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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

More On Secular Music At Mass … John Lennon?

Guest Author · December 23, 2014

530 B16 AT TIP to Jeff Ostrowski for his exposé on Dan Schutte’s “Missa My Little Pony.” As soon as I heard it, I told my fiancée, “He’s right—it’s the same song. And there’s more music like that.” As in, there’s more church/liturgical music stolen from… errr… similar to secular music.

I told her I couldn’t think of precise songs at the moment, but I knew there were more. Now that it is Advent, with Christmas music blaring from radio stations and every department store’s overhead speaker, I have remembered one of the songs.

I was fortunate to go to World Youth Day 2008, where I saw His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, and where I heard an Alleluia song by Guy Sebastian. It might just be my imagination, but isn’t the supporting vocalization/background music of John Lennon’s “So this is Christmas” the same music as that Alleluia? Judge for yourself:

      * *  Mp3 Excerpt: Guy Sebastian and Paulini’s “Alleluia”

      * *  Mp3 Download: John Lennon’s “So this is Christmas”

Listen to the “Alleluia” first, and then listen to the Lennon song. You will hear the “Alleluia” music slowly coming up from the background. If you go to the original YouTube video versions, you can set the “Alleluia” to 1:04 and “So this is Christmas” at 1:03, playing them simultaneously. (Sebastian sings slower, but he fits in so well as things progress.)

So this is Alleluia! Happy Advent to my fellow Catholics and Merry Christmas to the secularists who are already saying that. Try not to think of Sebastian’s Alleluia every time you hear Lennon’s Christmas song!


We hope you enjoyed this guest article by A.W. Smay.



Editor’s Note: It would be important to know whether this song was sung DURING an actual liturgy, or whether it was used outside of Mass only.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Secular vs Sacred Music at Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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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

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“I love them that love me: and they that in the morning early watch for me shall find me.”

— Proverbs 8

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