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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

That Inscrutable Creature On The Internet

Jeff Ostrowski · September 9, 2014

884 Tridentine VER SINCE I first encountered that guy, I’ve been puzzled by him. Do you know him? I’m sure you do. That guy can be found on every major blog or forum. If the post is about blueberries, his comment is: “Here’s the Wikipedia entry on blueberries.” If the post is about furniture, his comment is: “Here’s the Wikipedia entry for furniture.” Why does he persist? Apparently, that guy feels special because he knows how to do a Google search and ardently desires that we praise him. But doesn’t he realize everyone knows how to do a Google search?

I’ve noticed a similar attitude when it comes to folks “discovering” the 1962 Missal. Certain people act as though they were the first to learn of its existence. I once saw a man displaying this attitude toward an elderly priest. I became angry and could hardly keep silent. I wanted to scream:

“Don’t you realize this priest attended the Latin Mass throughout the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s, and early ’60s? How dare you display such an attitude? Have you no sense?”

Yet, the elderly priest just stood there, perhaps realizing that words would be wasted on this person. After all, some people just don’t get it. Years after I’d started my collection of rare Solesmes books, a retired musicologist asked me—in the most serious way imaginable—if I owned a copy of the Liber Usualis. Week after week, he continued to ask me the same question. I think I eventually stopped answering him.

I know a blog author who spends inordinate amounts of time “chasing down” people he feels have stolen his exclusive news items. He desperately wants the whole world to appreciate how AMAZING he is. His plight is made more difficult by the fact that most of his “original blog articles” are copied & pasted from the Fox News Website.

HY DO I BRING all this up? The fact is, people who constantly try to POSSESS beauty & truth secretly loathe them. Truth & beauty are only valued by such people if they can be presented as “breaking news,” gaining the adulation of others. When someone describes a wonderful film, some people cannot simply nod their heads and say, “I love that film, too.” Instead, they feel compelled to say, “I saw it before you did.”

I know a liturgist who seemingly cannot help himself. Whenever anyone discusses hymnals which mutilate original texts for no good reason, he feels compelled to point out that the original version of HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING was “Hark, How All The Welkin Rings.” He was making this same argument all the way back in the 1990s. His students have been known to bait him by deliberately mentioning “authentic hymn words”—and without fail he tries to shock his listeners by means of the “Welkin Rings” example.

I’ve had some of my original ideas stolen by bloggers, and this used to annoy me like you wouldn’t believe. However, I’ve come to realize that truth & beauty should be loved for their own sake. It’s silly to try to “possess” them. One of my friends is fluent in eleven languages, and always seems to hear breaking news before anyone else. Yet, this same person has “ghost written” hundreds of articles going back all the way to the 1960s. Only his closest friends realize that all those brilliant ideas—for which others take credit—are the product of his brilliance.

In college, I took elementary Latin with a genius named Stanley Lombardo, even though I’d previously had four years of Latin in high school. Dr. Lombardo was probably the best teacher I ever had. Even when he was explaining the most basic concepts, I learned so much.

A PRIEST WE ONCE HAD began every sermon with verse 9 from the first chapter of Ecclesiastes: “There’s nothing new under the sun.” How true that is! What’s really interesting is to watch old presidential debates. For example, Al Gore fought George Bush about “nation building” and “overextending the U.S. military”—but you’d be amazed to see who espoused which positions. Walter Mondale fought Ronald Reagan over “an out-of-control deficit” and “terrorists illegally crossing the Mexican border”—but, again, you’d be amazed at who took which position.

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

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —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

“It would be a grave error to imagine that the principle orientation of the sacrificial action is towards the community. If the priest celebrates «VERSUS POPULUM», which is legitimate and often advisable, his spiritual attitude ought always to be «VERSUS DEUM PER JESUM CHRISTUM», as representative of the entire Church.”

— Official Vatican Statement (25 September 2000)

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