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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

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

    “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 idea that the Roman basilica is the ideal design for a Christian church building because it made it possible for the priest and the people to face one another is complete nonsense. That would have been the last thing that the early Christians had in mind.”

— Father Louis Bouyer

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