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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” • 29th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 19 October 2025, which is the 29th 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 sensational feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
    Those who direct children’s choirs are always on the lookout for repertoire that’s dignified, inspired, and pleasing—yet still within reach of young choristers. Such directors will want to investigate this haunting liturgical round (PDF download) which has been married to the KYRIE from Mass VI (EDITIO VATICANA). I have provided an accompaniment, but it’s only for use during rehearsal; i.e. when teaching this round to your choristers. I also provided an organ accompaniment for the KYRIE—which some know by its trope (Kyrie Rex Genitor)—so that your congregation can take part when this round is used as a choral extension during Mass.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

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

“How can we account for differences in the Gospel accounts? Well, suppose after we left Church today, there was a terrible accident or explosion or fire. Soon the news media would be here, interviewing people as to what they saw or heard. Each person would probably say or report what struck him—or what he saw or noticed. All these reports would be different and yet they would be true.”

— Fr. Valentine Young (February 2019)

Recent Posts

  • “Music List” • 29th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Fulton J. Sheen + this Sunday’s “Entrance Chant”
  • Children’s Repertoire • Three More Recommendations by Keven Smith
  • Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
  • PDF Download • Liturgical Round (“Canon”) for your Children’s Choir

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