Beauty, Goodness, and Truth – Sacred Liturgy Conference
Thursday, April 4th, 2019
Beauty, Goodness, and Truth
By Lynne Bissonnette Pitre, MD, PhD
For the last seven years I’ve been involved in the organization of conferences focusing on the importance of sacred liturgy and music in the life of the Church. This journey began with my own longing for the sacred which led me to form Schola Cantus Angelorum in 2007 as a response to Pope Benedict XVI‘s request for liturgies to be celebrated with the beauty and solemnity of the traditional Gregorian chant.
From its modest beginnings in 2013 The Sacred Liturgy Conference has grown into a premiere annual event with participants coming from throughout the United States and beyond. The 2017 and 2018 conferences attracted nearly 400 participants and included Bishops, Archbishops and a Cardinal. So how did this happen? As Cardinal Burke said: “The growth of this conference is evidence of a great thirst in the people for the Truth of the Sacred Liturgy and its beauty.” It was exactly this thirst which caused the Sacred Liturgy Conference to come into being. How is it possible to study the encyclicals and writings of Popes and Saints throughout Christian history and not thirst for the depth and breadth and beauty of the liturgy? How is it possible to read the declarations of Councils of the Church on the importance of sacred music in the liturgy and not ask the question: “All of these documents prescribe Gregorian chant as the preeminent choice for the sacred music of the liturgy, why do we not hear it in our local parishes?”