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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

True Liturgical Abuse … And Rex Harrison

Jeff Ostrowski · October 13, 2013

N MORE THAN ONE occasion, I’ve come across books dealing with “liturgical abuses.” Often, they’re formatted as lists … for example, they go down a list of the Top Ten Abuses at Mass. As far as I’m concerned, these books often miss the mark. They tend to focus on abuses which, quite frankly, do not have a tremendous impact on the faithful. Off the top of my head, I remember one dealing with “Self-Communication from the Chalice” (forbidden). Another talked about sacred vessels made from the wrong materials (also forbidden).

Please notice: I am not implying that such abuses are OK. They’re not, and the people responsible will answer for them before Almighty God. But it seems to me that one of the most deplorable liturgical abuses at Mass has to do with the musical styles. Often, the styles are secular, trite, uninspired, and (to be frank) goofy. At Mass, we’re supposed to use music written in a sacred style. Pope Pius XII said it should be “lofty.” Such music ought to remind us of the holiness of God. Secular styles do just the opposite.

Secular styles in no way “fit” the Mass. For example, the Mass is 2,000 years old. We have manuscripts of the Roman Rite Mass prayers (almost verbatim the same as our current Mass) going all the way back to the 7th century. Even somebody without any knowledge of Theology — even an atheist — would know that secular “tunes” currently considered as “hits” aren’t appropriate for such an action. I hope to write more about this topic at a later date.

Using secular music at Mass is incredibly harmful, but in an insidious way. As each year passes, I become more and more aware of the terrible impact such music has on souls. Again, the music itself is not necessarily bad (some is), but using it during Mass is harmful. The music has an effect on every single member of the congregation. You can’t escape it. You can put your hands over your ears, but you’ll still hear it, and it will have an influence on your ability to properly assist at Mass. Whether we like it or not, music does have an effect on us. After all, man is composed of body and soul. He is not pure spirit.

THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE to consider about “liturgical abuses.” Unfortunately, good Catholics sometimes make fools of themselves trying to “correct” liturgical abuses. The reality is, ever since the Second Vatican Council, liturgical law has been changing so rapidly, staying “current” is difficult. For example, on 17 April 1980, Pope John Paul II approved and confirmed a document which said:

Women are not permitted to act as altar servers.   (Inaestimabile Donum, §18)

On 15 March 1994, however, the Pope changed his ruling, saying that individual bishops can allow female altar servers in their dioceses. Since the 1960s, literally thousands of pages have been printed by the Vatican treating liturgical subjects. That’s why I say lay folk (sometimes) get it wrong … but it’s not really their fault! The laws ought not be changed so frequently, and we’ll be discussing the consequences more on this blog. (I’ve already briefly touched on this subject here.)

DID YOU EVER NOTICE Rex Harrison can’t sing? It’s true … he “sings by speaking” (but in a much more pleasant way than that dreadful sprechstimme). The songs had to be composed in an ingenious way for Harrison. Now that we have two young children, I often hear songs on the kids’ shows … and they’re terrible! What’s really awful is the lack of melody. The characters “sing by speaking,” just like Rex Harrison. It grates on one’s ears, and I fear it’s teaching our kids how NOT to sing! Hopefully they don’t grow up and get married six (6) times, like Rex Harrison did.

Many of today’s Mass songs (written in a secular style) employ this same speech song. It represents a type of “lowest common denominator” approach to Church music. Now, I’m not saying each one of us has to be a great singer. Of course not everyone can be. But is it too much to ask that we attempt to sing melodies?

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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

Random Quote

In the United States, Archbishop Kenrick had said in his “Moral Theology” that it was acceptable to sing the “Véni Sáncte Spíritus” before the sermon.

— Monsignor Schmitt (1977)

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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