Views from the Choir Loft

Online Advent Calendars 2017

Veronica Brandt · December 9, 2017

HAT WOULD ADVENT BE without Advent Calendars? Having a visual way to communicate how much time is left before Christmas can be useful in a house with children eager for parties and presents. It can also be mildly alarming for the adults as the days fly by.

This year I decided to cobble together an online Advent Calendar for my family. The plan was to have my kids put together material for each day. I underestimated the editorial support needed. You can see the results at advent.brandt.id.au.

For a more thoughtful source of inspiration this Advent, visit the xt3 Advent Calendar.

Xt3 began in the lead up to World Youth Day in Sydney 2008 and continues to be a Good Thing coming from Sydney, Australia. Each day reveals the Gospel reading of the day as well as a daily meditation from their collection of short recordings.

There are a few online services springing up for creating your own online Advent Calendar. Be sure to link to your favorite in the comments on our Facebook page.

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

About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. As editor, she has produced fine publications (as well as valuable reprints) dealing with Gregorian chant, hymnody, Latin, and other subjects. These publications are distinguished on account of their tastefulness. She lives in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her husband Peter and six children.

Sonata during the Gradual?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote seventeen Church Sonatas between 1772 and 1780. These are short pieces intended to be played between the Epistle and the Gospel (during Mass). Shortly after Mozart left Salzburg, the Archbishop mandated that an appropriate choral motet or congregational hymn be sung at that point in the liturgy, with the result that the “Epistle Sonata” fell into disuse.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Note from a reader (25 June 2020)

“Just visited your website for the first time 5 minutes ago. Was that struck by the beauty of the chant and the immense gift of such a beautiful collection that can be downloaded with ease…at no charge! In awe of the gift of this extensive content and the amount of labor that has gone into all of it. Please receive our support and encouragement! God bless and keep you all. Praise be to Jesus Christ, now and forever! Thank you truly.” —Signed, The P____ Family

—Jeff Ostrowski

Positive Message from a Catholic Priest

Today, we received this wonderful message from a Catholic Priest: I want to say thank you for everything you have done to bring back the sense of the sacred in The liturgy. We are going through a liturgical renewal here in the parish where I was assigned as a parochial vicar. I’ve only been a priest for 1 year and 8 days! We are beginning to use your psalms for our English Masses.

—Jeff Ostrowski