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

Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

I Claim You for Christ

Richard J. Clark · April 8, 2016

HE SACRAMENT of baptism is rich in theology and deep meaning for our everyday lives, no less eternal life. It is also widely misunderstood—not that I will pretend to understand everything about it. One can witness or read the Rite of Baptism over and over and garner greater meaning with each experience. You can read the Rite of Baptism with the various forms here. This includes text in English and Latin.

DOWNLOAD a very simple Baptism Acclamation SATB or UNISON:

    * *  PDF • You Have Put on Christ (SATB) with congr. insert

During the Easer Vigil, many of us may have witnessed the baptism of adults. I always emphasize to the choir the vast importance of their work for the Elect. Not only do they appreciate the music enormously, the music is very much part of their formation. Why? The music is wedded to the liturgy and hence the sacraments they have prepared for months to receive. The impact of reverent and beautiful liturgy upon the newly baptized is immeasurable.

It is very emotional to witness adults baptized, confirmed, and entering into the Church. They have made a conscious choice to make a radical change in their lives. This kind of action strengthens the entire faith community and challenges all of us to experience metanoia in our lives.

This deliberate choice of an adult is obvious and easy to grasp. It is an occasion for great joy. For infants, there is something different, but equally extraordinary at work. It is the conscious choice of the entire Christian Community, and it is found in the Rite of Baptism.

NE OF THE MOST EMOTIONAL experiences of my life was during the baptism of my second child. The words hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew they were coming, but time froze, and I was bowled over in my heart: “I claim you for Christ….”

Here is the text from the Reception of the Child:

79. N., the Christian community welcomes you with great joy. In its name I claim you for Christ our Savior by the sign of his cross. I now trace the cross on your forehead, and invite your parents (and godparents) to do the same.

The conscious choice begins with the parents, but this choice is made manifest and is strengthened by the entire faith community. The priest, acting In persona Christi, is not alone claiming the child for Christ. Nor is the decision to do so merely the priest’s. It is in fact the entire Christian Community that claims the child as ministers of that child’s faith. (This is in part why parish communities are so important in our daily lives.) From the introduction to Baptism for Children:

4. “…it is clear that the faith in which the children are baptized is not the private profession of the individual family, but the common treasure of the whole Church of Christ.

It is nothing short of a fiercely passionate loving act to have one’s child clothed in Christ—to raise one’s child in the faith. And it isn’t easy. As a parent (and as a prolific sinner), I don’t know precisely how to do all the right things for my children. But my desire my for my children is for them to experience the love my wife and I have for our faith. As adults, I pray (as fervently as St. Monica) that they will continue their loving relationship with God through a life of faith and service in the Church.

IGHT NOW IT IS MY WIFE’S and my responsibility to nurture and develop that faith in our children. This formation begins with baptism: “The foundation of formation is the sacrament itself…” (Baptism for Children, Introduction §3)

In my own experience, while I had a very “strict” religious upbringing, it was the enthusiastic love for the Catholic faith my parents radiated that took deep root within my heart—roots that have stayed with me and my sisters throughout our lives. My wife has a similar story. There is no question we want to pass along the greatest jewel we have to offer our children: a loving relationship with God rooted in the faith of the Church. As parents, we could not possibly consider doing otherwise.

My wife and I are currently anticipating the birth of our fourth child. The sonogram above is that of our child. Did we make the decision to claim our child for Christ long before this image was taken?

You better believe it.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: baptism, RCIA Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

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

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —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

Agnes De Mille: “When I see my work, I take for granted what other people value in it. I see only its ineptitude, inorganic flaws, and crudities. I am not pleased or satisfied.” — Martha Graham: “No artist is pleased.” ADM: “But then there is no satisfaction?” — MG: “No satisfaction whatever at any time,” she cried out passionately. “There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”

— “Martha Graham on the Life-Force of Creativity”

Recent Posts

  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)
  • August 2025 • “Colorado Sacred Music Conference”
  • New “Latin/English Missal” for the Novus Ordo
  • Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
  • Bishop François Charrière Vs. Hannibal Bugnini

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 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.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!

But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”

We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.

Our president has written the following letter:

President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)

Are you able to support us?

clock.png

Time's up