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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

Finding A Liturgical Context

Jeff Ostrowski · June 3, 2015

680 Columbus Map NE HUNDRED YEARS from now, people looking back might not know what an “Indian Reservation” is. They might be similarly confused by “indian chief” or “indian tribe,” not to mention “West Indies.” Everyone today, of course, knows their meaning, and why Europeans coming here used those terms. We can argue about whether these terms should be retired—but I refuse to enter into such discussions here. The point is that historians in 100 years have an obligation to find out what was meant by “indian.” If they associate these terms with people from the (Asian) country of India, they will be confused.

We have often mentioned professional “liturgists” who refuse to do their homework and make silly errors. In the old CMAA journals, they referred to such errors as PICCOLUOMINI LOGIC, but I’ve come to believe that label is inflammatory and shouldn’t be used. Perhaps “false logic” would work. “Superficial logic” might be even more appropriate.

Using this “superficial logic” in another context, we might deduce thusly:

“It goes without saying his father’s name was Jack. After all, his name is Robert Jackson, right? Use common sense.”

The problem is that forcing Jack-Son to refer to a parent/child relationship is not “common sense.” This type of logic became fashionable immediately before the Second Vatican Council and many still cling to the “common sense” conclusions. 1

WHEN I STUDIED LATIN in college, the students often asked, “Why is Latin like that? It seems illogical to us.” The teacher often replied: “Sorry; usage rules.” In other words, our opinions don’t matter. How they spoke the language is all that matters. Whether we might have chosen a different solution doesn’t matter. (And don’t get me started on French!)

I recall that several students didn’t like how an accent could change the meaning of a Latin word. For example, the following words mean different things:

ÁDVENIT

ADVÉNIT

The only difference is an accent, which is why several of us insisted that the accents must be included in the Jogues Pew Lectionary and Campion Hymnal.

SUSAN BENOFY HAS PUBLISHED an article in the most recent ADOREMUS BULLETIN of which everyone should be aware. We mentioned in January 2014 that Sacrosanctum Concilium eliminated many footnotes in the final version, but Susan’s article challenges the reason we gave. We had cited what Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt said about the missing footnotes—and Schmitt was a church music consultant for Vatican II. Susan cites Fr. Pierre-Marie Gy regarding why the footnotes were eliminated. It’s not a case where only one reason must be accepted; both could be correct. Susan’s article is on pages 8-9 here:

    * *  PDF Download • ADOREMUS BULLETIN (Spring 2015)

Understanding the context of Sacrosanctum Concilium will help us avoid making absurd statements about the liturgical changes called for by the Second Vatican Council. Susan has done an excellent job.

Speaking of absurdities, I detest daylight savings. I don’t know whether this is an authentic quote, but I strongly agree with the message:

714 daylight savings



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I’m not going to repeat all the instances we’ve discussed over the years. I feel our blog has done a pretty good job covering the major ones, which were usually an attempt to “recover” an alleged “pristine” tradition. There are also LESSER EXAMPLES of liturgical “superficial logic” you might not expect, such as: The KYRIE ELEISON is a remnant of when Mass was first offered in Rome since the liturgy was originally said in Greek; The COMMUNION at the Requiem Mass still has its ancient verse from the time when all such chants had their psalm verses; the GOOD FRIDAY COLLECTS are the original Prayer of the Faithful; When there were numerous Epistles in the early centuries, the chants were interspersed between each, like they are in the New Rite; the VENI SANCTIFICATOR is the ancient Epiclesis of the Roman Rite. On a superficial level, these seem to be “common sense,” but the true history is much more complicated and occasionally shrouded in mystery. Without question, the most common flaw in liturgical scholarship is to locate one liturgical book or fragment and automatically assume that all Christendom did it that way. If we look backwards at history, we pay the price. In the year 2015, we have ample documentation of everything, paper is cheap, and a large percentage of our people are literate, but this was not always so…

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

“There are some so restless that when they are free from labour they labour all the more, because the more leisure they have for thought, the worse interior turmoil they have to bear.”

— Pope Gregory the Great

Recent Posts

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  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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