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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Homeschooling (And Sacred Music) Snuck Up On Us

Veronica Moreno · June 14, 2019

84119 Homeschooling Catholic OMESCHOOLING kind of snuck up on us. When our oldest daughter approached school-age I thought, “How can I send her away to school so soon? She’s only five!”

To be honest, the seeds of our decision to homeschool were planted long before this moment, but here I had to face a choice: who was going to spend every day raising my daughter, helping her to be a saint? It had to be me. I was going to be the one to expose her to the good, the true, and the beautiful.

And so here I am, Veronica Moreno, mother of five, former special education teacher, wife, and cantor at the local parish. I’m not the most pedagogically-savvy, nor the most talented musician, but I currently live where education and music meet, and so I wanted to share some thoughts about that.

84116 homeschool BEFORE STUDYING ACADEMICS, but after teaching the Faith, I wanted my children to meet the sacred in all of the arts. For this reason, we listen to and recite Dickinson’s poetry, we have artist studies where we observe and live with Vermeer’s paintings, we have composer studies where our ears drink up Mozart’s sonatas, and we have a piano teacher who visits our two oldest once a week. But there is something different about sacred art.

Especially sacred music. Most astoundingly, when the music is for the Sacrifice of the Mass.

So, in preparing for this past year’s hymn-chant study, the materials provided by CCWatershed have been invaluable. As a busy homeschooling mom, having an easy-to-print pdf document of various ancient hymns and chants (especially those in neumes) has made my school planning easier. Additionally, there’s often recorded music to download or stream!

I am not the best sight reader, so instead of sitting at the piano plunking out the notes, these recordings help me and my children learn the hymn/chant much quicker.

At the start of this year, we learned “Ave Maris Stella.”

84177 ave maris stella
The chant might be easy to find, but where else can you versions like what CCWatershed provides? That may be four versions of ancient manuscripts; an accompaniment for keyboard; a 16th century part book corresponding to the setting by Victoria (a Spanish priest), a modern version; to say nothing of the practice videos they created for the Victoria Mass based on “Ave Maris Stella” such as this one.

My own children get to experience the rich tradition of our Church; they encounter the sacred. In turn, as a cantor I am also able to take these hymns and ancient chants to sing where they were meant to be sung: at the Holy Mass. In this way, we keep the faith alive at the kitchen table and at the altar.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: May 14, 2021

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About Veronica Moreno

Veronica Moreno is married to a teacher and homeschools five children. She has been cantor at her local Catholic parish for over a decade.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    PDF • “For General Use Until Advent”
    If you conduct a volunteer choir, you might consider using this Simple Piece #40273 (“Adésto Sáncta Trínitas”) which can be used during the rest of the liturgical season until Advent. It's based on the well known hymn tune: OLD HUNDREDTH. Rehearsal videos are available at #40691. A live recording of #40273 (“Adésto Sáncta Trínitas”) by a volunteer choir is here (#40065).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • (This Coming Sunday)
    Our volunteer choir appreciates training videos, so here's my attempt at recording “Exáudi Dómine Vocem Meam,” which is the INTROIT for this coming Sunday. This coming Sunday is Dominica Post Ascensionem (“Sunday after the feast of the Ascension”). It is sung according to the official rhythm of the Catholic Church.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Volunteer Choir Attempts “Kýrie Eléison”
    My volunteer choir attempted the polyphonic KYRIE that will be sung at this year's Sacred Music Symposium. If you're interested, you can listen to the live recording from last Sunday. The piece is based on the ancient plainchant hymn melody: Ave Maris Stella. Polyphony like this is truly intricate and wonderful. It reminds me of the quote by Artur Schnabel: “music that's greater than it can be performed.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Finally, let us not forget that listening especially is active participation. When we listen to the performances of Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion, we can fully participate actively in the Passion of Christ. And so, if we listen attentively to the singing and organ music during the celebration of the divine services, our participation is not less complete. The real significance of this objective and very important aspect is insufficiently understood.”

— Flor Peeters

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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.