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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Here I owned Thy Presence

Veronica Brandt · July 20, 2013

ESUS IS TRULY PRESENT in the Blessed Sacrament, under the appearance of bread and wine. Really present. He sees you, He hears you. We should be on our knees in His Presence. It is right and just (as in justice) to adore Him.

Don’t take my word for it, read the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #282:

Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a unique and incomparable way. He is present in a true, real and substantial way, with his Body and his Blood, with his Soul and his Divinity. In the Eucharist, therefore, there is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine, Christ whole and entire, God and Man.

Somewhere, somehow, I learned this. I can’t remember where first, but I remember coming back many times the enormity of this mystery. A mystery is a truth we cannot fully understand. Not that we just throw up our hands in despair and abandon the idea. A mystery is something we can keep coming back to and still get something more. An all you can eat buffet of spiritual meditation for the rest of your life!

It is old news that too many people miss this teaching. My first thought was to lament the neglect of all the hymns which back up the doctrine of the True Presence, but even good hymns are not enough. Poetry may be employing metaphors. We need to be taught. We want to be taught.

Hymns can be a starting point. If you have the privilege of teaching hymns, take a moment to check people understand what they’re singing. There are also many different levels of understanding. A young child may be content with just “Jesus is there”, but as we get older we have more questions, need more information. That’s when we need ideas like “substance” and “accidents”, what a Sacrament is, biblical references and the examples of the Saints.

In case you’re wondering, the title up there comes from Fr Edward Caswall’s hymn O Jesus Christ remember

That here I bowed before Thee, upon my bended knee,
That here I owned Thy Presence, and did not Thee deny,
But glorified Thy greatness, though hid from human eye.

Download the sheet music HERE (hymn 303 from the Vatican II hymnbook).

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

It is known that the “mora vocis” is part of the compulsory rules of recital of the “Vaticana” and is indicated in the Editio typica and its reprints by a somewhat larger spacing of the neume (one space-line) within one group of neuma.

— 1953 Schwann Edition (PREFACE)

Recent Posts

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  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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