Missa Cantata at St. Mary's in Altoona, WI

ALTOONA – Approximately 50 people gathered at St. Mary Parish in Altoona Aug. 15 for the Missa Cantata, or sung version of the old liturgy in Latin. St. Mary’s parishioners, as well as members of other area parishes, were represented. The celebrant of the Mass was Father Justin Kizewski of Holy Ghost Parish in Chippewa Falls, while the cantor was Father Joseph Redfern, the parochial administrator of St. Mary Parish.

Mark Biolo of St. Mary Parish was the emcee, while Joe Foster and Don Valois served. Joshua Gallagher was the organist. According to Biolo, the job of the emcee is to “assist the priest and make sure the altar servers are where they are supposed to be.”

An oblate of the Camaldolese Benedictines, Biolo noted that the “Missa Cantata is very different from the low Mass” in Latin, which has been celebrated at St. Mary’s before. The servers and musicians had studied and practiced for months in anticipation of the event. [The Mass is meant to be sung.  The Low Mass was a temporary solution for reasons like many Requium Massesor lack of a choir.]

“It is a real privilege to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Mass,” Father Kizewski said. During his homily, which was in English, Father Kizewski focused on the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven, drawing the important distinction between latria, or the worship we offer to God alone, and dulia, which is the honor we afford to Mary and the saints. Hyperdulia, or a heightened form of dulia, belongs to Mary alone.

Noting that Catholics are often accused of “worshipping” Mary, Father Kizewski clarified that this is not the case, and at the same time emphasized the unique place that Mary holds in salvation history.

“The Assumption was the perfect completion to her earthly role,” he said.

Alma Koenig a parishioner at St. Mary’s attended the Mass with her husband, Jim, her 4- year-old daughter Sofia and some friends.

“Growing up in Mexico City,” Koenig said, “I had never gone to a Latin Mass before. I wanted to experience it, and it’s very beautiful. Some of the Latin words are very similar to the Spanish, so there were parts I understood, but I didn’t follow all of it.”

Sofia also seemed to relish the experience. Her daughter, Koenig said, had been reluctant to leave church several days before while Father Redfern was practicing his singing.

Father Redfern has both background and a strong interest in Gregorian chant, tracing back to the mid-1990s when he used to go to a “parish in Sydney where they sung the high Mass.  I sang in the choir, but no one explained it to me. I learned by singing with people who knew what they were doing.” Then, he studied with a cantor who taught him the natural scale. “But you don’t really have to be a musician to sing Gregorian chant,” he said. “In my case, I didn’t even know I could sing. It’s a talent from God, and it’s my job to use it for His glory.” Gregorian chant itself, Father Redfern said, citing Vatican II, still has a “pride of place” in the Roman liturgy.

“Gregory the Great was the last of the western Church fathers,” he said. “Because he promoted the use of chant in the liturgy, it got named after him, but the chanting itself predates him. The written form goes back to the ninth or 10th century but it was sung before that. There’s antiquity there.”

In his Sunday homily the week before, Father Redfern elaborated on the same theme, stating, “Our Holy Father, Benedict XVI, who is concerned with the loss of a Catholic culture, has mentioned the importance of preserving our Catholic heritage of sacred music, Gregorian chant in particular. In fact, Gregorian chant provides us a sense of permanence in the liturgy … a sense of continuity with our past and stability in a changing world.”

Father Redfern has been introducing Gregorian chant at St. Mary Parish not only in the sung Latin Mass, but also in certain parts of the regular English Masses.

“Most people know the Agnus Dei or the Sanctus,” he said, “but they think that’s all there is.”

To facilitate the use of Gregorian chant in the liturgy, Father Redfern produced a CD that parishioners could take with them and learn at home, or in the car. Some of the cantors and musicians from the parish assisted Father Redfern with producing the CD, which took a few days to produce.

“If you make it singable and make it memorable,” Father Redfern said, “it will work. Repetition is important. Most people can sing a little bit, and they’ll do it if you help them feel comfortable.”

Gregorian chant is also known as plainchant, because it is traditionally unaccompanied, is sung one note at a time and includes no harmonizing.

Father Redfern plans to continue the renewal of sacred music at St. Mary Parish and to build up attendance at the Latin Masses. “What I’m doing here isn’t revolutionary,” he said.

“There is no reason the same type of thing couldn’t be done at other parishes as well. All it takes is a little bit of musical background and the energy to get going. The liturgy is meant to be the most beautiful thing this side of Heaven.”

 The Catholic Times