• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Catholic Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

The Society for Catholic Liturgy

Fr. David Friel · October 12, 2014

HIS 21ST CENTURY is blessed by the ongoing work of numerous organizations committed to true liturgical reform. Equally favorable is the spirit of cooperation that flourishes among them. Without a doubt, at the scholarly level, there is no organization more excellent and timely than the Society for Catholic Liturgy (SCL).

On its website, the society describes itself as “a multidisciplinary association of Catholic scholars, teachers, pastors, and professionals—including architects and musicians—in the Anglophone world.” Since its founding in 1995, the non-profit group has promoted scholarly liturgical studies and practical renewal of the sacred liturgy. Earlier this month, SCL hosted its annual conference on the topic of “The Temple Transformed: Liturgy, Art, Music, Architecture, and the Fulfillment of the Old Testament.” Highlighting the impressive schedule of presentations was the keynote address given by Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, NE.

One of the chief works of SCL is the publication of Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal three times each year. In the present edition (Vol. 18, no. 2, 2014), readers will find contributions from two CCW bloggers. First, Andy Motyka has published therein a book review of the Saint Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal, Lectionary, and Gradual, published by the Pope John Paul II Institute for Liturgical Renewal. The review is excellent, both carefully considered and clearly expressed.

Among the three main articles in the volume, one is a piece I have written entitled The Propriety of the Propers: Toward the Independence of Liturgical Chant and Popular Hymnody. This article advocates for the restored role of the Proprium Missae in the Roman liturgy, focusing on the specific virtues of the propers. If further proposes the building up of the popular hymn tradition in its own native environment. Finally, in the article, I outline a pastoral plan for how to bolster both distinct genres.

If you would like to read this article in full, along with Andy’s book review, consider subscribing to Antiphon or even becoming a member of the Society for Catholic Liturgy. Among the many instruments of liturgical reform operating in today’s Church, SCL is one of the finest.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Authentic Liturgical Renewal Reform, Graduale Romanum Roman Gradual Propers, Hymns Replacing Propers, Jogues Illuminated Missal Lectionary Gradual, Propers, Secular vs Sacred Music at Mass, Singing the Mass, St Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

Fr. David Friel

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

—Jeff Ostrowski
5 April 2021 • When Girls Sing

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Iconographic tradition has theologically interpreted the manger and the swaddling cloths in terms of the theology of the Fathers. The child stiffly wrapped in bandages is seen as prefiguring the hour of his death: from the outset, he is the sacrificial victim, as we shall see more closely when we examine the reference to the first-born. The manger, then, was seen as a kind of altar.”

— Pope Benedict XVI (2012)

Recent Posts

  • Can You Spare 33 Seconds?
  • The Great Reset—for Your Choir?
  • “Adze” • Do you know this word?
  • PDF Download • Vespers for Holy Thursday?
  • PDF Download • “Sanctus for Three Voices” (Soprano, Alto, and Bass)

Copyright © 2021 Corpus Christi Watershed · Charles Garnier on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.