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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

The Gather Hymnal

Jeff Ostrowski · June 24, 2013

ROWING UP in the 1990s, I missed a lot of the “liturgy wars.” I will forever be grateful to my parents who remained faithful to the Church, no matter how many scandals they witnessed along the way. It’s no secret that a great many people tried to harm the Church from within following the Council. What I am only just now beginning to realize is how creative some of these people were! Perhaps “creative” is not the right word. Let me describe a few instances, and the reader can devise his own word.

Just think about the very title, the very name, of one of the most popular Catholic hymnals: “Gather.” Without going into conspiracy theories, ponder that title. Is the emphasis not obvious? Mass is all about us. Our “gathering” is what’s important. Forget about the Sacrifice of Calvary, forget about the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. The main emphasis is placed on the fact that we, the important, highly-evolved, 21st-century people are taking time to “gather” with other important, highly-evolved, 21st-century people.

Perhaps I’m the odd man out here. Perhaps I’m the one whose religious sense is skewed. But let me be clear: growing up, especially on those occasions we attended the Extraordinary Form, I never thought about the act of “gathering.” I thought about Christ. I thought about my sins. I thought about the precious gift of the Mass. I engaged in silent reflection and adoration of God. I thought about how transient life’s pleasures are. I thought about many things, but not “gathering.”

I suppose the enlightened “piccoluomini” will be tempted to chime in and explain Matthew 18:20 (“Where two or three are gathered together . . .”), but such an explanation is not needed. I fully believe and accept Matthew 18:20, a truly beautiful and important verse, as the Catholic Church explains it, but here I am speaking of emphasis.

LET US CONSIDER another example: kneeling. When I was little, I heard my parents talk about people trying to “get rid of kneeling during Mass.” I said to myself, “Yeah, right. Take a chill pill. Who would ever get rid of kneeling at Church? C’mon.”

Well, it turns out this movement is still alive. I received via Email (from a reader who will remain anonymous) the following comment, made on 30 May 2013, by the former president of Universa Laus, an organization specifically requested to “dissolve itself” by Pope Paul VI:

The desire to get people onto their knees shows a one-sided view of history, both liturgical and general. Standing is a sign of respect, whereas kneeling is a sign of self-abasement. We don’t kneel down when the President or the Queen enters the room, we stand out of respect. Yes, we bow to both of those, and ladies curtsey when presented, but we don’t kneel or kiss feet. If Jesus entered the room, we’d be on our feet in an instant. I have little time for a mediaeval posture which is to a large extent a distortion of the traditional prayer postures of the Church.

LET ME SAY AGAIN: I couldn’t even dream up some of this stuff! Another piccoluomini movement I remember hearing about in the 1990s was NAAC (“No Adoration At Communion”). It turns out NAAC is also still around. One of the signers of the Snowbird Statement on Catholic Liturgical Music wrote on 12 October 2012:

There are fourteen hymns contained in the section titled “Blessed Sacrament.” These hymns are meant to be sung at communion and/or Benediction. I see this as a major theological gaffe. Hymns that memorialize the sacrificial meal of Jesus should be distinct from those intended for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The communion bread at Mass is not appropriately called the Blessed Sacrament, [Huh?!!] a term reserved for the adoration of the element in the context of Benediction. The two are indissolubly linked, of course, but they are two distinct moments in Catholic liturgical life and devotion. The editors should have made a clear distinction between the two.

AS A CHILD, I was taught about the transcendence of God. At Mass, time seemed to stop. It was all about peaceful prayer and adoration. It was contemplative. Statements like the following, by Fr. William Bauman (former Chairman of the Music Committee of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions) would never occur to me:

These would not be destined to go into a hymnal, for by their very nature as popular music, they finally pass out of popularity. They would, however, be able to be quickly used by those who make their own hymnals, quickly printed in periodical publications while they are still fresh and useful. [source]

More strange quotes can be found here. One such quote:

The hootenanny Mass can give explicit eucharistic and christological specification to youth’s intense involvement in the movements for racial justice, for control of nuclear weapons, for the recognition of personal dignity.

IN THE WORDS OF VANESSA WILLIAMS, I have “saved the best for last.” The winner is Fr. Frederick McManus, who once made the following claim. Note in particular the mental gymnastics necessary to twist the clear meaning of the Second Vatican Council (Sacrosanctum Concilium, §36):

“Although it is not the original language of the Roman rite by any means, [Excuse me, but who EVER made such a claim??] the Latin language is here acknowledged to have the first or principal place, and as such it is to be retained. It may be that in some areas the retention will simply mean employing the Latin texts as the basis for translating into the vernacular [!!!!!], at least in the case of those parts of the Roman rite which are themselves original, such as the collects.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: GIA Worship IV Hymnal, Heretical GIA Hymns Last Updated: July 7, 2021

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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

    “Music List” • 22nd in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 31 August 2025, which is the 22nd 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “The Worm That Dieth Not”
    My pastor asked me to write a column for our parish bulletin with reflections on the sacred liturgy and church music. In my most recent article, I discuss “The Worm That Dieth Not.” At this website, you can access it conveniently; simply scroll down to the one dated 31 August 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

The Sacrifice is celebrated with many solemn rites, none of which should be deemed useless or superfluous. On the contrary, all of them tend to display the majesty of this august sacrifice, and to excite the faithful, when beholding these saving mysteries, to contemplate the divine things which lie concealed in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

— Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566)

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