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

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • About
  • Symposium
  • Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Black Vestments & Wisdom From Wives

Jeff Ostrowski · November 5, 2013

231 Requiem Click to enlarge image AM MARRIED to the most wonderful woman in the world. Cynthia has a thousand wonderful qualities and is a superb artist. However, it would be inaccurate to claim she’s as interested in (obsessed with?) the liturgy as I am. For this reason, her comments are often of much greater value.

Having attended Mass on 2 November, she asked, “Why didn’t the priest wear black vestments? Have they been forbidden?” I explained to her that, following the Second Vatican Council, black vestments aren’t usually worn because they’re considered too “spooky and scary.” Her astonishment — or was it indignation? — rang out: “Scary? That’s stupid … they just seem more respectful to me.”

I COULD NOT agree more. Black vestments have always been my favorite, ever since I was a little boy and saw my first Solemn Requiem Mass. The black vestments are often “gilded” (if that’s the right word) with gold or silver. They are powerful, impressive, and edifying. I cannot say enough to praise them. Furthermore, Cynthia is correct. They’re supremely respectful.

A few years ago, when I explained that the Novus Ordo has ancient Propers assigned to each Mass, my wife’s tone was similar as she exclaimed, “But then, why doesn’t everybody sing the texts assigned by the Church?”  Why indeed … ?

Her question is similar to one asked by students of Professor László Dobszay:

For my university students it always came as a shock to open Dom Hesbert’s Antiphonarium Missarum Sextuplex or the eleventh century Gradual of the Roman basilica of St. Cecilia, and to find there, on the same days, the same Proper chants as they read in the Liber Usualis printed in 1950. And without any coaching from me, their first question after the initial surprise was, “Then why should we sing others, instead of these?”  Why indeed …?

Dobszay’s full article is provided in a piece I wrote a while back:

      * *  “And I Will Raise You Up” — Voice Of God Songs During Mass

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Requiem, Traditional Catholic Vestments Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

From Chelan, Washington: “CCWatershed is a God-sent resource that I can’t function without! Such great work by the team to bring beauty back to our liturgy!” From Gainesville, Florida: “I am so appreciative of the work, of my brothers and sisters in music!” From Troutman, North Carolina: “Keep up the excellent work in service of the Liturgy!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The plea that the laity as a body do not want liturgical change, whether in rite or in language, is, I submit, quite beside the point. … (it is) not a question of what people want; it is a question of what is good for them.”

— Dom Gregory A. Murray (14 March 1964)

Recent Posts

  • “How Has Nobody Done This Before?” • Vol. 1
  • “Exceeded Every Expectation!” • Mr. O’Brien’s Review
  • “81 Photos” • Sacred Music Symposium 2022
  • Photograph • Dom André Mocquereau (d. 1930)
  • “I Found Myself Weeping, Almost In Disbelief…”

Copyright © 2022 Corpus Christi Watershed · Gabriel Lalemant 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.