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Views from the Choir Loft

A Triple Cord: Liturgy, Aquinas, and CST

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · May 1, 2014

0319_Bosco_two-2-pillars Famous dream of St. John Bosco. HAT IS THE CENTER of the Catholic’s existence? The Holy Eucharist. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life…” And this means that the Mass, above all other prayers, will be the activity that defines a Catholic as such. As the Mass is, so will the Catholic be. Weak, anemic, bland, and trendy liturgy will produce weak, anemic, bland, and trendy Catholics, many of whom will fall away for sheer boredom, distracted by the allurements of consumerism. Those who remain will be shaped by the ars celebrandi like clay in the potter’s hands. But if the Mass is potent, weighty, full of spiritual salt, and defiantly countercultural, so will its participants be: fed on Light, they are ready to oppose the rulers of this present darkness. They are ready to enthrone Christ as King in their souls―and as King of the universe, of every nation, people, government, and culture, including America’s. And they are ready to listen to the Popes who, over the past 700 years, have singled out St. Thomas Aquinas as the theologian par excellence of the Catholic Church, the teacher from whose heavenly wisdom all may freely drink, the servant of truth who will humbly lead them to the feet of the one and only Teacher, Jesus Christ.

The traditional liturgy, with its archaic wisdom, noble pageantry, and sublime beauty; the avid study of St. Thomas Aquinas, teacher of the universal church; Catholic social doctrine in its fullness, based on the social kingship of Christ: these three things stand or fall together. Is it really coincidental that these three all at once nearly disappeared after Vatican II and even became the object of bitter enmity and persecution? It is not for me to say what came first or what caused what. All I see is that they did stand together, and they have fallen together. Is it any surprise that, after their fall, the Church is in a state of almost total chaos, liturgically, doctrinally, socially, in spite of the superficial “signs of hope” that we hear so much about?

A true, heart-felt adherence to tradition is expressed in reverence for all the Fathers and Doctors, especially St. Thomas; reverence for the sacred liturgy they prayed and handed down to us with an observant love that extended to the tiniest details; reverence for the kind of Christian society they aspired to build and, once built, defended to the hilt. Take away any one of these things, and you take away the basis for the others.

And what of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary? Such devotion is the foundation on which true ecclesial reform can and must be built. Where there is true devotion to our Lady, there is also a deep love of the Church, a total commitment to the spread of the Gospel, and hence, an openness to the social dimension of the faith as well as to its theological inheritance. A Marian Catholic is, in the social realm, a supporter of the kingship of Christ; a Marian Catholic is, in the academic realm, a disciple of St. Thomas Aquinas, because Holy Mother Church has declared him her Common Doctor, and Mary is the model of obedience to authority; a Marian Catholic is, in the liturgical realm, a lover of silence, contemplation, and beauty, as was the Virgin of Nazareth. In this sense, one who would give himself entirely in prayer and praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary would necessarily be moving towards this triad of goods, and thus, be advancing the reign of the great King over all the earth.

Please visit THIS PAGE to learn more about Dr. Kwasniewski’s exciting new publication,
Sacred Choral Works, a 273-page collection of a cappella choir music for the Liturgy.

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 Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“These liturgists protest that the choir must be encouraged, but in the same breath we are told its purpose is to lead the congregation in the singing of hymns and other unison music. These directions from non-musicians who have never created a musical sound—let alone direct a choir—are the cause of consternation among practicing musicians, both instrumentalists and singers.”

— Monsignor Richard J. Schuler (30 November 1967)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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