Views from the Choir Loft

An Unexplained Problem

Jeff Ostrowski · May 9, 2014

URING THE EASTER VIGIL, after the 7th Reading (when there are no Baptisms) two possible options are given. There is nothing to indicate that one option should be preferred.

Notice that one option is identical to the Responsorial Psalm sung after the 5th Reading:

R. (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Is. 12:2-3, 4, 5-6 — God indeed is my savior …

R. (12a) Create a clean heart in me, O God.
Ps. 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19 — A clean heart create for me, O God …

Music directors often choose the 2nd option to avoid repeating the same Responsorial Psalm that has already been sung after the 5th Reading.

Can anyone explain why the same Responsorial Psalm was assigned after the 5th and 7th readings? I’m not sure there’s another Mass like this. I know that the Offertory & Communion for the 1st Sunday of Lent are practically identical, but the musical setting is completely different.

Any thoughts? Let me know in the combox.

THE ANSWER COMES FROM STEVEN VAN ROODE:

The remarkable thing here is not so much that one of the options given already appeared after the fifth reading, but that the English translation of the Lectionary gets the rubric wrong!

The Latin reads, after listing Ps 41 as the responsorial psalm for the seventh reading: “Vel, quando celebratur Baptisma, Is 12 ut supra (post lectionem n. 5), vel etiam Ps 50…”

So, according to the Latin typical edition, Ps 41 ‘Like a deer’ is always sung after the seventh reading, except when there are Baptisms, when also Is 12 ‘You will draw water’ or Ps 51 ‘Create a clean heart’ may be chosen. The English however reverses the condition to choose the options: “When Baptism is NOT celebrated”!

The reasoning of the Latin rubric makes much more sense to me: when there are Baptisms and the fifth reading wasn’t used (yes, that’s possible), Is 12 can be chosen as responsorial psalm because of its clear Baptism theme. If the fifth reading was used and so Is 12 was already sung, Ps 51 can be chosen, which is also related to Baptism.

Holy Saturday Responsorial Psalms for Ordinary Form

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

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).

“Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 2025). 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 feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon

This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly

Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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