• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

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.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

In This Little House of God

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · August 15, 2013

502 Latin Mass Mass in the Extraordinary Form T THE START of a High Mass one Sunday morning many months ago at Wyoming Catholic College, I heard a detail in the prayer after the Asperges that had never struck me before. The priest asks the Lord to send His holy angel to protect all who dwell in hoc habitaculo—literally, in this little house. And while it is true that our chapel is humble and small, the very same prayer would have been prayed in the mightiest and most majestic cathedral.

Lodged in my memory, later on this phrase got me thinking of several things. First, any house we can build for the Lord is trivial in comparison with the house that he is building out of us, namely, the temple of the Holy Spirit, the mystical body of Jesus Christ. Our efforts, our constructions, our works of art pale in comparison to what the Lord deserves in His infinite glory and beauty.

Second, however, it shows us that we must do all that we can do for the Lord, since our greatest is the least that is worthy of him. Quantum potes, tantum audes, Saint Thomas says in one of his Eucharistic hymns: “As much as you can do, that much dare to do.” And the work we put in every week is largely “detail work”—unseen by the faithful who attend Mass. In the finite details, we give something preciously human, a sacrifice that is all the more valuable for being hidden and humble.

The College choir was singing the Kyrie from Palestrina’s Missa Aeterna Christi Munera. That short piece, sung as if effortlessly, was the result of so many hours of practice, sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses rehearsing their lines. Practices in which we started together, fell apart, picked up the pieces, and tried again and again until we could do it well. For thirty students in a volunteer choir, over many weeks of practices, that adds up to hundreds of human hours of work on the little things.

The young men serving at the altar also had to be trained well, and had to practice their parts in a carefully choreographed sacred dance: coming out and going around at the right times and into the right places, genuflecting, standing together, handling incense and thurible, candles, bells, and paten. On this day they made it look second nature, and that, too, gives glory to God, for it anticipates the tranquility of order in the heavenly Jerusalem, where God is “all in all.”

And, amazingly, it was our chaplain’s first ever High Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Think of how much time and effort he put into preparing for this occasion! Workshops, studying, private practice, guidance from an expert acolyte… The humility, the persistence, the attention to detail, the love for the Church and all that is sacred to her and to her people—all of these things shone from his face, his voice, his manner and gestures.

As we have discovered together in our community over the years, the traditional Roman liturgy is like a mosaic or a tapestry, a grand design made up of countless little things: details in rubrics and ceremonial, details in music, details in prayers and postures—details that, taken all together, constitute a “little way” by which we ascend to the heights of heaven. All the threads of a tapestry, all the tiles of a mosaic, come together in just the right plan, just the right order, to produce something beautiful, and so too do the many people and many actions of the sacred liturgy. By means of His careful, patient, and detailed work in our lives, the Lord builds us into a temple where He can dwell—right here in this little house of God.

[This blog is a modified version of an article that first appeared in Wyoming Catholic College’s monthly newsletter Integritas.]

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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.

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Since the English is not meant to be sung, but only to tell people who do not understand Latin what the text means, a simple paraphrase in prose is sufficient. The versions are not always very literal. Literal translations from Latin hymns would often look odd in English. I have tried to give in a readable, generally rhythmic form the real meaning of the text.”

— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (1913)

Recent Posts

  • A Practical Method of Projecting Solfege for Chant
  • PDF Downloads • Four (4) Simple Pieces in Harmony for Men’s Choirs
  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.