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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Does Having Children Preclude Service As A Catholic Musician?

Jeff Ostrowski · June 17, 2015

623 Young Children At Church HEN WE BEGAN having children, attending Mass became quite difficult. Holding a child in Mass requires immense energy and tremendous patience, especially when you look around and notice that every other child behaves in Church except yours.

I remember being very angry, because I didn’t feel like I was adequately participating during Mass. All I did was struggle to contain my energetic child. We tried going to Mass separately, but this was tough, because wives prefer attending Mass as a family—and who can blame them? Catholic mothers & fathers who raised large families offered advice, but none of it worked. Moreover, when their advice didn’t work, some blamed the failure on us—so we eventually stopped asking for advice.

HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS on this matter. I have no idea if they will make any sense.

When we make time to attend something—be it a birthday party, sporting event, or piano recital—a major part is the fact that we show up. We have to plan for it, dress the children, buckle them into the child safety seats, bring them snacks & drinks, take their nap schedule into consideration, and so on. Even though we can’t pay as much attention to the Holy Mass as we’d like, I think God understands that taking care of the children is difficult. One of the failures of the American public school system has been treating each child as if he will grow up to be a scholar. In fact, not all children are wired the same way. Some might like books, while others prefer running around in a field. Some children enjoy carefully listening to hours of lectures, while others manifest different talents and abilities. In some ways, the liturgical movement fell into the same trap. The assumption was that every man, woman, and child—no matter what their background—should participate at Mass in exactly the same way. I would suggest that parents watching small children during Mass cannot participate the same way a liturgical scholar might.

If one has Church musician obligations, sometimes it will be necessary for husband & wife to attend different Masses, yet nothing prevents them from attending daily Mass together as a family.

Those of us who attend the Extraordinary Form in Los Angeles can take advantage of the world’s greatest cry room—but I still hold our 2-year-old son during the Homily & Creed to give my wife a tiny break. The organist allows our son to touch the organ keys during the Homily (see image above).

The life of a choirmaster is truly demanding. I believe it’s one of the hardest professions in the whole world, because it involves so much stress nobody realizes. Moreover, the added stress of the situation we’ve been discussing doesn’t help matters.

On the other hand, if we stop and think about how much suffering 1 there is in the world—and how much suffering has occurred throughout history—we soon realize that God is not asking too much of us.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I’ve been reading about the gruesome wars of the 1940s and 1950s. It is a truly horrifying study. For example, during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), more than 22 million Chinese civilians were killed.

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

Filed Under: Articles 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

    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
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —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

“Another cathedral functionary, a compañero named (coincidentally!) Francisco Guerrero, departs for the New World sometime before June 8, on which date the benefice held by him comes up for a split among three former choirboys whose voices have changed.”

— Chapter Resolution: 14 February 1562

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