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

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Views from the Choir Loft

Watershed Turns Nine Today!

Jeff Ostrowski · October 19, 2015

ORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED was established nine years ago. I discovered CCW shortly after its founding and began doing contract labor. 1 We started creating projects dedicated to the Jesuit Martyrs, whom I had admired for years. 2 Years later, someone claimed that CCW was founded on the Jesuit Martyrs’ feast. I was familiar with their Extraordinary Form date—26 September—but not their Ordinary Form date. About four years ago, I discovered this piece of paper:

181 CCW Birthday


Remember: that date was chosen by the State of Texas. Coincidence? You decide!

MY PRAYER GOING FORWARD is for God to give us the grace to avoid the negative and focus on the positive. That can be quite difficult sometimes.

Nothing is easier than writing provocative, sensationalist headlines for blog articles. We try to avoid that.

Nothing is easier than finding falsehoods on the internet and “exposing” them in a blog article. The problem is, doing that usually elevates the falsehoods.

Nothing is easier than spreading gossip online. We try to avoid it.

Nothing is easier than writing snarky, slanted articles which reveal a lack of charity on the part of the author and (ultimately) insult the intelligence of the readers. We try to avoid that.

THE CHALLENGE IS, using the above techniques almost guarantees “attention” and web traffic. Talking about perennial truths seldom garners as many “clicks” as provocative headlines or character assassination. I think this is because of HUMAN NATURE—something our pastor often mentioned during his sermons years ago. Most people would rather click on an article about a famous priest who got caught sinning than a tutorial on how to sing Gregorian chant.

But we will continue trying to focus on the positive, because we believe it’s what God wants us to do. An example of something positive: we made available this remarkable book about the Jesuit Martyrs of North America. I cannot recommend that book highly enough. 3



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Watershed still had paid employees in 2007. We no longer have paid employees—we’re a 100% volunteer organization. Someday, if we can find find the funding, we’d like to again have paid employees.

2   I dedicated my first CD to these martyrs in 2001.

3   We hope to do more projects honoring those martyrs. God-willing, we’re just getting started!

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The main place should be given, all things being equal, to gregorian chant, as being proper to the roman Liturgy. Other kinds of sacred music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded, provided that they correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action and that they foster the participation of all the faithful.”

— ‘2011 GIRM, §41 (Roman Missal, 3rd Edition)’

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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.