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Views from the Choir Loft

The Devil’s Parody

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · February 14, 2013

AINT AUGUSTINE says that our Lord Jesus Christ heals us both by what is like us and by what is unlike us. Christ is man, and so through his humanity he heals man; but Christ is God, and by his divinity, too, he heals man. Indeed, he can heal with his human touch because his human touch is that of Almighty God.

In parody of this, the devil―the “ape of God”―seeks to harm man both by like means and by unlike means.

Although the devil is pure mind, operating far above the realm of images, he leads men into the mindless activities of modern entertainment―television, video games, movies, virtual reality, where dominates the unreality of flickering images. Although silent in his intellectual evil, he leads men into ever greater noise―the din of speakers and earbuds, the satanic rock music, drowning out thought, choking noble aspirations, pushing souls ever downward into the rhythm of the concupiscible passions, chasing away the silence in which God can begin to speak. Although bodiless, he leads men into a fixation with bodies and bodiliness, such that they cannot raise their minds to spiritual things.

Speaking of likenesses, on the other hand, the devil is swift in thought and fleet in motion, and he goads modern man to become ever more seeming swift, ever more fleeting. Demonic speed translates into our mad rushing round, our minds never at rest, our desires always on the prowl, seeking what we may devour. Demonic “mastery over nature” is reflected in our technological ambitions, which are still far inferior to what the least demon has always been able to do (when permitted by Divine Providence), and yet which are approaching more and more that infernal power of distorting and maiming reality that the demons exercise in their hatred of material creation and especially of man, its pinnacle and lord. For the devil is, as St. Ignatius of Loyola reminds us, “the enemy of human nature.”

The devil is, one might say, the limit case of a mentality focused on self-will, the cult of the ego, which is the very anti-spirituality that informs modern America and the modern West. The “pro-choice” mentality echoes the demons’ choice to reject the divine means to happiness: the demons want everyone to be trapped in the same egoism as they are. Sartre and Camus are merely translating into human language the constant experience of the damned. As St. John Damascene remarked, the demons carry hell with them wherever they go. And, to paraphrase Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, hell is pushing its way into this world, as modernity welcomes the demonic into its bosom.

In contrast, the pro-life mentality echoes and imitates the good angels who chose eternal life by the power of sanctifying grace, the divinely appointed means to a supernatural end. It sees in all life an image of the Life itself, the eternal life that is properly God’s and streams forth into the joy of countless saints in glory. Let us pray that we may be always guarded and guided by the holy angels, since, as the Apostle tells us, “we are not contending with flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12).

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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Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The local church should be conscious that church worship is not really the same as what we sing in a bar, or what we sing in a convention for youth.

— Francis Cardinal Arinze (2005)

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