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Views from the Choir Loft

Improve Your Parish Liturgy … Instantly!

Jeff Ostrowski · March 17, 2015

143 pew missal Ordinary Form XPLORING LOS ANGELES, I notice beautiful roads and neighborhoods. Someone must have said, “Let’s get busy building this town.” Speaking of productivity, whenever I present on Sacred music, someone invariably asks, “What can I do this very instant to improve my parish’s liturgy?”

As a presenter, I used to dread this question. They don’t want solutions requiring decades of work. Nor are they interested in articles like the one Anthony Esolen recently published called “Rescuing Hymnody from Stupidity.” His article is not bad; indeed, it resembles articles 1 published on our blog. But such things ultimately amount to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, while desperate Catholics want to know how to improve their liturgies immediately.

No longer do I dread such questions. They want an extremely short answer; I’ve got one. They crave an authentic answer; I’ve got one. They want an answer not requiring excessive amounts of money; I’ve got one. They want an instant fix, because their children will soon be adults. I’ve got the solution, and it couldn’t be simpler: obtain the St. Isaac Jogues Pew Lectionary for your congregation. Consider the following rationale.

For years, I prepared xerox copies with the Order of Mass (including Propers) for the people in the pews…and it was a horrendous experience. I used to ask:

HY ISN’T THERE A PEW BOOK containing the lectionary readings in a large, pristine typeface? Why isn’t there a pew book that has the complete Propers for each Sunday but avoids page turns? Why isn’t there a pew book reproducing ancient manuscripts from the 7th and 8th centuries, showing the continuity of the Novus Ordo with Catholic tradition? Why isn’t there a pew book using luscious full-color fonts & artwork to illustrate the Ordo Missae—including pictures of the priest? Why isn’t there a reasonably-priced book for congregations with Latin alongside English, helping parishes become more faithful to Vatican II, which never said to eliminate Latin? Why isn’t there a pew book containing complete Responsorial Psalm refrains (with fully-notated accompaniments for liturgical years ABC freely available online) so the congregation can finally sing dignified, modal, simple, fresh melodies between the first & second reading? Why isn’t there a pew book with exquisite line art, allowing illiterate Catholics to learn about the Faith? Why isn’t there a pew book fully approved by the USA bishops, yet designed for parish life, including Funerals, Benediction, Confirmation, and Weddings?

Surprise! The Jogues Lectionary fulfills each question in a fantastic way. Moreover, its professionalism and subtlety will appreciated by all. I was involved with this book’s production, so some will think I’m biased; that’s fine. Just get yourself a copy and verify what I say (BELOW).

BUT HOW WOULD THIS WORK on a practical level? Let’s explore. For one thing, no matter how your parish attempts the Propers—in English, Latin, or Psalm tone—you must avoid having the congregation just sit there as you sing. Give them a way to follow along! The translation doesn’t have to match perfectly, but it needs to be close. For instance, slightly different translations—some created “in house”—were chosen by Fr. Samuel Weber, 2 Fr. Guy Nicholls, 3 and others; whereas the Jogues uses a translation identical to the Simple English Propers, the Lalemant Propers, and the Gregorian Missal.

142 Lectionary USCCB Pew Missal Amazingly, the Jogues can be used by ANY parish. Some parishes may require years to fully adopt the Mass Propers, but at least your congregation can see them in the meantime. Other parishes might sing some Propers—such as the Communion—but replace others with hymns. Other parishes might choose a Processional Hymn, using a psalm tone for the Entrance Chant while the priest incenses the Altar (which is entirely lawful, by the way). Others might sing the full Latin Propers during their main Mass, but use psalm tones for the 7:00am Mass. Others might alternate between a Gradual and Responsorial Psalm, week by week. NO MATTER WHAT COMBINATION IS CHOSEN, the Jogues will prove itself convenient and perfect for your needs.

The book’s exterior is elegant, and it’s a good size—not too heavy. The quality is extremely high, so having it in your pews will raise expectations. Have you noticed the change in atmosphere when people dress fancy, as opposed to tank tops with jeans? The books will remind everyone that Mass is a serious activity.

Finally, don’t try to explain what an Entrance Chant is to your congregation; show them! They’ll see the Entrance Chant each Sunday, and with time they’ll understand what it is; but watch out! Once they know, they’ll ask why it’s not being sung each week!



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Esolen would doubtless be horrified to learn the reprehensible way the Sequences were bowdlerized.

2   Ignatius Press will soon release Fr. Weber’s massive Gradual with three (3) English versions for each chant.

3   Fr. Guy Nicholls is releasing each Entrance Chant from his Graduale Parvum each week on the Blog of the Newman Institute of Liturgical Music—in Latin and English.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Jogues Illuminated Missal Lectionary Gradual, Novus Ordo Lectionary 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

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“Many of those who have influenced the reform […] have no love, and no veneration of that which has been handed down to us. They begin by despising everything that is actually there.”

— Cardinal Antonelli (Peritus during the Second Vatican Council)

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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