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Views from the Choir Loft

St. Matthew, St. Jane, and the End of a Liturgical Year

Keven Smith · November 23, 2020


‘M OUT FOR ANOTHER Friday morning run. I feel tense until I remind myself to settle into a comfortable rhythm. My favorite running book says to fall forward, let the ground drag the legs backward, and then pick up each foot at the back end of a stride. The idea is to expend as little effort as possible and let gravity—a force with which we can’t negotiate—do the work for you. Do it right, and you won’t experience any soreness from your run.

Fall forward, fall forward. I think I’m doing it right. But I often catch myself trying.

Never Waste a Tribulation

Another liturgical year is coming to an end. One of the neat things about being Catholic is that New Year’s comes early and quietly. (It’s hard not to mock the commonly held notion that life will somehow be different when we wake up on January 1—and it’s going to be unbearable to read social media posts that day from people who think that a sinister force called 2020 is now powerless against them.)

In the 1962 missal, the Last Sunday after Pentecost takes its Gospel reading from St. Matthew chapter 24. The abomination of desolation. The end of the world. This reading is clear about the trials we’ll have to accept if we’re still here for the Second Coming. There’s no mention of earning our way out of it. Even the elect will suffer:

For there shall be then great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be. And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened. (Mt. 24: 21-22)

We’ve endured a liturgical year full of tribulations that God allowed. Our music programs were interrupted, scaled-down, and abnormal. Of course, dwelling on these challenges would be like cursing gravity for pulling us down on our morning run. God’s permissive will is like gravity: it never rests, and we can’t change it, so we might as well figure out how to work with it in ways that benefit us.

None of this is to say we shouldn’t fight back when officials violate our rights under the guise of public safety. But in the end, God will allow us to endure certain trials for our salvation. How, then, can we master ourselves to the point that we may enjoy the fruits of these trials?

Try This Prayer by St. Jane de Chantal

In my second organ lesson with my new teacher, I’m playing through Bach’s Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland (BWV 599). It’s not a difficult piece for experienced organists, but it hits many of my weaknesses as a beginner. At one point, I hear an unplanned dissonance and pause to figure out why.

“It’s the pedal,” my teacher says. “But take a look at your right hand.” It’s locked in a death grip as I hold a chord. We both laugh.

“This piece is going to be all about body awareness for you,” he says. “Relax.”

The trouble with trying harder is that it often makes us think about the result rather than the process. It seduces us into believing we’re in total control. It obliterates Now and shifts our focus to a Next that may never come.

This is why I’ve been turning to St. Jane de Chantal and her Prayer of Abandonment for help in not only my spiritual life but also my musical life. An excerpt:

I am determined to leave all to Thee, taking no part therein save by keeping myself in peace in Thy arms, desiring nothing except as Thou incitest me to desire, to will, to wish.

There’s no Next without Now—and we can’t focus on Now unless we practice abandonment. When we let go and embrace Now with all its risks and imperfections, we can finally enjoy that crucial moment of intense silence before the first downbeat or exploit that bold new possibility that presents itself during an organ improvisation.

It has little to do with trying harder. Fall forward, fall forward. 

Your Redemption Is at Hand

I wake up on Saturday morning to aching calves—but they’re not sore enough to stop me from practicing Bach.

In an empty church, I tell myself I don’t care about the right notes. There’s nobody here but God, Who will be neither impressed by a perfect rendition nor offended by mistakes.

As I focus on relaxing my right hand, I’m startled to realize that my feet are pedaling correctly without my permission. The seamless multitasking throws me off, and I stop.

Don’t think, I tell myself. Fall forward.

We’re all falling forward into a new year, and as always, liturgy is the best teacher. One week after the end of the world, we begin Advent with new hope:

Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved; And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. (Lk. 21: 26-28)

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal, Latin Mass, Traditional Latin Mass Tridentine Rite Last Updated: November 24, 2020

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About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(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

“Ways to receive Our Lord as King of the Universe…read and reflect on the Sunday Scriptures, plan your whole weekend around receiving your King, wear your best garments, spend time in quiet, kneel to receive Him, receive Him on the tongue, offer silent time of thanks after mass.”

— Most Rev. Bishop Strickland (15 December)

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