• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Catholic Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

The Ordinary Form’s Incredible Freedom

Jeff Ostrowski · August 29, 2015

354 Pope Paul VI ANY AUTHORS HAVE COMMENTED on a paradox of the post-conciliar reforms which—sooner or later—will have to be addressed. On the one hand, the reformers said they wanted to return to an ancient “pristine” liturgical tradition. But on the other, they tried to make the liturgy more acceptable to a creature they called “modern man.”

Yet another paradox exists, which has not received that much commentary. On one hand, the reformers claimed that modern priests were so busy they required (for example) a much shorter version of the Divine Office. On the other hand, they provided priests with an unthinkable amount of choices when it comes to (for example) readings at daily Masses, naïvely thinking priests would spend hours each week choosing them. Ten years later—having conceded that no priests were actually doing this—they went back and provided a “cheat sheet” (explained here).

Did you know that the Ordinary Form rubrics allow musicians to choose anything they like? Consider, for example, what the 1974 Graduale says:

    * *  PDF Download • The choices of the Ordinary Form

Those are just a few of the possibilities, and that’s why the JOGUES MISSAL shows only the most traditional chants:

    * *  PDF Download • Sample Page from the Jogues Missal

The whole idea was to make it easy on the congregation.

IF I MAKE IT TO HEAVEN, I would like to ask Pope Paul VI why he was in such a hurry to promulgate the Ordinary Form. (If you doubt he was in a hurry, read the quote on Page iii.) I believe that someday the Ordinary Form will be reformed and some problematic elements—such as the numerous options described above—will be eliminated. However, I believe the Ordinary Form can only be reformed if the Church leaders reach consensus, like when the bishops voted to adopt the 2011 Missal translation by an overwhelming majority. 1

Speaking of options, Pope Benedict in 2007 promulgated Summorum Pontificum, which said that any priest desiring to do so can celebrate the 1962 Missal. The same folks who always pushed for as many liturgical options as possible—I’m speaking here of the ones who hate the Traditional Latin Mass—could say nothing in the face of the document, because it was presented as an option. It reminds me of a famous quote by Professor László Dobszay:

If the right is given to African tribes to include their pagan traditions in the liturgy, I think the same should also be given to the rite of a thousand year-old Christian Church, based on a much older Roman tradition.




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I have yet to come across a bishop who argues in favor of the previous version. By the way, a common argument made after the Council said “one must accept the reforms in their entirety or reject them in their entirey; but don’t quibble about individual changes.” Sensible people have rejected this argument, because how can a thing be judged except by the thing itself? Their argument would be as bogus as saying, “You must either accept Janet’s behavior entirely or reject it entirely; but don’t start questioning individual incidents where she did this or that.”

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

Filed Under: Articles, PDF Download Tagged With: Professor Laszlo Dobszay Last Updated: January 13, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

Jeff Ostrowski

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Come now,” they said, “Thou who wouldst destroy the temple and build it up in three days, rescue Thyself; come down from that cross, if Thou art the Son of God.”

— Gospel of St. Matthew 27:42

Recent Posts

  • Now Online! • “Missale Romanum” (1615 edition)
  • “Ash Wednesday” • Banned by YouTube after 93,000 Views!
  • Three Ways to Improvise at the Organ
  • (Screenshots) • Proving Holy Saturday Took Place In The Morning
  • “Homily: Second Sunday of Lent” • Father Valentine Young, OFM

Copyright © 2021 Corpus Christi Watershed · Charles Garnier on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.