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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Joy of Penance

Fr. David Friel · March 25, 2017

NLY SOMEONE who knows very little about music would say that major scales make for happy music and minor scales make for sad music. To say this is a gross over-simplification. For one thing, it expresses a narrow viewpoint, in the sense that major and minor scales are a feature of relatively recent, European music. Such a claim also has to ignore an enormous number of counter-examples that seem to contradict it. The somber bugle call, Taps, for example, is comprised of notes from a single major chord. Meanwhile, the popular Christmas carol, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, which extends “tidings of comfort and joy,” is written in E minor.

So it’s not as simple as “major = happy” and “minor = sad.”

Within any key or mode or major or minor scale, melodies can be composed that evoke a vast array of sentiments and responses. Music is the purveyor of a great richness, a true wealth of complexity.

IMILARLY, only someone who knows very little about the Church would say that Lent is a sad time and Easter is a happy time. To say this is another gross over-simplification. Such a claim, in fact, has to ignore counter-examples. Is there not a twinge of sadness, for example, in the feast of the Ascension, when our Lord’s Presence among us undergoes a change? And, in Lent, are there not moments of great joy, such as the Palm Sunday procession recalling our Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem? Indeed, there is more subtlety to both Lent and Paschaltide than might first appear obvious.

Does not our Lord acknowledge this very reality? On Ash Wednesday, the Gospel reading recounts this admonition from Jesus: “When you fast, do not be sad like the hypocrites.” Indeed, the Lord, Himself, recognizes that sadness and joy are never a strict duality, in total opposition to one another. Rather, it is often the case that the experience of one entails a little bit of the other, too.

This is important for us to remember in Lent. Most Catholics (and even many non-Catholic Christians) undertake a personal program of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during these penitential days. But the fruit of penance ought not to be sadness or dullness or melancholy. Our Lenten practices are not intended to make us gloomy or sullen or miserable. The fruits of our Lenten observance, rather, should be joy, peace, generosity, kindness, forbearance, love. Said another way, “being sad” is not intrinsic to penance and mortification. If our works of penance are accomplishing their purpose—namely, to conform us more closely to Christ—then should we not expect them to produce within us a spirit of joy?

UST over halfway through Lent, the Church reminds us of all this by giving us Laetare Sunday. The strictures of the season are lightened for today: the altar can be decorated with some flowers, the organ can be played on its own, and the priest wears rose-colored vestments.

We find further encouragement in the magnificent introit for today, from the Book of Isaiah, in which the Church sings: Laetare Ierusalem! “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and gather round, all you who love her. Rejoice in gladness, after having been in sorrow! Exult and be replenished with the consolation flowing from her motherly bosom.”

Lent and joy are not mutually exclusive. The penance of Lent teaches us, in fact, that joy does not derive solely from things that “feel good” and satisfy our appetites. It is actually by embracing difficult things that deny our appetites in an effort to satisfy the spiritual longings of our hearts that we derive the highest joys.

Sarah rejoiced when the Lord brought forth a son from her long barrenness. The crowd of five thousand was overjoyed when the Lord used a meager five loaves and two fish to transform their hunger into a superabundance. The Israelites praised God for bringing forth water from a rock in the desert. Let us not be surprised, therefore, if the Lord should use our Lenten mortification to bring about the fruits of joy and gladness.

Editor’s Note : It is also worth recalling that many melodies in the Graduale Romanum used for Lenten Sundays are also used for Eastertide. This fact is quite uncomfortable for those who insist upon a superficial relationship between text and melody.

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 Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

It’s good that you are in the USA, otherwise who is going to—in the best sense—make music?

— Ignaz Friedman writing to Josef Hofmann (4 January 1940)

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