PASTORAL LETTER

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 35, 31 August 1905, Page 3

PASTORAL LETTER

DIOCESE OF CHRISTCHURCH

The following Pastoral Letter has been issued by the Right Rev. Dr. Grimes, Bishop of Christchurch, to the clergy and fairDhful of the dtocese :— Dearly beloved brethren and children in Jesus> Christ : We have already too long delayed the official publication of two most weighty documents recently issued by our Holy Father the Pope to the universal Church. For some time it was thought that the Holy See would grant certain concessions as to the instructions of the ' Motu Proprio ' for countries situated like ours. Recent decisions, however, clearly show that the Sovereign Pontiff intends that the instructions' contained in that decree must, as far as possible, be observed in their integrity. The first of these weighty documents is known as the ' Motu Proprio, 1 a very epitome of ecclesiastical legislation on Church Music. In it the Holy Father declares that sacred music, bedtng a complementary part of the Church's liturgy, participates in the general scope of that litiurgy which is )the greater glory of God, the sa/nctifieajtion, and edification of the faithful. Its office is to clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for the understanding of the faithful ; to add greater efficacy to tihe text, in order that, through it, we may the more easily be moved to devotion. It must, therefore, be in harmony with the sacred liturgy whereof it is an integral part, and must suggest to its hearers that Di\ine worship is its supreme ensd. Hence, it must obviously be holy to the exclusion of whatever is theatrical, frivolous, or irreverent. ,It is therefore The Desire and Command of the Holy Father— 1. That the rausiic used in 'our churches be Gregorian, or, as much as possible, conformalble to the Gregorian or Plain Chant. 2. That the Introit, Gradual, Offertory, and Communion be never omitted either at High Mass or Missa Cantata. In compliance with the wishes of our Most Holy Father, we now strictly enjoin that these proper parts of the Mass be invariably sung on such occasions to the Gregorian or Plain Chant. Where this may, at present, be impossible, they must be rendered in some „ rmoTe simple manner, as, for instance, in the Recto tooio. 3. Whenever Mass 1 or Vespeirs are sung in our churches they must be sung in their entirety. It were- better to omit the singing of the same than to go through a

mutilated form thereof. In churches where the liturgical Vespers cannot at present be sung, the Rosary should be substituted, or the beautiful liturgical office of Compline, wMoh is a most appropriate form of evenstagj prayer. It is, of course, forbidden to sing anything whatever in the vernacular during our solemn liturgical functions. 4. The liturgical text must be sung without any alteration, or inversion, or undue repetition ot the words, or any unnecessary prolonging of the Most Holy Sacrifice, thusi, as oiuir Holy Father reminds us, the Sanctus should be over before the Elewation, T a»d the Gloria and Credo should be relatively short. 5. No musical instrument, except the organ, may be used in our churches, save 'by the special license of the Bishop of the diocese'; nor should this permission be asked unless on very'rare and exceptional occasions. Let us, dearly beloved brethren and children in Jesus C hrist, prove ourselves truly obedient to the Vicar of Christ, whose least desire should be to us a very command. Doxftrttless, we shall encounter not a few and grave difficulties in the way of fulfilling to the letter all that is contained in the ' Motu Proprio.' But surely we shall find no difficulty in obeying when, as in what we have enumerated, dbtedienoe is possible. For our part, in conformity with The Injunctions of the Sovereign Pontiff, no means shall be left untried to institute, as soon aa possible in this our diocese, a sptecial commission of competent persons to whom we shall entrust the task to watch over the music executed in our churches. In the meantime let us one and all set our face against that worldly spirit which would fain invade the very temple of 'the living 'God, aad turn it into a mere conceit or music hall. Let us pitilessly ijanish therefrom all music no matter how beautiful, whenever it is in marked contrast with the wolemn and sacred acts of our holy liturgy. These would raise our minds avfd hearts to God, whilst much, too much of the music hitherto heard in some of out churches, being of the earth, earthly, would necessarily lead our thoughts and feelings far from the Most High. Most gladly do we avail ourselves of this occasion publicly to express our indebtedness to the religious Brothers and Sisters who so ungrudgingly devote themselves to tihe naWe work of imparting the principles of true education to bo many thousands of our dear children. Well do they deserve our heartfelt gratitude. May wo not make a further appeal to their devotedness ? Will they not cheerfully help us to oarry out the wishes and commands of the Apostolic See as to the reforms needed in our Church music ? May we not rely on them to form, without delay, classes wherein the children confided to their care will be tauglit the words and meaning of the principal parte of the ordinary Masses, Vespers, and liturgical hymns, -with the easy Plain Chant of the same ? Let them judiciously intermingle with the prizes distributed diiring thie scholastic year, Missals, Vespers, ana other liturgical books If our devoted teachers tJriis co-operate with our eealous priests, who, on their part, will do the utmost to fulfil the wishes' of the Holy Father, we may, before long, have what the Supreme Pontiff so ardently desires, the whole "body of the faithful singing our grand and glorious liturgy with voices and hearts in unison. Henceforth we wish it to be A Rule in this Diocese that neither o<ur priests nor any choir masters shall be allowed to publish in the papers any notice of singers or singing in our churches. Whilst doing all in our power to reform any abuses that may have crept into our churches with regard to our music, let us strain every nerve to introduce simple devotional Masses. which instead of being a distraction, will become so many, aids to our devotion. The Holy Farther grants an Indulgence of seven years and seven times forty days to all the priests and faithful who add to the prayers prescribed by Leo X 111.,, to be recited after Low Mass, the triple invocation, 'Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. 1 From this day forward this triple invocation must be akdded and recited throughout the diocese. A redent Decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites declares that whenever the Blessed Sacrament is in the Tabernacle this must be covered with a veil, any custom to the contrary notwithstanding. Together with the ' Motu Proprio ' you will receive and read to your flock the Encyclioal Letter of our Holy Father the Pope on the teaching of Catechism. This magnificent document breathes toe apostolic spirit so eminently characteristic of Pius the X. It is out duly, dearly beloved brethren of the clergy, to call your attention to the six Precepts contained in this Encyclical, and to be found on the third and last page of the traJnsHaJirian which we send you. Speaking of

them the Vicar of Christ says : • This, venerable brethren, we do prescribe and command in virtue of our Apostolic authority. 1 It were superfluous to add any words of ours to those of the Sovereign Pontiff ; but as it is his wish, nay his command, that the Confraternity af the Christian Doctrine be canonically erected in oath and every parish, we hereby impart to all Rectors of Missions the faculty to establsh this Confraternity in th^ir respective parishes where it is not already erected. We may add that excellent helpers for this huly woi.k niigli,t be found among ihe members of the admirable Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Society which we would gladly see established in every parish of the diocese. Given at Christchurch, the octave day of our Lady's Assumption, and appointed to be read in all the churches and chapels of the diocese, on the Sundays following the receipt thereof. When read, the Papal Letters, together with our short Pastoral, should be carefully preserved for reference in the parish archives. >£. JOHN JOS' PH GRIMES, SM, Bishop of Christchurch.