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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Authentic Sacred Music Programs & King Of The Hill

Jeff Ostrowski · November 17, 2014

677 Hill HEN WE STOP and consider Catholic churches with excellent music programs—and there are a good number in the United States—it is clear that what they’re engaged in is radically different from the “average” Catholic parish. Recently, my family attended Mass at a Church with a great priest. The pews were packed with good people and the homily was excellent, but the music can only be described as a “Country Music Fest.” I’m sure many Catholics approach the Pastor in a parish with authentic Sacred music asking: “How come you don’t use pleasant, easy listening music like the parish where I grew up?”

Not too long ago, something dawned on me. In all the years I lived in Texas, the Catholic Church did practically nothing to help our marriage. We had to figure out everything by ourselves and did a lot of reading. The priest who prepared us for marriage gave us a 50-minute video to watch—and that was it!  What’s truly shocking is to consider how little support my parents were given for their marriage, yet they persevered and followed all the teachings of the Church.

When priests who sacrifice greatly to have an authentic Sacred music program are asked why they don’t just “give in” and allow secular styles of music (like the vast majority of USA parishes) they would probably give an answer identical to the one my parents might give: “How could we do anything else?”

I DON’T KNOW WHETHER our readers know the cartoon King of the Hill, but it chronicles the life of Hank Hill and his three friends. Hank is the only one who has a “normal” marriage. Dale Gribble’s wife is unfaithful to him. Bill Dauterive’s wife left him long ago and he misses her tremendously. Boomhauer has no wife, but commits fornication practically every night.

When we’re honest, we have to admit that King of the Hill portrays an accurate picture of society. A good marriage is rare, because we human beings—all of us—are fallen and sinful.

Therefore, it really doesn’t matter what “everyone else” is doing. We’re called to discover Christ and conform our lives to His teachings. What “everyone else” is doing is irrelevant. Fulton Sheen once said that God allows the Catholic Church to have sinful and imperfect people inside it because otherwise we—who are great sinners—would be too embarrassed and ashamed to seek membership!

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Since the English is not meant to be sung, but only to tell people who do not understand Latin what the text means, a simple paraphrase in prose is sufficient. The versions are not always very literal. Literal translations from Latin hymns would often look odd in English. I have tried to give in a readable, generally rhythmic form the real meaning of the text.”

— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (1913)

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