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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

That Satisfying Click

Andrew R. Motyka · August 28, 2013

T MAY COME AS A SURPRISE to you, but I am a fairly odd individual. For example, when most people get furniture or other items from places like IKEA, they hate getting home and assembling them. I am the opposite. I truly enjoy putting these things like that together (my wife regularly reminds me that this is one of the best things about being married to me. Aren’t I a catch?). When we bought a new office desk, I stood in the room, with all the boxes unpacked and the components scattered all around me on the floor, and smiled.

One of the things I enjoy most about these experiences is the tangible feedback when you get a part into just the right place. When you get the right peg in the right slot, when you turn the locknut just the right amount, you hear that “satisfying click.” You just know you have it right. You have gotten the right piece in the right place at the right time.

A while back, I was interviewed by a small town newspaper asking what it was about Church music that appealed most to me. Many people would probably respond, “I enjoy praising God,” or “Giving my talents to the Lord is right,” and these are all fine responses with which I agree. However, what truly drew me into music in the liturgy was singing sacred music in its proper context.

I was like most college music majors. I sang in the choir and performed many staples of choral literature. Many of these were sacred pieces. Especially in our chamber singers, we sang many motets and religious songs. I loved them. They were musically satisfying. I didn’t even feel like anything was missing in them.

The first time I sang a motet in the context of the liturgy, I felt it: that satisfying click. I was doing something beautiful, in the right place, at the right time, and for the right reason. Suddenly, the beautiful piece that I had enjoyed so much before took on a totally different dimension. When the song became prayer, it was so much more than I had ever experienced before. My liturgical-musical experience has been marked by that same satisfaction countless times. I am singing (or playing, or conducting) a fitting piece, at the right time, in the right place.

This analogy extends not only in the corporate, but largely into my personal life of faith, too. My relationship with Christ has that same dimension: the grace of God, through prayer and other works, just fits into my life perfectly. It gives that satisfying click.

Here is where the analogy breaks down, though (as all analogies inevitably do). God doesn’t really fit neatly into an instruction booklet like that. He is not the long-awaited straight piece that allows you to finally complete that Tetris. Rather, His grace is more like a viscous ooze that fills all of the holes in which you are missing pieces, with plenty left over in the end.

Maybe it isn’t a satisfying click. Maybe it’s more of a satisfying blorp.

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

President’s Corner

    2-Voice Arr. • “Creator of the Starry Height”
    Do you direct a choir consisting of women or children only? (Some call this a “treble” choir.) Download a two-voice arrangement of Creator of the Starry Height set to the tune of IOANNES by clicking here and then scrolling to the bottom. In our times, this hymn is normally used during ADVENT, and the Latin title is: Cónditor alme síderum. It’s important to say “cónditor”—placing the accent on the antepenult—because ‘condítor’ in Latin means “one who embalms the dead.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Equal Voices” Choir Pieces
    My colleague, CORRINNE MAY, has posted some delightful compositions for equal voices: that is, choirs consisting of all men or all women. Included there are settings of the “Ave Maria” and “Tantum Ergo.” They strike me as relatively simple and not excessively lengthy. (In other words, within reach of volunteer singers.) Even better, all the scores have been made available as instant PDF downloads, completely free of charge. Bravo!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

“It is the choir that can make the most valuable contribution to the liturgy; it is through the choir that significant numbers of the congregation can make a significant and valuable offering in the community’s act of worship. The choir links directly academic excellence, artistic creation, disciplined attention and self expression in the making of something fitting for the worship of God.”

— Father Daniel Higgins, Choirmaster at Saint Edmund’s College, Ware

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