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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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Alabama Assessment!

We received this evaluation of Symposium 2022 from an Alabama participant:

“Oh, how the Symposium echoed the words of Cardinal Merry Del Val: …choosing only what is most conformed to Thy glory, which is my final aim. In one short and fast paced week, the faculty and attendees showed me the hand of God and our Lady working in our lives. The wide range of education—from Gregorian Chant, jazz modes in organ improvisation, to ‘staying sane’ while leading a choir—were certainly first-class knowledge from the best teachers of the art. However, the most powerful lesson was learning how to pray as a choir. The sacrifice of putting songs together, taking time to learn the sacred text, meditating on the church teaching through the chants, and gaining the virtues required to persevere in these duties were not only qualities of a choir but of a saint. The sanctification of the lives of the attendees was a beautiful outcome of this event … and that in itself is worth more than a beautifully-sung Solesmes style chant!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“From six in the evening, his martyrdom had continued through the ghastly night until nine o’clock in the morning. After fifteen hours of torture rarely if ever surpassed in the bloody annals of the Iroquois, the soul of Gabriel Lalemant was freed from its charred and mutilated prison and summoned to join his comrade Jean de Brébeuf in the radiant splendor of God. March 17th, 1649, was the date; for Brébeuf it had been the sixteenth.”

— ‘Fr. John A. O’Brien, speaking of St. Gabriel Lalemant’

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