Night of Silence Website Goes Live

I would like to call the attention of Pray Tell’s readership to a new website that has just gone live: Night of Silence. Conceived by Daniel Kantor, this exquisitely designed online resource is intended to help contemporary folk appreciate the beauty and importance of the season of Advent in contemporary life. The “Adventus Blog” is for those interested in new spiritual insights on Advent, giving a platform for insights into the season from theology, culture, music, art and spirituality. Presently the blog contains the following contributions:

Richard Rohr: “The Cosmic Christ of Advent”
Michael Dennis Browne: “Poets and Advent”
Susan Palo Cherwien: “Advent is a Threshold”
Susan Palo Cherwien: “Longing”
Daniel Kantor: “The Story of Night of Silence”
Daniel Kantor: “The Advent Rose”
Daniel Kantor: “A New Arrangement by Jocelyn Hagen”
Daniel Kantor and Michael Joncas: “Video: A Deeper Look”
Michael Joncas: “Advent Waiting”

There is also a shop connected with the website selling both a variety of arrangements of “Night of Silence” (with a helpful reference guide helping the visitor to decide whether the score would be for small ensemble, church choir, or a larger concert choir), Advent scores by other church composers (e.g., Lori True, David Haas, Marty Haugen) and recordings of other Advent and Christmas music (e.g., the St. Olaf Choir, Vocal Essence, The Cathedral Singers).

One of the seminar groups sponsored by the North American Academy of Liturgy is “The Advent Project,” sustained by a group of scholars and practitioners dedicated to re-thinking the Advent season as a gift for contemporary Christian worshipers. I would hope that as the website continues, the insights of these scholars could find a base for dissemination here.

Michael Joncas

Ordained in 1980 as a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN, Fr. (Jan) Michael Joncas holds degrees in English from the (then) College of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and in liturgical studies from the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN and the Pontificio Istituto Liturgico of the Ateneo S. Anselmo in Rome. He has served as a parochial vicar, a campus minister, and a parochial administrator (pastor). He is the author of six books and more than two hundred fifty articles and reviews in journals such as Worship, Ecclesia Orans, and Questions Liturgiques. He has composed and arranged more than 300 pieces of liturgical music. He has recently retired as a faculty member in the Theology and Catholic Studies departments and as Artist in Residence and Research Fellow in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Please leave a reply.

Comments

3 responses to “Night of Silence Website Goes Live”

  1. Tim Gabrielli

    Michael, thanks for sharing. I think this is a wonderful project and hope it bears great fruit.

    I cannot help but notice that immediately following the description of the site as a resource for emptying ourselves in contrast to the bustle of the holiday season, there is a link for the Online Store!

    I know that such things are necessary and that Daniel’s music actually supports the goal, but nevertheless….

    Reply
    1. Alan Hommerding

      I had a similar thought – a wonderful project, but I was reminded of the announcement one Christ the King Sunday: “For the next several Sundays, the Knights of Columbus will be selling ‘Keep Christ in Christmas’ merchandise after every Mass.”

      ‘Twas ever thus between Christ and culture, I guess.

      Blessings on the Advent of this endeavor!

      Reply
  2. Michael Joncas Avatar
    Michael Joncas

    I suspect Daniel is quite aware of the implicit contrast between Advent waiting and the frenzy of buying, which is why I tried to highlight the website’s potential for dissemination of scholarship and practical ways of keeping the season rather than the “shop.” I think that Tim has it exactly right: that the sales from the “shop” will help to keep the website up and running.

    Blessings,
    MJ

    Reply

Posted

in

, ,

by

Michael Joncas

Tags:

,

Discover more from Home

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading