Thomas More Catholic Community Analysis

The Bible informs us that as they sung and praised God the Moabite armies became disoriented and began to fight one another. Perhaps this is why we schedule the choirs and praise teams to minister before the preached Word. Singing spiritual hymns to God will soften the hearts and prepare our minds for what God has to say to us. Once our hearts are “plowed” or softened we can receive with joy the assignments or correction God will give to us.

In the sixteenth century, the Protestant Church of England was using new music and hymns that would still be used today. According to “Elizabethan”, this time was the “high point in the English Liturgical Style”. The Mass Ordinary was created in the fifteenth century. There are five sections that go in a cycle basing each movement on the same musical material. The five sections, according to Raeburn, include Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei (11). For more somber religious events, such as funerals, a requiem mass would be used. This mass was relatively peaceful and the melody would tend to wander. Ongaro tells un in his book “Music of the Renaissance” that choirs in this era had up to sixteen members that would dance, sing, and act (32). Religious music was the work of many composers that would give us hymns and musical works that we use

The Liturgy of the Hours has three names. The three names are The Liturgy of the Hours, the Divine Office, and the Breviary. The latin word for The Liturgy of the Hours is Liturgia Horarum. This consists of mainly Psalms, added by hymns, readings, and other prayers. The Liturgy of the Hours is the official prayer of the church, said many times in the day in order to sanctify it. Clergy and religious officials have an obligation to say it because of the Canon Law as official representatives to the church. The laity are expected to recite it whether it is with a priest, by themselves or with others.

The two most common rites of the Mass are the Tridentine rite and the Novus Ordo rite. The Tridentine rite was used before Vatican II and is now, mostly, replaced by the Novus Ordo rite. These two rites have many similarities and differences.

  Comments: Question 17. Question : The practice of __________was adopted by congregations in which a more or less musically literate leader sang one line of the psalm, which the congregation then repeated in unison.

Sacred music played a prominent part in ritual of the church. Motets and hymns became a part of Mass. The motet became a sacred form with a single Latin text. Motets in praise of the Virgin Mary were extremely popular because of the many religious groups devoted to Marian worship. Josquin Desprez, a popular master of the motet and influencer of many composers, composed more than a hundred motets and numerous secular pieces.

The ad created by The Catholic Charities of Chicago demonstrate the likely privilege of their audience by comparing them to an unprivileged and famished child and persuade them to make a financial donation to the charity. Many people say, “God, I’m starving!” when they’re hungry, but they’re not really starving. However, other people who say it are actually starving. The creators of the advertisement want the advantaged readers to donate money to ‘The Catholic Charities of Chicago’ in order to help “victims of unfortunate circumstances”, including the hungry.

The Holy Qurbana continues with The Resurrection hymn. This hymn accompanies the celebrant as he prepares the altar for worship, using incense and removing the altar veil. (Palackal). The Resurrection hymn concludes the introductory rights. The liturgy of the word opens with the Trisagion, which is sung three times. Next in the Holy Qurbana is the Suraya, which is sung by the congregation. This is repeated five times in a row. The Anthem of the Mysteries is next, and is the equivalent of the Presentation of the Gifts in Roman Catholic mass (Palackal). While the deacon brings the bread and wine the congregation sings the Anthem of the Mysteries: “Here is our Lord’s precious body and blood”(Palackal). After The Anthem of the Mysteries is the Commemoration hymn, whose purpose is to give the

Hart said, “God is sound.” (Potter, 58) This quote resonated with me because no three words have ever spoken more truth. Coming from a musical, Catholic background, I have always been told that singing is praying twice. Music truly is a gift from God because God gave us the ability to hear.

Due to the Church of England’s discrimination of religious minorities, many fled to the New World in order to practice their religious beliefs without facing scrutiny by those who opposed it. Therefore, religious beliefs played a bigger role in the settling of the English colonies. Under the harsh rule of the monarchy and the Anglican establishment, the Puritans, Catholics, Calvinist, and those who were not Christian were subjected to oppression, exile, or death. Many people did not want to change their beliefs for the sake of obeying the king. The persecuted minority perceived the New World the same way Utopia was depicted in Sir Thomas More’s novel -- an ideal community in which religious strife did not plague the people. As a result, people

Primarily, the clergy recites

I learned that in the Catholic community the ceremony is referred to as “Mass”, and before Mass, the Apostle Creed is recited by a volunteer. In addition, the altar had lit candles and sacred images were displayed such as the Virgin Mary and Jesus in the Crucifix. Besides that, I felt out of place amongst the congregation because I didn’t know the process in greeting other members. In a Catholic service the congregation is very active, the members that volunteer have many roles to accomplish before the Priest commences Mass. As the Priest reached the Altar, he kissed it. The Priest had an incense burner and was spreading it all around the Altar; it was my first time that I witnessed this type of sacred

The masses in the religious services had to be sung a cappella in this specific order or it was considered a disgrace and ruined the sacred pieces. The high priests of the Catholic churches were very strict on how the sacred music was sung and preserved.

Worship comes in different forms depending on how the church wants the service to proceed. For the Amazing Grace Church, the service began with the congregation singing a number of worship songs to the Lord that lasted for about an hour. Christian praise and worship by music, and in fact, music is a great tool for helping them feel closer to God. Music is an emotional language because it effectively affects their emotions and the lyrics can swell their hearts. There is nothing bigger and greater than the grace of God that is delivered to them from condemnation through the sacrifice of his own Son. Thus, Christian chooses to praise and worship Him by singing. While singing, the congregation stands on their feet and they seem to be affected by the songs in some way as they raise their hands as a sign of accepting the Lord into their hearts. The emotion that was thrown from the congregation was very distinctive to us as we could see that the songs are an important tool of expression. According to the pastor of the Amazing Grace Church, singing let the people focus on the worship, helps them respond to God’s grace and also guide them to reflect on God’s glory. In his opinion, singing mean nothing if people do not respond to what they have sang and related it to God and reflect it to make them better believers.

Roman Catholics celebrate Holy Communion or Mass regularly. Roman Catholics believe that the Mass is a sacrifice. Each time it is celebrated Christ renews the sacrifice that he made for the sins of the world when he was crucified. This is why they frequently celebrate it. In some Churches, only people who have been confirmed are allowed to participate in the celebration of Holy Communion, whereas in the Roman Catholic Church there is no such restriction.