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Corpus Christi Watershed

“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

Jacqueline Kennedy & The Roman Catholic Liturgy

Jeff Ostrowski · October 20, 2014

755 Jacqueline Jackie Kennedy OON AFTER the assassination of her husband, Jacqueline Kennedy instructed agents to go into special archives and research the funeral of Abraham Lincoln. She wanted JFK’s funeral arrangments to resemble Lincoln’s. Because the lights were controlled by a timer—only turned on during normal business hours—the agents had to use flashlights. (How cool is that?)

But why did Jacqueline Kennedy want the funeral to be modelled after Lincoln’s? Was she acting eccentric, similar to how she insisted upon wearing her blood-stained dress as Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on a Roman Catholic Missal? 1

I would suggest that Catholics who grasp the crucial role played by Tradition in our Faith do not require an explanation. Nor is an explanation required for those who understand the reasons behind the Church’s insistence on LITURGICAL TRADITION, like the priest’s vestments which—because they stretch back all the way to the Roman Empire—serve as a constant reminder of our Church’s antiquity.

If Jacqueline were asked why, she’d surely reply: “Traditions are important.”

756 Richard SOME PEOPLE WILL NEVER understand this. Similarly, some people will always mock the ancient ceremonies of the Church. Wagging their fingers, they’ll exclaim: “Why use liturgical torches? Why use candles? Those were used before electric lights were invented.” They’ll continue: “Why use music and prayers from the 6th century? Why perform so many ceremonial actions during the liturgy, such as having the priest intone the Gloria and Creed, or having the subdeacon guard the paten? These actions no longer serve the practical purposes they once did.”

To respond seems pointless. Either you get it, or you don’t. I fear some people never will.

So many fall down and worship modern “oracles” like Wikipedia. If Wikipedia tells them something, they accept it. If Wikipedia disputes it, they reject it. Years ago, such people were called philistines. They mock anything they don’t understand. A case in point is Robert Schumann’s “Sphinxes” from his Carnival, Opus 9. Wikipedia says not to play them, since they’re a secret “code” from Schumann to the performer. (Schumann was a bit strange.) Yet Rachmaninov, in his recording, does something creative with them. Who’s right? I’m sorry, but I’ll take Rachmaninov over Wikipedia any day.

Sometimes it takes considerable effort to come to an appreciation for that which is great. I still can’t believe WLP’s Vice-President attended a Latin Mass JUST ONE TIME and proceeded to draw conclusions. Can you imagine? It’s like someone picking up a Shakespeare play and saying, “Oh, I spent five minutes on it, and I didn’t care for it.” Or, it’s like someone visiting a new country for twenty minutes and saying, “Oh, I spent some time there. I don’t care for that place.”



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in on a Roman Catholic missal instead of a Bible, since that was all they had available on Air Force One. It was John F. Kennedy’s. (It probably wasn’t the Jogues Illuminated Missal, because that wouldn’t be produced for another five decades.)

By the way, Jackie Kennedy told LBJ’s wife she wore her blood-stained suit because “I want them to see what they have done to Jack.” However, during a truly remarkable audio interview from 1964 (revealed for the first time in 2011) Jackie Kennedy reveals that she thought Lyndon B. Johnson had killed her husband. Was the bloody dress meant to send a message to LBJ? Kennedy had no regrets about refusing to take the blood-stained suit off; her only regret was that she had washed the blood off her face before Johnson was sworn in.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Jacqueline Jackie Kennedy Onassis 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

    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
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —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

“To me nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so overcoming, as the Mass, said as it is among us. I could attend Masses for ever, and not be tired.”

— John Henry Cardinal Newman (1848)

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