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Views from the Choir Loft

Full and Active Preparation – ora et labora

Richard J. Clark · January 25, 2013

HOSE MOST SKILLED in the art of conversation are not those who speak most frequently, but those who listen. Listening is among the greatest acts of love and compassion. Taking time, energy, and concentration, listening is profoundly active.

But when called to respond, those who actively listen can do so carefully and thoughtfully. In our prayer, do we listen to God, and can we respond to His call thoughtfully?

Blessed John Paul II’s 1998 Ad Limina Address to the Bishops of the United States, On Active Participation in the Liturgy contains extraordinary gems of wisdom including: (emphasis added)

“Active participation certainly means that, in gesture, word, song and service, all the members of the community take part in an act of worship, which is anything but inert or passive. Yet active participation does not preclude the active passivity of silence, stillness and listening: indeed, it demands it. Worshippers are not passive, for instance, when listening to the readings or the homily, or following the prayers of the celebrant, and the chants and music of the liturgy. These are experiences of silence and stillness, but they are in their own way profoundly active.”

With this profound advice, the Holy Father continues:

“In a culture which neither favors nor fosters meditative quiet, the art of interior listening is learned only with difficulty. Here we see how the liturgy, though it must always be properly inculturated, must also be counter-cultural.”.

Interior listening is progressive. Interior listening is relevant. Interior listening is counter-cultural! With unmistakable clarity, the 2007 US Bishop’s Document Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, further emphasizes: “The importance of silence in the Liturgy cannot be overemphasized.” (no. 118.)

Meanwhile, I spend nearly all of my days in God’s house (though through no special virtue of my own. I am a great sinner, no doubt. Those happy to second this, please take a number. Proceed to the back of the line.) Busy with everything from never-ending administrative tasks to composing new sacred works, meditative prayer and interior listening can still be elusive. While I can count myself as physically present at a dozen or so liturgies per week, I can honestly say that am fully active, present, and prayerful at far fewer, sometimes even none.

For the sacred musician, full and active participation not only includes mindfulness during mass, but demands full and active preparation well in advance. This holds true for all ministers of the liturgy. This holds true for the priest. This holds true for the congregation who must have opportunity for sacred silence in preparation of the Sacred Liturgy. For example, while a prelude may assist the faithful in entering into prayer, it is advisable to leave time for sacred silence before the Entrance Chant.

Meanwhile, long hours and hard work spent in preparation are necessary. Prayer and meditation are necessary, but one can’t learn and teach music through meditation and prayer alone. Prayer and work go hand in hand – ora et labora.

A few years ago Dr. J. Michael McMahon visited St. Cecilia Parish in Boston to give a symposium on “Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship.” On the pragmatic point of hard work in rehearsal, with widened eyes he emphatically declared, “…it is not a performance, but the choir had BETTER perform.”

This statement is a revelation to some. However, one can derive from this great common sense: prepare more fully and actively, so that we may be more present in spirit. Prepare more fully and actively, so that we will be highly mindful of the sacred text we sing. Prepare more fully and actively, in order to be less consumed by myriad technical details. Most importantly, prepare fully and actively so that worshipers can sing and listen with greater ease and attentiveness. Preparation assists not only our own interior listening, but also that of God’s people. Preparation is in itself a noble prayer and an act of love for God and each other.

34. For in the Liturgy God speaks to His people and Christ is still proclaiming His Gospel. And the people reply to God both by song and prayer. (Sacrosanctum Concilium)

Finally, with hard work comes the inevitable fatigue in body and spirit. It is then time to remember stillness, calm, and silence. Listen to God and revel in His presence. I write this for myself, a sinner, who needs to remember this more than anyone who may read this.

Listening to God prepares us for Him. How will we thoughtfully respond to His call?

“And the people reply to God both by song and prayer.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: May 11, 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

    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

“Thus, by the celebration of a single Mass (in which he offers Jesus Christ in sacrifice), a priest gives greater honor to the Lord than if all men by dying for God offered to him the sacrifice of their lives. By a single Mass, he gives greater honor to God than all the angels and saints—along with the Blessed Virgin Mary—have given or shall give to him; for their worship cannot be of infinite value, like that which the priest celebrating on the altar offers to God.”

— Saint Alphonsus Liguori

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