St. Bartholomew the Apostle Catholic Church

With a Father's Heart - Patris Corde

St. Joseph is the theme of this month's Parish Family Prayers.

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph becoming patron of the universal Church, Pope Francis dedicated the liturgical year 2020/21 to the beloved spouse of our Blessed Mother and foster father of Jesus.

As we celebrate Father's Day this weekend, let's ask St. Joseph to guide all men.

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil.
Amen.

St. Joseph, patron of fathers, pray for us.

For further information on Patris Corde see: http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20201208_patris-corde.html

During this month of Father's Day, we encourage you to pray for our Spiritual leaders also. One way to do this is to offer a Spiritual Bouquet of prayers for them. Our Vocations Ministry will be gathering together lists of all the Spiritual Bouquets being offered and will send a special card to each of them on Father's Day weekend letting them know you are praying for them. 

Visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0d4eaea82ca57-fathers 
or www.st-bart.org/vocations-ministry 
to offer up a Spiritual Bouquet for our priests who work so hard for us every day!

Since so many of our parishioners were unable to attend the funeral for Deacon Fred a month ago, we will have a memorial Mass for him here at St. Bart’s. All are welcome to come celebrate his life, honor his memory, and pray for his soul’s eternal rest at this Mass. A reception will follow in the Family Life Center.

**The adoration chapel will close at 11:30 AM this Saturday so that our ministers can prepare for this Mass.**

St. Bart's is now offering a weekly Novus Ordo Mass in Latin every Thursday morning at 6:30 AM.  Rise and shine, and join us in prayer!

Q.  What criteria is used for determining that a song can be sung at Mass? [Part 2]

A.  Last week, we learned that one character of sacred liturgical music is that it is holy and marked by sanctity, that is, it is set aside for this sacred purpose. Sacred liturgical music must also be true art. It should be well-composed, truly beautiful, and musically sound. In other words, the art and musical quality should benefit from centuries of men and women who were steeped in the tradition of sacred liturgical music, of music theory, and who themselves learned from the masters and from the liturgical books.

 
After Vatican II all kinds of bad musical art was regrettably admitted into liturgies. In the 1960-1990’s there was a complete rupture from the musical tradition; this was a time period in which songs were composed and were used in sacred liturgy that were neither holy nor good art. Many of those songs have since been condemned by one rightful authority or another but many, unfortunately, can still be heard today. The most extreme example of this might be the infamous “My Little Pony” Mass composed by one of the most popular composers of the Gather Hymnal. His Gloria was, verbatim, the tune for “My Little Pony!” Such an example indicates what happens when anything counts as “art” and instead of a genuine continuity and development there is a rupture from and rejection of the tradition. The Vatican Council taught “The Church approves all forms of true art having the needed qualities and admits them into divine worship.”    

The third character of sacred liturgical music is that it is universal. This quality flows from the fact that it is holy and that it is good art. Though many songs will be reflective of the nations from which they are composed (for example many of the hymns in the St. Michael’s Hymnal are of English origin), St. Pius X emphasized that “still these forms must be subordinated in such a manner to the general characteristics of sacred music that nobody of any nation may receive an impression other than good on hearing them.”  

Sts. John Paul II and Paul VI said: “not all without distinction that is outside the temple (profanum) is fit to cross its threshold.” Please note that just because music isn’t fitting for liturgy does not necessarily mean it may not be appropriate for other contexts. “This little light of mine”, for example, is clearly not liturgical but is a great song and tune for summer camp with the little ones. We don’t recommend religious songs that are ambiguous or untrue, but many songs that we no longer sing at our liturgies are perfectly suitable for other occasions. 

 
If you would like to have the Traveling Chalice or Holy Family Icon in your home for a week while you pray for vocations, check your calendar and sign up!  

The English sign-ups for August are online at: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0D4EAEA82CA57-traveling.

We have just a few spots left (for 18 months old and 2 years old) in our preschool for the 2021-2022 school year! Call us at 281-391-0993 for information and to begin registering your child.

Pictures of all First Holy Communion Masses can be viewed at: http://www.youngbloodphoto.zenfolio.com/

CCE 2021-2022
Registration for CCE grades 1-8, Encounter, and Confirmation classes will begin in late July for the fall classes.  The Confirmation Mass for 2021 will be on Saturday, December 11, at 7:00 PM.

With the CCE department opening up to all grades this fall, we are in need of teachers to make this happen.  If you are able to teach on a Wednesday or Thursday evening or to help as an aide, please contact the CCE office.

Contact the Church before setting a date and booking a venue to discuss the requirements! 

  

Come learn the soul’s song of God’s word in the Liturgy.
Join the 2021 Summer Chant Intensive
at St. Mary’s Seminary, Houston. 

Come and spend four summer evenings learning and singing 2,000 years' worth of the forever tones of the Mass and psalms. Dates are Tuesday through Friday, July 13-16, 2021. Tuition is $185.00. We will close by singing and praying all we learned at a special Mass on Saturday, July 17. For information and to register, visit our website: www.chantschool.org/SCI-21/ or call Lowell Davis at 713-376-0289.