• 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)

  • About
  • Symposium
  • Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Art is an act of love.

Richard J. Clark · December 16, 2016

OD SENDS US different kinds of people in our lives. Sometimes, he sends difficult people who remain with us for a long time. Then he sends others, who like angels remind us that “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Ps. 23:4)

Or perhaps more portentously, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

Not only do we survive, but thrive. And the difficult people? They are angels as well to make us much better at what we do. Or they offer clarity in making life choices. Another blessing. Or they hearken us deeper into prayer….yet another profound blessing.

Difficult people, especially in roles of leadership, often make for difficult times. For an artist, this may yield a mixed result, as it often has shown in history. It may feed into a determination to create more fully. It may also make one more grateful for not just talented people, but instead genuinely good-hearted people—thus clarifying more life choices.

At certain times, an artist requires refuge, as Jehan Alain wrote of his “Le jardin suspendu” calling it the “inviolable refuge”. Taking refuge in prayer, the act of composing sacred music is a sanctuary no one can take away. Perhaps like adoration before our Lord, composing on the Word of God is time spent just being with God. It is an act of supreme love. Like accompanying a lifelong friend, one’s child or spouse, just being with God—whom we love—is more important than anything else in the world. It is more important than accomplishing anything society deems important.

Difficult situations, difficult people, any difficulty can place a person into a distressed state of mind, ranging from clinical depression to simply ordinary unease. Each of us carries a unique cross. This can feel lonely, but recall that God has chosen a cross for each of us to carry.

Some of us may feel called to turn the cross into sacred art, and therefore, prayer. Also, let us not forget to turn joy into prayer! This prayer may refine and focus a further calling, a further decision. But that is secondary to simply being with the God who loved us before we were born. Ps. 139: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Create art.
Create art in prayer.
Create love.

Art is an act of love.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

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

Quick Thoughts

16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • Gorgeous Book

If there is a more beautiful book than Abbat Pothier’s 1888 Processionale Monasticum, I don’t know what it might be. This gorgeous tome was today added to the Saint John Lalande Online Library. I wish I owned a physical copy.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“…I started down the road of the liturgy, and this became a continuous process of growth into a grand reality transcending all particular individuals and generations, a reality that became an occasion for me of ever-new amazement and discovery. The incredible reality of the Catholic liturgy has accompanied me through all phases of life, and so I shall have to speak of it time and again.”

— Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Recent Posts

  • “Gregorian Chant Not In Danger Pope Tells French”
  • PDF Download • “O Salutaris” (Modern Setting)
  • Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2022
  • PDF Download • 2022 “Vespers Booklet” (99 Pages)
  • “Playing the Pipe Organ” • By Richard Nixon

Copyright © 2022 Corpus Christi Watershed · Gabriel Lalemant 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.