ONE OF AMERICA’s landmark pipe organs, the E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings Organ, Opus 801 in Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross has been silent for over two years. Affectionately known as “801,” this organ with over 5,300 pipes and 101 ranks was protected from construction dust during a nearly two-year renovation of…
Author: Richard J. Clark
Broken Rosaries and a Triptych of Wisdom
BROKEN ROSARY beads can be highly frustrating! It happens all too frequently. Such frustration certainly works against prayer and contemplation! First grain of wisdom: simple words of consolation from a friend, now a priest said, “That means they’re being used.” Well, no kidding! That’s pretty obvious. And perhaps profound. What has this to do with…
Chant Based Resources from World Library Publications
From World Library Publications: Introit Hymns ~ Christoph Tietze Hymn Tune Introits: Singing the Sundays of the Liturgical Year – Kathleen Pluth – WLP Communion Antiphons by Richard J. Clark ~ World Library Publications Antiphon texts from the Roman Missal, Third Edition (Keyboard, Optional SATB, Assembly) Communion Antiphons for Advent • LISTEN Communion Antiphons for the Christmas…
Funerals: The Most Challenging Pastoral Responsibility
WE HAVE ALL been there. As pastoral musicians, at times one experiences particularly difficult and emotional funerals. They could include the death of a child or bright promising young adult. There is devastating tragedy and those who battled illness or addiction. Maybe it is a parent of young children. Such funerals can weigh the heavily…
“Woman of No Distinction” World Premiere
CHRIS KINSELY wrote a landmark poem in 2006 about the Samaritan woman at the well and her encounter with Jesus. What makes this poem unique is its perspective: written entirely from the point of view of the woman. This poem has much to teach us today. (See the poem below.) Jennifer Lester, Director of The…
Donald J. Clark • 1931-2019 • Words of Remembrance
THANK YOU all for coming today. Your prayers and support mean the world to me, my mother, my sisters, Laura and Joanne, and all of Donald and Anna’s grandchildren. I want to thank this beautiful faith community at St. William the Abbott. My parents have been parishioners here for half a century as they moved…
New England Catholic Choral Festival & Mass • 2019
IT’S NEVER just about the music. Singing liturgical music from the great rich heritage of our Roman Catholic faith is about something else: nurturing faith through the Sacred Liturgy. If you are not familiar with the American Federation Pueri Cantores choir festivals, I urge you to explore this opportunity which is open to any young…
Hope • A Side of the Boston Cathedral No One Sees
RECENTLY BEGAN a new life—an extension of the old, but a new life, unmistakably. I struggle some days missing dear friends, but they have clearly not left me, nor I them. Then I experience several unexpected joys of my new life (challenges and all) and there is hope. Hope because I’m called to serve differently…
The Announcement of Easter and the Moveable Feasts • 2019
AUL J. MURRAY, Director of Music and Organist of Church of Our Saviour, New York, New York, has set the Announcement of Easter and the Moveable Feasts for the Novus Ordo. He has kindly made it available here for free download. While, the chant can be found in the Roman Missal Appendix, it is very…
Musicians in Collaborative Parishes • Sharing Best Practices
HERE IS NO shortage of challenge in pastoral ministry. This is an understatement of a lifetime! Then why do we do it? Perhaps because parish work, despite its potential obstacles, is among the most rewarding. Among such challenges faced in the Archdiocese of Boston (and well beyond) are a shortage of priests, shifting demographics, decline…