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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

A Serious Problem That Needs To Be Addressed

Jeff Ostrowski · September 22, 2015

280 Rotten Apple UR READERS ARE fantastic people; I learn so much from them and they inspire me every day. However, like any other group, a few “rotten apples” are mixed in. Recently, a few bad apples have been causing trouble on our Facebook page.

To these folks—less than 0.002% of our readership—I address the following points:

FIRST POINT • A lady on Facebook recently accused me of supporting abortion, based on an erroneous conclusion she reached by ignoring my article. I have always opposed abortion on moral grounds (cf. the Fifth Commandment) and also legal grounds, since an innocent boy or girl is killed without “due process of law” (cf. the Fifth Amendment). I treat this woman’s accusation in No. 8 (BELOW).

SECOND POINT • On the CCW Facebook page, people occasionally post comments without reading the article. They’ll read the title, look at the preview image, and guess what the article might mean. Occasionally, they guess correctly; other times, they’re way off base.

THIRD POINT • In the past, folks have written to us, claiming that by reading an article’s title and “tease” sentence, they should be able to comment intelligently. Such an assertion is wrong. You should read the article before commenting.

FOURTH POINT • Sometimes an article’s title and “tease” sentence—along with the preview image—will convey what the article is basically about, and that’s absolutely fine. On the other hand, sometimes it is necessary to read the article to understand the title, the “tease” sentence, or why a particular image was selected as the preview image—and that’s also absolutely fine.

FIFTH POINT • The notion that we have an obligation to convey everything there is to know about an article by its title—a claim once made by an angry reader—is false. For example, consider book titles. I have no idea what THE SCARLET LETTER is about, because I’ve never read it. It could be about communism, hot air balloons, or farm animals—I can’t tell by the title alone. Moreover, sometimes our articles treat more than one subject, and no title could adequately convey these. Sometimes, a title might even intentionally use irony—which is 100% acceptable.

SIXTH POINT • We have a volunteer who generously assists with the CCW Facebook page. I have instructed this person to start banning people who consistently misrepresent articles and make irresponsible comments without reading the article.

SEVENTH POINT • We are all volunteers; none of us receives a salary. We try our best to choose appropriate titles and “tease” sentences, but nobody’s perfect. Common decency requires that folks who comment on our articles should first read the article in question. Our articles are usually quite short.

EIGHTH POINT • Let me say something regarding the lady who accused me of supporting abortion. She reached this conclusion because the preview image featured a certain political candidate. I was making an important point about the liturgy, and anyone who clicked on the article—after reading the very first paragraph—would instantly realize why this image was chosen. I said absolutely nothing about that candidate, or how I might feel about him. 1

NINTH POINT • Was this lady aware I’ve been Pro-Life my entire life? Was this lady aware that I’ve prayed on my knees (along with my fellow Catholics) in front of abortuaries? Was this lady aware I’ve been involved in sidewalk counseling? Was this lady aware I’ve taken part in peaceful protests and attended Pro-Life banquets? Was this lady aware that I love children? Obviously not; yet she still felt comfortable accusing me of supporting abortion.

TENTH POINT • This lady does not know my politics, because I don’t mention them on the blog; and I’ve asked all our contributors to refrain from doing so. I will tell you this, however: my politics are based upon the moral teachings of the Catholic Church.

ELEVENTH POINT • I wish I could say this lady was anomaly, but the fact is, some people do make comments which misrepresent our articles. By the way, just because someone mentions a reality, that doesn’t “prove” they support or endorse that reality. Making reference to World War II does not mean I admire Hitler—yet some people on Facebook have been making connections like that. Dear readers, I implore you; if you see irresponsible comments on the CCW Facebook page, please help “police” in a charitable-yet-firm way. Thank you!

TWELFTH POINT • We don’t talk about politics on this blog for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s a real struggle, because the absurdities of American politics are frequently similar to the absurdities put forward by some liturgical “experts.” I hope I can always resist the temptation, because it truly is better to leave politics out of the equation.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Ironically, the image itself came from the blog of America’s most staunchly Pro-Life bishop, who excommunicated the abortionists in his diocese. It is true this image revealed a certain relationship with another politician—a relationship many would be shocked to learn about. Was there a subtle message hidden in that image, poking fun at inauthentic politicians? Was this particularly appropriate in an article where I was asking for liturgical authenticity? Perhaps; but I didn’t mention any of that because doing so would have distracted from my article.

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

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Naturally the accompaniment of the organ is merely tolerated during the office of the dead, but in fact, in nearly every parish this toleration has become a habit.”

— Henri Potiron, 1958

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  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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