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Views from the Choir Loft

The Real Enemy: Mediocrity

Aurelio Porfiri · March 17, 2015

154 B16 T IS NOT INFREQUENT to read or hear, in church debates, about fights between conservative and progressive Catholics. Especially the last two pontificates—Benedict XVI and Francis—have polarized much of the Catholic world; as if we must select one side or the other to feel part of “society.” Of course liturgy and liturgical music have known similar situations, intensified after Benedict’s promulgation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on 7 July 2007. The “liturgical wars” (to use the Anglo-Saxon term) became more and more violent, and the recent 50th anniversary of the first vernacular Mass by Pope Paul VI in the roman church of Ognissanti has once again brought the “liturgical problem” to the forefront.

Our liturgies—are they more effective and spiritually appealing in recent decades? I would say a clear “no.” The liturgy supposes a rite, and the rite assists passage from the DAILY LIFE DIMENSION to another dimension: the dimension of God. Anthropology has said a lot about rites of passage, especially in the studies of Arnold Van Gennep (1873-1957) and Victor Turner (1920-1983). In Italy, Aldo Natale Terrin and Roberto Tagliaferri—taking inspiration from Van Gennep and Turner—have presented to the liturgical community the problem of the rite and the importance of the limen (“threshold”). Having considered all the important contributions brought by these scholars on the topic of liturgy, we come to realize that the real problem is not between progressive and conservative Catholics, but between the attention to the dynamics of the liturgy and mediocrity.

MEDIOCRITY IS THE REAL ENEMY of liturgy and of liturgical music. In every diocese wherein we contribute, we must ask: where is the balance here? On the side of attention to the needs of the rite? Or is everything dominated by mediocrity? But what is mediocrity?

Mediocrity is the “virtue” of those who choose the medius; staying in a sort of limbo between good and evil. I mean, they are not bad…but not even good. They don’t access the limen; they prefer to stay on our side of the limen—a more comfortable position that does not disturb the dull existence they’re leading.

How many liturgies in our dioceses are the result of mediocrities? The causes are legion. For instance, we don’t have the courage to tell people they’re incompetent, so the liturgy pays for our lack of courage. When everyone—without any study or serious analysis of the liturgy and its needs—can decide how the rite should be performed or which songs should be sung you have mediocrity arising as the sun in the east. Experts may be dangerous, too; but you can imagine how dangerous are the ones who talk without any serious consideration of the liturgical discipline.

The situation, then, is dramatic. Some people are using the liturgy not to seek Christ, but for reassurance. They want to be confirmed on their (already accepted) medius state, continuing to use religion as a tool to feel better and avoid looking inside themselves. They refuse to accept that religion—and especially the meeting with Christ—is not a cup of tea every day at 5:00pm 1 but falling from a horse and accepting the blindness of sin and torment of “otherness.” Real liturgy is for daring hearts, not for uninspired mediocrities. If you don’t accept that in order to find yourselves you must lose yourselves, you will simply lose what you think you have found.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   That is a rite, too, and in some cultures may have a very deep meaning.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Reform of the Reform, Renewal of the Renewal Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Aurelio Porfiri

Renowned as composer, conductor, theorist, author, pedagogue, and organist, Aurelio Porfiri has served the Church on multiple continents at the highest levels. Born and raised in Italy, he currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Composer in Residence for Santa Rosa de Lima School (Macao, China).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

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

“These French offices represent a new case of the old tendency towards local modification—which the Council of Trent had meant to repress. They are commonly attributed to Gallican ideas and are supposed to be not free from Jansenist venom. Some of these local French uses survived almost to our own time. They were supplanted by the Roman books in the 19th century, chiefly by the exertions of Dom Prosper Guéranger (d. 1875).”

— Dr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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