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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Young Father Ratzinger Offers Mass In Bavaria

Jeff Ostrowski · March 9, 2013

ERE ARE TWO pictures that were sent to me. I am not sure where these pictures came from. The first one is a young Fr. Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), taken on 17 August, 1952. The picture may possibly have come from this website [url], where you can download a bunch more high quality images of Fr. Ratzinger, like this one [image]. Some will remember that when we first began Views from the Choir Loft (December 2012), we used a 1951 picture of the newly ordained Fr. Ratzinger serving as Subdeacon (read more here and here). I’ll talk about the second picture in a minute.

We are grateful to have precious images like these, of such a holy and great man as Pope Benedict XVI at an early (I almost said “nascent”) stage of his priesthood. Viewing them, ideas may present themselves to the mind like, “Oh, I wish there were a billion more of these pictures.” However, that gets one thinking a little deeper. In today’s day and age, it is actually possible to video tape every moment of one’s life from birth. I know this, because I have often been tempted to do so with my children. For instance, during the last two hours, my daughter has done the most amazing, splendid, remarkably cute things imaginable. I cannot even list them all here, but I will give one example: when the water in the bath is being drained, this 2-year-old girl always says, “Bye, water!” and waves to it as it goes down the drain. These are the moments that make a parent want to, literally, record every moment of a child’s life.

And yet . . . when we start to really ponder, we realize this is not good. Too much photography is bad. It might encourage one to focus too much on “legacy.” After all, everybody knows deep down that “legacy” is worthless. What matters is whether you go to Heaven or Hell when you die. Nothing else matters. A person who dies and goes to Hell will not be thinking, for all eternity, “Well, I’m in Hell, but at least I made a name for myself when I was alive.” Nobody will be thinking that. Nobody in Hell will be saying, “I’m in Hell, but at least people are on the internet downloading my latest video.” There is no need to keep going on and on about this. It ought to be obvious to all, even though most of us go to great lengths to avoid thinking about these “four last things.”

I would, therefore, submit to the reader that we can go “overboard” on taking pictures and videos of our lives. Besides, too many pictures might remind us of the bad as well as the good. For instance, the second image (below) would seem to be a 1950s picture of the Mass at a military base. I cannot help but notice that several of the men are not kneeling and appear not to care what is happening. “Seems like the more things change, the more things stay the same,” as somebody once said . . .

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —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

It is frightful even to think there are children, victims of abortion, who will never see the light of day.

— Pope Francis (13 January 2014)

Recent Posts

  • “What Martin Luther Said…”
  • “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Worship the Lord in Holy Attire
  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

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