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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

Praise of God Demands Song

Fr. David Friel · January 18, 2015

HE EIGHT-YEAR pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI was an extraordinary period. In those years, the faithful of the Church were blessed by Papa Ratzinger’s gentle humility, his prayerful spirituality, and his exquisite clarity of thought. Needless to say, the Pope Emeritus remains worthy of emulation for many of his personal attributes. Not the least of his traits deserving our imitation is his ars celebrandi, at once totally faithful to the rule of the Church and steeped in reverent beauty.

So many of the Holy Fathers of the past century have distinguished themselves in one way or another. John Paul II was energetic and athletic; John XXIII combined simple piety with a down-home touch; Leo XIII gave societal standing to the working class; Francis has a contagious love for the poor. In the case of Benedict XVI, not only is he a world-class theologian, but he is also a musician of uncommon ability and discerning taste.

For this reason, Pope Benedict’s teachings and commentary on sacred music require special attention. Although he sadly never delivered an official document of papal teaching on the subject, there were numerous occasions on which he did offer reflections on the role of music in liturgy. These we may add to his corpus of similar writings from before his election to the See of Rome.

My favorite words from Benedict on the topic of sacred music actually come not from any prepared text. They were, instead, a set of unprepared remarks made following a concert given by the Cappella Musicale Pontificia on December 20, 2005. I present these impromptu remarks in full below:

Dear Maestro, Mons. Liberto,
Dear Choir Boys of the Sistine Chapel,
Dear Singers, Teachers and Collaborators,

I did not have time to prepare a talk, although my idea was quite simple: to say, in these days before Christmas, that they are days of thanksgiving for gifts; to say, in these days, a “thank you” to you for all that you give us the whole year round, for this great contribution to the glory of God and to the joy of the people on earth.

On the night when the Saviour was born, the Angels proclaimed Christ’s birth to the shepherds with these words: “Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus.” Tradition has always claimed that the Angels did not simply speak like people, but sang, and that their song was of such heavenly beauty that it revealed the beauty of Heaven.

Tradition also claims that choirs of treble voices can enable us to hear an echo of the angels’ singing. And it is true that, in the singing of the Sistine Chapel Choir at the important liturgies, we can sense the presence of the heavenly liturgy, we can feel a little of the beauty through which the Lord wants to communicate his joy to us.

In fact, praise of God demands song. Therefore, throughout the Old Testament—with Moses and with David—until the New Testament—in the Book of Revelation—we hear once again the hymns of the heavenly liturgy that offer a lesson for our liturgy in God’s Church.

Consequently, your contribution is essential to the liturgy: it is not a marginal embellishment, for the liturgy as such demands this beauty, it needs song to praise God and to give joy to those taking part.

I wish to thank you with all my heart for this major contribution. The Pope’s liturgy, the liturgy in St. Peter’s, must be an example of liturgy for the world. You know that today, with television and radio, a vast number of people in every part of the world follow this liturgy. From here, they learn or do not learn what the liturgy is, how the liturgy should be celebrated. Thus, it is very important not only that our masters of ceremony teach the Pope how best to celebrate the liturgy, but also that the Sistine Choir be an example of how to convey beauty in song, in praise of God.

I know—since my brother has, as it were, enabled me to have a first-hand experience of a choir of treble voices—that this beauty demands a huge commitment and many sacrifices on your part.
You have to rise early, boys, in order to get to school; I know Rome’s traffic, and I can therefore guess how difficult it often is for you to arrive on time. Then, you have to practice to the very end in order to achieve this perfection with the competence that we have just heard once again.

I thank you for all this, also because at these celebrations, while your companions go on long outings, you have to stay in the Basilica to sing and sometimes even have to wait for an hour before being able to sing; and yet you are always ready to make your contribution.

I feel this gratitude every time, and on this occasion I wanted to tell you of it. Christmas is the feast of gifts. God, Himself, gave us the greatest gift. He gave us Himself. He took flesh, He made Himself a child. God gave us the true gift and thus also invites us to give, to give with our hearts; to give a little of ourselves to God and to our neighbour. He also asks us to offer signs of our kindness, of our willingness to offer joy to others.

So I, too, therefore, have attempted to make my gratitude visible through presents that will now be given out to you as an expression of my gratitude, which is too strong for words.

These words may be nearly a decade old, yet they remain refreshing today.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Beauty, Beauty in the Catholic Liturgy, Catholic Youth Choirs, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Liturgy, Pope Benedict XVI Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “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
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

No concession should ever be made for the singing of the Exsultet, in whole or in part, in the vernacular.

— ‘Fr. Augustin Bea, S.J. in the years immediately before the Second Vatican Council’

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  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)

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