Time is running out on us for the Month of the Holy Rosary.
Offered by some of the gents of the young Catholic Australian liturgical singers, Prima Luce. From memory it’s Jacques Arcadelt’s quite ‘umble and merciful Ave Maria, if I’m not mistaken.
A fuller complement of Prima Luce for the Immaculate Mary.
Does Father Z ever say . . . and pray the Rosary?
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Pope St Pius V
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
Personally / obviously, I love both these hymns. A couple of criticisms, if I may be so bold:
1. All that hand waving by the putative choirmasters-cum-tenors is mere theatrics and could be replaced to better and more dignified effect by some subtle and (far fewer) hand signals.
2. Why is it that men, young and old (except me – and The Hapsburg Restorationist possibly) never do up their top shirt buttons unless they’re wearing a tie and sometimes not even then? So bloody vulgar. I remember when men used to wear buttoned-up shirts with ties to mow the lawn.
3. Off topic, but speaking of THR reminds me to respond to Toad’s bewilderment about the status of Jews under the Hapsburgs. I remember telling him (the amphibian) some years ago to look at Stefan Zweig, the famous Viennese Jew who left Austria in the 1930s, including The World of Yesterday finished in 1942 just before he committed suicide, his autobiography of “what it meant to be alive between 1881 and 1942”, one line of which reads: “When I attempt to find a simple formula for the period in which I grew up, prior to the First World War, I hope that I convey its fullness by calling it the Golden Age of Security.”
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Re: Point 2
A moderator: time for this picture to go, we feel, JH. But point taken.
Good night and God bless.
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JH first comment above:
bullet point 2
Well, you asked for it –
JH second comment above:
Lovely motor mower, JH.
Prima Luce
It was recorded in the crypt of St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney.
Nice write-up here about them in the Brisbane Catholic Leader by Emilie Ng, who has visited us on CP&S previously in connection with the new Oratorian foundation in the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
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Does Father Z ever say . . . and pray the Rosary?
GC, I’m fascinated by this question of yours! Are you inferring, good Father Z does not pray the Rosary? Could you elaborate, please? 🙂
Meanwhile, thanks for the reminder that the month of the Holy Rosary is drawing to its close. Such a powerful intercessiry prayer! Let’s hammer at Heaven’s ‘door’ with our rosaries for all the Church’s needs, especially for persecuted Christians and, VERY IMPORTANT, for faithfulness from our Pope, bishops and priests.
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No, not at all, kathleen. I know he often says . . . and go to confession! Just wondered if he says a similar thing about saying the Rosary, that’s all. Would be good if he did!
By the way, thanks for your extra-kind thoughts earlier. I am still blushing days later. 🙂
What a lovely holiday you had back in England.
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GC (re Father Z)
Ah, I see! Yes, would be good to hear Father Z mention this more often, but he is great, isn’t he, the way he never slackens his call to us to GO TO CONFESSION ! 😉
And as this lovely post of yours is dedicated to Our Lady, here is an excerpt from a homily of our (sorely-missed) Pope Benedict XVI on 3rd May 2008, given in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Rome:
“When reciting the Rosary, the important and meaningful moments of salvation history are relived. The various steps of Christ’s mission are traced. With Mary the heart is oriented toward the mystery of Jesus. …
May Mary help us to welcome within ourselves the grace emanating from these mysteries, so that through us we can “water” society, beginning with our daily relationships, and purifying them from so many negative forces, thus opening them to the newness of God. The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation. It contains within itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, invoked with faith and love at the centre of each “Hail Mary.””
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Agreed, kathleen, perhaps Father Z could add an . . . and pray the Rosary! . . . to all of his October posts each year, but who am I to “he-coulda-shoulda” Father Z?
I just caught him saying this on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary just a few weeks back . . . Please pray the Rosary today. Please add a prayer for me..
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2016/10/the-battle-of-lepanto-1571-and-the-feast-of-the-holy-rosary/
That could mean he is warming to our proposal.
kathleen, most beautiful material you gave to us by Pope Benedict. Someone should use it in next year’s article for the Month of the Holy Rosary. Especially this . . . the Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical and superficial but profoundly, it brings, in fact, peace and reconciliation.
What think you of the young Australian singers, kathleen? One reason I posted it was to show that significant numbers of young adults are still committing themselves to the Faith – for these people in the video it is through the Church’s arts.
Their website is here. Some may find a few Christmas gift ideas there?
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kathleen, are you still there?
Just found this on Father Z’s blog on 7 October this year, quoting St John Paul II on the Rosary:
St. John Paul II wrote in his 2002 Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae:
6. … A similar need for commitment and prayer arises in relation to another critical contemporary issue: the family, the primary cell of society, increasingly menaced by forces of disintegration on both the ideological and practical planes, so as to make us fear for the future of this fundamental and indispensable institution and, with it, for the future of society as a whole. The revival of the Rosary in Christian families, within the context of a broader pastoral ministry to the family, will be an effective aid to countering the devastating effects of this crisis typical of our age.
This just gets better and better.
I think Father Z also has a ‘patristic Rosary project’ cooking – now on a back burner, perhaps?
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“Bring me my weapon”– St. Padre Pio
“..
St. Padre Pio called the rosary a weapon- because that’s exactly what it is. A weapon. It’s not just some fuzzy-feeling meditation-the very gates of hell tremble when the rosary is prayed fervently. As Catholics, we know that the prayers of the holy rosary are more than just “vain” repetitious words. Saint Padre Pio states that “The Rosary is the ‘weapon’ for these times.” If we truly focus on the meditations of the mysteries, we examine deep into the heart of the Gospel of truth. Some might still be thinking “Why the rosary?” The simple answer is because it’s powerful. Because it requires discipline. Because it fosters a love for the Immaculata and asks for her powerful intercession.
..”
The Rosary. Padre Pio
“..
“If we do what we have always done, what our fathers did before us, we cannot go wrong. Satan wants to destroy this prayer, but in this he will never succeed. The Rosary is the prayer of those who triumph over everything and everyone. It was Our Lady who taught us this prayer, just as it was Jesus who taught us the Our Father.
..”
Pope Pius IX
“Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world.”
St. Josemaria Escriva declares “If you say the Holy Rosary every day, with a spirit of faith and love, our Lady will make sure she leads you very far along her Son’s path.” We have a Goliath to take down and just as David had five stones in his arsenal, we have five decades in ours. So grab those beads and start praying, this beast must go down!
St Dominic’s Prophesy
“..
Three famous men of God met on a street corner in Rome. They were Friar Dominic, busy gathering recruits to a new Religious Order of Preachers; Brother Francis, the friend of birds and beasts and especially dear to the poor; and Angelus, who had been invited to Rome from Mount Carmel, in Palestine, because of his fame as a preacher. At their chance meeting, by the light of the Holy Spirit each of the three men recognized each other and, in the course of their conversation (as recorded by various followers who were present), they made prophecies to each other. Saint Angelus foretold the stigmata of Saint Francis, and Saint Dominic said:
“One day, Brother Angelus, to your Order of Carmel the Most Blessed Virgin Mary will give a devotion to be known as the Brown Scapular, and to my Order of Preachers she will give a devotion to be known as the Rosary. ONE DAY, THROUGH THE ROSARY AND THE SCAPULAR, SHE WILL SAVE THE WORLD.”
..”
BRING ME MY WEAPON!!
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Yes, still here my dear GC, though I expect you are tucked up in bed right now, dreaming the dreams of the good and the just ;-), whilst we are about to settle down to our evening meal. (Are you six or seven hours ahead of us on your Golden Chersonnese?)
I loved your “young Australian singers” – beautiful voices, and faces… and demeanour! It is certainly very encouraging to see young people committing themselves to their Faith, and in musica sacra, fine art and beauty, the truths of the Faith shine through. (Father John Bartunek from ‘Catholic Spiritual Direction’ relates how he found the Catholic Church this way!) The witness of the thousands of joyful youngsters on the annual Chartres pilgrimage, so in love with their Faith, is always enormously uplifting to me.
Thanks for that important message from Rosarium Virginis Mariae of Pope Saint JPII. It is wonderful how the Rosary has had such a revival from those early post Vatican 2 days when I was growing up. No one was praying it then (except for some diehards like our family, thanks to my devout father), although nothing in V2 said this beautiful prayer should be put on your “bank burner”*. And look what happened! By forgetting to pray the Rosary, people gradually lost their Faith in vast numbers!
* Has Father Z got a ‘patristic Rosary project’ on the march? That’s great!
I love Father Z; not only is he a prolific writer of good Catholic stuff, but he’s also such a fascinating personality (who loves his food 😉 ), a faithful priest, very intelligent and informative, and he possesses a marvellous ability to soothe all our fears for the Church with his down-to-earth common sense. Bless him.
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Roger @ 18:08 yesterday
I have to confess I hadn’t even read this inspiring comment of yours when (for fear of supper becoming overcooked 😉 ) I hurriedly tapped out my reply to GC.
A wonderful testimony, through the writings of the saints, of the power of the Holy Rosary. Thank you, Roger.
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GC, I am guessing that you are Australian and live in Brisbane – is that correct? I live in Sydney and I know two of the singers in the videos. Thank you for posting them – it was lovely. They are strong in their faith and used to be part of the choir at Lewisham, where there is a Latin Mass community. And JH, the top button undone is Australian, we are not very formal, and to tell you the truth, we don’t always understand the significance of clothes, although in this video I thought they were dressed well.
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Hello Crow, no I am not Australian-born, but studied there a good while (in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra) and worked for a bit. I’ve been back in my home country (hint: google my avatar, “land of the hornbill”) for nearly 25 years, but still stay in touch with Catholic friends from my many years down south of where I am sitting right now – and also try to keep up with things in Australia as best I can. In fact, I’m looking forward to being with some of my old cobbers who will arrive at my home on St Stephen’s Day. They’re all in their 50s now.
I thought when listening to these videos that Prima Luce had grown considerably since I last heard some of their recordings. I hadn’t realised they’d been added to by members of the choir of the Latin Mass community at the Maternal Heart Chapel of the old (Catholic) Lewisham Hospital in Sydney.
I’ll let you be the judge of current Australian fashion statements, but we do notice over here that Ozzie backpackers and the like seem all to have been surgically attached to “board shorts” (or, for the lasses, something usually quite skimpy), T-less “T-shirts” and synthetic rubber flip-flops. Perhaps it’s our perennial sunny blue skies and 30-something degree heat that trigger this phenomenon.
Crow, please feel welcome to comment as much as you like here. I know you have some admirers among us.
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Dear GC, thank you for your kind words – that is most welcoming! I have now traced the hornbill to it’s nest. I can imagine that in such beautiful climes, the exotic birds would be over-run by scantily-dressed, barely covered Ozzie backpackers. Beware their calls, they make a harsh, croaking sound similar to the sulphur-crested cockatoo. My sympathies to you. I am grateful that here in Sydney we do not get over-run by Ozzie backpackers.
My avatar has a clue to my birthplace too, but it would need a forensic genius or cryptic crossword person to work it out. This site has many good aspects to it. I find that I receive an education in the faith and a perspective from the various posts as they are always good and in-depth. It is a contrast to the banality of the mainstream media, which has fast become irrelevant. However, while the good side is the anonymity of all, which of course is necessary in a world of cyber-space, and also allows freedom of expression, I must confess to a curiosity about the people who contribute. I devine little things about each – i now know a bit about you; JH has told us quite a few personal details about his faith journey; Toad, a wonderful, wonderful, crustacean, or reptile (I failed science), journalist, friend of famous actors such as the man in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, (Michael Cain), lives in Spain on the Camino path, atheist who sometimes goes to Mass (a spiritual amphibian ?)
Jabbapappa, a blogger who is at loggerheads with some as the result of views of the Vatican and the Pope, someone who is extremely educated (what the French call ‘branche’, and John Kehoe, Vatican II, who seems to contribute with the sole purpose of fighting with everyone (you wouldn’t be Irish by any chance, would you John? You remind me of my family)!
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