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“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)

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Difficulty of Cultivating a Prayerful Focus for Musicians

Richard J. Clark · August 12, 2016

AM NO EXPERT. Ironically, prayer can be a struggle for church musicians. Grueling schedules, juggling personalities, and navigating politics (as normal routine) can rob prayerful focus. Musical focus is challenging enough. Add to it the vulnerability of being on display and judged on a weekly basis by anyone and everyone. (When it comes to music, everyone is an expert.) Sometimes, this can be spiritually draining, if not edifying.

So where does prayer come in? It only comes in the quiet, and it may have to come when the Sunday Masses are over. Or we need to “block out the noise” during Mass—challenging to do over the course of seven or eight Masses per weekend for some.

I don’t have an answer, or good advice. However, I have found prayer in a few things I will list here. I need these reminders for myself. Perhaps this list may be of some help. What is on your list?

1 • Preparation is prayer. Every bit of it. Be forever mindful of this.

2 • Being patient with all kinds of people and personalities, including those who get on your nerves—is prayer. I am mindful that I get on theirs too. I ask for their patience as well.

3 • Expressing gratitude to God for the opportunity to serve Him week in and week out is prayer.

4 • Composing on scripture is wellspring of prayer. I have come to rely upon this to save my life.

5 • Bringing the scriptures alive for your choir (and hopefully all the faithful) is prayer.

6 • Teaching is nothing but prayer.

7 • Continuing to serve God cheerfully (and very often flexibly) in the midst of professional crisis or adversity is prayer. Since dealing with some level of adversity is the norm, there is great opportunity for personal sanctification!

8 • Remember we are deeply flawed sinners—a most humbling state. This reality calls us to greater compassion to those who may appear to be easy to judge. Mindfulness of this is mercy, and is prayer.

9 • In humility, seek strength and nourishment from the sacraments.

LSO IRONIC, PRAYING WITH FAMILY AT MASS is rather impossible when working for the Church. It is especially challenging with small children. Again, I have no easy answers, but to take every available opportunity to cultivate prayer with your children. Teaching your children is a powerful form of prayer, for there are no greater prayers than those that spring from children. They may take to prayer reluctantly at times, but at others, it pours forth with powerful innocence and purity.

Children are also far more sensitive than adults realize to the needs of those around them. They understand the need for prayer. Take every opportunity to encourage children to not only learn specific prayers, but to cultivate a personal prayer life by speaking to God in their own words. These are powerful words.

Finally, prayer that seems to have nothing to do with music, or prayer that is far away from our jobs, will make us better musicians. More importantly, it will make us better servants of God, his people, our families, and each other.

Oremus pro invicem
Pray for each other.

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

    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

I basically don’t favor Cardinal Kasper’s proposal; I don’t think it’s coherent. To my mind, “indissoluble” means “unbreakable.”

— Daniel Cardinal DiNardo (19 October 2015)

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