Psalm 110 (Behold the Lord Will Come) and Rorate Coeli.

We hope to announce details soon about when the program can be seen. In the meantime, here are some images from the taping:

Music News from Rome

2007-11-09T08:23:00.000-05:00

From Zenit.org, an article discussing sacred music and the tradition of the Church.

The article highlights excerpts from a speech by Msgr. Valentin Miserachs Grau, director of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, in which he discuss the need to safeguard the sacred music of the Church's liturgy. According to the Monsignor:

"the liturgy, even in the music, should educate all people -- including youth and children...Due to general ignorance, especially in certain sectors of the clergy," certain media act as loudspeakers for "products that, devoid of the indispensable characteristics of sacred music -- sanctity, true art, universality -- can never procure the authentic good of the Church."

On keeping contact with traditional forms of sacred music, he goes on to say that this contact:

"should become again the living song of the assembly that finds in it that which calms their deepest spiritual tensions, and which makes them feel that they are truly the people of God."

Read the rest of the article here at Zenit.org.

Magnificat Students' Work on Display at Local Library

2007-11-01T15:40:00.001-04:00

The Merriam-Gilbert Public Library in W. Brookfield is currently exhibiting some of our students' history-related projects.

The Grammar students made Native American crafts and models for their display. Included were housing models: tipi, pueblo, and hogan; examples of clothing and jewelry: moccasins and necklaces; a carved totem pole; a dreamcatcher; a clay pipe, and other handicrafts.

The Logic group recreated several of the California missions, including Mission Santa Ines, Mission San Juan Bautista, and Mission San Juan Capistrano.

The exhibit is currently located on the second floor of the library. Great job to all the students who contributed their work!

Magnificat Academy Headmaster Paul Jernberg Featured in This Month's National Catholic Register

2007-10-30T17:15:00.000-04:00

The following article appears in the October 28 - November 3 issue of National Catholic Register. Many thanks to NCR for permission to reprint the article here.

A Renaissance in Church Music?

Hymn to St. Michael Competition Evokes Music in Church Tradition

BY JOSEPH PRONECHEN
REGISTER STAFF WRITER

October 28 - November 3, 2007 Issue | Posted 10/23/07 at 9:47 AM

NEW YORK — The Feast of the Archangels on Sept. 29 took on an extra dimension for William Conroy and Paul Jernberg this year.

In February, Conroy’s Gift of Faith Foundation announced a contest for composers: Write a hymn using the text of the Prayer to St. Michael.

Reading about the competition in the Register, Jernberg answered the challenge. So did 151 other composers.

His winning composition, “Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel,” received its first public hearing at Mass Sept. 30, in the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Manhattan, which was celebrating its 150th anniversary.

“I think it’s a beautiful hymn written in faith and with faith,” commented Father Myles Murphy, pastor.

Conroy was surprised and overwhelmed by the number of entries. He found the quality of the entries made judging no simple task.

“I whittled the selections to the 20 best pieces submitted and turned them over to the judges,” he said. “In my judgment, those 20 final pieces were all worthy of consideration, and all beautiful.”

One of the two judges was EWTN host Father George Rutler, who has written about sacred music. “Most recent music has been emotive or even sentimental, lacking the intellectual sturdiness of objective worship,” he said. “Our music reflects our culture, which is at an aesthetic low ebb. I’m glad to say that the winning hymn is a happy exception. It is fine sacred music.”

Father Rutler, who is pastor of the Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan, said many composers today “do not have good models, and so they produce cocktail lounge music, just as architects produce churches that are theaters instead of temples.”

One of Conroy’s goals was to encourage artists to help return culture to its Christian roots. Jernberg saw a hope for an authentic renewal of Catholic sacred music and art in this country.

“I intended the hymn to have a classical feel, a connectedness to the tradition, but also have a certain vitality and freshness that would speak to people today,” he said. “I had a real concern to make it as universal as possible and not to do something that would please one group and not others. I was writing this hymn to make it a bridge that would work for younger people and older people together, and also different cultural groups.”

He already sees the hymn helping youngsters to pray. He is founding director and musical director at Magnificat Academy & Choir School in Warren, Mass., where the choir recently recorded the hymn on CD.

The renewal of sacred music is an important dimension of the school, founded in 2005 for boys and girls, grades 4 to 12, with the blessing of Worcester Bishop Robert McManus.

“Hopefully, it can be another means this prayer can take root,” Jernberg said of his new hymn.

Jernberg credits his 10 years in Europe, primarily Sweden and France, as among influences on his work as musician and composer. He became a Catholic in 1992, and while working for the Baptist Church in Sweden he regularly associated with a Franciscan monastery that had daily Gregorian chant.

As for primary major influences, he credits the “wonderful benefit of clearly articulated guidelines formulated by the Church,” especially the Second Vatican Council’s Musicam Sacram (Instruction on Music in the Liturgy) and Pius X’s motu proprio Tra le Sollecitudini (On Sacred Music).

“For me, these documents are like trumpet calls that can inspire us to greatness and help us to measure our success in fulfilling our vocation as composers,” he said.

He said the documents note the foundational importance of Gregorian chant and call for new forms that take into account present needs while not ignoring the past.

Pope Benedict

He made his comments around the same time Pope Benedict XVI, in a visit to Rome’s Pontifical Institute for Sacred Music, said the Church needs to guide the development of sacred music, not by “freezing” it in a certain style but by “seeking to combine the legacy of the past with the worthwhile novelties of the present.” The Pope said Oct. 13 that this ideally would “achieve a synthesis worthy of the exalted mission [sacred music] has in the service of God.”

Jernberg said he is “constantly working for a synthesis of artistry, prayer, connectedness to our heritage and holy inspiration.

Conroy found that the people at the Mass where the hymn premiered “very much appreciated” it. One was lifelong parishioner Jeanne Caffrey, who found the melody “beautiful” and the words “so apropos.”

“You just wanted to sit and listen to it,” said Caffrey, who would like to see the St. Michael hymn be part of every Mass.

In fact, the Gift of Faith Foundation’s second competition goal was to inspire use of the hymn at the end of Mass. For more than 80 years, priests and people recited the Prayer to St. Michael after Mass, the only vernacular words they spoke together during or after the liturgy. But when the Mass was reformed in the 1960s, it was omitted. The prayer originated with Pope Leo XIII, who in 1886 directed it to be recited publicly after Mass. He composed it after experiencing a profound, frightening vision of present and future struggles of the Church against the devil.

Two individuals already offered to publish Jernberg’s hymn.

Said the composer, “My fervent prayer and hope is that it’s a little, tiny piece in the greater renewal of sacred music in our country and the Church.”

Staff writer Joseph Pronechen
is based in Trumbull, Connecticut.

Magnificat Students Make Third Annual Pilgrimage to Shrine of the North American Martyrs

2007-10-30T14:00:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, on the day after the Memorial of Sts. Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brebeuf and Companions, the children of Magnificat Academy and Choir School made their third annual pilgrimage to the Auriesville, New York Shrine of the North American Martyrs. The Shrine is located on the site of a Mohawk village known as Ossernenon, and was the site of the martyrdom of St. Isaac, St. Rene Goupil, and St. John Lalande. The village of Ossernenon was also the birthplace of Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha.

The school was quite blessed to have Sisters Clare and Jacinta from the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, Father Christopher of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and several of the Sisters' postulants and lay helpers, lead a mini-retreat while at the shrine. Following the path of the Ravine, students, teachers and parents heard the story of the the martyrs, who gave their lives spreading the Gospel to the Native American peoples. The Sisters gave inspiring talks on finding their vocations, choosing between inspiration and temptation, and capping the day in the late afternoon was the Magnificat choir singing for Mass, celebrated by Fr. Christopher, at the shrine's lovely coliseum church.

Entrance to the shrine. Each cross bears the name of one of the martyrs.

The outdoor chapel.
We were certainly blessed with a beautiful autumn day for our pilgrimage, despite a few showers!

In the outdoor chapel, the students hear a presentation led by Renewal Sisters Clare and Jacinta and Renewal Friar Fr. Christopher about Inspiration vs. Temptation.

The group kneels before the Crucifix at the end of the Ravine path.

Rosaries hung on a statue of the Blessed Mother, and the walk leading to the Pieta were other lovely sights seen on the shrine's grounds.

Many, many thanks to the folks at the Shrine, and to the Sisters, Friars, and their helpers, who helped make this day possible for us!

Rare Children's Literature Available Online

2007-10-29T19:28:00.000-04:00

Via the Library of Congress's Rare Book and Special Editions Division comes this collection of 50 digitized texts of old and rare children's literature. Included are kids' favorites such as Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Secret Garden, Dickens' A Christmas Carol, stories from Hans Christian Andersen, and Mother Goose tales for the youngest ones. Most striking are the beautiful illustrations in these old books; this collection is well worth a look.

Pope Reflects on Beethoven's 9th

2007-10-29T16:16:00.000-04:00

At a concert given in his honor, the Holy Father spoke over the weekend about struggle, optimism, and joy rooted in God, as expressed in Beethoven's work. From the article at Zenit.org:

Benedict XVI continued, "This overwhelming sentiment of joy is not something light and superficial; it is a sensation achieved through struggle" because "silent solitude [...] had taught Beethoven a new way of listening that went well beyond a simple capacity to experience in his imagination the sound of notes read or written." This was akin to "the perceptivity given as a gift by God to people who obtain the grace of interior or exterior liberation.

Read the rest of the article, "Benedict Reflects on Beethoven's 9th"at Zenit.org

Educational Method on Trial

2007-10-25T16:04:00.000-04:00

Socrates v. Dewey

An excellent, in-depth essay by Thomas R. Orr, Esq., contrasting the Classical education method and the modern Lecture method. A short excerpt:

Just as our modern educators fail to appreciate the difference between memory and understanding, so do they fail to appreciate an important corollary distinction, i.e., the difference between opinion and knowledge. Knowledge requires an understanding based on an evaluation of reasons and evidence. Students can acquire knowledge with or without the aid of teachers-by thinking and making their own discoveries. As Saint Thomas Aquinas once explained: "There is a two-fold way of acquiring knowledge-by discovery and by being taught. . . . Discovery is higher." Genuine teachers act as cooperative artists to inspire students to think on their own either through coaching or the Socratic method. The only authority that a genuine teacher can appeal to is the rule of reason in light of existing evidence. The student is then expected to use his own reason to think through and understand-to know.

Read the rest of the article at the Angelicum website

Successful Catechists Aren't Acting, Says Pope

2007-10-24T19:56:00.001-04:00

Reflects on Holy Example of St. Ambrose of Milan

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 24, 2007 (ZENIT.org).- Being a teacher of the faith is more than just a job, says Benedict XVI, it is something inseparable from living a Christian life.

The Pope said this today to more than 30,000 people who gathered in St. Peter's Square to participate in the general audience. The Holy Father, continuing his reflections on figures of the early Church, spoke of St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, who was a key figure in the conversion of St. Augustine.

"Without speaking a word, he spoke with the testimony of life," the Pope said of the catechetical method of the bishop of Milan.

Read the rest of the article at ZENIT.org

A New Musical Season Opens at the Vatican – And Here's the Program

2007-10-18T19:11:00.000-04:00

Pope Ratzinger seems to be stepping up the tempo. The curia will have a new office with authority in the field of sacred music. And the choir of the Sistine Chapel is getting a new director

by Sandro Magister

ROMA, October 18, 2007 (chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it)– In the span of just a few days, a series of events have unfolded at the Vatican which, taken all together, foretell new provisions – at the pope's behest – to foster the rebirth of great sacred music.

The first of these events took place on Monday, October 8. On that morning, Benedict XVI held an audience with the "chapter" of Saint Peter's basilica – meaning the bishops and priests who, together with the archpriest of the basilica, Angelo Comastri, celebrate Mass and solemn Vespers each Sunday in the most famous church in the Christian world.

The pope reminded them that "it is necessary that, beside the tomb of Peter, there be a stable community of prayer to guarantee continuity with tradition."

This tradition goes back "to the time of Saint Gregory the Great," the pope whose name was given to the liturgical chant characteristic of the Latin Church, Gregorian chant.

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Pontiff: Sacred Music Enriched by Past and Present; Visits Pontifical Institute Devoted to Art Form

2007-10-17T18:42:00.000-04:00

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 15, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Sacred music is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this Saturday during a visit to the newly refurbished Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, the Vatican press office said today.

At the institute, the Holy Father was welcomed by Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education and chancellor of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, and the institute's president, Monsignor Valentin Miserachs Grau.

The pre-eminence of sacred music over other art forms, the Pontiff explained during his address, "is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy."

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