Views from the Choir Loft

Christmas at Christ the King (late!)

Corpus Christi Watershed · February 4, 2013

EO LABRECQUE sent us an E-mail on 29 December 2012 letting us know about a beautiful blog on the Catholic Champion. Due to the volume of mail we receive, it is not always easy to get to things in a timely manner, but this blog seemed to good to pass up, even though it is no longer Christmastide.

By visiting this website [url], you can view splendid pictures of the candlelit Christmas Mass in Sarasota, Florida. We hope our readers will continue to send us notification of events that we can help to make known to a wider audience.

To learn more, you may want to visit their website [url].

The photographer says: We had another wonderful candle lit Christmas Mass this year at Christ the King in Sarasota, Florida. I went up front to the left of the altar to take some pictures and I was enraptured. I never went back to my pew. I just knelt on the floor, prayed and took pictures the entire Mass. Here are a few of them. Thanks again to Father Fryar for giving us such a memorable Christmas Mass.

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

“Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”

All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser

To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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