• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

Everybody hates a hypocrite! (2 of 3)

Jeff Ostrowski · August 25, 2013

458 German OW MANY TIMES have you heard a homilist use the following words? “The original Greek word used here was such-and-such . . .”  I’ve heard these words quite frequently, and I’m bringing this up for a reason.

I mentioned in Part 1 that many contemporary Scripture translations used at Mass alter verses that don’t require alteration. The title page of these new Scripture translations often reads:

“Translated from the Original Languages with Critical Use of All the Ancient Sources.”

Sounds pretty impressive, no? Almost as impressive as the sentence I mentioned earlier (“The original Greek used” etc.). But let’s take a closer look.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH teaches that Sacred Scripture is the Word of God, but we need to remember that this divine inspiration applies only to the original writings (which we no longer possess). The Catholic Church never promised that every single variant or translation is inspired by God. We currently posses something like 30,000 ancient manuscript copies of the Bible, and more are discovered each year. Many are in Latin, many are in Greek, and there are other languages, too.

This whole subject is absolutely amazing, and one could spend a lifetime learning about it. Obviously, I will not go into the details during this short blog entry.

So, what’s my point? Well, to make a long story short, the mere fact that a manuscript is “written in Greek” means nothing. A particular Greek manuscript may or may not be more ancient than, for instance, St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate. It may or may not be closer to the original (i.e. more accurate). It may or may not contain errors. While it’s true that most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New was mainly written in Greek, a manuscript written in an “original” language doesn’t guarantee that it’s more authentic (especially if it was copied at a later date). I get irritated when people automatically prefer, let’s say, a 10th century Greek manuscript to a 5th century Latin manuscript.

Bottom line: Any priest who starts explaining the Bible by saying, “The Greek word used here (etc.),” has a serious obligation to let us know which manuscript he’s citing. This is the very least he can do.

Sadly, a type of bias seems to have developed against the Vulgate, which is foolish considering St. Jerome had access to many ancient sources we no longer possess.

459 mss EVERYBODY HATES A HYPOCRITE, so let me point out that I “followed my own advice” in the Campion Missal. By showing various ancient manuscripts from different locations going back to the year 650AD, people can “see with their own eyes” that our Roman Canon has remained inviolate throughout the centuries.

By the way, this sloppiness happens a lot with regard to music. I can’t tell you the number of times somebody has talked about “ancient Jewish music” or “ancient Islamic music” without citing any manuscript. It’s a free country, so people are ultimately free to make guesses about ancient Jewish music or Islamic music . . . but it’s often wild speculation. Gregorian chant was the first music to be written down. We know what it sounded like (more or less) in 900AD because we have manuscripts with melodies. These are really basic facts: it’s breathtaking how often they’re ignored.

Let me say it again: we can only talk with certainty about music we can see. Gregorian chant was the first music to be notated. We know what it was like in 900AD because we can see it. Each of us is free to guess what Gregorian chant might have been like in 400AD. We’re equally free to guess what Jewish music might have sounded like in 600AD or 200BC. But it’s all guesswork unless we can see it. There are no sources of Jewish music or Islamic music that approach Gregorian chant in terms of its antiquity. I realize some people will never accept or understand these basic facts.

PLEASE NOTE: I’m not opposed to using every ancient source we have at our disposal. Nor am I opposed to palaeography (the study of ancient writing) and textual criticism (comparing different MSS to one another). On the other hand, I realize that these things are not infallible. Incidentally, I’m fully aware that Bishop Richard Challoner consulted Greek manuscripts and made “corrections,” which may or may not have been wise.


Click here to read Part 3.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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

Random Quote

“The Pope is not an absolute monarch whose thoughts and desires are law. On the contrary: the Pope’s ministry is a guarantee of obedience to Christ and to his Word. He must not proclaim his own ideas, but rather constantly bind himself and the Church to obedience to God’s Word, in the face of every attempt to adapt it or water it down, and every form of opportunism.”

— ‘His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI (11 May 2005)’

Recent Posts

  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)
  • August 2025 • “Colorado Sacred Music Conference”
  • New “Latin/English Missal” for the Novus Ordo
  • Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!

But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”

We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.

Our president has written the following letter:

President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)

Are you able to support us?

clock.png

Time's up