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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Is This The World’s Greatest Cry Room?

Jeff Ostrowski · April 16, 2015

913 Cry Room HEN WE STARTED to have children, attending Mass became a nightmare. In Texas, many churches don’t have cry rooms, so I was forced to stand in the hot sun for more than an hour with a child who was misbehaving. I kept asking myself, “Why am I here? Am I truly attending Mass?” I would become pretty angry. 1

The Fraternity of Saint Peter is currently offering Mass at Saint Victor in Hollywood. This church has the greatest cry room of all time. It’s literally right next to the Sanctuary, so the parents and children can see and hear everything. They can truly be part of Mass. But, they’re behind glass, so nobody is bothered when the kids cry.

Here’s a CRY ROOM PHOTO taken last Sunday by my wife:

916 World's Greatest Cry Room


Fr. Valentine Young always used to say, “I’m never bothered when children cry at Mass. It means we’ve got a future.” A lady once carried a crying child from a church where Fulton J. Sheen was preaching. The archbishop declared, “Madame, there’s no reason to remove that child. He’s not bothering me.” The lady called back, “You’re bothering him!”

Once, when I was outside of a Texas church, my child was gently tapping on a cement wall. An usher approached me and said, “You need to stop that or you need to leave. Your son is bothering the Father.” When he made reference to “the Father” he meant the priest, a young man I’d known many years. I was certain the priest was NOT bothered, but I didn’t press the issue. I intended to send the priest an email relating this incident, but never did. (I decided that our young priests have enough on their plates these days!)



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   What a strange thing! When I was an Altar Boy, I was never bothered by crying children; yet when I’m trapped in a church filled with 400+ people and nobody’s children except mine are crying I look at things differently. By the way, in Texas, there was a priest who would brag to everyone—I’m not kidding—about how he was “the most conservative priest in the diocese.” He told everyone how much he loved children, encouraging them to sit in the front of church. However, if any children started to make noise, this priest would literally stop Mass, glaring and frowning until the parent took the child outside. I was astonished by his hypocrisy, but I suppose people without children just can’t understand the reality of the situation. For the record, I thought about calling today’s article “Views from the Cry Room.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal, FSSP Los Angeles New Parish 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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President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Giovanni Doni is known for having changed the name of note “Ut,” renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that 1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut,” and 2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the tonic and root of the world. There is much academic speculation that Giovanni Doni also wanted to imprint himself into musical canon in perpetuity because “Do” is also ulteriorly an abbreviation for his family name.

— Giovanni Battista Doni died in 1647AD

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