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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

Why On Earth Would Anyone Do This?

Jeff Ostrowski · July 2, 2014

308 John 23 Y FRIENDS KNOW that I prefer Mass to be either entirely in Latin or entirely in English, for reasons having to do with aesthetics. However, I was involved with the production of the Jogues Illuminated Missal (for the Ordinary Form) which contains a lot of Latin.

Does that make me a hypocrite? No, for two reasons: one obvious, the other less obvious.

IRST, the obvious one. The Second Vatican Council ordered a mixture of Latin & Vernacular. The secretary of the Consilium (among many others) made this crystal clear in a succinct statement. Therefore, whether I personally believe Latin & English should be mixed is irrelevant: the Vatican Council has spoken.

You’ll want to read the words of Msgr. Overath about the verb “servetur” on page 18. By the way, on pages 22-24, Overath specifically cites statements by USA dioceses that are so flagrantly opposed to Vatican II they’ll knock you off your feet!

ECOND, the less obvious reason. Even if Latin is not used, it’s essential to at least provide the original Latin prayer, which goes back so many centuries. Consider this:

      * *  Sample Page (PDF) — taken from the Jogues Illuminated Missal

Did you notice how the Latin “grounds” us, even if the prayers are sung in English? After all, American Catholics have been subjected to so many different translations over the years it’s become confusing. The authentic Latin is essential, if only for reference purposes. Maybe that’s why the Vatican demanded that the official Latin always be printed alongside the English.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Annibale Bugnini Reform Last Updated: October 10, 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

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“Another cathedral functionary, a compañero named (coincidentally!) Francisco Guerrero, departs for the New World sometime before June 8, on which date the benefice held by him comes up for a split among three former choirboys whose voices have changed.”

— Chapter Resolution: 14 February 1562

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