Did you know that it is possible to sing a special song of adoration on Holy Thursday and have your soul purified?
It’s true, and the song is “Tantum Ergo.”
First, some background. A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary, and all the saints to remove all the temporal punishment due to sin.
What does this mean?
“An indulgence does not confer grace. An indulgence is not a remission of the guilt due to sin. The guilt due to sin is ordinarily taken away by the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance (confession), in which we receive forgiveness for sins through Jesus Christ,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) explains in this helpful Q&A.
“Although guilt is taken away, and with it the eternal penalty that is due to sin, namely, damnation, the eternal loss of the presence of God, there remain consequences for sins that those who have committed them must bear. There is what is traditionally called the temporal punishment for sin.”
What is temporal punishment? As the USCCB explains, “Every sinful act creates a disorder within the soul of the human person; it distorts our desires and affections, leaving us with ‘an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory.'”
For this reason, the USCCB continues, “Those who have received forgiveness for their sins still have an obligation to undergo a difficult and painful process (the temporal penalty for sin) to be purified of the consequences of their sins and to restore the disrupted relationships.”
Through a plenary indulgence, we can be spared this purification process. As the USCCB explains it, “By God’s grace, participation in a prayer or action that has an indulgence attached to it brings about the necessary restoration and reparation without the suffering that would normally accompany it.”
On Holy Thursday, you can receive this special gift, resulting in the purification of your soul, by singing the “Tantum Ergo.” If you aren’t familiar with this beautiful hymn, watch this short video.
The “Tantum Ergo” is the last two verses of “Pange lingua,” a Latin hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas. “Tantum Ergo” is short for the first words of the hymn’s second-to-last verse, “Tantum ergo Sacramentum,” which in Latin simply means, “Therefore, so greatly the Sacrament.”
These magnificent verses are an expression of adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. For this reason, it is usually sung before the benediction when the priest blesses those gathered with the monstrance.
After Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, the faithful are invited to participate in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament throughout the night. This represents the disciples who were invited to stay up throughout the night with the Lord during his agony in the garden before his betrayal by Judas. Singing the “Tantum Ergo” at this time is how you obtain the plenary indulgence.
As always the case with plenary indulgences, certain conditions must be satisfied to receive the grace. According to the USCCB, these conditions are: sacramental confession; reception of Holy Communion; prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father, and complete detachment from all sin, even venial sin.
The first three conditions (confession, Communion, and prayers for the pope’s intentions) can be fulfilled a few days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence (in this case, singing the “Tantum Ergo” during adoration), but it is appropriate that Communion and the prayer take place on the same day that the work is completed.
Here are words to the “Tantum Ergo”:
Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui:
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.
Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et iubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.
Amen.
And here’s the English version:
Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! oe’r ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.
To the everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high
With the Holy Spirit proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen.
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Father J.J. Mech, rector of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, stands next to the life-sized statues of the apostles that have now been installed in the cathedral’s worship space, along with first-class relics of each apostle. The “Journey with the Saints” pilgrimage, which will be dedicated Feb. 8, 2024, in a special ceremony with Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron, is part of the cathedral’s ongoing transformation into an “apostolic center for the arts and culture.” / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Detroit Catholic
Detroit, Mich., Jan 29, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).
At the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, the band is getting back together. The band of Christ’s 12 apostles, that is.
On Feb. 8, Detroit’s mother church will publicly unveil its long-awaited “Journey with the Saints” project, a permanent installation of 14 “larger than life” statues accompanied by first-class relics of each apostle, the latest accomplishment in the cathedral’s ongoing mission to turn itself into an apostolic center in the city of Detroit.
Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron will join Father J.J. Mech, rector of the cathedral, to dedicate the new installation during a special event at 7 p.m.
From its central perch on Woodward Avenue, the looming gothic cathedral of the Archdiocese of Detroit stands out in its neighborhood. Following Vigneron’s instruction to turn the church into a “cathedral of the arts,” Mech has spent the last several years converting the cathedral into a hub of missionary activity and beauty, drawing people to the faith via “shallow entry points.”
“Our goal is that we are going to be more accessible to people off of Woodward,” Mech told Detroit Catholic. “We want this to be a flexible public space, maybe even a community hub for not only spiritual enrichment but cultural enrichment, and it will be a safe place, and we will have security and all of that.”
St. Simon, St. Thomas, and St. Matthias are pictured in their permanent fixtures atop the pillars inside the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The statues and relics of the apostles will be officially unveiled Feb. 8, 2024, as part of a permanent pilgrimage experience at the cathedral, “Journey with the Saints.” Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
The name “Cathedral of the Arts,” Mech explained, is a reminder that the proof of God is beauty — a principle that guides each of the new initiatives he and his team have undertaken on the cathedral’s campus.
The latest project, the installation of the seven-and-a-half-foot-tall statues and relics encircling the cathedral’s interior worship space, is the crowning jewel of those efforts, transforming the cathedral into a permanent pilgrimage site, guided by the men who knew Christ most intimately during his time on earth.
Complete with first-class relics, the new installation is among the first of its kind in North America bringing together all 12 of Christ’s apostles for veneration, and the only exhibit in the world with the relics accessible in this way.
The 14 statues — including two eight-foot angels — each were carved from a single tree trunk in St. Ulrich Groeden, in modern-day Italy, in 1927. The statues were rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, which closed in 2014. After undergoing extensive restoration, the statues were installed in the cathedral’s nave in December.
The statue of St. Andrew. Each of the statues were carved from a single tree trunk and rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, which closed in 2014. After undergoing extensive restoration, the statues were installed in the cathedral’s nave in December 2023. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
The statues include two angels, 10 of the original 12 apostles, St. Paul, and St. Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas. Mech discovered that he had relics corresponding to the 12 saints, part of a collection of nearly 200 relics owned by the cathedral, all of which he hopes to be able to one day put on display.
The relics and the signage were installed beneath each statue beginning on Jan. 8, in time for the dedication and blessing of the new reliquary pilgrimage on Feb. 8.
“I am so excited about the transformation that is happening,” Mech said. “When you come in, there will be three main signs that tell you how to go on a pilgrimage, what the goal of a pilgrimage is, and how to interact with these relics. [Pilgrims] are going to walk away transformed, different, and they are going to enter through prayer.”
“Journey with the Saints” is much more than a museum of Church history, Mech said, but a rare opportunity to invoke the help of Catholicism’s greatest saints.
“It’s not just about looking at a pretty statue and touching some bones. [Pilgrims] are going to have a purpose when they walk away,” Mech said. “People can decide what they want intercession for, what they are hoping for when they pray to a particular saint, and when they walk away, they’ll keep praying for that.”
Keith Calleja began installation of relics on Jan. 8, 2024, starting with the relic of St. Philip. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
Mech said those whose prayers have been answered through the intercession of the saints will be invited to return to the cathedral and contribute a tile to a mosaic art piece that will be installed to show how God is answering prayers through the project.
While the saints and relics are the culmination of a long-sought project, it’s all part of a greater vision for Detroit’s cathedral, Mech said.
Another piece of the puzzle will be dedicated on May 12, when Archbishop Vigneron will unveil a new outdoor grotto at the cathedral in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, as the archbishop emotionally addressed the faithful during a livestreamed Mass from the cathedral, he entrusted the archdiocese to the protection of Our Lady of Lourdes and pledged to build the grotto “as a perpetual reminder” of her care and in memory of the lives lost to COVID-19.
Under the guidance of the archbishop, the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament finished a majority of the work on the grotto this fall, including statues of St. Bernadette Soubirous and Our Lady, whose face will reflect the one St. Bernadette saw in Lourdes, France, in 1858.
The first-class relics are among nearly 200 relics currently housed in the cathedral, which Father Mech hopes to find a way to display. The gold reliquaries are installed beneath each of the apostles’ statues. January 2024. Courtesy of Detroit Catholic
“People are already presently coming to pray [at] the grotto with the Blessed Mother,” Mech said. “We put some beautiful landscaping in this fall so people would feel welcomed, and in fact, we have used the site in a couple of ways for prayer services already.”
The grotto will also connect seamlessly with a garden walk that is being created around the cathedral’s plaza lawn, which will include art, benches, solar charging stations, a dog park, a bird sanctuary and pollination habitat.
Working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the cathedral’s co-director of family ministries, Christine Broses, is spearheading the transformation of two previously empty lots on the corner of Trowbridge and John R Streets into green space for wildlife to thrive.
“We learned that the city of Detroit is a north, south, east, and west crossing for bird migration,” Broses said. “So a lot of birds fly over the city of Detroit, but they don’t have anywhere to stop and rest because there isn’t a lot of green space. Creating green space is really important for the city and for wildlife in general, and research shows hearing birds and having green space in neighborhoods helps improve people’s mental health.”
Last spring, Broses oversaw the planting of native flowers in the area, and the next step is to let the space grow wild, which will inevitably attract birds and bees over the coming years. Broses said the final step will be to add educational plaques and pathways to make the spot accessible to schools and families.
Mech wants the garden spaces and pathways to be welcoming and intends to build benches — something the neighborhood is currently lacking.
The statues, pictured in their final fixed locations above the cathedral’s pillars, are just one piece of an ever-developing project to turn the cathedral into a true apostolic center in the heart of Detroit, Father J.J. Mech said. Credit: Photo courtesy of Detroit Catholic
“We did a study of our neighborhood and found there is not a single park bench in any of the parks in our area,” Mech said. “We want to have park benches so people can come and rest and enjoy themselves. This will be a place where community can be built, and people will realize that the cathedral is not a fortress; we are actually unleashing the Gospel.”
And there is more.
In June, construction began on the Cathedral Arts Apartments, which will include four stories and 53 two-bedroom housing units for low-income Detroiters. The $19.7 million project is the joint effort of the Archdiocese of Detroit; MHT Housing, Inc.; and the city of Detroit and will include a community space and workforce training center.
At the end of the day, the vision of a “Cathedral of the Arts” — like the cathedrals of old — is about listening to the Holy Spirit and making a difference from the very small to the large scale, so that everyone who steps onto the property is transformed, Mech said.
“When we get people onto the campus, they start to see what we are doing, and they get involved,” he said. “Then, the Holy Spirit does the rest and helps them to get to know Our Lord in new and wonderful ways.”
Montgomery, Ala., Apr 3, 2019 / 10:26 am (CNA).- New legislation in Alabama would ban all abortions in the state, except in cases where the mother faces a “serious health risk.”
The bill, introduced in both the Alabama House and Senate April 2, would make it a felony for doctors to perform or attempt an abortion. Women would not be criminally culpable or civilly liable for receiving abortions.
The bill would include an exemption “in cases where abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk to the unborn child’s mother.”
It defines a serious health risk as a condition requiring an abortion “to avert [the mother’s] death or to avert serious risk of substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function.” It only includes emotional and mental illnesses if they have been diagnosed by a licensed psychiatrist and “there is reasonable medical judgment that she will engage in conduct that could result in her death or the death of her unborn child.”
Opponents have already pledged to challenge the legislation in court if it is enacted. However, its supporters say it could be the key to a reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which found a right to abortion nationwide.
Bishop Robert Baker of Birmingham said the legislation reflects “the strong commitment that the people of Alabama have to life.”
In an April 3 statement, the bishop praised the lawmakers’ efforts.
“I strongly support these bills and stand behind the efforts of these legislators to promote life and to, hopefully in the near future, eliminate this evil we know as abortion from within the boundaries of the State of Alabama; and, eventually, to make the killing of unborn children in our country something that is no longer viewed as anything but the horrendous and inhumane killing of the most innocent among us that it is,” he said.
Rep. Terri Collins (R-Decatur), sponsor of the House bill, said the legislation is a follow-up to 60 percent of Alabama voters approving Amendment 2 last November. That amendment changed Alabama’s constitution so that it explicitly “recognizes and supports the sanctity of unborn life and the rights of unborn children, most importantly the right to life in all manners and measures appropriate and lawful; and provides that the constitution of this state does not protect the right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
Although the amendment had no immediate effect due to the national applicability of Roe v. Wade, it would be significant if Roe were to be overturned, preventing a state-level legal ruling from finding a similar “right to abortion” in the Alabama constitution.
“With liberal states like New York rushing to approve radical late-term and post-birth abortions, passage of this bill will reflect the conservative beliefs, principles, and desires of the citizens of Alabama while, at the same time, providing a vehicle to revisit the constitutionally-flawed Roe v. Wade decision,” Collins said, according to AL.com.
“It is meant to actually use some of the same language that is addressed in Roe vs. Wade. So, hopefully it just completely takes it all the way to the Supreme Court eventually to overturn.”
Collin’s bill has the support of 65 co-sponsors, out of 104 lawmakers. The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sen. Greg Albritton, (R-Range), has 11 co-sponsors, of 35 senators, AL.com reported.
The Alabama legislation is among dozens of bills seeking to either expand or restrict legal abortion in states across the country, as changes on the Supreme Court have led to speculation that Roe v. Wade may be overturned.
In January, New York passed an expansive law declaring abortion to be a “fundamental human right,” broadening the legality of late-term abortions, and allowing non-physicians to perform abortions, as well as removing protections for babies born alive after a botched abortion.
A similar bill in Virginia failed in February after video circulated online of the bill’s proponents suggesting that it would allow abortion even during labor and that babies who survived an abortion attempt could be left to die of exposure.
Other states, including Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, have passed or are considering bills that would ban abortion once the unborn baby’s heartbeat can be detected, usually around six weeks into pregnancy.
Several states have also passed “trigger bills” that would ban abortion if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned by the Supreme Court, placing the question of legal abortion back with the states.
Randall Marshall, executive director of Alabama’s American Civil Liberties Union, told WHNT 19 that the new bill would not hold up in court and would cost taxpayers a significant amount of money in legal fees.
Collins responded to this criticism by saying, “We think this is the bill that could overturn, what I consider to be a bad law, then it’s well worth spending the money.”
In addition to Amendment 2 last fall, Alabama has made several attempts to pass pro-life legislation in recent years.
Last August, a federal appeals court ruled against a state law that would have banned a second-trimester abortion procedure, known as “dialation and evacuation.”
The previous year, a federal judge struck down an Alabama law requiring more scrutiny for minors who seek an abortion without parental consent.
The state is still considered to be one of the most restrictive in terms of abortion law. Alabama requires that women be given counseling and an ultrasound prior to having an abortion, though it is optional for the woman to view the ultrasound image. It also has restrictions on the health insurance coverage of elective abortions that are not performed for reasons of life endangerment, rape or incest.
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