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Views from the Choir Loft

Are We Getting Dumber?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 24, 2014

834 Fulton Sheen ULTON SHEEN frequently reminded his listeners that all seven Sacraments have parallels in the natural world. As birth begins our earthly life, Baptism begins our spiritual life. As our bodies require healing when wounded, so do our souls (Confession). As our bodies require nourishment, so does our spiritual life (Holy Eucharist). And likewise for the other Sacraments.

Moreover, many aspects of our faith have parallels in the natural world. Consider how God revealed Himself through the ages: very slowly, over many centuries. Some ask, “Why didn’t God instantly reveal everything to His people?” The correct answer is, of course, “Because God reveals Himself as He wishes.” However, wasn’t His choice fitting? Think of how children obtain knowledge. They can do almost nothing when born, but gradually begin to crawl and eat solid food. They begin to pick up a word here and there. They begin to understand who their parents are and ask questions. It’s a process requiring many years.

IN SPITE OF ALL THE PROGRESS our civilizations have made, when it comes to self-appointed “expert liturgists,” it seems that thinking themselves wise, they have become as fools (Rom 1:22). Not long ago, I saw yet another attempt to explain what the “primitive” Mass looked like, using the typical sources: Justine Martyr, Iranaeus, Didache, and so on. However—astounding as this may sound—there was absolutely no attempt to understand the circumstances under which those various fragments were written. I say “astounding” because this is the same error made by early Protestants with regard to the Bible (which has been thoroughly refuted many times). Stated briefly: the Bible was not intended as a “catechism”—it’s a collection of various documents and letters written TO VARIOUS GROUPS under various circumstances.

The same is true of the early accounts of the Mass. 1 One must take into consideration, for example, the disciplina arcani|: the deliberate hiding of what goes on at Mass (to protect something so sacred). Some of the descriptions were written in a deliberately obscure manner (since they were addressing pagans who feared the rites of the early Christians). I could continue, but you get the point: just as the Bible has very little to do with a “catechism” 2 (in spite of what some might wish), many early accounts of the Mass had no intention of describing the rites in a detailed way. When we ignore this basic reality, we end up making silly mistakes.

Here and there, the early Christians left us “clues” referencing the liturgy. For instance, Pope Leo and St. Augustine refer to some kind of ancient “Responsorial Psalm,” but we have absolutely no idea what such a thing would have looked like (much less how it sounded when sung). Several times on this blog, I’ve offered a $300,000 reward for anyone who can produce an authentic Responsorial Psalm from the 5th century or earlier, but no one can. By the way, the first time Catholics really began writing down liturgical manuscripts was under Charlemagne; the stability of his reign allowed for such things.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I suppose it’s possible some early Christian attempted to leave a detailed description of the early Mass, but such a thing was either lost or destroyed because we don’t possess it. We can criticize the early Christians for not having the courtesy to leave us a detailed description of their rites, but we would be foolish to do so. (Remember, they did not possess iPads, iPhones, computers, electricity, running water, or modern medicine, and most of them couldn’t read or write.)

2   Of course, nothing in the catechism conflicts with the Bible (whose New Testament was composed by the Catholic Church), but Bishop Sheen has reminded us that “Christ left us a Church, not a book.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Annibale Bugnini Reform, Bishop Fulton J Sheen 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

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

Amid all these old liturgical books, I find that I am happy and at ease; I feel at home.

— Dom André Mocquereau (1884)

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