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Views from the Choir Loft

Participating Actively despite all of that Active Participation

Andrew R. Motyka · April 10, 2013

t’s something I’ve confessed more than once: my failure to engage in what is happening during the Mass. Despite the fact that I am singing, playing the organ, or conducting for almost half of the Mass, I often completely fail to participate. How can this be? Isn’t this what is meant by the “active participation” that is one of the liturgical goals of the Second Vatican Council? Isn’t the involvement of the laity in the liturgy a success? Well, yes, but not necessarily in the way you think.

What am I doing here, if this is my internal monologue:

Downbeat tenors, sopranos on two. Basses next, followed by altos. Offbeat entrances by basses, then tenors, altos, sopranos. Don’t forget to crescendo across the stong beat…

Why, I’m conducting the first phrase of Giovanni Croce’s O Sacrum Convivium this coming Sunday, the Third Sunday of Easter.

Do you know what I’m not doing? Praying:

O Sacred Banquet in which Christ is received…

Sure, you might argue that I am praying this piece in a different way than the congregation is, but I am not engaging the music, and certainly not the action of the liturgy, in the same way that the non-singer or non-director is. I’m working right now.

And that’s fine. We all have our jobs and our roles in liturgy. However, I’m a Catholic, too, and should be actively participating in the liturgy (there’s that phrase again). I should be praying. The question here is, “How do we engage the liturgy prayerfully when we’re busy doing all of the ‘things’ that need our attention?”

It isn’t easy. There are a few tips I’ve figured out over the years, but I can’t say I’ve mastered them. Here are some starting points, though:

1. Prepare for the liturgy.

Oh, why didn’t you say so? Here I’ve been just showing up and doing it all this time. Actually, what I mean is to take care of all of the mundane “extras” before the Mass begins. I make a binder that has every piece of my music in it, in order, so I don’t have to “fish” for a single thing once the Mass begins. This includes all of the hymns, ordinaries, choir pieces, and even organ interludes. Don’t leave anything to chance; the fewer non-liturgical concerns you have during Mass, the better.

2. Prepare for the liturgy.

If I have to focus on every single cue, on every fingering passage, or on every entrance, I’ve lost the battle for liturgical focus before I’ve even begun. These things need to be worked out long before the bells ring to begin the Mass. I strongly recommend using an old musician’s trick, which consists of studying and repeating the planned music several times before executing it live. Sometimes we call this trick “practice.”

3. Prepare for the liturgy.

Seeing a trend here? The reality is that none of us is ever really perfectly disposed for prayer. We get distracted by all sorts of things (You think I have it bad? Ask my wife, who watches my two children, ages 4 and 5, during Mass. She’s my heroine). Take a minute before Mass and pray to the Holy Spirit that you be focused on the prayers of the Mass. Ready yourself spiritually to engage in the mysteries before you begin. This puts you in the proper disposition prior to the first downbeat.

So how do you actively participate despite all of that participation? Focus yourself during the non-musical moments. Don’t look for the next piece of music. Don’t micro-manage your choir regarding the next entrance. You’ve done the preparation. Now pray: there’s a miracle going on up there on the altar, and you don’t want to miss it.

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 Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Oh, the happy choir director who is hired to start work on a brand new choir, or who walks into his first rehearsal a total stranger to the existing group—what a fortunate man he is! The new choir director who is a former member of the choir, or a member of the congregation, or the nephew of the alto soloist, or a former altar boy, or otherwise well acquainted with the choir, is in for a few headaches.”

— Paul Hume (1956)

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