• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
    • Views from the Choir Loft • “Our Team”
    • Our Editorial Policy
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Save the Merit, Save the World

Veronica Brandt · February 13, 2016

Keep it secret T THE BEGINNING OF LENT Lent I tend to read too much about how to keep this penitential season. Being unable to fast 1 I try to think of creative ways to keep Lent. Then an article like this brings me right back down to earth.

Don’t lose the merit: Keep it secret, keep it safe – written by a Benedictine Oblate drawing on her formation with the Canadian Oratorians. She elaborates on St Philip Neri’s exhortation amare nescire or to love to be unknown.

It really reinforces one of the recent Gospel readings:

But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth. That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. — Matthew 6:3-4

Of course this goes for prayer and fasting as well. When we tell our good deeds, we receive the praise of our listeners and lose some of the reward which would otherwise have been ours.

Many visionaries showed this in their great reluctance to tell of the favours God granted their souls. Many saints lives were only written under obedience and many such accounts surprised their daily companions by how much the saintly soul had kept hidden.

Then the really interesting part of the article was where it compares different sorts of public prayer gatherings. You know the sort that focus on the community of believers.

I can tell you there’s nothing more embarrassing, more excruciating and cringe-inducing for me than being asked to “share” my “faith” or my “prayer life”

But she goes on to show how it is important to come together for prayer and very possible to do so without losing the merit.

… there is a huge difference between formal, public liturgy – what one of the Oratorian Fathers called with a wink the “bowing and scraping” – and what goes on “cor ad cor”.

And this what brought the real idea of Lenten penances home to me. It’s not something I can show off as an example to my kids. It’s not a competition to out do our Orthodox brethren. It’s about a personal relationship with Jesus – cor ad cor or heart to heart.

You can read the whole article here.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   A new Brandtling is expected to arrive around September.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“So, as in delirium a man talks in a long-forgotten tongue, now—when her heart is rent—the Catholic Church drops twenty centuries without an effort, and speaks as she spoke underground in Rome, and in Paul’s hired house, and in Crete and Alexandria and Jerusalem.”

— A non-Catholic describing the “Hagios O Theos” of Good Friday in 1906

Recent Posts

  • Some Questions Answered
  • Concerning Alterations to the Vatican Edition
  • Introducing the CRCCM Repertoire Project
  • “Everybody Loves Raymond” Actress Responds to Cardinal Dolan
  • PDF Download • “Kyrie for the Ordinary Form in Honor of Saint Thomas More”

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.