Undusted Texts

 Introduction John W. Lynch, S.M. (1904-1970) was a priest, poet, and author; he lived and served in New York.  His most famous work is a long poem about Mary, A Woman Wrapped in Silence (1941), which I discussed in an article years ago ( "Expanding the Narratives of Scripture" ).  He wrote many other poems, which seem to be mostly scattered in journals and newspapers, or stuffed into his prose books, as well as a long poem on the life of Christ, This Little While , a companion to A Woman Wrapped in Silence .  (A portion of This Little While , "The Crucifixion," can be found here: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 ).   Among his prose works are Bernadette: The Only Witness , The Deed of God , and  Hourglass: Stories of a Measured Year .  This last book is a mixture of short reflections, poems, and stories loosely arranged across the course of the Church year.  Below is one of those reflections, on the connection of the Nativity and the Passion, a th...

  Introduction Christ is born!  Glorify Him! Today I have a Christmas hymn I wrote years ago, though I did some adjustments to the text today.  The inspiration, of course, is the famous Paschal hymn, "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today": originally, my first verse was simply a Christmas-themed rewrite of that hymn's first verse.  With further work, though, my hymn drifted away from a strict "parody" of the Paschal hymn.  Like it, though, my hymn is set to the tune "Lyra Davidica," taken from the 1708 hymn collection of the same name. Jesus Christ is Born Today by Brandon P. Otto on Scribd   Scribd link for the above document: here . Internet Archive mirror: https://archive.org/details/jesus-christ-is-born-today Text   1. Jesus Christ is born today, (Alleluia!) in a starlit earthen cave, (Alleluia!) When He once in Bedlam town (Alleluia!) Donned our flesh and doffed His crown! (Alleluia!) 2. Born of Mary, virgin pure, (Alleluia!) who was virgin did e...

 Christ is born!  Glorify Him! As a supplement to my typical translations, I am beginning to post music as well.  Some of it includes simple transcriptions of hymns (such as my recent transcription of the chant Humani Generis Cessent Suspiria ); others will be translations of hymns set to old melodies.  Some may be original poems of mine set to old melodies; still others will be poems (my own or others') set to music I have composed.  I have no delusions of grandeur regarding my own musical ability, but I think some of the choices of texts, at least, might warrant my meager attempts.  The hymn included here is an example. The poem set here is by Ben Jonson (1572-1637), one of the most important poets and playwrights of the English Renaissance.  This poem--originally entitled "A Hymne on the Nativitie of My Saviour"--was included by Jonson in a proposed collection of verse entitled Under-wood (the title being a sequel to an earlier collection, The Forr...

  Introduction St. Romanos (d. 6th century) is one of the most famous figures in Byzantine hymnody.  Though the majority of the Byzantine liturgical hymns are ascribed to St. John of Damascus (675-749) and his foster-brother St. Cosmas the Hymnographer (8th c.), St. Romanos' works are a foundational element of Byzantine hymnody.  Specifically, he is considered the Greek popularizer of the kontakion format, a long hymn consisting of metrically-identical stanzas ( oikoi ) preceded by a distinct introductory stanza ( prooimoion or koukoulion ), with an identical refrain shared by both types of stanza.  The full hymns used to be used in the liturgy: now all that usually remains is the koukoulion (renamed "kontakion") and the first oikos .  The Akathist Hymn is a memorable example of a full kontakion still in use.  (The Akathist is often attributed to St. Romanos, but scholars typically think it is a later imitation of his work.) Legend states that St. Romanos...

"On the Holy Birth of Christ" By John Mauropous (c. 1000 - 1070s) Introduction John Mauropous was born in the region of Paphlagonia (in north-central Turkey), before moving to Constantinople, where he became a poet and scholar. While acting as court orator for Constantine IX Monomachos (r. 1042-1055), Byzantine Emperor, he was also a teacher, whose most famous pupil was the many-faceted Byzantine writer Michael Psellos (1017 - c. 1078). Around 1050, though, John fell from favor, and became Metropolitan of Euchaita (modern Avhat, Turkey), which he considered as exile. After prodding his friends, particularly Psellos, he returned to Constantinople near the end of his life, spending his last years in the Monastery of Agia Petra. John's writings include a number of poems of various sorts (including autobiographical poems and funeral orations in verse) as well as letters, sermons, and canons (a style of Byzantine liturgical poetry). He seems to have prepared hi...

  Introduction Cardinal Pierre de Bérulle was born in 1575 near Champagne. Educated by Jesuits, he attended the Sorbonne in Paris and was ordained in 1599. With the help of his cousin, Bl. Marie of the Incarnation, he introduced the Discalced Carmelites into France, following the reform of St. Teresa de Ávila. He became spiritual director of St. Vincent de Paul and friends with St. Francis de Sales. In 1611, he founded the Oratory of Jesus (see "Humani generis / Cessent suspiria" ). Along with his religious work, he was also a statesman, assisting King Henry IV and King Louis XIII. He became a cardinal in 1627, but died in 1629 before receiving the red hat. The below text is from his collection Works of Piety , #38.   On the Nativity of Jesus He Who has made times and Who is the king of the ages, has willed to render Himself subject to time, and to guide the course of His life by the law of time. And this is the first law, subjection, and servitude to whic...

It is well-known that in the U.S. (if not other countries as well), Christmas is seen to start as soon as Thanksgiving ends (if not even earlier). There is no preparation: as soon as the turkey is eaten, the crèche and tree are set up. Songs by Bing Crosby begin to be played incessantly, and the country begins to celebrate the coming of Santa Claus (and, occasionally, Christ as well). This is what I call the phenomenon of "Instant Christmas." In a culture often marked by the pursuit of instant gratification, it makes sense that Christmas would begin a month early. What does not make as much sense to me is when I see Catholics celebrating "Instant Christmas." I have a friend who put up a small Christmas tree in early November, and he was already humming Christmas songs. I've even seen complete crèches set up by Catholics just as early as the rest of the culture does. The thing that I take issue with there is a complete absence of an entire liturgical seaso...