Sean Pilcher

May 11, 2024 | adoremus.org | Aaron Sanders |Jeremy J. Priest |Sean Pilcher |Christopher Carstens

Music lovers may remember how the Council of Trent almost banned polyphony until one of its greatest composers, Palestrina, demonstrated just how clear and intelligible it could be. With musical history brought to such a dramatic inflection point, the only part of the episode requiring improvement is its likelihood: historians now hold Palestrina had no discernible influence on the conciliar decrees.

Jan 24, 2024 | adoremus.org | Sean Pilcher |Michael J. Bursch |Christopher Carstens |Nico Fassino

Apostolic custom has it that Mass be celebrated over the relics of the martyrs. A second-century letter on the martyrdom of St. Polycarp records that “we took up his bones, more valuable to us than precious stones and finer than refined gold. We laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able, in gladness and joy.” This practice is universally kept by every ancient church, each in its own way.