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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

Hillary Clinton’s Emails & Mass Propers

Jeff Ostrowski · March 16, 2015

159 bank ANY POLITICAL battles are lost because the “enemy” takes control of the language. For example, ignorant people in the media often claim Catholics oppose stem cell research, but that’s a lie. Catholics support stem cell research, but oppose embryonic stem cell research. 1 Many more examples could be cited.

There was a recent controversy in which Hillary Clinton deleted 30,000+ emails dating from her time as Secretary of State. I will not be entering into this discussion, because—as I’ve said over and over—we don’t discuss politics on this blog.

However, I’ve encountered “expert analysis” on national media outlets. Paul Glastris, editor-in-chief of the Washington Monthly, claimed Clinton’s private server could not be hacked “because it’s encrypted.” Someone else declared that Blackberry phones contain “a special server inside them” which makes them safe, unlike iPhones & androids.

Such ravings are ludicrous. The Calvin & Hobbes theory (UPPER RIGHT) makes more sense. Are they unaware that even the cheapest, most commonplace technology uses encryption? Are they unaware that cell phones—Blackberry, iPhone, and so on—normally communicate with servers not “contained inside” the actual phone?

We’ve been speaking about a landmark article by Daniel Craig, but I question whether those in authority can grasp the terminology. After all, how many bishops realize there have been numerous versions of the Grail psalter? The most recent version—which two bishops told me was voted upon without seeing the actual product—is called the “Revised Grail” and was a joint effort by Conception Abbey and several other groups (including a non-Catholic corporation). This was supposed to be the final version, which would eventually be added to lectionaries, and many books (such as GIA Worship IV) included that text in their hymnals. However, it was recently decided to revise the “Revised Grail” again. 2

How many bishops know that the current Novus Ordo has numerous typos, which have never been corrected? How many realize that our current lectionary readings, Eucharistic Prayers, Responsorial Psalms, and Responsorial Psalm antiphons are owned by separate corporations?

Are you confused yet? You ought to be!

Rather than explaining all these confusing details, it might be easiest to simply obtain the Jogues Illuminated Missal, which clearly lays out the Propers, Readings, and Order of Mass for the Novus Ordo. It even avoids page turns! Moreover, there’s something comforting about a PHYSICAL BOOK which stays in the pews. For years, I printed out the propers using xerox copies, and many parishioners secretly suspected I was inventing these prayers. I cannot blame them, because there’s something incredibly ephemeral about xerox copies.

158 Revised Grail To Be Revised Yet Again



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Embryonic stem cell research has a noble goal, but uses immoral means to obtain that goal. It requires the murder of an innocent child. Our Constitution says that someone’s life cannot be destroyed without what’s called “due process.”

2   What will they call the new version? Will they call it the Revised-Revised-Grail?

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hymns Replacing Propers 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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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Perhaps he had too much sense of humour to be altogether a great man: he lacked pomposity.”

— Msgr. Ronald Knox writing about Father Adrian Fortescue

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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