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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

    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Music List” • 28th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 12 October 2025, which is the 28th 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 dazzling feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on which source text is chosen and what each translator wants to emphasize. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I have devoted myself too much, I think, to Bach, to Mozart and to Liszt. I wish now that I could emancipate myself from them. Schumann is no use to me any more, Beethoven only with an effort and strict selection. Chopin has attracted and repelled me all my life; and I have heard his music too often—prostituted, profaned, vulgarized … I do not know what to choose for a new repertory!”

— Ferruccio Busoni (to a colleague in 1922, when he was 56 years old)

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