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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

Look What God Did For You!

Jeff Ostrowski · October 28, 2014

748 Cute AVE YOU spent any time admiring nature? Have you looked into a forest and admired the changing colors—red, orange, and brown—of the tree leaves? Have you gazed upon the sky during a beautiful sunset or sunrise? Have you looked at a corn field or apple orchard? Have you seen a peach orchard?

When we view the great outdoors, we realize how beautiful and wondrous our universe is. Moreover, we can take it to another level by considering how each molecule, atom, plant, insect, and animal lead to something higher. Think about it. Even though the outdoors is lovely, suffering and sacrifice are required for its beauty. Plants are eaten; insects devour one another; large animals eat small animals; and so forth and so on.

Have you ever wondered why God allowed this “suffering” on the part of, for example, insects? It probably isn’t fun to be eaten by another insect or animal. Why did God allow such a thing? I would suggest that God is showing us how valuable we are. Each sacrifice leads to something higher. All of this turns out to be made for our benefit … so that we can survive, and also look upon the beauty of nature, observing how God values us. But you will reply:

“Am I really that valuable? What’s so great about me? What’s so great about human beings?”

Well, when I look into the eyes of someone—for instance, my little son—the value of each human being becomes clear. That’s why it is so distressing to wake up (as I did a few days ago) and notice a homeless man collecting tin cans from a dumpster. Society thinks of that man as “garbage” yet values the tin. Can you imagine? We value TIN more than we value a human being!

Dr. Mahrt has explained that counterpoint in polyphony “shows forth the splendor, beauty, and order of the universe” and for this reason I chose to begin a 60-minute film about Sacred music with a lovely Chicago sunrise accompanying Kevin Allen’s “Tantum Ergo.” If you haven’t watched this, please click here and watch it now.

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

    “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

“These French offices represent a new case of the old tendency towards local modification—which the Council of Trent had meant to repress. They are commonly attributed to Gallican ideas and are supposed to be not free from Jansenist venom. Some of these local French uses survived almost to our own time. They were supplanted by the Roman books in the 19th century, chiefly by the exertions of Dom Prosper Guéranger (d. 1875).”

— Dr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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