Great stuff!

Too bad it's forced to hang out in such bad circumstances, but possibly it sees this as missionary work, shoulder to shoulder with those in need of guidance.

Possibly one day we will hear the guitar group strike up Dies Irae and know that it worked.

[PBC] ... wedged in-between P&W guitar books

To the consternation of book-shelf-organizers everywhere,
perhaps single copies misplaced is clever marketing?

Some will not want to stand in the chant section just yet ...

Sigh. You have wounded my innocence.
Never again will I hear in the same way those simple words, "paper or plastic?".

The next time I am questioned by the grocery clerk,
I might just burst out laughing,
as I recall this repartee. :-)
Touche!

Clara, nicely said.

What you said brings to mind something that we have not considered.

In this case outside of Lent they choose not to be solemn, and sing hymns and other music that is less conducive to Catholic prayer and worship.

Praise Choruses, contemporary songs and ecumenical hymns are a gigantic road sign warning CATHOLIC LITE.

It's funny that if you like Latin you are called persona non grata!

Jam, I think your last comment is correct. The old dinosaurs of the Charismatic movement (capitalized to distinguish the 70s-era movement from the actual meaning of the word, which are held as one and the same at FUS) are still holding on for dear life, but they can't stick around forever. As head of Dom Gueranger Society I did a lot of trafficking with the Liturgy Committee, and the students involved were certainly more traditionally-minded. I find that despite the music, they follow the rubrics very well. Of course, once it goes into the hands of the priest, it's a different story, but what they are able to control is done very beautifully. More and more students are open to or outright in favor of what the "traditional movement" at Franciscan aims for, and certainly many of the faculty members as well. I still have a copy of the petitions that went around right after the mp came out, including the secret list of the faculty members who supported us...it was way more than I expected. And there are some young priests who are very enthusiastic about it as well. I could give you a million points as to why I think that the tide really is turning, but the post would get rather long and tiresome...haha. But I definitely believe it's happening, just slower than a lot of people would like. But this is FUS! We should be happy that something's changing at all...

PS. Are you at FUS now? I wonder if you were around while I was still there (I graduated in 2009).

I wouldn't be so hard on FUS. I went there. The Eucharist is revered there like no other place I know. There's lots of confession, lots of vocational discernment, lots of holiness.

The Jim Cowan music we sang - and I still sing when I am not at church - is miles and miles ahead of David Haas, the St. Louis Jesuits, Bernadette Farrell etc in terms of reverence and orthodoxy.

The better stuff will take off there, like grace can do better when it has more nature to attach on, sacred music will take off where there's real faith to attach it to.

Why doesn't somebody go to Steubenville and maybe take Jim Cowan out to lunch? Mr. Tucker?

Here's an essay to read regarding the FUS music that offers an interesting perspective. It's by Regina Doman, people may be familiar with her because of the books she writes.

http://www.theuniversityconcourse.com/I,6,4-23-1996/Schmiedicke.htm

Most especially this quote: "After experiencing four years of the lively, genuine worship here at FUS, a student probably will be able to appreciate something like a Bach Mass when he does encounter it. I know it helped me become more open to the classics and Gregorian chant. If it hadn't been for "Ascribe to the Lord" I never could have appreciated Mozart's Mass. The abyss between pop culture and the treasures of the Church is a wide one, and I think the Steubenville crowd do a good job trying to span it. Very few people are even trying to build a bridge at all these days."

Director of liturgical music, I assume? Because all of the music degree program people--on the academic side, as opposed to liturgical side--are excellent. However, they are doing more and more liturgically, such as having organ students play at Mass, and having a wonderful mixed-gender schola sing at the monthly EF High Mass and other liturgies, such as Vespers. As time goes on, I am sure the Music program will bleed more heavily into the liturgical aspects of the school. The disconnect between the music majors/minors and the people who played guitars at their home parishes cannot exist for too long, I hope, when the quality of the music program is seen more and more by the student body.

Kathy, thank you so much for pointing this out!

I hate it when people get so negative and critical of everything that isn't perfectly, completely, absolutely 100% in line with the ideals of the Church, regardless of the good that comes out of it.

I'm not saying that these things are ok, I'm just saying that sometimes I get so disgusted with the level of self-righteousness (regarding music/liturgy) on this forum, and how people are incapable of seeing ANY good in any other form of music/liturgy. There's a reason that "traddies" have some of the reputations that we have...

As Kathy has pointed out above, and as I've said in other threads before, sometimes these things that are less than ideal can really be "gateways" to better things. They can be the "missing link" leading someone towards the sacred.

Maybe it's because many of us are...Roman Catholic?

There is no reason to be 100% in line with the ideals of the Church.

There is no reason for those who take vows of celibacy to be 100% celibate!

Hey, this is fun!

I can't see why this is not an attitude we should all take on. Collloquium should have guitars and classes in LIFETEEN music!

Sorry, I thought this site was for people striving to achieve of the Catholic Church as it has written in its documents.

The end does justify the means!!!!

And the article from the writer Doman, a Byzantine, is yet another example of non-Roman Catholics telling Roman Catholics how they should think and act...they seem to have some sort of strange compulsion to tell us how we should do things. Obviously they are all coming from a superior place.

"The better stuff will take off there, like grace can do better when it has more nature to attach on, sacred music will take off where there's real faith to attach it to." is an argument that is tremendously insulting to somebody someplace...and I and not sure where there is more nature.

Alaska?

Darn, insulted on another topic and getting nailed here as well while I had my back turned.

Can you say, When Sheep Attack? It's your meadow, CharlesW, enjoy it.

I don't think Regina Doman is a Byzantine. Did she say that? She just likes Byzantine chant. I doubt she was raised Byzantine Catholic. If I'm wrong I stand corrected.

Grace and nature don't have anything to do with Alaska.

Steubenville is where I became addicted to Perpetual Adoration. Yes, they do have real Catholic faith there. Way more faith than your average Catholic college campus.

Jim Cowan's Eucharist song: "This is Jesus, Emmanuel, God is with us in this Sacrament, come receive Him, adore Him, this is Jesus our Lord," is light years ahead of "I myself am the Bread of Life," and that's the point I was trying to make.

Just wanted to quickly point out that I don't want to be negative about Franciscan University in any way. It is a wonderful school and I am very blessed to be here. The students and professors here take their faith seriously, and the academics are, in my opinion, stellar. I am a Sacred Music minor here and the program is wonderful, the English department is <3 (translation: I love it!!), and what little I've experienced of the classics department is likewise wonderful.<br />
Nevertheless, they've a track record for awful liturgical practices--awful when compared to their theological and practical zeal--and for good reason. Their liturgies are still halfway stuck in the mire of the 60s and 70s when the school was founded. There are many people here who fondly remember "the good ol' days" of the charismatic revival and spend a lot of effort trying to recapture them. But seeing the Sacred Music program seep into the liturgical programs (which are all extra-curricular) and seeing things like the PBC popping up in the bookstore is proving that the liturgy cannot lag behind the theology and dedication to the Magisterium for forever.

I agree with Noel insofar as Catholics should be able to criticize other Catholic groups when it comes to such important things as liturgy without being immediately considered the bad guys. Attacking a certain aspect of the group, in this case Franciscan's liturgies, should not immediately be read as an attack on the entire group. As for me, I don't mean to criticize anything but just share the good news that the PBC is popping up in more and more places, and that the Sacred Music program at Franciscan is having more and more of an influence on things.

I understand people's "pick your battles" mentality, but "pick your battles" shouldn't turn into "keep silent and don't rock the boat," because that mentality is even more destructive in the long run, perhaps.