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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

Why We Must Never Fail To Sing Holy Music At Mass

Jeff Ostrowski · March 24, 2013

HOULD WE SING holy, beautiful, dignified, and inspiring sacred music at Mass? Yes, because this is the very least we can do for God. To help illustrate this, I must talk about our daughter Carmen, who just turned two. Look at what God does for children: He forms them so perfectly. Their little bodies know just how to grow from the moment they are conceived (I believe their spinal chords have a lot to do with this).

Reader’s mind: “Wait a minute . . . say what?”

Why do I mention my daughter? Please let me explain. Tonight, as I was reading her bedtime stories, she exhibited more knowledge than ever. She speaks in complete sentences, knows the name of everything, uses the various parts of speech, syntax, grammar, and verb conjugations correctly (for instance, plural vs. singular), knows things we never even taught her, and can repeat any word she hears. Friends, this is marvelous. Our Heavenly Father “programmed” all these things in such a marvelous way. My wife and I did not “create” Carmen: God did. My wife and I are not responsible for the miracle of her little body, which is perfect in every respect down to her little tiny fingernails: God is. While my wife and I are Carmen’s parents, we’re not responsible for creating her perfect parts: eyes, mind, spinal chord, stomach, ears, and so forth. God did that, and (as I have already mentioned) God designed children to slowly learn and grow in a marvelous way. It is simply overwhelming to witness: I apologize that my poor writing skills are unable to do justice to such wonders.

For this reason, we must never say, “I cannot be bothered to spend half an hour studying the music for Sunday’s Mass.” We must never say, “I refuse to spend time preparing the music for the Eucharistic Sacrifice.” We must never say, “It would be unreasonable for God to expect me to actually make an effort to prepare the music at Mass.”

After all, God has already done the hard work!

To make a long story short, when we contemplate God’s wonders, and the daily miracles He works, it becomes easier for us to realize how lazy and complacent we can be when it comes to serving Him.

UPDATE: By the way, Carmen somehow remembers the titles of books she hasn’t seen in months. Why can she pronounce these titles so clearly now, although she has not heard them pronounced in months?

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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President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 28th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 12 October 2025, which is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 dazzling feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

Let us ponder the incontrovertible fact that Eucharistic Adoration in the Ordinary Form (“Novus Ordo”) is always and everywhere celebrated “ad orientem.” Why, then, is there such opposition to Mass being celebrated in that way, which is actually stipulated by the 1970 Missal rubrics?

— A Benedictine Monk (2013)

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