Views from the Choir Loft

An Essential & Unique Thing For Holy Thursday

Jeff Ostrowski · April 2, 2015

OLY WEEK AS REVISED by Pope Pius XII only lasted a very short time, because Vatican II changed the liturgy again. The revisions by Pius XII were optional in 1951, and then imposed in 1955 upon all western churches. On 11 October 1962, the Second Vatican Council began. Therefore, many items have never been written out, and here’s one of them you’ll need:

* * PDF • Witten Out Conclusion of Mandatum

It was created according to this, but as you can see, it’s formatting will prevent mistakes. Maybe next year I can add the English translation.

By the way, you’ve probably already gone here and downloaded the special rubrics for Holy Thursday. You’ve also—most likely—downloaded the entire 1965 Missal which we placed online in November of 2013. ¹ However, you might enjoy looking at this special excerpt for Holy Thursday, taken from our scan of the 1965 Missal:

* * PDF • Holy Thursday in the 1965 Missal

If I have time, I’ll excerpt the Good Friday pages, too, because I noticed some funky melodies in English which I can almost guarantee were never sung anywhere by anyone.

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1 This was the first time this historic book was ever made available online

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

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).

“What Martin Luther Said…”

My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 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 propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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