#217: Exsultet: Origins (with Fr. Paul Turner) (REPLAY)

This episode of Ministry Monday is brought to you by CLEF – Catholic Liturgical Ensemble Formation.

The CLEF Summer Program, taking place July 23 – 28 in Milford, Ohio, is a unique opportunity for education, skill building, prayer, and community connection specifically designed for ensemble musicians, with options for an ensemble track or retreat track. For more information, visit https://clef.life.

Today on the podcast we revisit the most-listened-to episode of 2022, which was also part 1 of Ministry Monday’s Exsultet series. We speak to Fr. Paul Turner about the historical context of the Exsultet, the sacred chant sung at the start of the Easter Vigil. The Exsultet is such a distinct moment in the Triduum journey: covered in darkness, punctuated by candlelight, the Exsultet is a 9-minute chant prefacing what is about to happen in the Easter Vigil liturgy: Christ, returning "from death's domain", grants us all eternal life through His resurrection. It is to begin. Today Fr. Paul Turner provides a historical, biblical and liturgical context from which to prepare the Exsultet this Lent. When was the Exsultet first sung? How did it find its place at the start of the Easter Vigil? Why are deacons so often chosen for the role? And what about the role of bees in the newest translation?

We encourage you to check out the other 2 parts of this Exsultet series, including an instructional video on how to best learn how to sing the Exsultet. These can be found on the NPM website, npm.org, as well as the show notes of this episode at MinistryMonday.org.

Excerpts from the English translation and chants of The Roman Missal © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.

SHOW NOTES

This episode originally aired February 28, 2022, as episode #191. Click here to find the original episode.

We encourage you to explore these episodes as well, part of the 3-part series on the Exsultet by NPM and Ministry Monday:

Episode #192: Musically Preparing for the Exsultet (with Nicholas Will)
Episode #193: Bilingual Considerations for the Exsultet (with Tony Alonso)

Bio: Fr. Paul Turner

Father Paul Turner is pastor of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri and director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph.  He holds a doctorate in sacred theology from Sant’ Anselmo in Rome.  His publications include Ars Celebrandi: Celebrating and Concelebrating Mass (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2021), The Pastor at Prayer (Cedar House, 2014), Lectionary Bulletin Inserts (Liturgy Training Publications, 2018), and dozens of other titles. He wrote the introduction, emendations and annotations for the reprint of The Liturgical Year  by Adrien Nocent (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2013). He is a former president of the North American Academy of Liturgy, a member of Societas Liturgica, and the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He is the recipient of the Jubilate Deo Award from the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and the Frederick McManus Award from the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. He serves as a facilitator for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. As pastor of diverse parishes, he spent many years ministering in a state prison, serving a hispanic and multi-ethnic community, and providing assistance to the homeless. He plays harpsichord, piano and organ. He answers questions about the liturgy daily on his blog.

He enjoys the Kansas City Symphony and the Kansas City Royals.


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