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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

Christ, the Wounded Healer

Richard J. Clark · April 18, 2014

THOUGHT IT STRANGE when looking at my bookcase. Grouped together are some of my favorite and essential books: the Graduale Romanum, Campion Missal, Lumen Christi Missal, and The Musical Shape of the Liturgy. But somehow, wedged right in the middle, as if to say, “Pay attention to me!” was Henri Nouwen’s 1972 classic, The Wounded Healer – Ministry in Contemporary Society. How did it get there?

Nouwen’s book recounts a story from the Talmud, summarizing:

“The Messiah, the story tells us, is sitting among the poor, binding his wounds, one at a time, waiting for the moment when he will be needed. So too it is with the minister…he is called to be the wounded healer, the one who must look after his own wounds but at the same time be prepared to heal the wounds of others.

”Jesus has given this story a new fullness by making his own broken body the way to health, to liberation and new life. Thus like Jesus, he who proclaims liberation is called not only to care for his own wounds and the wounds of others, but also to make his wounds into a major source of his healing power.” (The Wounded Healer, pg. 84, Doubleday and Co.)

So, the general premise of Nouwen’s books is that through our wounds, through our brokenness and perhaps even human imperfection, we are capable of helping others heal. We must be mindful of this through our work in the Church, and as musicians, through liturgy.

ROFESSIONALLY, MANY CHURCH MUSICIANS face challenges which may include some “war stories.” But with the frailty of human life sadly on display all around us, these are nothing in comparison. There is much needed perspective on what is true suffering and what are the common travails of a life of service. But in a profession in which it is difficult—indeed often impossible—to separate our spiritual, personal, and professional lives, our personal wounds must be cared for so that we may be ready to serve when called upon. To take it a step further, it is often because of our wounds that we can better serve others, provided that we have learned from them.

Distance helps heal wounds. But so does forgiveness. When distance is not possible, forgiveness many times every day is necessary. Then what you have suffered leads to wisdom, perspective, and understanding, providing a rock upon which others may lean. While joy and suffering are natural parts of human existence, challenge and pain is necessary for growth. Adversity builds strength. As such, suffering may come as a seemingly strange, yet potent blessing.

From suffering flowers great beauty. Therefore, as servants of the liturgy, we have an obligation to foster beauty and prayer. Our work will always find ways to humble us, as it should. In this humility, we can also find the healing prayer that our brothers and sisters need.

In Jesus, the Unblemished Lamb, we find the ultimate sacrifice. In Him we find our healer and Savior. May our work in sacred music lead people to Christ, the Great Healer who bore for us His wounds.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,

our sufferings that he endured,

while we thought of him as stricken,

as one smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our offenses,

crushed for our sins;

upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,

by his stripes we were healed.

— Isaiah 53: 4-5
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 Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(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

“In all this mediaeval religious poetry there is much that we could not use now. Many of the hymns are quite bad, many are frigid compositions containing futile tricks, puns, misinterpreted quotations of Scripture, and twisted concepts, whose only point is their twist. But there is an amazing amount of beautiful poetry that we could still use. If we are to have vernacular hymns at all, why do we not have translations of the old ones?”

— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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

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