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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

I am a fraud: A Life of Service

Richard J. Clark · December 19, 2014

CHALLENGE OF THE LITURGICAL calendar is that there is very little letup. There is no time for “coasting” along. Much of the beauty of our faith is the depth and richness of its liturgical life. This especially includes Ordinary Time (a name so vastly misunderstood: I once heard a priest from an order that shall not be named refer to it as “Regular Time.”) There is no time during the year to rest on one’s laurels. While unrelenting, I believe the richness of liturgical worship is what draws may of us in –- for life. As Goffredo Boselli observes:

“To live from the liturgy one celebrates means to live from what one experiences there: mercy invoked, the word of God heard, thanks given, Eucharist received as communion. If believers live from the liturgy, they will experience it differently, because it bears within it the spiritual energies that are essential for their growth in the spiritual life.” (The Spiritual Meaning of the Liturgy, pg. xi)

But this time of year, when church musicians are particularly busy, it is often difficult to attend to our interior prayer life and live from the liturgy—no less contemplate why we entered such a life of service. Most likely, we are navigating church politics, or if we are lucky, we are given the OK to slowly build a sacred music program over time. Even more likely, we are building a program in the face of adversity of all kinds. Yet we persist.

Why? Probably because it is not just love for what we do, but love of God and love for God’s people in the inevitable face of such adversity. Our work must be centered in Christ – not in our own wants and desires. Such work is service. Service is prayer.

ECENTLY, I REACHED TWO rather ignominious milestones: twenty-five years at St. Cecilia Parish in Boston and ten years at St. Mary’s Chapel at Boston College. Longevity is not a credential. In some ways, these milestones are a product of unusual circumstances and sheer tenacity to build upon my previous work (self-serving perhaps?).

However, I must also make a confession: I have thought about leaving this career—or at the very least, full-time parish work—most every day for much of the last decade.

But I am a fraud. I haven’t gone away. In fact, deep within, it is perhaps parish work that is the most rewarding. It is there that we truly can serve God’s people in the trenches—meet them where they are at and hope to assist in prayer and worship of God. Parish work does not insulate one from all that is challenging in human nature. In fact, parishes bring us closer to the beauty of God’s people most often because of our human frailty.

On another note, I didn’t attend the Berklee College of Music to study sacred music or the organ. (Interestingly, Berklee’s training has been key to my work – most notably, their excellent training in theory, composition, and counterpoint.) I have had vastly different ambitions in mind for my life and career. But God quickly had other plans: a lifetime of service.

It has taken a couple of decades for me to embrace that. God calls us to service at his pleasure. This often means doing much that we don’t want to do. But know that God’s beauty can be found there. For this I am grateful.

I am also grateful for the people I have met and served. Furthermore, I am grateful that I get to be their music director—doing it with wonderful musicians and for wonderful people. Along the way, there have been many to whom I truly owe my life and career.

Ultimately, it is God who sustains our work. When he calls, may we respond with joy.

Soli Deo Gloria

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 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

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 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 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.

— ‘His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)’

Recent Posts

  • PDF Downloads • Four (4) Simple Pieces in Harmony for Men’s Choirs
  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?

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