Recently, Cardinal Francis George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the USCCB, announced that the full text of the English-language translation of the Roman Missal, 3rd Edition, has been issued for the dioceses of the United States of America. Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, NJ, Chair of the Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship, is "happy that after years of preparation, we now have a text that, when introduced late next year, will enable the ongoing renewal of the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy in our parishes." One of our brothers, still in formation, has been a major contributor in the revision of one of the better music hymnals available. Here, he explains his involvement by way of responding to a handful of questions:

1. What concern does the Preacher have with beauty and the liturgy?

A preacher is someone whose life is dedicated to sharing and proclaiming the truth - the truth that is Jesus Christ. While the truth speaks very powerfully to the mind, the heart must also be addressed. Pope Benedict has pointed out that beauty is the language native to the human heart. He once said: "The encounter with the beautiful can become the wound of an arrow that strikes the heart and in this way opens our eyes so that we can see the truth more clearly." The Holy Father insists that truth and beauty belong together and that they must be presented together. He does so because he knows how much man needs both truth and beauty in order to appreciate and live the fullness of the Christian life. God is not only true; He is also good and beautiful.

Beauty serves the sacred liturgy by expressing the honor and glory due to the Triune God we worship, as well as by appealing to our own hearts and convincing us of the Truth that we encounter in the sacred liturgy. Pope Benedict writes, "I think that the great music born within the Church is an audible and perceptible rendering of the truth of our faith. In listening to sacred music - suddenly we feel: it is true!" The preacher, in his mission to communicate the truth of the Gospel, finds an indispensible ally in the power of beauty to move human hearts to embrace the fullness of the truth. As the Holy Father once exclaimed upon hearing a piece of sacred music: "Anyone who has heard this knows that the faith is true!"

2. Before entering the Order, you were involved in working on the St. Michael Hymnal. How is this hymnal unique?

The St. Michael Hymnal grew out of a desire to promote the musical treasures of the Church's tradition and to maintain the original texts of these compositions. In the forty years that have passed since the Second Vatican Council, there has been a great deal of experimentation in liturgical music, as well as the advancement of various political agendas. The St. Michael Hymnal aspires to be faithful to the vision of sacred music desired by the Second Vatican Council.

The St. Michael Hymnal is unique among most contemporary hymnals because of its concern for unadulterated language and its promotion of Gregorian chant, which is to be given "pride of place in liturgical services" (SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM, 116). The hymnal contains a substantial repertoire of Gregorian chant settings of the Mass Ordinary as well as traditional Gregorian chant hymns. On the other hand, the hymnal is unique among the smaller collection of more traditional hymnals in its realistic assessment of the present state of liturgical music and in its prudential judgment that what is most useful at the present time is a hymnal which provides for taking a decisive step forward, rather than one which prematurely embodies the final goal. To this end, the hymnal provides a rich collection of hymnody that can be used in the liturgy, mostly in English with some also in Spanish, as well as a smaller selection of contemporary compositions.

3. How are you involved in the St. Michael Hymnal?

Before entering the Dominican Order I worked as a church music director. My pastor wanted to improve the state of liturgical music at the parish and we decided that in order to do so, we would need to buy a new hymnal. I learned about the St. Michael Hymnal and immediately found it to be in a class of its own, for the reasons described above. Our parish purchased the hymnal and was greatly enriched by it.

In the process of buying the hymnal, I became acquainted with St. Boniface Church in Lafayette, IN where the hymnal was created and with Linda Schafer, the editor and creator of the hymnal. I told her how enthused I was to find a hymnal that was faithful to the Church's vision of sacred music, and at the same time actually usable in a parish that did not have a strong or traditional music program. I also offered to help with the project in any way that I might be able to. She accepted my offer and I began working on preparing the Choir edition of the St. Michael Hymnal. After a few years this project was completed, and just as it was, it was announced that a new translation of the Ordinary of the Mass would be promulgated. This, of course, meant that the ordinaries of the Mass in the present edition of the St. Michael would become obsolete. It was decided to take this opportunity to prepare a new edition of the St. Michael Hymnal (the 4th Edition.) I was asked to be the music editor of this new edition of the hymnal and have greatly enjoyed working on this project over the past few years.

4. Is this edition significantly different? When can we expect to see the new edition of the St. Michael Hymnal?

The majority of the hymnody in the new edition of the St. Michael Hymnal will remain as it is in the present edition. About 25% of the present hymns that we have judged to be less usable or worthy will be removed and these will be replaced with just as many excellent hymns and chants which were not included in the present edition.

The most significant changes in the new edition of the hymnal reflect the change that inspired this edition, namely, the new translation of the Ordinary of the Mass. The music for the Ordinary of the Mass is being completely re-done for the 4th edition of the hymnal. The section of Mass Ordinaries and Service Music will be greatly enlarged. It will include 20 mass settings: 10 in English, 8 in Latin and 2 in Spanish. Some of the English settings are revisions of Mass settings that are presently in the hymnal. These are complemented by a number of new and very fine compositions of the new Mass texts. We are most excited about these settings, some of which will only be available in the St. Michael Hymnal.

It is our hope that the 4th Edition of the St. Michael Hymnal will be available for purchase in the Spring of 2011. Information and updates will be posted on the St. Michael Hymnal website: www.stmichaelhymnal.com.