"WOW! It's like this guy's been reading my mind. For an Anglican who truly believes himself to be a catholic, there is simply no other choice to be made. Though my own choice still is cause for some discomfort in my life, the sense of peace that I've found since making the swim is simply overwhelming. I'm driven practically to tears each and every Sunday morning." Ditto the above COMPLETELY (born Episcopalian, Catholic by choice).
"Espcially when we sing hymns that I've sung all my life in Anglican churches. Now they take on a whole new meaning for me. I'm in a new place and yet I'm finally HOME!"
This is the only place where we differ--my Catholic parish uses the execrable OCP "Spirit and Song" hymnal (aka hootenanny hymns).
I think all us Tiber-Swimmers feel the same way.
We're so blessed in our parish to have really good music and a genius for a music director. I don't say that lightly -- he's a man with encyclopedic knowledge, he selects hymns and motets with excellent taste, and he plays the organ like an angel. Plus, he loves the English Renaissance composers, so we sing as much or more Byrd, Tallis, Bull, and Farrant as we did in our old ECUSA parish!
We sang this last Sunday. "O Sing Joyfully" by Adrian Batten (ca. 1591 - ca. 1637), Vicar-Choral at St. Paul's, London. How gorgeous is that?
If you look carefully, you can see where Master Batten carved his name into the wall of the chantry when he was a chorister at Westminster . . . .