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Views from the Choir Loft

“What Shall I Render to the Lord…”

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · July 24, 2014

HEN ABOUT TO RECEIVE the Precious Blood in the traditional Latin Mass, the priest utters the verse from the Psalm: “What shall I render to the Lord for all that He hath rendered to me? I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the Name of the Lord. Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies.”

In the Summa theologiae (IIa-IIae, q. 80, a. 1), Saint Thomas quotes the first verse―“What shall I render to the Lord for all that He hath rendered to me?”―as a perfect illustration of the virtue of religion, whereby we give what we can to the Lord but can never give enough, never give a gift equal to what He has given us.

Reading this years ago made me see that the placing of that verse right at the climactic point when the Lord’s Blood is drunk emphasizes the aspect of justice in the Mass: that man strives to make a return, but the best return he can make is actually to receive Jesus Christ into his own body and allow Jesus to thank the Father in and through him, through his own finite freedom.

That is why the prayer immediately continues: “I will take the chalice of salvation, and I will call upon the Name of the Lord.” The infinitely just and holy God comes, in mercy, to dwell within, so that man might be able to offer himself, joined to Christ, as a worthy oblation to God. The mercy of God, entering into the soul, makes it possible for man to be justly related to God―for the Christian incorporated into Christ has “God from God, Light from Light” within him, and between the Father and Son there is the most exalted love and the most sublime exemplar of justice, as if each were eternally giving to the other his perfect due. The Father not only generates the Son, but “takes” the Son, receives Him back, in an eternal reciprocal love. Holy Communion places one into this reciprocal love. That is why the chalice is spoken of as “calicem salutis perpetuae.”

This little prayer fittingly concludes: “Praising I will call upon the Lord, and I shall be saved from my enemies.” What a cause of praise―to receive the Lord himself, the very one upon whom we are calling! What a cause of protection from our enemies! The Lord will save us, for He has come to dwell within us and to increase the abiding presence of His grace.

Please visit THIS PAGE to learn more about Dr. Kwasniewski’s Sacred Choral Works and the audio CDs that contain recordings of the pieces.

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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    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
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    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
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Friedman met Egon Wellesz in Altaussee on one of the walks, and Egon started to speak about atonal music—and Ignaz replied: “No, no, no. Melody for me.”

— From the Life of Ignazy Friedman

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