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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

A Personal Encounter with Pope Francis

Richard J. Clark · March 22, 2013

SIMPLE ENCOUNTER can often change the course of one’s life, or perhaps the course of many lives. This is often true for both parties who meet each other for the first time—no matter how disparate the social or political standing. Pope Francis has made it clear he will embrace the most lowly in society: Pope Francis To Hold Holy Thursday Mass In Casal Del Marmo Youth Jail where he will wash prisoners’ feet. Certainly, Pope Francis will change lives forever through this profound encounter.

Fr. Jonathan Gaspar (Priest Secretary to His Eminence Seán Cardinal O’Malley) has been in Rome during the conclave through the installation of Pope Francis. Recently, Fr. Gaspar had the opportunity to meet privately with Pope Francis. With his permission I will share with you more of his heartfelt words upon his personal meeting with Pope Francis.

In this encounter, there is an important message for all of us; it is a three-fold message of love, thanksgiving, and prayer. Even the Pope needs our love, our thanks, and most especially our prayers!

“This morning Cardinal Seán asked me to deliver a note to the Pope’s secretary at the Domus Santa Marta, the guest residence in Vatican City where Pope Francis has been living since his election. While speaking to his secretary, the Holy Father came down the hall and I greeted him with the traditional kissing of his ring, and we spoke for a little over a minute. He was kind and seemed happy to speak with me! He told me how much he respected Cardinal O’Malley.

“I told him three things: first, that we love him; second, I thanked him for his beautiful example of humility for me as a priest and for all Christians; lastly I told him that I was praying for him. When I told him that I was praying for him, he lit right up, thanked me for my prayers and asked me to continue praying.

“I’m still amazed at his approachability and simplicity. I will never forget this encounter, and I wanted to share it with all of you so that you will appreciate how special Pope Francis really is. Great way to end my trip to Rome for these historic days in the life of the Church.

“Pray for Pope Francis, and Thank God He has sent us another holy pastor and shepherd to guide us to Christ! — at Città Del Vaticano.”

I have read the above words several times, and I am still amazed at what I learn each time I read them.

Fr. Jonathan Gaspar is also the Director of the Office of Divine Worship for the Archdiocese of Boston. Additionally, he is an organist, singer, and a great advocate of Gregorian Chant. In 2011, he formed the Office of Divine Worship Saint Cecilia Schola in which we collaborated on recording the ICEL Chants of the Roman Missal, Third Edition. Listen and watch here to Fr. Gaspar’s practice video of the Easter Proclamation

(Photo courtesy of PilotCatholicNews.com)

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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President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

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— Oliver Wendell Holmes

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