Views from the Choir Loft

Archives for September 2013

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · September 5, 2013

Nourishing Our Souls on Beautiful Music: A Moral Imperative

Since we must strive to flee even venial sins, it is always better to assume that today’s popular music, produced mostly by hedonists who are generally singing about sins, is a slippery slope leading to some kind of intellectual pollution and consent.

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Richard J. Clark · September 5, 2013

Praying for Peace in Syria – Day of Prayer and Fasting

Pope Francis has called for a day of fasting and prayer for peace this coming Saturday, September 7, 2013.

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Corpus Christi Watershed · September 5, 2013

1964 Letter from Romano Guardini

Forty-six years after the publication of his seminal work, “The Spirit of the Liturgy,” Fr. Romano Guardini reflected on the challenges of the Liturgical Movement in this 1964 letter.

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Andrew R. Motyka · September 4, 2013

From Every Oops

The learning experience that accompanies every mistake.

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 4, 2013

And The Answer Is … (?)

I’ve asked many priests this question, but nobody seems to know the answer.

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Cynthia Ostrowski · September 3, 2013

Catholic Line Art, Black and White • Installment #32

I will be releasing hundreds of these B/W religious line art drawings for free and instant download. These beautiful Catholic “woodcuts” were done with magnificent skill. “Download Free Traditional Catholic Clipart”

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Jeff Ostrowski · September 2, 2013

“Young girls with quite non-liturgical notions”

Catholics must distinguish between true, authentic Liturgical dance and the “goofy type.”

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Fr. David Friel · September 1, 2013

Retreat with the Trappists

Chant as A Unifying Force

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“Citation Needed” • Dom Foote of ICEL

Father Basil Foote, OSB, was organist at WESTMINSTER ABBEY MISSION (British Columbia, Canada). In 1984 he published an article called “Chanting in the Vernacular.” Twenty years later, it was republished by ADOREMUS—and that’s how it came to my attention. In that article, Dom Foote makes a claim I consider somewhat outlandish. At the very least, his statement with regard to the Latin accent needs some sort of citation. He has served on the Music Sub-Committee of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL).

—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • “Corpus Christi” (Year A)

The 28-page Singers’ Booklet is included. Our children’s choir will join us for this Mass.

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—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Download • “Rubric Challenge”

The feast of Corpus Christi is special for TLM altar boys. On that day, two of us thurifers got to walk backwards while using the THURIBLE. (That American custom, if memory serves, is not strictly described in the rubrics.) A few weeks ago on the CCW Facebook Page we posted this screenshot from a 1915 Roman Catholic hymnal. The challenge is to guess what the rubric says, which we blocked from view with a red box. So far, nobody has guessed correctly. Feel free to guess! Our email address is listed at the bottom of each page. UPDATE: The answer has been revealed as of 8 June 2026.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Time and Again We Are Asked…

John Baptist Singenberger (d. 1924) was a central figure of Catholic Church music. In this utterly fascinating excerpt (Single-Page PDF), Singenberger writes: Time and again we are asked: “Is the Gregorian chant to be accompanied by the organ?” As a young student in Saint Gall, Singenberger befriended SEBASTIAN GEBHARD MESSMER, the future Archbishop of Milwaukee (Wisconsin). The two graduated together in 1861. The school they attended (Saint George’s Seminary) was a “seminary”—but in the older European sense. In other words, it provided a classical education without necessarily leading to ordination. Singenberger remained a layman his whole life, but Messmer was eventually made archbishop—by Pope Saint Pius X—of the very archdiocese in Wisconsin where Singenberger would spend his American career, giving him a powerful ecclesiastical ally.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Reminder” — Month of June (2026)

On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). Since we were founded in 2006, not one of our board members has ever accepted any remuneration whatsoever—not a penny. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. It couldn’t be easier to subscribe! Just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Thee” + “Thou” + “Thine”

Few musicians realize that various English translations of Sacred Scripture were granted formal approval by the USCCB and the Vatican for liturgical use in the United States of America. But don’t take my word for it! Here are four documents proving this, which you can examine with your own eyes. Some believe the words “Thine” and “Thou” and “Thee” were forbidden after Vatican II—but that’s incorrect. For example, they’re found in the English translation of the ‘Our Father’ at Mass. Moreover, the Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition) mentioned in those four documents employs “Thine” and “Thou” and “Thee.” It was published with a FOREWORD by Westminster’s Roman Catholic Archbishop (John Cardinal Heenan).

—Jeff Ostrowski