This paper examines and provides the best model, degrees of preparation, and various steps the Diocese of Manchester can provide and encourage in order to resuscitate parish sacred music programs. In Chapter One, I provide the contextual framework needed in which to fully understand sacred music by first defining liturgy. I also examine the ancient/modern axiom of Lex orandi-Lex credendi-Lex vivendi by discussing the ways which worship shapes our beliefs and, in turn, how we live our lives. Since worship involves codified words, I discuss how the church safeguards her ritual texts and how the process of translations occurs from Latin into various vernacular languages, taking a moment to examine a few texts and compare translations. Because liturgy requires assembly participation, I conclude the chapter by detailing what active participation means and what it does not. Dedicated to sacred music, Chapter Two begins by defining sacred music and its associative qualities. I then move to discuss the attributes and polarity of Apollonian and Dionysian music. Next, I pivot to examine how sacred music serves as an important tool for evangelization. The chapter is concluded by rethinking the musician’s role as vocation versus employment and dissecting the role and function of the position Director of Music. Acknowledging the Church has a particular culture associated with it, Chapter Three traces the affect popular culture has on society and the widespread cultural deficit of attention to beauty. I trace the concept and components of the “culture of mediocrity” gripping the church and how best to reverse the trend. I then speak of the importance of richness found within liturgical texts and how human beings respond to beauty itself. Finally, I propose that parishes must establish a clear cultus Dei within their community in order to undertake authentic evangelization by providing an alternative to secular culture. Highlighting the reality that the path to resuscitate parish music programs, such as attaining both musically and liturgically competent musicians, is a complex situation involving multiple layers, Chapter Four begins with outlining various Diocesan responsibilities beginning with the Bishop, the Cathedral, Diocesan Office for Worship and Liturgical Commission, Diocesan Director of Music and the necessity for the Diocesan Office for Worship to collaborate with the Catholic Schools Office to cultivate a new generation of church musicians. The chapter ends with discussing the importance of continuing education and surveying both national and local structures, programs and initiatives for ministerial formation. Although our present time is complex and full of various seemingly insurmountable challenges, Chapter Five speaks of the unending hope for continued restoration within the liturgical and sacred music apostolate. Recapping some of the major themes found in the paper, I remind the reader that the journey towards total parish renewal is possibly for everyone and not just for a select few. The paper culminates in Chapter Six where I offer a strategic plan that supplies a model for the resuscitation of church music programs in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire. The paper concludes with several appendixes. Appendix A details various chant resources, Appendix B lists various choral resources applicable for smaller and medium-sized choirs, a comparison/contrast of the 1970 and 2010 English translations of the Latin text of the Exsultet are in Appendix C, and Appendix D offers a model course focused on the history of sacred music and of liturgical theology. / 2026-09-30

No description available.

The forming of liturgy in the Dutch Reformed Church is in a crisis. The current context demands new liturgies in order to facilitate meaningful communication between God and His children. The problem is that no healthy practice of liturgy forming exists and more decay than change takes place. Therefore, the need exists for a workable theory for liturgy forming which can be used in the forming of a justified liturgy. In this study a theory and liturgies are worked out which takes the liturgy forming through the centuries into account. The theory, which is known as the three resources theory, is a dynamic theory in which the energy resources are placed in interaction with one another in order to form new liturgies. The three energy resources are the Bible, the tradition and the context. These three resources are focused on an eschatological focus point in the future. The Bible as energy resource especially has authority since it contains the worship style and example of Jesus Christ. The tradition exists of the narrative off liturgy forming through the centuries. The tradition offers a treasure of examples, which can be used for liturgy forming in the current context. The current context forms an integral part of the liturgy forming process. The post-modernism, the remains of the modernism, globalisation, the transformation process in South Africa and the modem developments in the human sciences are all forces which influence the liturgy forming process indirectly. These energy circles are placed in interaction with one another, new justified liturgies are formed which makes meaningful communication between God and His children possible. The investigation on liturgy forming in 13 various congregations in England and South Africa indicated that, where one or more of the energy resources is neglected, responsible energy forming does not take place. The current context requires that modem liturgy should emphasize symbols, emotion and dialogue. More love should also be shown during services. / Die liturgievorming van die Ned Geref Kerk is in 'n krisis. Die huidige konteks stel nuwe eise aan die liturgie wat vra vir nuwe liturgiee om die kommunikasie tussen God en Sy kinders sinvol en betekenisvol te fasiliteer. Die probleem is dat daar nie 'n gesonde praktyk van liturgievorming bestaan nie en dat meer verval as verandering plaasvind. Daar is dus 'n behoefte aan 'n werkbare teorie vir liturgievorming wat gebruik kan word in die vorming van verantwoorde liturgie. In hierdie studie word 'n teorie en liturgiee uitgewerk wat die werkende energiebronne in liturgievorming deur die eeue in ag neem. Die teorie, wat bekendstaan as die driebronneteorie, is 'n dinamiese teorie waarin die energiebronne in wisselwerking met mekaar geplaas word vir die vorming van nuwe liturgiee. Die drie energiebronne is die Skrif, die tradisie en die konteks. Hierdie drie bronne word gefokus op 'n eskatologiese fokuspunt in die toekoms. Die Skrif as energiebron is veral gesagdraend omdat dit die aanbiddingstyl en voorbeeld van Jesus Christus bevat. Die tradisie bestaan uit die verhaal van die liturgievorming deur die eeue waar die drie energiebronne telkens in wisselwerking met mekaar was. Die tradisie bied 'n skatkis van voorbeelde waaruit geleen kan word vir liturgievorming in die huidige konteks. Die huidige konteks is 'n integrale deel van die liturgievormingsproses. Die Postmodemisme, die reste van die Modemisme, globalisering, die oorgangsituasie in Suid-Afrika en hedendaagse ontwikkelinge in die menswetenskappe is almal kragte wat indirek inwerk op die liturgievormingsproses. Slegs wanneer die energiesirkels in wisselwerking met mekaar geplaas word, word verantwoordelik nuwe liturgiee gevorm wat sinvolle kommunikasie tussen God en sy kinders bewerkstellig. Die ondersoek na die liturgievorming in 12 verskillende gemeentes in Engeland en Suid-Afrika het aan die lig gebring dat waar een of meer van die energiebronne verwaarloos word, verantwoordelike vorming nie plaasvind nie. Die huidige konteks vra dat byderwetse liturgie meer klem op simbole, emosie en dialogiese kommunikasie sal plaas. Liturgie sal ook moeite moet doen om meer liefde oor te dra in die eredienste. Ter wille van die fasilitering van 'n dieper spiritualiteit kan die liturgie van die Ned Geref Kerk spesifieke liturgiese elemente en -houdings gaan leen by antler spiritualiteite en so sy eie liturgie verbreed. Dit bly 'n haalbare uitdaging om voortdurend verantwoordelik liturgie te vorm indien die Skrif, die tradisie en die konteks as energiebronne in wisselwerking met mekaar geraadpleeg word en gefokus word op die eskatologiese. / D.Th. (Practical Theology)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa faces many challenges, as a country. Our communities are struggling with many issues such as poverty, inequality, rape, abuse, violence, corruption and many more. Yet, our faith community seems reluctant to lament these issues during their worship services. This research looks specifically at the practice of the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa. The question that this research wrestles with is: “Given the challenging times that we live in, in what way could a re-discovery or a re-claiming of lament in liturgy, against the background of healing and hope, obtain new meaning in our congregations?” The assumption of the research is that if the church wants to be relevant in the lives of their members today, she would need to revisit and reclaim the process of lament in the liturgy. It could further be argued that a re-thinking and a re-introduction of lament in liturgy could have far-reaching and enriching implications in the life of the faith community, especially where the healing of memories is concerned. Part of the research was a literature study while another section consisted of empirical studies. Congregations from the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa, in the Western Cape, took part in the studies. The main focus of the research was descriptive empirical and the information gathered had to be interpreted. Through the normative task, theological reflections could be carried out and finally possible criteria could be deduced in terms of how lament could be re-integrated into existing liturgies of our church. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid Afrika word gekonfronteer met baie uitdagings. Ons gemeenskappe gaan gebuk onder geweldige druk en word daagliks gekonfronteer met armoede, ongelykheid, verkragting, mishandeling, geweld, korrupsie en nog vele meer. Ongeag hierdie uitdagings blyk dit asof ons geloofsgemeenskap teensinnig is om te weeklaag gedurende eredienste. Hierdie navorsing kyk spesifiek na die praktyk rondom weeklaag in die liturgie van spesifieke gemeentes in die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider Afrika. Die vraag waarmee hierdie navorsing worstel is: “Gegewe die uitdagende tye waarin ons lewe, op watter manier kan die herontdekking of die her-besit van weeklaag in liturgie (teen die agtergrond van heling en hoop), nuwe betekenis aanneem in ons gemeentes?”. Die uitgangspunt van die navorsing is dat as die kerk relevant wil bly in die lewens van haar lidmate, dan het sy nodig om die proses van weeklaag, binne die liturgie, weer te besoek en te eien. Verder kan dit geredeneer word dat ‘n nuwe denkpatroon en ‘n nuwe bekendstelling aan weeklaag in die liturgie verreikende gevolge kan hê in die lewens van die geloofsgemeenskap, veral waar daar na die heling van ons verlede gekyk word. Een deel van die navorsing was ‘n literêre studie terwyl die tweede deel ‘n empiriese studie was. Gemeentes van die Verenigende Gereformeerde Kerk in Suider-Afrika het deel uitgemaak van die empirisie navorsing. Die klem van die navorsing was beskrywendempiries en die data moes interpreteer word. Gedurende die normatiewe deel kon daar teologies gereflekteer word oor die maniere waarop weeklaag weer deel van die bestaande liturgie gemaak kan word in ons kerk. Verskeie moontlikhede het aan die lig gekom in hierdie verband.

Sacrosanctum concilium, the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the liturgy, is often cited by scholars when assessing and commenting upon Roman Catholic liturgical music in the Council’s reception period, that is, the late-twentieth and early-twenty first centuries. The constitution, however, is only one of four constitutions promulgated by the Council that together create a vision for reform. Conciliar documents state principles which the Church’s teachers—the pope, bishops, pastors, and theologians—continually interpret for specific situations. This essay considers theological and historical factors that affected the Second Vatican Council’s statements about liturgical music. The Council’s overall concern was the Church’s effective proclamation of the Gospel in a world of diverse cultural settings facing modern problems. Liturgical music prior to the Second Vatican Council reflected the needs and concerns of a Church that, in a sense, no longer exists. Current theological methods begin by validating a congregation’s experience of God and placing it in dialogue with tradition. In this context, Gregorian chant and polyphony hold “pride of place” among a variety of musical styles that express the Church’s encounter with God. / text

TO THESIS "THE ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT OF MASSLITURGY AND NEW LITURGICAL SONGS" Vít Náměstek PedF UK This thesis is going to pursue a task of the right modes of organ accompaniment of massliturgy. It describes the desirable style and character of accompaniment component parts of ceremony to make the organ play not to be for itself only, but to let it become the thing, that it schould be: The organ play has to create an organic complex with the liturgy. The work makes the direction of the play concrete and accent the sensitivity not only for pure substance of the holy mass, but also depending on liturgical day and season. It is focus on the main prelude and main postlude, on perticular preludes, postludes and interludes during the ceremony, and on accompaniments of the responses, acclamations and also solo celebrant's singing - that means on the parts, which aren't mostly mentioned in publications of organ accompaniment. The creative part of the work includes 3 new songs for worship: their tunes and lyrics , harmonization and music-theological analysis.

Thesis advisor: John F. Baldovin / This dissertation examines the interaction of communal religious memory and eschatological anticipation within Jewish and Christian liturgical performance, and charts the ways that Jewish and Christian liturgical practices inform the experience of time. It proposes that the liturgical conjunction of the historical sense of time, which encompasses notions of the past, present, and future, and the observance of the cyclical passing of hours creates a unique experience of time. This liturgical experience of time arises through ritual meditation on the religiously envisioned past and future, and is marked by a perceived interpenetration of time. Judaism and Christianity each hold distinct temporal visions that inform the way the past, present, and future are understood. In each tradition, the narrative of the past informs the understanding of the present, and indicates a shape for the future. Inversely, the contours of the envisioned eschatological future inform the perception of the present, and influence the way that the past is remembered. This study argues that the liturgical performance of the temporal orientations of each tradition engenders a transformed experience of time. It demonstrates how the ritual engagement of memory and anticipation contribute to a re-shaping of the experience of time, allowing the liturgical community to experience the past and future as operative in the present. Driven by the conviction that a religiously and ritually shaped vision of time is a significant point of convergence in Jewish and Christian religious experience, yet largely overlooked in scholarship to date, this study addresses both Jewish and Christian contexts. In the study of the Christian context, it focuses on the Liturgy of the Hours, the celebration of which engages communal memory and anticipation within the setting of liturgical services that regularly punctuate the hours of day and night. The study of the Jewish context addresses a wider range of liturgies, focusing on the daily services as well as on highly memorial and eschatological holidays such as Passover and Shabbat, with attention to how each contributes to a transformed experience of time. To address the elusive phenomenon of ritual experience, this study explores the perception of time from a phenomenological perspective, employing an interdisciplinary methodology that utilizes ritual and performance theories, aesthetics, and hermeneutics, in conversation with contemporary Jewish and Christian liturgical thought. Motivated by the notion that the experience of time is integral to faith, this project proposes that the concept of a liturgically transformed experience of time sheds light on essential aspects of Jewish and Christian religious experience. The experience of time cannot be extricated from subjectivity, and this quality is precisely what grants its study the capacity to address some of the most interior aspects of faith. This study proposes, furthermore, that the intimacy of the experience of time grants it the particular gift of communicating across the boundaries of religious traditions, subtly transgressing obstacles to interreligious understanding. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis advisor: Boyd T. Coolman / The anonymous Speculum de mysteriis ecclesiae from the 12th century abbey of St. Victor has often been associated with the tradition of medieval liturgical commentaries, but this dissertation proposes reading it primarily as a general treatise on the spiritual life. Its unique Victorine emphasis on the combination of intellect and affect suggests a particular theology of the sign: the real ontological status of the sign relying not on Dionysian hierarchy but on ecclesial contemplation. Through the newly developed sacramental understanding of res et sacramentum, the Speculum suggests that signs have enduring value as signs that goes beyond their function as signifiers. The attainment of the signified, in other words, is only part of their gift. Their “sweetness” is found in an appreciation of their mode of signification — a signification that, the Speculum suggests, endures somehow even in heaven as a non-necessary gracious source of delight. That is, external and visible things in the Church have value not merely because they point us to particular invisible things (what the signs “mean”) but because they teach us the Church’s economy of grace. The Church, then, and her sacramental economy, are central not just to the practical life of individual salvation, but to the meaningfulness of all creation. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Theology.

Thesis advisor: Thomas D. Stegman / The majority of exegetes agree that the so-called “Letter” to the Hebrews is actually a homily, meant to be read aloud to a Christian community gathered for worship. In The Context of the Text: Reading Hebrews as a Eucharistic Homily, I argue that the specific venue for the public reading of Hebrews was a celebration of the Eucharist. It is my contention that the author presumed and exploited this Eucharistic setting in order to bolster his claims about the superiority of Christ and his sacrifice to the sacrifices of the “first covenant”, as well as to entreat his readers to remain faithful to Christian Eucharistic worship. This dissertation begins in Chapter 1 by considering the “state of the question,” examining the positions of scholars who take – respectively – negative, agnostic and positive positions regarding Eucharistic references in Hebrews. Chapter 2 situates the question of Hebrews and the Eucharist within the broader milieu of the liturgical provenance of New Testament writings. Chapter 3 considers the issues of Hebrews’ authorship, date of composition, audience, rhetorical strategy, and literary structure as they pertain to my argument that the text was written for proclamation at the Eucharist. Chapter 4 offers an extensive study of several passages from Hebrews which appear to allude to the Eucharist without mentioning the sacrament explicitly (Hebrews 6:4; 9:20; 10:19-25; 12:22-24; 13:10; and 13:15), setting forth the claim that the allusive nature of these references is explained by the Eucharistic milieu for which the homily was written. In particular, I argue that a Eucharistic understanding of Hebrews 13:10 (“We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat”) is the linchpin for understanding other Eucharistic references in Hebrews and that this verse serves as a major reinforcement of the author’s earlier claims regarding the supreme efficacy of Christ’s redemptive work. I hold that the author’s mention of an “altar” in 13:10 is meant to be understood as a reference to the Eucharistic table and that, taken as such, this statement parallels the claim in 8:1 (“We have such a high priest”) in order to demonstrate that Christians have both a superior priest (Christ) and a superior cultic act (the Eucharist). Finally, Chapter 5 considers interpretive traditions (particularly patristic and Eastern) which bolster the case for a Eucharistic interpretation of Hebrews. / Thesis (STD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

A instrumentalização do Ordo Fratrum Minorum como um dos elementos da normatização e homogeneização litúrgica da Cúria Romana a partir do ano 1215 é a tarefa do nosso estudo. Através da análise do Evangeliarium contido no códice Breviarium Sancti Francisci que está do Mosteiro de Santa Clara de Assis, verificaremos a influência das práticas litúrgicas na origem da fraternitas até sua composição como Ordo. Pretendemos investigar a postura política eclesiástica do Papa Inocêncio III (1198-1216) na sua homogeneização Litúrgica dentro do Corpus Iuris Canonici e do Concílio de Latrão IV. Essa homogeneização influenciou as relações sociais das cidades centro-setentrionais da Itália através do calendário do Breviarium Sancti Francisci. A oratio romane teve influência direta na vida monacal e laical no estabelecimento de horários predeterminados para o Officium Divinum; nas leituras doutrinais oficiais da Cúria Romana para os movimentos populares e na padronização da Oratio Ecclesie até nossos dias. Nas ordens mendicantes, na sua missão natus pro nobis in via, propagadoras deste Breviarium Romanum, o mesmo serviu como parâmetro para análise dos movimentos populares propensos à heresia. No caso específico do Ordo Fratrum Minorum, o Breviarium Romanum contribuiu como veículo institucionalizador espiritual com a lectio divina, pautada por um Evangeliarium, Hymnarium e um Psalmorum, que influenciaram a vida da fraternitas desde a sua gênese, além de ser um instrumento jurídico e ideológico de homogeneização e centralização do poder na plenitude potestatis papae. Analisaremos o Evangeliarium como fonte primária para a composição dos primeiros escritos de Frei Francisco de Assis, e por fim a contribuição da Ordo Fratrum Minorum na composição do Officium Divinum. / The instrumentalization of Ordo Fratrum Minorum as one of the liturgic standardization and homogenization elements of the Roman Curia as from 1215 is the task at hand in this study. Through the analysis of Evangeliarium contained in the Breviarium Sancti Francisci codex that is kept in St. Clare of Assisi monastery, we will verify the influence of the liturgic practices in the origin of fraternitas up until their composition as Ordo. We intend to investigate the ecclesiastical political attitude of Pope Innocent III based on his liturgic homogenization within the Corpus Iuris Canonici and the Fourth Council of the Lateran. Such homogenization influenced social relations in Italian center-north cities with the Breviarium Sancti Francisci calendar. Oratio romane had direct impact on both monk and lay life because of the prescription of a schedule for Officium Divinum; on the official doctrinal readings from the Roman Curia to the popular movements and on the standardization of Oratio Ecclesie until today. Within the mendicant orders, equipped with their natus pro nobis in via mission, propellers of this Breviarium Romanum, the document served as a parameter for analysis of the social movements that would be prone to heresy. In the case of Ordo Fratrum Minorum, in particular, the Breviarium Romanum contributed was as an institutionalizing spiritual vehicle using the lectio divina, based on one Evangeliarium, one Hymnarium and one Psalmorum which influenced the life of the fraternitas since its genesis, apart from being a juridical and ideological instrument of homogenization and centralization of power under the plenitude of potestatis papae. We will analyze Evangeliarium as a primary source for the composition of Fray Francis of Assisis first writings, and eventually the contribution of Ordo Fratrum Minorum in the composition of Officium Divinum.