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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

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“As late as 1834, British society had many restrictions on any person not adhering to the Anglican church. For example, Roman Catholics could not attend a university, serve on a city council, be a member of Parliament, serve in the armed forces, or even serve on a jury.”

— Regarding the Church of Henry VIII

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