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“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)

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Views from the Choir Loft

“Adoremus In Æternum” … Heretical?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 19, 2013

DOREMUS IN AETERNUM is a traditional prayer that’s been popular for hundreds of years. The Catholic Church assigned it to be sung at Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament for a long time. There are many different melodies in many different modes. Here’s an organ accompaniment for the most common melody [source], along with an audio recording. I’ve also provided a video recording which is best viewed full screen

Because this prayer has been so favored by the Church, I was surprised to read comments made by John Ainslie on 13 September 2013:

However traditional ‘Adoremus in aeternum’ is — I see that Allegri wrote a setting of it — the words are not good theology. We will not be adoring the Blessed Sacrament for all eternity, nor should we wish to.   [source]

A priest of the Archdiocese of Cardiff responded:

I won’t need to adore the Blessed Sacrament when I get to heaven, but I am looking forward to enjoying Jesus face-to-face for the rest of eternity. There is a continuity between the one I now adore in the form of the Eucharistic Presence and the one I will adore face-to-face, so think I can say to him while he is the Blessed Sacrament that I will love him for ever. If a fiancé said “I will love my girlfriend for ever”, who would dare to say to him: “You are wrong, because you will no longer love your girlfriend when she becomes your wife”!

I would be interested to hear what readers have to say.

SPEAKING OF JOHN AINSLIE, in the years following the Second Vatican Council, he created a book with the following title:

The Simple Gradual for Sundays and Holy Days Revised Edition (Full Music Edition for Cantor, Choir and Organist)

I don’t own this book (but I would like to). It appears to be an English version of the Graduale Simplex. A reader saw our posts about the Simplex, and sent me some samples of Ainslie’s book:

      * *  Sample Page of John Ainslie’s Simple Gradual (ENGLISH)

If anyone is willing to email me more samples, please do. Ainslie’s work appears to have been based on the 1969 ICEL translation of the Graduale Simplex (as was By Flowing Waters by Paul Ford). I believe John Ainslie was also responsible for creating the British Processional (Antiphonal). We’ve been talking a lot about Propers, the Graduale Simplex, Bugnini, and we’ll continue to do so, because there’s a lot to take in. Gary Penkala seems to have been ahead of the game on this, as you can see by his article, “What have we done?”

Here are three (3) interesting recordings of the Graduale Simplex:   01   •   02   •   03

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Heretical GIA Hymns Last Updated: March 24, 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

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 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 propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —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

It should be borne in mind that there is no preference expressed in the liturgical legislation for either “versus populum” or “ad orientem.” Since both positions enjoy the favor of law, the legislation may not be invoked to say that one position or the other accords more closely with the mind of the Church.

— ‘Congregation for Divine Worship (Vatican City), 10 April 2000’

Recent Posts

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  • “What Martin Luther Said…”
  • “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Worship the Lord in Holy Attire

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