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Views from the Choir Loft

If you are having a bad day, this is what it means

Richard J. Clark · April 24, 2020

F YOU are having a bad day—if you are having a bad week…no—revise that—if you are having a rough year, here is what it means: It means you are human. It means you have a heart. It means you feel deeply. It means you are connected with your loved ones and fellow human beings. It means you are mourning and in grief. It means you are quite normal.

If you struggle now, you love deeply. In turn, know you are loved deeply. I hope you know and feel this. More importantly, God wants you to know this.

This is not to discount nor minimize serious suffering, much that is chronic, much that was ongoing. Cancer treatments continue. The loss of loved ones continue. Challenges great and small go on as before. The current pandemic “piles on” to a life that with certainty delivers challenge and pain, but also joy and love.

TODAY I SAW what I took as a reminder that of hope. Just outside the front steps of our house was a blooming yellow flower. But this flower was growing out in the cracks between rock and concrete. Yet it blooms.

If nothing else, it made me smile, reminding me that in placing our trust in God we will blossom even harsh conditions.

MEANWHILE, IT HAS NOT felt much like the Easter Season, nor like Spring bringing new life. No congregation, so choir, no ordinations of several new priests in a few weeks, and a canceled choir tour. I caught myself looking for a purple tie for a televised Mass. It still feels like Lent.

But instead of counting loss, a sense of gratitude is heightened. I am ever more grateful for work, simple opportunities, health, friends, family, and abundance of love. Eyes are opened to ongoing blessings and gifts from God. This is not loss but awakening to renewed life!

TODAY, WE CARRY A COMMON CROSS. This is in addition to many other heavy crosses you likely are already carrying. As Simon helped Jesus, we help each other. God knows your troubles as he has searched you, and he knows you.

I often find Psalm 139 a great source of comfort and reassurance. Here is a recording from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross with Richard Kelley, trumpet performing a meditation on Psalm 139: 1 “Lord, you have searched me, you know me.” There is grief. There is joy.

GRIEF AND SUFFERING often have one searching for meaning. From the Office of Readings from the Proslogion by Saint Anselm, bishop:

My soul, have you found what you are looking for? You were looking for God, and you have discovered that he is the supreme being, and that you could not possibly imagine anything more perfect. You have discovered that this supreme being is life itself, light, wisdom, goodness, eternal blessedness and blessed eternity. He is everywhere, and he is timeless.

Oremus pro invicem
Let us pray for each other.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: April 24, 2020

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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).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

The liturgical reform bears absolutely no relation to what is called “desacralization” and in no way intends to lend support to the phenomenon of “secularizing the world.” Accordingly the rites must retain their dignity, spirit of reverence, and sacred character.

— Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (5 September 1970)

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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.

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