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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

Reflections Upon The Death Of Francis Cardinal George This Morning At 10:45am

Jeff Ostrowski · April 17, 2015

904 Francis Cardinal George WAS SADDENED to hear of the death of Francis Cardinal George. I hope readers will permit me a few reflections about this great Church leader. Many will remember the courageous role he played in the creation of a more faithful translation of the Roman Missal. I enjoyed reading his comments—especially in the bishops’ meetings as recorded and printed by Helen Hull Hitchcock—which at times 1 could be rather pointed.

What I wish to relate, however, is my own memory of Francis Cardinal George, who offered Mass during a CMAA Colloquium in Chicago. Some of our readers know that not all CMAA liturgies attain the same level of perfection. This one happened early in the week. To be brutally honest, our singing was very poor. (If memory serves, it was a Wednesday Mass, which means the participants had only one day of training before this Mass.) Someone told me in advance that the cardinal was a trained musician; was he ever!

I’ll never forget when Cardinal George sang his parts. His singing was glorious! Only 2-3 other clerics I know could sing as nicely. Because our singing was so poor—for the reasons I’ve already explained—I felt like crawling underneath a rock!

By the way, this was quite a contrast to another high-ranking cleric, who shall remain nameless. His diocese paid me to present at a conference focusing on the music in MR3. During the Mass, it was obvious the bishop had done zero preparation, because he sang everything exactly as it was before MR3. Whereas Cardinal George had not missed a single note, this bishop sang not one note correctly. During the rest of the conference, we were forced to keep talking about “how amazing” and “how wonderful” the tones in MR3 sounded…and what an improvement they were!  Perhaps if I had more integrity, I would have pointed out that the bishop sang everything incorrectly, but I made the decision to “go with the flow.” (I suppose that makes me a hypocrite.)

Francis Cardinal George had a deep love for music, and personally called into his office several friends of mine. He told them how important their work was. He told them they must continue to fight for QUALITY church music…instead of the “garbage” (his word) so often thrust upon the faithful.

Cardinal George, in some ways, was very serious; he didn’t have time for nonsense. I remember seeing him on Meet the Press, speaking to David Gregory (who was not Catholic). Gregory said something like, “So, now that Pope Francis has been elected, I hear everything in your Church is going to change. Tell us, Cardinal George, about some radical changes Pope Francis will soon make.” Cardinal George’s response was something to the effect of, “As far as I know, David, his job is no different than it always has been: preach the Gospel.”

I hope my reflections don’t come across as too random. We at CCW don’t prepare comments in advance of someone’s death. From what I understand, Cardinal George has skirted death many times in the past, so I’m sure news organizations have their articles “primed and ready.”

Francis Cardinal George had a good sense of humor and probably would have enjoyed this skit, poking fun at people who prepare obituaries in advance:


(Many people dislike Dana Carvey, but his Tom Brokaw is excellent.)



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   If my memory is correct, one of the bishops was insisting that MR3 continue to be delayed, and Cardinal George said something to the effect of, “Our people have already waited a decade; a decade is long enough to delay.” (Remember that the Latin edition of MR3 came out around 2001, yet the American bishops took almost 10 years to release its translation!)

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Francis Cardinal George Of Chicago 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” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 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 feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
    This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
    Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.
    —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

The literal translation: “Lord, have mercy—Christ, have mercy,” does not offer much material for an acceptable song text. The words, not having any feminine syllables, are abrupt; the sounds are almost all muted and colorless; the rhythmic flow is too brief. So many people may prefer responses that further extend the song of the assembly, e.g., “Have pity on us, Lord” or “Pardon us and change our hearts.

— J. Gelineau attacking the KYRIE ELEYSON (page 64 in “Learning to Celebrate,” 1985)

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  • “Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
  • Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
  • Installment #3 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”

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