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Views from the Choir Loft

The Use and Abuse of the “Via Media”

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · October 23, 2014

0319_Kwasni-93-LG HE ANCIENTS LIKED TO SAY: “Nothing in excess.” Make sure you find a balanced perspective. Give a little, take a little. Don’t go overboard. Life is full of compromises. Whatever you do, avoid the extremes. When it comes to our opinions and modes of behavior, thoughtful people prefer to see themselves as exponents and practitioners of the via media, the middle way.

The problem is, this often becomes a substitute for real thinking, for the hard work of clinging to the truth even when it is so unpopular or unrecognized that it looks extreme. There are times when the middle way is the wrong way. There are times when the middle way is the broad path that leads to destruction.

Let me offer some examples of how easily the via media logic can be abused. “Believers are too credulous, atheists are too assertive in the opposite direction, so the via media is agnosticism.” “Sedevacantists go to one extreme in their rejection of the reigning pope, while most traditional Catholics are too flaccid in their acceptance of him; the via media is the SSPX.” One could play this game for a long time, and always come out sitting pretty.

To show that this is a real intellectual problem, consider the via media that Blessed John Henry Newman actually believed and defended for many years: “Roman Catholicism is at the excess of superstition and corruption, Protestantism is at the extreme of cutting away tradition, Anglicanism is the happy mean in the middle.”

THEN NEWMAN DISCOVERED, when studying the council of Chalcedon, that historically there were three parties—two extremes and a middle; but, in fact, the one extreme was where the Pope and the orthodox faith stood, the other extreme was pure Arianism, and the middle was a clever attempt at a compromise. The Holy Spirit did not choose the via media in this case; He led the Church to choose what looked like the extreme to everyone at the time.

And, perhaps I should add, the Church “on the ground” was a terrible mess on all sides for a long time. You couldn’t simply look to what your bishop was saying, because many of the bishops had fallen into heresy. (One might think that with authoritative catechisms from papal giants St. Pius V, St. Pius X, and St. John Paul II, bishops and cardinals today would know, teach, and defend the faith handed down to us, but sadly, this no longer seems to be part of the job qualification.)

I once saw the claim, in a bulletin from England, that there is a via media between progressivism/liberalism and traditionalism. Interesting. What kind of a mean is it, I wonder? No doubt we can have too much of the wrong kind of progress, or too heavy a dose of that liberalism condemned by Leo XIII and other pontiffs, but can we have too much tradition? Can we receive, embrace, live, love, and pass on the Sacred Tradition of the Church too much?

The same bulletin went on to claim there is a mean between “liturgical silliness or corruption” and “liturgical snobbery.” We know, perhaps, what they mean by the latter, but the way it’s phrased just supports my point: it’s so easy to caricature your opponents so that you end up comfortably as the via media. Maybe we should concentrate less on who the extremes are (for we might be tempted to judgmentalism), and concentrate more on the truths we should adhere to with all our mind, the goods we should aspire to with all our heart, the beauty we should long for with all our soul, the holiness we should pursue with all our strength. In this way, we will be the right kind of extremists.

Please visit THIS PAGE to learn more about Dr. Kwasniewski’s Sacred Choral Works and the audio CDs that contain recordings of the pieces.

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 Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —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

At High Mass the Celebrant is not allowed to proceed with the Offertory while the “Credo” is being sung. Likewise he should not proceed with the Consecration until the singing of the “Sanctus” is completed.

— Father Carlo Rossini (1939)

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