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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

Church Musicians are called to be Good Shepherds

Andrew Leung · May 11, 2017

CTL Good Shepherd 1 AST SUNDAY was “Good Shepherd Sunday”, for those of us who attended the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. And for those who goes to the Traditional Latin Mass, it was celebrated the Sunday before, the 3rd Sunday after Easter. Obviously, Jesus is calling the bishops and the priests to be good shepherds like Himself in the Gospel of John (10:1-18); but I think he is also calling all church musicians to be good shepherds. We, too, are constantly proclaiming, and even in a sense preaching sometimes, the Word of God as we are serving at the liturgy. We should always do our best to assist the principle shepherds, the priests, in a special way by singing the liturgy.

The first step of being a good shepherd is to know the flock: to be interested in them, their needs, their likes and dislikes, their daily life and their ways of communication. It is very important to first establish a relationship with the people we are serving, and not just any relationship, but good and positive relationships. We can only proceed onto serving the flock when we truly know them and understand their needs.

Then, once we know our sheep, we need to offer them the best and dedicating our whole self to serve them. It is very important that we give them what is “the best”, not just “what they want”. This is especially important when we help plan weddings and funerals. We can’t just play or sing what people want, but only what is appropriate for the liturgy. Our goal is to bring people to Christ, the ultimate good shepherd. Sometimes, I would like to think that we are merely the shepherd dogs of our Lord, who carry out His command and help others to follow Him.

Being good shepherds, we must also be prepared to lay down our lives for the sheep, that is to be willing to make sacrifices for them. Most of us don’t get to enjoy the “holiday seasons” like the rest of the world, we probably will be working overtime at the church. Our evenings are going to be occupied by rehearsals and meetings at the parish. And of course, there often are emotional situations around the parish music program. A good shepherd will accept these sacrifices without complain.

A Franciscan friar, also a famous singer who performs around the world, once said to me: “when you sing (especially the high notes), you must take deep breaths, and then allow the Holy Spirit sing through your mouth as the air flow out. Imagine that the Holy Spirit is the air that you are breathing.” Similarly, we must let the Holy Spirit guide us as we make music to glorify God. We are not just performing, singing and playing music in the name of Christ; but we need to allow Christ to touch the hearts of the people through our music.

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 Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“Older priests, therefore, should receive younger priests as true brothers and help them in their first undertakings and priestly duties. The older ones should likewise endeavor to understand the mentality of younger priests, even though it be different from their own, and follow their projects with good will.”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (7 dec 1965)

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