Edward Caswall on the "Son Rise Morning Show"!

I'll be on the Son Rise Morning Show today to discuss Edward Caswall on his birthday--a little earlier than my usual time--at 7:35 a.m. Eastern time (6:35 a.m. Central).

Who is Edward Caswall and why am I talking to Matt Swaim about him? His name might not be familiar, but many of his works may be. If you attended Stations of the Cross during Lent and sang the Stabat Mater in translation, "At the Cross her Station Keeping," that was Caswall's translation. If you sang the Benediction hymns O Salutoris Hostia and Tantum Ergo, from St. Thomas Aquinas' office for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, in English, chances are you sang Caswall's translations. On Pentecost Sunday you might have sung Caswall's translation of the Veni, Creator Spiritus and on Corpus Christi Sunday his version of St. Thomas Aquinas' Pange lingua gloriosi!

According to the old Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Edward Caswall was an

Oratorian and poet, b. 15 July 1814, at Yately, Hampshire, of which place his father, the Rev. R. C. Caswall, was vicar; d. at the Oratory, Birmingham, 2 January, 1878. He was educated at Marlborough Grammar School and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he was Hulme exhibitioner. Before leaving Oxford he published, under the pseudonym of Scriblerus Redivivus, "The Art of Pluck", in imitation of Aristotle, a witty satire upon the ways of the careless college student, which still has a circulation. To the eighth edition, in 1843, he wrote a special preface of regret for certain passages, now excluded, which, at that later date, he had come to regard as irreverent. In 1838 he was ordained deacon, and in 1839 priest, in the Church of England. In 1840 he became perpetual curate of Stratford-sub-Castle in the diocese of his uncle, Dr. Burgess, Bishop of Salisbury. In 1846 he published "Sermons on the Seen and the Unseen", a volume of thoughtful discourses marked by the same tender and fervent piety found in his well-known hymns, and by a clear leaning to certain elements of Catholic doctrine. Soon afterwards, having come under the influence of Cardinal (then Dr.) Newman and the "Tracts for the Times", he resigned his curacy and, in January, 1847, was received into the Church by Cardinal Acton at Rome. In 1849 Caswall's wife, who had also become a Catholic, died suddenly of cholera, and early in 1850 he became an Oratorian. In 1852 he was ordained priest, and lived at the Oratory until his death. He was buried at Rednal, in the private cemetery of the congregation, near the grave of Cardinal Newman. Besides various manuals of devotion, several of which he translated from the French, his principal works are: "Lyra Catholica", a translation of all the Breviary and Missal hymns with some others (often reprinted; last edition, London, 1884); "The Masque of Mary and other Poems", original poetry, thoughtful, imaginative, tender, and full of zealous faith, a book which drew from Cardinal Newman, in return, a remarkable poem addressed to the author (reprinted several times; last edition, London, 1887); "The Catholic's Latin Instructor in the principal Church offices and devotions" (frequently reprinted; last edition, London, 1897).

If you want to know more about Edward Caswall's life, Gracewing published a biography in 2005 and you could read excerpts here.

I looked through about eight months of Magnificat prayer magazines and found his work throughout the months in translations of Bernard of Cluny, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and St. Francis Xavier, and many other anonymous authors. So why did Caswall translate so many Latin hymns? The Catholic Church in England needed these translations as it revived its public liturgical life--Mass had been illegal until the late eighteenth century progress toward religious freedom for Catholics. I refer you again to the great paper by Father Guy Nicholls of the Birmingham Oratory; as he comments, Caswall's translations and his original works provided the Oratory with a much needed repertoire of hymns for the congregation to sing at High Mass and Vespers. The clarity, simplicity, and directness of his translations were most appropriate for their purpose. The fact that they are still is use today shows that Caswall's translations are accessible for congregational singing, demonstrating one of the great legacies of the Oratory movement in England.

Feast of St. Philip Neri

The Birmingham Oratory has a new website, and posts this information about Blessed John Henry Newman's patron:

St Philip Neri was born into a prominent family in Florence in 1515, although the financial fortunes of his family had declined by the time of his birth. He was educated by the Dominican friars in Florence, where he learned to venerate the memory of the fiery Florentine friar, Sarvanola. As a young man he was sent to work for his uncle in San Germano, near Monte Cassino, who planned to hand over his business to Philip. It was here, while living in the shadow of the Benedictine abbey at Monte Cassino, that Phillip gained a profound love for the sacred liturgy and an appreciation for the wisdom of the desert fathers. Philip had little interest in taking over his uncle’s business and within a year had gone to live in Rome.
When Philip came to Rome he lived with a Florentine family who gave him lodgings and food in return for teaching their two sons. His real joy, however, lay in spending nights in the catacombs in prayer. He had a great affinity with the early Christians, and in his Litany of St Philip, Newman calls him, Vir Prisci Temporis or Man of Primitive Times. In his early years in Rome, Philip pursued philosophical and theological studies with the Augustinians in the city, but was content to remain as layman. Contemporaries noted his great eloquence in theological matters, but Philip didn’t see his studies as an end in themselves and happily sold his text books to give financial help to other students.
In 1544 Philip had a mystical experience, while praying in the catacombs of San Sebastiano, in which he felt the Holy Spirit enter him in a special way, and from that time onwards he had great feeling of warmth in his heart. Philip hid this experience for most of his life and only in his last years did he confide in his trusted friend Pietro Consolini about the experience.
Read the rest here.

May 30, 1847

Mr. John Henry Newman, former Church of England clergyman, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood on Trinity Sunday, May 30, 1847 in Rome. (Bishop James D. Conley, Auxiliary Bishop of Denver, celebrates his third anniversary of ordination to the episcopate this year on the same date!--he was formerly pastor of my parish.) Newman had studied for ordination at the Propaganda Fidei. Part of his preparation had been the discernment of a particular path for his priestly vocation and he had chosen the Oratory of St. Philip Neri. This book by Placid Murray is very helpful to understanding why Blessed John Henry Newman decided to bring the Oratory Movement to England; for one thing he sought a community where his erstwhile Tractarians could be united.

When Pope Benedict XVI beatified Newman during his visit to England last September, he highlighted the Blessed's role as a priest in Birmingham:

While it is John Henry Newman’s intellectual legacy that has understandably received most attention in the vast literature devoted to his life and work, I prefer on this occasion to conclude with a brief reflection on his life as a priest, a pastor of souls. The warmth and humanity underlying his appreciation of the pastoral ministry is beautifully expressed in another of his famous sermons: "Had Angels been your priests, my brethren, they could not have condoled with you, sympathized with you, have had compassion on you, felt tenderly for you, and made allowances for you, as we can; they could not have been your patterns and guides, and have led you on from your old selves into a new life, as they can who come from the midst of you" ("Men, not Angels: the Priests of the Gospel", Discourses to Mixed Congregations, 3). He lived out that profoundly human vision of priestly ministry in his devoted care for the people of Birmingham during the years that he spent at the Oratory he founded, visiting the sick and the poor, comforting the bereaved, caring for those in prison. No wonder that on his death so many thousands of people lined the local streets as his body was taken to its place of burial not half a mile from here. One hundred and twenty years later, great crowds have assembled once again to rejoice in the Church’s solemn recognition of the outstanding holiness of this much-loved father of souls. What better way to express the joy of this moment than by turning to our heavenly Father in heartfelt thanksgiving, praying in the words that Blessed John Henry Newman placed on the lips of the choirs of angels in heaven:

Praise to the Holiest in the height
And in the depth be praise;
In all his words most wonderful,
Most sure in all his ways!
(The Dream of Gerontius).