April 30, 2018

#011: Evangelization, Inclusion, and the Culture Wars (with Fr. James Martin, featuring Jean Vanier)

April 30, 2018

Just as the Advent season prepares us for the Incarnation, and the Lenten season prepares us for the Resurrection, we know that the celebration of the Easter season prepares us for Commissioning: “Go, make disciples of all nations.” The Gospel readings of this season serve as a primer in discipleship: the model of the Good Shepherd, the vines bearing much fruit, the command to love one another as Christ has loved us. Yet, though it is, indeed, Good News, spreading the Gospel is hard work! There are many barriers in our way: limits of time and resources, an unfriendly or inhospitable popular culture, and – sometimes the biggest barrier of all – ourselves.

In today’s episode, we explore the topic of evangelization – how do we in pastoral ministry reach beyond those already active and in attendance? What works? What doesn’t? What mindset must we cultivate in order to be successful? We’ll also discuss two subsidiary topics: maintaining healthy balance, and navigating the culture wars being waged within the Church. To do so, we’ll hear from two people renowned for their efforts at evangelization: Fr. James Martin, SJ, and Jean Vanier.

SHOW NOTES

Fr. James Martin, SJ, is a Jesuit priest, editor at large of America magazine, consultor to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communications, and author of numerous books, including the New York Times bestsellers “Building A Bridge,” "Jesus: A Pilgrimage," and "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything." You can find out more about his ministry and speaking engagements on his Facebook page.

To learn more about Jean Vanier, visit the L'Arche website. To subscribe to "Give Us This Day: Daily Prayer for Today's Catholic," visit the website: www.giveusthisday.org.

The recording of "Resucito" was produced by OCP. The piano recording of "Break Bread Together" was performed by Fr. Robert Koopmann, OSB, on the album Sacred Improvisations.

Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.

To join us this summer at the national convention in Baltimore, Maryland, visit the 2018 NPM convention website.

All content of this podcast is property of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians or its content suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. For information about the podcast and its use, please contact us.

April 23, 2018

#010: Pastoral Practices in Marriage Preparation (with Fr. Michael Leonard Hahn, OSB, featuring Pope Francis)

April 23, 2018

With Easter behind us, celebrations of First Communion and Confirmation underway, and the last remnants of late-season snow storms melting, we can finally let our minds drift with thoughts of summer. While students and families are dreaming of vacation season, with camping trips and time spent at the beach, those who work in pastoral ministry are bracing for wedding season: the planning, the questions, the liturgical struggles, the lost Saturday afternoons, and the never-ending loop of “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

In this episode, we explore the pastoral challenges, opportunities, and implications of marriage celebrations today. To do so, we’ll look at marriage preparation, the changing relationship young couples have with the parish entity, and the navigation of both the universality and particularity of the Church’s celebration. Fr. Michael Leonard Hahn, OSB, helps us examine these topics through the lens of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on love in the family. We’ll also hear excerpts from the document in this week's "Ministry Moment."

SHOW NOTES

To join us this summer at the national convention in Baltimore, Maryland, visit the 2018 NPM convention website.

Fr. Michael Leonard Hahn, OSB, is a monk of Saint John's Abbey and a current doctoral candidate at Boston College. His article, "Amoris Laetitia and Marriage Preparation: Who Can Marry in the Church?" will be published in the May 4, 2018 issue of Commonweal magazine.

Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, was released in April, 2016. You can download the full text in English from the Vatican website.

NPM has published many articles about marriage and wedding liturgies, including a four-issue series of Pastoral Music magazine. You can view these issues - 03-1, 12-5, 16-2, and 20-4 - in the NPM digital publications archive.

The recording of "Resucito" was produced by OCP.

Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.

April 15, 2018

#009: Representing the Feminine Voice (with Sarah Hart and Kate Williams, featuring Dolly Sokol)

April 15, 2018

One of the major pastoral opportunities facing those of us in ministry is in the area of representation. With increasingly diverse membership, even in rural and outlying communities, there isn’t a parish in existence that shouldn’t be evaluating their practice carefully. As our cultural paradigm shifts from “believing leads to belonging” to “belonging leads to believing,” our success in gathering, leading, and ministering to a community starts with whether the members of that community feel they belong in the first place.

In our last episode, Diana Macalintal challenged us to consider the issue of representation when we process and evaluate our liturgical celebrations. In particular, Diana challenged us to ask how much of our liturgical music repertoire was composed by women. In this episode, we explore that challenge more deeply through conversation with two important voices: Sarah Hart and Kate Williams. In doing so, we consider the progress that women composers have made in liturgical circles, the barriers that remain, and we ask, “what, exactly, is the feminine compositional voice”?

SHOW NOTES

To join us this summer at the national convention in Baltimore, Maryland, visit the 2018 NPM convention website.

You can find out more about Sarah Hart, her compositions, and her other work by visiting her composer page at www.ocp.org and her personal website at www.sarahhart.com. Her article, "Finding the Feminine Voice: A Woman Composer in the Church," was published in the March 2018 issue of Pastoral Music.

You can read Dolly Sokol's article, "Liturgical Principles for a New Consciousness," in the NPM digital publications archive. It is found in the October-November 1987 issue of Pastoral Music.

For more information about composing and publishing liturgical music, consult the links below, arranged alphabetically (NOTE: This is an incomplete list of resources. Please contact us if you would like additional links listed).

The recording of "Resucito" was produced by OCP. The piano recording of "Beach Spring" was performed by Fr. Robert Koopmann, OSB, on the album Sacred Improvisations.

Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.