The divine Christ-life is the unchangeable content of the liturgy presented in the ever-changing garb of seasons and feasts and hours.

Pascal Botz, Orate Fratres, 1936

Thanks for the suggestion! I was just reading about him in How Firm a Foundation. Do you know the circumstances of his death?

A memorial tribute in Orate, Fratres spoke of "the enormous achievement of this quiet monk who never traveled, never lectured, and never produced anything but 'occasional' books, slim in size; who loved solitude and enjoyed company; practiced silence and had more to say than anybody else when he spoke; who preached the glorious Christ and was deeply attached to the mystery of the Cross. He founded an entirely new school of liturgical and historical research." He died Easter vigil night (1948) when he had just finished proclaiming "Lumen Christi" and was about to intone the Exsultet.

"Popular appreciation of the sacred liturgy would have been vastly different today if, before every administration of the sacraments in the past hundred years, an explanatory instruction had been given, as the Roman Ritual directs; if at every Sunday Mass---there had been the homily or explanation required by the Council of Trent; if at every Low Mass the celebrating priest had pronounced loudly and clearly the words which we must now teach the people; if the faithful at a Sung Mass had not been denied the right to respond in violation of the traditions of our rite; if church builders had placed the choir near the altar where it belongs, to lead the people; if baptistries had been placed at the entrance to churches, to signify the meaning of baptismal initiaion.

This is only to suggest, by a few examples, how obedience to law has ample motivation in the reasonableness and fruitfulness of the legal precept. And this is nowhere clearer than in the case of sacred worship, where the reverence due to God is at stake and where the sanctity of persons is the profit."

Fr. Frederick McManus, Address at the National Liturgical Week, Notre Dame, 1959

I would say with all due respect, Chris, that your argument amounts to no more than an ad hominem attack on Msgr. McManus rather than a reasoned response that answers the only question that matters, namely, is what he said true, or not?

We know from the speech given by then-Cardinal Ratzinger to the Ecclesia Dei pilgrims assembled in Rome in 1998 that in those countries where the Liturgical Movement had been strong prior to the Council, he said there was a strong resistance to the elimination of the old liturgical books. On the other hand, he also said that in those places where the Liturgical Movement had not been strong, there was very little resistance to the elimination of the old rite.

In his call for a new Liturgical Movement was an admission that the original Liturgical Movement had at one point been hijacked from its original goals which were highly praised by then-Cardinal Ratzinger.

Of the original goals of the Liturgical Movement (cf. Dom Lambert Beaudoin, Liturgy, the Life of the Church, 1914), what, if any do you have an issue with, and why, if you don't mind answering?

1) The active participation of the Christian people in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass by means of understanding and following the liturgical rites and texts.
2) Emphasis of the importance of the High Mass and of the Sunday parish services, and assistance at the restoration of collective liturgical singing in the official gatherings of the faithful.
3) Seconding of all efforts to preserve or re-establish the Vespers and the Compline of the Sunday, and to give to these services a place second only to that of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
4) Acquaintance and active association with the rites of the sacraments received or assisted at, and the spread of this knowledge among others.
5) Fostering a great respect for, and confidence in, the blessings of our Mother Church.
6) Restoration of the Liturgy of the Dead to a place of honor, observance of the customs of Vigils, and Lauds, and giving greater solemnity to the funeral services, and getting the faithful thereat, thus efficaciously combating the de-Christianizating of the rite of the dead.

Some of Msgr. McManus' contributions to the process of liturgical reform are described in this article by Susan Benofy of Adoremus. He was head of an organization called the Liturgical Conference; as a peritus at Vatican II he presented lectures for the bishops, lobbying them with his vision of reform; then starting in 1965 he became secretary of the US Bishops' Committee for the Liturgy.

Mgr. Schuler took exception to the 'choir in front' advocated by Mgr McManus; Schuler argued that the 'choir in loft' was perfectly in tune (cough) with the choir's dual role as intermediary (or substitute) between congregation and God and vice-versa. In fact, the title of the festschrift dedicated to his life was Cum Angelis Canere (Fr. Robert Skeris, Ph.D., author/collector.)

McManus may have thought of the monastery choir' position as an ideal, which is fine; but with 400++ years' history of choir lofts, it's hard for him to make the case that 'down in front' choirs are 'traditional.'

In the large French buildings the choir was rarely, if ever, in the west gallery with the Grand Orgue. There is generally a choir space in or near the sanctuary where there is also an Orgue de Choeur. This configuration is also seen at Westminster Cathedral in London. In smaller parish churches west end choir lofts were (and are) used.

The choir loft in the front of a church built in the first half of the 20th C was often an attempt to locate a mixed choir near the sanctuary, since women were not allowed in the sanctuary proper. Most often, these side lofts are acoustically compromised. Deep with low ceilings, they share the same drawbacks as deep organ chambers. Sometimes, however, this is a happy solution and I hope that is the case in Brooklyn.

On the value of the Mass:

"You are discouraged. You need the Mass. You must persevere by all means. You have a vocation. Study the Mass; live the Mass. Between two Masses you can bear everything."

Fr. Virgil Michel to Catherine de Hueck,1953

St. Ambrose goes a step further when he says, "Christus in Ecclesia cantat." (Christ sings in the Church).

Once again, Fr. Skeris noted that in one of his essays. In the catacombs, there are drawings of Christ as the 'new David' (Psalm-singer). Those drawings capture and "baptize" a pagan-god "singer,"* too, attempting to connect that song/singing from the pagan world with the Judaeo-Christian song.

*No longer able to remember the name of that pagan god, sorry!!

Dad, was it Apollo?

A captivating thought: Christ as Psalmist.

I think it was one of St. Mechtilde's visions seeing Christ intoning the Introit for the heavenly choirs. (Can't remember which feast . . .)

On the apostolate of musica sacra:

"While liturgical education as a sort of catechesis addresses the reason and the body, musica sacra reaches the heart and the soul too. Generally, participation in the apostolate of church music has the effect of a catechetical experience for all who are directly and indirectly involved.

(If the boys in a cathedral choir need to be brought to several rehearsals each week and then on Sunday both in the morning to Solemn Mass and also in the afternoon to Vespers, the relation between Church and family remains an issue; indeed, the family is compelled to grapple with the essentials of the Faith, because vacation times, daily routines, eating habits and efforts of all sorts have to be attuned to the commitment to musica sacra.)

Liturgical music becomes a factor of identification and association that extends to relatives and friends. The most convincing argument for all these sacrifices is disarming beauty in the service of the holy, which can be grasped only by St. Augustine's remark, "Cantare amantis est" (To sing belongs to one who loves)."

Gabriel M. Steinschulte, "Liturgical Music and the New Evangelization", Sacred Liturgy, The Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church, Alcuin Reid, ed.