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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Begin From the Beginning—Interesting Things Will Happen

Richard J. Clark · June 28, 2013

EFORE ONE CAN EVEN BEGIN talking about music in the liturgy, one must understand something about the Sacred Liturgy itself. No conversation about liturgical music based on personal taste can yield much fruit without fundamental understanding of the purpose of the mass.

In his 1903 Motu Proprio, Tra le Sollecitudini (“Instruction on Sacred Music”) Pope Saint Pius X begins his “instruction” as he describes the overall purpose of the liturgy as “the glory of God and the sanctification, the edification of the faithful.”

Sacrosanctum Concilium echoes this statement in The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and Its Importance in the Church’s Life: (§7) “Christ indeed always associates the Church with Himself in this great work wherein God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified.”

Further echoing Saint Pius X: “For His humanity, united with the person of the Word, was in the instrument of our salvation…The wondrous redemption of the whole Church.” (Sacrosanctum Concillium, §5)

That the singularly most important purpose of the mass is to glorify God seems like something we could not possibly forget, yet it happens and sometimes quite frequently. It is easy to become too mindful of ourselves and of our own problems, or of our own importance in context of the liturgy. God already knows our most inner thoughts and needs, and certainly we must bring our prayers and petitions to God. But preoccupied self-absorption or self-importance (I am very guilty of this more than just occasionally!) distorts the nature of the Sacred Liturgy. Quite happily, focus on God alone points to the second part of Saint Pius X’s statement: “the edification and sanctification of the people.” God finds us and gives us the grace we need despite our sins and flaws.

Giving glory to God alone leads to our sanctification and edification! Singing God’s praises is necessary for personal and communal sanctification and edification.

Therefore, as a community joins together to praise God, something quite interesting happens: not only do individuals grow in faith, but also the community unifies and intensifies with greater strength than ever. In a sense, the “vertical” strengthens the “horizontal”. Ultimately, the goal of the community and of the whole Church is Christ-like living: Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex Vivendi – the law of prayer is the law of belief, which points to the law of how Christians must live. More simply put, the liturgy reminds us if we truly believe what we pray, we must respond to God’s call by that way that we live.

NOTHER IMPORTANT QUESTION about the liturgy was posed by Bishop Sample at the CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium. While the mass is a celebration, perhaps we must ask what it is we are celebrating. Is it a party? Is it a shared communal meal? Is it self-affirmation? These are not necessarily bad things, and in fact they can be quite good and helpful in the right context. But during the liturgy they distort what is essential for our souls: Jesus who died for us redeems us by His Body and Blood. We are a saved people! (This is why we celebrate Easter for 50 days after a Lenten preparation of 40 days.) That we are saved is all quite remarkable and joyful.

But our redemption is not possible without the Sacrifice of our Savior. We cannot sidestep nor gloss over the Sacrifice. Without Good Friday, there is no Easter Sunday. Without the dying, there is no rising. God alone is the center of our prayer. From this, flows our redemption.

Sacrosanctum Concillium (§5) furthermore states under The Nature of the Sacred Liturgy and Its Importance in the Church’s Life, “For His humanity, united with the person of the Word, was in the instrument of our salvation…The wondrous redemption of the whole Church.”

OK, we may know all of this already. But it is remarkable that we may joyfully embrace in our hearts our redemption through Christ’s Sacrifice. This is what we celebrate every Sunday and every day at every mass! In the words of the anamnesis: “Save us, Savior of the world, that by your cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.”

Sacrosanctum Concillium (§2): “For the liturgy, ‘through which the work of our redemption is accomplished.’ (Secret of the ninth Sunday after Pentecost) most of all in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, is the outstanding means by whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church.”

As we are united in the Eucharist, in Christ’s loving act of self-sacrifice is this not worthy of joyful praise of God and God alone?

I have not even begun to speak of music at liturgy, music worthy of praising the God who loves us to the point of death on a cross. Where will this understanding lead us in our sacred music? Interesting things happen in our lives when we worship God.

So, perhaps this discussion on music for the Sacred Liturgy must begin from the beginning:
Soli Deo Gloria! Give glory to God alone!

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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 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 propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —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

“The scholar who lives only for his subject is but the fragment of a man; he lives in a shadow-world, mistaking means for ends.”

— Msgr. Ronald Knox (1888-1957)

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