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Views from the Choir Loft

Post-Pandemic Liturgy

Wilfrid Jones · May 15, 2020

As the Scottish historian Sir Tom Devine once joked, “the future is not my period”, but having just read Amy Welborn’s pithy article in Medium, it seemed worth sharing her observation with our readers.

  • No touching. Noli me tangere: not yet taken as an episcopal motto, but one for us all to adopt. Since offertory processions involve touching the sacred vessels, perhaps it will suffice for the priest to have the chalice and ciborium (if there is one) on the altar from the start of mass and the liturgical actions at the offertory could be enriched by the offertory antiphon.
  • No shared Sign of Peace. And with its suspension, perhaps also the permanent disappearance of the “song of peace” that still persists in some places before the Agnus Dei. Perhaps in the Church’s wisdom, this was one reason that the pax took a more ceremonial form until the liturgical reform in the first place.
  • No congregational singing. Meaning the need to rediscover the true liturgical participation which liturgical singing symbolises and promotes. It also gives us the opportunity to rediscover the proper antiphons which can enter into a dialogue with the other scripture readings casting light upon particular themes and drawing connections between them.
  • So any music should be provided by a choir or cantor. Meaning a greater need for an aesthetic of beauty now that the alternative, an aesthetic of “participation”, is not possible (a false binary, but an operative one).
  • People should be super cautious about receiving Communion. At least that isn’t new.
  • No Communion from the shared chalice for the congregation. As one Dominican student brother has observed: communion under one kind but only in the hand, so no one is happy. That said, with fewer people going to communion, the short antiphon from the Graduale Romanum or Graduale Parvum in Latin or English would seem a more appropriate length than a hymn.
  • Maybe even the priest should think about wearing a mask. Or better still, face in the same direction as the congregation to absolutely minimize contagion. Since he will have to do a lot of the singing to make up for the lack of congregational chanting, this will be particularly important.
  • No socializing before or after Mass. Though choir coffee will doubtless continue via Zoom/FaceTime even when the parousia comes.

All in all, if ever there was a time for a less busy, more contemplative, less wordy, more beautiful liturgy, that time is now. In this precedented time, let’s use the precedents already established by the Church to join in her worship of God and “never let a crisis go to waste.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: May 16, 2020

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About Wilfrid Jones

Wilfrid Jones is a PhD student in the theology faculty of the Albert-Ludwigs University of Freiburg, studying the theology and practice of sacred music.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Unfortunately, on the one hand a deadly error in judgment placed the official leadership of this committee into the hands of a man who—though generous and brave—was not very knowledgeable: Cardinal Lercaro. He was utterly incapable of resisting the maneuvers of the mealy-mouthed scoundrel that the Neapolitan Vincentian, Bugnini, a man as bereft of culture as he was of basic honesty, soon revealed himself to be.”

— ‘Fr. Louis Bouyer, an important member of the Consilium’

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