The Immaculate Conception, Ave Maria, National Review Online, and Christmas Gifts

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and what better way to celebrate than with song? The Schola of the Dominican House of Studies of the Province of St. Joseph recently released their second album, Ave Maria, a chant album dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The album contains many Marian chants, including two different settings of the Mass of the Immaculate Conception. Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review Online recently interviewed Br. Vincent Ferrer Bagan, OP, in an article about Ave Maria, chant, Dominican life and song, and much more. Here is a brief excerpt:

LOPEZ: Why is Mary so important to the Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph? Is it a St. Joseph thing?

VINCENT FERRER: Besides being a Catholic thing, the Dominican order has always had a particular love for Mary. The accounts of our early history reveal that Mary had a desire for an Order of Preachers to be founded, and Dominicans have always seen ourselves as under her mantle. We are also the order through which the Rosary became the most popular Marian devotion in the Church. Though Marian devotion is certainly strong in the Province of St. Joseph, it is really a mark of the whole Order of Preachers.

LOPEZ: What’s your pitch to friends and family about why Ave Maria will enhance their lives spiritually or otherwise?

VINCENT FERRER: It’s typically a great experience for the family and friends of our friars to visit our communities, to pray with us, and see our lives. As they experience a piece of that life together, they often come to have an appreciation for something that at first seemed very strange because they see how the religious life can help people to grow closer to God. With this album, we want to share a particularly beautiful part of our life with those who can’t visit us in person, so that they can join us in seeking God and contemplating his surpassing beauty.

  For the full interview, go to National Review Online. For a great Christmas gift for your family, friends, or yourself, see Dominicana Records or cdbaby.com.

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