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Views from the Choir Loft

Advent Meditation

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · November 27, 2014

N A FEW DAYS, we begin Advent. I would imagine that you, dear reader, like me, are not as ready to enter this season as one might ideally like to be. We are, as usual, preoccupied with a lot of everyday concerns, some of them quite trivial and others momentous. We are (perhaps all too willingly) subject to the hegemony of secular time, of work time, recreation time, the shifting back and forth between labor and rest that is characteristic of fallen man. The liturgy is quietly calling us out of ourselves, out of our time and place, into a different story—a story that is actually more our own than the one that our society, our culture, weaves around us.

This, I think, is what Benedict XVI was getting at some years ago when he preached, at Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent:

We all have the experience, in our daily life, of having little time for the Lord and little time even for ourselves. One winds up absorbed by ‘doing’. Isn’t it perhaps true that often it is exactly activity that possesses us, society with its multiple interests that monopolizes our attention? Isn’t it perhaps true that one dedicates lots of time to diversions and amusements of different kinds? … Advent invites us to stand in silence in order to understand a presence. … How often God causes us to perceive something of His love!

“Advent invites us to stand in silence in order to understand a presence.” How true! The presence of the Lord in any Catholic Church: think of it! There He is, in the tabernacle, in the most Blessed Sacrament, He is really, truly, substantially present. He is present, but we are not present; as Augustine says, He is within, but I am without. O sweet and sacred silence—how much we need you! What a boon you confer upon us! You take our agitated and fragmented self, and gently invite it back to unity, simplicity, peace. The Prince of Peace: He is present, ready to be understood by those who allow themselves to be overtaken by silence.

AINT JOSEPH MIGHT BE CONSIDERED our particular patron in this Advent summons to silence. In his Angelus address on December 18, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI said this about Joseph:

His silence is permeated with the contemplation of the mystery of God, in an attitude of total availability to the divine will. In other words, the silence of St. Joseph does not demonstrate an empty interior, but rather the fullness of faith that he carries in his heart, and that guides each of his thoughts and actions. A silence through which Joseph, together with Mary, guard the Word of God, known through sacred Scripture, comparing it continually to the events of the life of Jesus; a silence interwoven with constant prayer, a prayer of blessing of the Lord, of adoration of his holy will and of boundless confidence in his providence. It is not exaggerated to say that Jesus will learn—on a human level—precisely from “father” Joseph this intense interior life, which is the condition of authentic righteousness, the “interior righteousness,” which one day he will teach to his disciples (cf. Matthew 5:20). Let’s allow ourselves to be “infected” by the silence of St. Joseph! It is so lacking in this world which is often too noisy, which is not favorable to recollection and listening to the voice of God. In this time of preparation for Christmas, let us cultivate interior recollection so as to receive and keep Jesus in our lives.

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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President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

“Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another… It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are matters of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy. […] Men may go to Protestant Churches and to Catholic, may get good from both and belong to neither.”

— Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman (May of 1879)

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