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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

Felix Culpa

Aurelio Porfiri · July 30, 2014

0319_agnus_dei-LG EA CULPA, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa… Those that want to find meaning to their existence should always recognize that we are in the condition of sinners. As I said previously, I am not really into this mindset of seeing everything as joyful, playful and full of spiritual laughter. And not because I dislike joy, not at all: but because I need to be honest with myself and recognize the reality of what surrounds me.

This misleading conception is never more true than in some of our modern Masses, where the joy is compulsory even during Good Friday, that is just borne because in a few days it will be Easter. But because we are redeemed through the Passion of Jesus, our sinful condition so became “felix culpa.” When I am in these liturgies full of clapping, jumping and going hand in hand, I feel that there is a betrayal of the nature of the liturgy itself. Some justify this with the fear of losing youth. But are you gaining them when you are immersing them in a lie?

Life is not a piece of cake. And the Mass is not a Sunday recreational moment. We need to feel the burning of being close to God. If we cannot be good, at least let us be honest. If we are close to God we know we should accept being part of His Passion. This is life, also at the deepest spiritual level. Divo Barsotti,1 a great Italian Christian thinker says it very well in his book Fissi gli occhi nel sole (The eyes fixed on the sun): “Some images defend the truth more than many abstract concepts. So the image of fire. God is Fire. You are not living a contact with Him without burning” (pg. 83, my translation). If we don’t accept this dimension in trying to be good, we are only being dishonest. The same Barsotti continues:

The man here on earth hides himself, defends himself against Fire, but if he really offers himself naked to the Fire, then his life will be no more that being invested from Fire, it is no more than burning. When will you be pure flame? So the image of piety. Your sin is hardening you and you want to be broken, destroyed. You say to God – your prayer is only one -: Break me, smash me, destroy me, O God (pg. 83, my translation).

BUT THE DIMENSION PRESENTED by the great Father Barsotti is not the one we are living in our Masses, where we need to appear as what we are not. Indeed the so called artists, are those that most willingly offer themselves naked to the fire. And this makes them look ridiculous to the eyes of other men, as said very well from Charles Baudelaire, in his poem about the Albatross, this animal that was the laughingstock of the common man because of appearing so awkward. And he compares this bird to the artist, the poet:

Le Poète est sembable au prince des nuées
Qui hante la tempête et se rit de l’archer;
Exilé sur le sol au milieu des huées,
Ses ailes de géant l’empêchement de marcher.

“The Poet is like the prince of the clouds,
Haunting the tempest and laughing at the archer;
Exiled on earth amongst the shouting people,
His giant’s wings hinder him from walking”

(Translated by Geoffrey Wagner, 1974).

But everyone knows that people still like to judge as ridiculous what in reality just threatened the emptiness of their own existence.


BOTTEGA • Aurelio Porfiri is where you can discover
many of Mæstro Porfiri’s compositions in PDF format.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   To learn more about Fr. Divo Barsotti, please see my previous article.

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 Aurelio Porfiri

Renowned as composer, conductor, theorist, author, pedagogue, and organist, Aurelio Porfiri has served the Church on multiple continents at the highest levels. Born and raised in Italy, he currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Composer in Residence for Santa Rosa de Lima School (Macao, China).

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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

“The replies to this committee (of which Mgr Bugnini was the secretary) reveal a desire to reform the liturgy. In what sense? Out of 2,109 responses from bishops, just three expressed the desire to restore Communion under both kinds. There was a sizable demand for limited use of the vernacular, but only one French bishop wanted the entire Mass in French.”

— Fr. Dominic Allain (2019)

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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