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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

Laws of life

Andrew R. Motyka · October 9, 2013

hings have been quite hectic for the last couple of weeks, leading to my missing my scheduled post last week. Apologies all around. This week I would briefly like to focus on a brief prayer that my choir prays prior to each rehearsal and Mass. It is the RSCM Choristers’ Prayer, and I learned it while working with Charles Cole at the 2011 CMAA Colloquium in Pittsburgh:

Bless, O Lord, us Thy servants who minister in Thy temple. Grant that what we sing with our lips, we may believe in our hearts, and what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth in our lives. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

According to the site linked above, the prayer has been almost unchanged since its origins as a blessing for cantors from the Fourth Council of Carthage (ca. 398). What I find particularly interesting about this prayer, though, is its simple articulation of an important concept in liturgical theology: lex orandi, lex credendi.

Lex orandi, lex credendi is a mnemonic for the idea that “the law of prayer is the law of belief.” Our liturgical prayer, in form and execution, bears heavily on our faith. This is why careful ars celebrandi (i.e., the style and reverence of sacramental celebration) is to be fostered. Irreverent treatment of the matters of liturgy will, over time, damage the faithful’s understanding and attitude toward sacred matter. As one of my graduate professors, Leo Nestor, used to say of careless and vapid musical choices: “That kind of music will rot your teeth and erode your faith.”

Likewise, a reverent ars celebrandi fosters a more healthy faith. When serious things are treated seriously by the priest, servers, choir, and other ministers, it has an influence on the way those things are treated by the faithful. What I also love about this prayer is continuation into the next part of the traditional principle: lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi. Our law of prayer forms our law of belief, which forms our lives. Remember that the liturgy is not educational, but it is formative, so serious celebration and good musical choices will assist in the forming of the very lives of the faithful.

Again, as Dr. Nestor used to say, “Always be careful what words you put into the mouths of the people of God.” We should take that advice seriously.

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

    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF • “Lectionary Comparison Chart”
    Various shell corporations (in an effort to make money selling Sacred Scripture) have tinkered with the LECTIONARY texts in a way that’s shameful. It’s no wonder Catholics in the pews know so few Bible passages by heart. Without authorization, these shell corporations pervert the official texts. Consider the Responsorial Psalm for the 1st Sunday of Advent (Year A). If you download this PDF comparison chart you’ll notice each country randomly omits certain sections. Such tinkering has gone on for 60+ years—and it’s reprehensible.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Monsignor Klaus Gamber Speaks!
    An interesting quotation from the eminent liturgist, Monsignor Klaus Gamber (d. 1989): “According to canon law, a person’s affiliation with a particular liturgical rite is determined by that person’s rite of baptism. Given that the liturgical reforms of Pope Paul VI created a de facto new rite, one could assert that those among the faithful who were baptized according to the traditional Roman rite have the right to continue following that rite; just as priests who were ordained according to the traditional Ordo have the right to exercise the very rite that they were ordained to celebrate.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In chronological order, [Dom Pierre Combe] traces the Gregorian reform from its beginnings under Dom Guéranger in 1833, to the problems of the Vatican Commission on Sacred Music in the first decade of the 20th century. As one reads the topic headings and development of their content, one wonders how such an innocent and un-warlike subject such as Gregorian chant could have been the focal point of such an intense and continuing battle among scholars and churchmen for so many decades.”

— Dr. Theodore Marier (1968)

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  • PDF • “Lectionary Comparison Chart”
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  • Monsignor Klaus Gamber Speaks!

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