In an address to church musicians of Italy on September 28, Pope Francis echoed the teaching of Pope St. Pius X and Pope St. Paul VI: the sacred rites of the liturgy call for a music that is “distinct and different” from secular music: it should be holy, noble in artistry, and universal, with Gregorian chant as its “first model”. An English translation of his address is available at our site Chant Café.
The Gregorian Chant Weekend is an opportunity for the faithful to sing Gregorian Chant at Holy Mass and in the Divine Office. Instruction is given through preparing to sing for the liturgy. Beginners are welcome. The weekend begins Friday, October 4th, immediately following the monastic office of Vespers (at 6pm) in the crypt of the Abbey church. It ends with a picnic after 11:00 am Mass on Sunday.
The weekend will feature: • Compline sung Friday and Saturday night • Mass sung Saturday and Sunday morning • Conference on the history of Gregorian Hymns • Instruction throughout the day (beginning at 8:30am) with a break for lunch • Picnic after Sunday Mass
For more information, visit the Abbey website at clearcreekmonks.org or call the Abbey at (918) 772-2454.
Accommodations for women will be available in either Bethany House (as space allows) or the Log Cabin. Meals are not provided for those staying in the Log Cabin.
Accommodations for men will be in the Guesthouse of the new monastery, as well as in the oratory building of the old monastery.
Make plans now to attend the 2019 Chant Weekend at the Abbey!
The beauty of the liturgy . . . more than anything else it deserves to be called the splendor of the truth. It opens to the small and the great alike the treasures of its magnificence: the beauty of psalmody, sacred chants and texts, candles, harmony of movement and dignity of bearing. With sovereign art the liturgy exercises a truly seductive influence on souls, whom it touches directly, even before the spirit perceives its influence.
-- Dom Gerard Calvet, OSB (1927-2008)