(Above) 8th century psalter from England with a partial English translation between the lines.

Sing a New Song: The Psalms in Medieval Art and Life 

An Exhibition at the Morgan Library

Through January 4, 2026

We are in the last weeks of a special exhibition at the Morgan library on the psalms and their role in medieval life. Now the exhibition includes much more than that. On display are several Hebrew texts of the psalms, including one of the earliest known manuscripts of a psalm from Egypt. There are examples of translations from the Byzantine world, Romania, Egypt and Ethiopia. There are other medieval chant books, prayer books, books of hours and breviaries which fill out the exhibition.

The exhibits on display include some of the most important creations of the illuminator’s art. Let us remember that up to about the year 1200 the creation of illuminated manuscripts was not a sideline, but a main focus of Western art. And for many centuries thereafter artists continued to create new masterpieces – even after the invention of printing. 

(Above) A Gradual from Florence 1392-99: shown is Ascension day (“Viri Galilaei…”)

The accompanying texts to the exhibits, although clearly coming from a non-Christian perspective, are informative and fair. I would only add the following points regarding what a visitor can learn from these magnificent works of art. 

This exhibition reminds us of the importance of the written word prior to modernity. As I wrote in regard to another exhibition of illuminated manuscripts at the Morgan Library in 2022:

Do not these masterworks demonstrate to us the importance the written word once had? Today a word appears on Outlook and – if it even survives the spell checker – shortly thereafter may vanish forever. Yet in illuminated manuscripts the word is carefully preserved for all time. This is particularly true of the early medieval period. But even towards the end of the centuries covered by this exhibition, we see the extreme care with which books, both printed and handwritten, are prepared. 1) 

In contrast with today, the book in earlier ages was a precious thing. This was doubly so when it contained the word of God. 

(Above) St. Ann teaching the Virgin Mary (and apparently a school as well).

These exhibits demonstrate also the liturgical nature of medieval prayer life. Singing and reading the entire psalter each week was absolutely central to the prayer life of monks, clergy and nuns. Let us remember too that, in the Middle Ages, the psalms would have been first heard as sung, not read from a book.  The illustrations in these books show again and again the rituals of the Church. 

 After about 1200 the production of books increasingly came into the hands of guilds of artists and, after 1450,  of printers. The written psalms, both in Latin and later in the vernacular, became much more widely accessible to laymen. Yet even into the16th century Latin remained the primary language. And the psalms with their preeminent role throughout the liturgy (the mass and the divine office)also formed the piety of laymen. And women too – some of these books of psalms and prayers were destined for female clients; women were also involved in the shops making them. We think of the books of hours, which were produced in innumerable examples in the 15th and 16th centuries. Indeed, at least some laymen were reading breviaries,  a type of book which had arisen in the 13th century. Reading by the laity of the “liturgy of the hours” was later claimed as an innovation of the liturgical movement and Vatican II. 

We discover that the medieval laity were not an ignorant mass, excluded by the Latin language from the rituals of the Church and the words of scripture, and forced to develop their own piety. There was no gap, as asserted by the Liturgical Movement,  between an “objective” liturgy and a “subjective” private piety. Of course, readers of Eamon Duffy’s The Stripping of the Altars would already be familiar with these facts. 2) 

(Above) St. Thomas More’s prayer book with his handwritten notes.

A monument to this medieval lay piety is the last exhibit: the Latin prayer book of St. Thomas More, annotated by him with prayers and notes, both in Latin and English. He did this in in prison awaiting execution. This book is an inspiring yet poignant relic of his personal devotion – a concluding witness to the strength of the faith in old Catholic England.

For more information on the Exhibition see the website of the Morgan Library: Singing a New Song.

1. The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, Imperial Splendor: The Art of the Book in the Holy Roman Empire 800-1500. ( 1/18 2022)
2. Duffy, Eamon, The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England 1400-1580.( Yale University Press, New Haven and London 1992)

A splendid vespers with music primarily fron the Spanish and Mexican traditions. The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny was honored to co-sponsor the evening.

Rev. Daniel Ray, rector of the basilica, was the homilist.

The magnificent 1868 Erben organ is still undergoing restoration. Jared Lamenzo, Director of Music of the Basilica, was the evening’s Director of Music. The musical forces of the basilica were reinforced by the visiting choir of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge(David Skinner, Director of Music).

The evening concluded with Benediction.

(Above) Antonio de Laurentiis, Throne of Eucharistic Exposition, 1754 (Gift of Kingdom of Naples). (Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem) © The Frick Collection

To the Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum

Exhibition at the Frick Collection in New York (till January 5, 2026)

The Frick Collection now is showing a very special exhibition of liturgical objects from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. These treasures will be displayed in the Terra Sancta Museum in Jerusalem once it is completed. 

After the final fall of the Holy Land to Islamic armies,  the Western Catholic presence at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was maintained by the Franciscan order – and still is today. Not that the relationship with other “faith communities” was necessarily easy. Over the centuries the ruling Muslim authorities oscillated between repression and tolerance. And, as described in the catalog, there were also violent clashes with the Greek Orthodox neighbors at this church. Yet whatever their religious feelings might be, the Ottoman Turkish authorities were constrained by the need to maintain good relations with the Western states, above all France. Of course,  they also ere cognizant of the ongoing econmic benefits of the pilgrim trade.

Despite periodic vicissitudes, over the centuries the Franciscan mission accumulated a spectacular collection of liturgical art, donated by the leading Catholc powers. Ironically, unique vestments and liturgical objects have survived in this place so remote from Europe –  because in Jerusalem they escaped the destruction and looting of the French revolutionaries  and Napoleon’s armies.

The Frick hosted a similar exhibition in 2018-19 on the work of the 18^thcentury Roman goldsmith Luigi Valadier. Indeed, Xavier F. Salomon, one of the co-organizers of the Holy Sepulcher exhibition, played a leading role in that exhibition as well. The Valadier exhibition also brought to our attention rare gold and silver works that survived in out-of-the-way churches and cathedrals in Southern Italy and Sicily, where they had escaped later post-1789 French depredations. 

To the Holy Sepulcher  is a remarkable and overwhelming show. There are gigantic silver candelabra, antependia and “thrones” for the display of a monstrance. There are of course chalices, monstrances, patens, croziers, sanctuary lamps and other liturgical apparatus. Magnificent sets of vestments in gold and scarlet can be seen.  All of this was not “treasure” to be hoarded or put on display but was dedicated to actual liturgical use. Indeed, some of the vestments were refurbished later to preserve them for ongoing use.

The objects in the exhibition generally date from 1560 to around 1780. The artistic styles represented range from the later renaissance to baroque, rococo and early classicism. All of the powers of the Catholic world as it existed during and after the Counter-Reformation are represented: Spain, the Kingdom of Naples (perhaps the main donor state), France and Portugal but also the republics of Genoa and Venice. Given my own interests,  I would single out the gifts from the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Charles VI and Empress Maria Theresa are named donors of works created in Southern Germany and Austria.

It is a truly amazing reminder of how Christendom had survived into the 18th century and how the Catholic monarchs and republics thought it an honor to create magnificent objects for the Catholic liturgy in such a special place as Jerusalem. There was no question here of separation between church and state!

Now all of this art was destined for the celebration of the traditional liturgy. Indeed, the catalog features an essay by Jacques-Charles Gaffiot, one of the organizers of the exhibition,  specifically discussing  the Mass and the practical and symbolic role of the exhibits in liturgical celebrations. 1)

This exhibition leaves us with more solemn and melancholy thoughts. We encounter the glory of the Catholic liturgy as it existed in the last years of Christendom. But hasn’t the Church of today turned its back on the liturgy that gave rise to these objects? For these magnificent works the Church has often substituted vessels of glass and pottery. Then we must consider the current political situation. These liturgical objects and the Terra Sancta Museum in which they will be housed remind us of the perilous state of the Christian presence in the Holy Land. For the recent conflicts in the Near East are leading to the disappearance of the Christian minority in those countries. 

For descriptions and photographs of the exhibits see To the Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum (frick.org)

Postscript: It was my first visit to the Frick collection after its recent reconstruction and expansion. I only had time, however,  to view the Holy Sepulcher exhibition. Inside the exhibition space,  the layout and viewing conditions were excellent. I regret to say, however, that as a whole the Frick Collection itself has become a less pleasant place to visit. It is crowded and confusing, with vistors formed into lines under the supervision of guards. I would add to the irritations the steep admission charge and restrictions on photography (fortunately I am a member and hadn’t brought a camera along).  “Points of light,” to be fair, were several helpful staff. The Frick, which once was an oasis of calm and contemplation in the city, now has an atmosphere more like that of its neighbor up the street, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. But perhaps these problems were only of that day; I will return after the New Year to find out more. 

1. Charles-Gaffiot, Jacques. “In the Earthly City of Emmanuel: The Liturgy of Heaven Dwells among Mankind,” in  X. F. Salomon, J. Charles-Gaffiot and B. Constensoux, To the Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Santa Museum (The Frick Collection New York; D. Giles Limited, 2025)

One of the largest lecture halls at Princeton University Is nearly completely full Saturday afternoon. The attendees are young and enthusiastic. For the Aquinas Institute, the Catholic chaplaincy at Princeton University, is hosting Cardinal Sarah. The Cardinal has just published a book  – The Song of the Lamb – written in conjunction with Peter Carter, the music director of the Aquinas Institute about music and the faith. 

The Cardinal first gave a lecture and then entered into a wide-ranging dialogue with Peter Carter. In the course of the afternoon Cardinal Sarah touched on many topics of which I can capture only a small selection. He spoke of how he had learned in his village from his parents and a French missionary that there is a different kind of music for the church, one rightly called sacred. He spoke of how chant always has the priority of place and of the importance of the Latin language. The liturgy is not something that we do or we create but something that Christ, dwelling within us, performs. Active participation does not mean uniformity. There are different roles within the liturgy: the celebrant, the choir, the congregation each has a different role to play but they are all working together in the one action. Each is participating actively but in different ways.

Again and again, Cardinal Sarah returned to the importance of music. Perhaps paradoxically, music is where our heart speaks to God without words. Music is essential to the liturgy – not a nice addition to it. And Gregorian chant is not something we made up but was given to us.

Cardinal Sarah spoke of the injustice of the persecution of those within the Church who follow the old rite of the Mass. We should pray that the Holy Spirit inspires Pope Leo to liberate this Mass and the Latin language in general. I note that the cardinal did not give any indication whether he thinks Pope Leo will actually do this.

Speaking of inculturation, he remarked that what the liturgy can convey is unity with other Christians at the present time in other parts of the world and throughout history.  In the liturgy we are not trying to express ourselves,  our identity or our culture. We should not seek to cut ourselves off from other cultures but to join with them.

As to Africa, the Church has found a new home there because the African is still open to God. There obviously remain tremendous problems and challenges in that continent. Nevertheless, this openness of the African culture to God can help other peoples (re)discover the primacy of God. 

We should not prioritize too much “understanding” the liturgy.  Cardinal Sarah noted that even in our own language we cannot understand the mysteries of the Catholic faith. Understanding is not sufficient. Sarah pointed out, for example,  that even though the liturgy has been translated into German, the German Church is anything but a role model, what with their demands to change doctrine, to ordain women as priests, etcetera….

 At the end we must always return to the need for evangelization and above all must evangelize our fellow Christians. In places like Europe many are baptized but  not evangelized. We should recall that we are not just another Christ but Christ himself in this world. And to do this we should strive to “be holy.”

At the conclusion of the talk and interview Cardinal Sarah offered to sign his book.  A very significant percentage of the listeners took him up on it and formed a long line to obtain the signature. All at all,  it was a remarkable experience.

Fr.Zach Swantek, the chaplain of the Aquinas Institute, introduced the speakers. Those familiar with the Catholic chaplaincy at Princeton as it existed in the 1980’s are amazed at the progress.

(above) Peter Carter.

(Above) The long line forms for an autograph.