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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

RCIA and the Importance of Holy Week Choir Rehearsals

Richard J. Clark · February 28, 2014

EW THINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT than the liturgy’s role in evangelization. So for many of us, preparations and choir rehearsals for Holy Week have already begun. Lent, Holy Week, and the Easter Season present an opportunity to evangelize to two very important groups. One is the influx of Catholics who do not attend mass regularly, but perhaps attend on Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, or Easter Sunday. We have only one or two shots to make a prayerful impression. Rather than being dismissive, it is our duty to be welcoming and show the best the Church has to offer.

The second group has a great deal in common with our own spiritual growth as music ministers: those preparing for baptism, confirmation and reception into the Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). This commonality may seem surprising, but their process of growth mirrors ours, and hopefully that of the entire Church’s.

RECENTLY, DR. GALIPEAU, Chief Publishing Officer for the J. S. Paluch Company, discussed the Church’s vision for catechumens in his article Frustration and Hope: The Evolution of the RCIA or not-RCIA. Dr. Galipeau cites Ad Gentes, the Second Vatican Council’s “Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church”:

14. Those who, through the Church, have accepted from God a belief in Christ are admitted to the catechumenate by liturgical rites. The catechumenate is not a mere expounding of doctrines and precepts, but a training period in the whole Christian life, and an apprenticeship duty drawn out, during which disciples are joined to Christ their Teacher. Therefore, catechumens should be properly instructed in the mystery of salvation and in the practice of Gospel morality, and by sacred rites which are to be held at successive intervals, they should be introduced into the life of faith, of liturgy, and of love, which is led by the People of God. (emphasis added)

Dr. Galipeau notes:

“This paragraph envisions a parish catechumenate that is like a ‘dynamic novitiate,’ as a participant at one of my workshops said a few years ago. He was a Christian brother who, he said, ‘finally saw the light,’ embracing the vision of the council and rejecting what he had inherited in his pastoral practice, namely an RCIA program that was little more than an ‘expounding of doctrines and precepts’ in a classroom setting.”

CATECHUMENS ARE DEEPLY IMPACTED by the liturgies, rites and Scrutinies. Therefore, we must prepare scrupulously and be at our best to present the Church’s treasures new and old. Remember too, that their spiritual formation doesn’t end with the Easter Vigil. It has only begun. We might see the Easter Season of fifty days as their infancy—perhaps something like the exciting early days for parents with their newborn child. Like parents, we must nurture them through this time in the work we do in liturgy.

Sounds like a heavy responsibility? It is, but a joyful one.

Holy Week rehearsals can be long and intense, and for good reason. Preparing reverent and prayerful liturgical music is an immersion into the “mystery of salvation.” (Ad Gentes, §14) Therefore, the sung liturgies become an immersion into the “life of faith, of liturgy, and of love, which is led by the People of God.” (Ibid.) Directors regularly must remind their musicians during rehearsals of the apprenticeship and training of the catechumens as well as our own ongoing spiritual and musical growth. We contribute to their early formation. We continue to nurture our own music and prayer life to do our jobs better. What we do matters to them and for the entire Christian community.

CONCLUDE WITH A STORY of a catechumen, some years ago at St. Cecilia Parish in Boston. After several months of classes, he arrived at a difficult conclusion. During the Ash Wednesday liturgy, he was overcome with a realization that receiving the sacraments and being received into the Church was far more than he initially bargained for. He described a sense of awe that overwhelmed him during the liturgy. What he was undertaking could no longer be taken lightly. His conclusion was that he should not continue with RCIA.

Was this a failure of the RCIA program? No, this was success! His training and experience in the liturgy lead to classic discernment. His hesitation was one of the healthiest signs that his spiritual engagement was a true process – a “training period” and “apprenticeship” in the life of the Church. While he did eventually forge on (“joined to Christ, their Teacher”), his Ash Wednesday epiphany could have only strengthened his faith. His eyes were opened to the profundity that is a life with Christ. If only we all could have such an experience!

Meanwhile, we must remember to humbly serve God and our community — those close and those far from the Church. In doing so, you will be transformed. Your choir will be transformed.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Beauty in the Catholic Liturgy, RCIA Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “21 September 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 21 September 2025) discusses some theological items—supported by certain verses in ancient Catholic hymns—and ends by explaining why certain folks become delirious with jealousy when they observe feats by Monsignor Ronald Knox.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!
    It’s always amusing to see old diocesan newspapers—in huge capital letters—advertising the Cheapest Catholic Paper in the United States. The correspondent who sent this to me added: “I can think of certain composers, published by large companies in our own day, who could truthfully brag about the most tawdry compositions in the world!” I wonder what she could have meant by such a cryptic comment…
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Dom Murray Harmonies
    Along with so many others, I have deep respect for Dom Gregory Gregory Murray, who produced this clever harmonization (PDF) of “O SANCTISSIMA.” It’s always amazed me that Dom Gregory—a truly inspired composer—was so confused when it came to GREGORIAN CHANT. Throughout his life, he published contradictory statements, veering back-and-forth like a weather vane. Toward the end of his life, he declared: “I see clearly that the need for reform in liturgical music arose, not in the 18th and 19th centuries, but a thousand years earlier—in the 8th and 9th centuries, or even before that. The abuses began, not with Mozart and Haydn, but with those over-enthusiastic medieval musicians who developed the elaborate and flamboyant Gregorian Chant.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Karl Keating • “Canonization Questions”
    We were sent an internet statement (screenshot) that’s garnered significant attention, in which KARL KEATING (founder of Catholic Answers) speaks about whether canonizations are infallible. Mr. Keating seems unaware that canonizations are—in the final analysis—a theological opinion. They are not infallible, as explained in this 2014 article by a priest (with a doctorate in theology) who worked for multiple popes. Mr. Keating says: “I’m unaware of such claims arising from any quarter until several recent popes disliked by these Traditionalists were canonized, including John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. Usually Paul VI receives the most opprobrium.” Mr. Keating is incorrect; e.g. Father John Vianney, several centuries ago, taught clearly that canonizations are not infallible. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen would be another example, although clearly much more recent than Saint John Vianney.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Vatican II Changed Wedding Propers?
    It’s often claimed that the wedding propers were changed after Vatican II. As a matter of fact, that is a false claim. The EDITIO VATICANA propers (Introit: Deus Israel) remained the same after Vatican II. However, a new set of propers (Introit: Ecce Deus) was provided for optional use. The same holds true for the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great on 3 September: the 1943 propers (Introit: Si díligis me) were provided for optional use, but the traditional PROPRIA MISSAE (Introit: Sacerdótes Dei) were retained; they weren’t gotten rid of. The Ordo Cantus Missae (1970) makes this crystal clear, as does the Missal itself. There was an effort made in the post-conciliar years to eliminate so-called “Neo-Gregorian” chants, but (contrary to popular belief) most were retained: cf. the feast of Christ the King, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and so forth.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

We cannot exaggerate our indebtedness to Dr. Julian’s “Dictionary of Hymnology,” a monumental work, without which we could not have reached the high standard of accuracy, as to both texts and authorship, which we set before us when entering upon our labours.

— Committee for “New English Hymnal” (1906)

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