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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

Understanding the Sacred

Andrew Leung · December 10, 2015

CTL Understanding the Sacred 1 HE YEAR OF MERCY has officially begun this Tuesday on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. And there has been a few events happened in the Vatican this week. I am really troubled by two of those. Usually, I try to write positively and say nice things, but these two things really upset me. So, please forgive me for writing out my complains here.

A light show was held in St. Peter’s Square on Tuesday night. Photographs were projected onto the façade and cupola of Saint Peter’s Basilica. These illuminations were supposed to present images inspired of mercy, of humanity, of the natural world, and of climate changes. The goal sounds pretty nice and cool, doesn’t it? I saw those images, they are really nice. But here is the problem: it is a sacrilege!

St. Peter’s Basilica is the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, a Papal Basilica that is blessed and consecrated to God. The church building itself is sacramental and sacred. It is also the tomb of St. Peter and many other saints and popes. And people used it as a projector screen. Just think about how ridiculous that is! Yes, those are nice pictures of God’s creatures, but those are also animals. We don’t bring animals to church! We human beings are designed in the image of God, with will and intellect, and we may choose to worship God. That is why we build churches, sacred and sacramental buildings, for the Liturgy. Churches are set apart from the rest of the buildings for us, human beings, to worship God and God alone. The reality is that these animals don’t belong there.

I also saw on the internet some pictures of similar projections on some other churches and cathedrals around the world. Most of them have protections of religious images. I am not sure what the goals are for those projections. Maybe they are using these images to decorate the outside of the church, or maybe the images will attract more people to the church. But I don’t think these goals can be an excuse of treating churches as projector screens. It’s not that hard to set up a screen outside the church. If they want to make the churches look nicer, why don’t they start building new churches that actually look beautiful. Maybe we can stop worshiping inside spaceships and rockets first!

Another danger of having these images projected to churches is that it will be impossible to control what will be projected in the future. Now people are projecting religious pictures and image or the nature, but who knows what kind of “arts” will be projected onto our churches in the future. This also leads to the second thing that troubles me.

CTL Understanding the Sacred 2 AM SURE that you have all seen the official logo for the Year of Mercy. If not, you can take a close look at it on my other post about the Year of Mercy. During the Opening Mass of the Jubilee Year, this image was printed on the Book of the Gospel and hung over the main door of St. Peter’s Basilica. This image borders me a lot and I am sure it borders many other people too. It is literally two men with three eyes. If you ask a young child what they see in the picture, they will probably give you that exact answer. The only “man” I know that has three eyes is a god from the Chinese legend. Why must artists design things that are weird and cannot be appreciated by everyone? Well, it’s sad that this picture has been chosen and we are going to see it hung around churches for the rest of the Jubilee Year.

Sacred Art and Sacred Music, like Sacred Architecture, should be holy; that is set apart from other art and music. Sacred Art and Sacred Music need to be objectively beautiful and universal, so that everyone can appreciate them; so that they can reflect the beauty and glory of God; and bring people closer to Him.

I think we, the Church, still have a long way to go in understanding the Sacred. But we must not loss hope and we must keep praying. I found this prayer online, not quite sure who wrote it, but it is perfect.

O Jesus, Thou the beauty art Of Angel worlds above! Thy Name is music to the heart, Enchanting it with love! Celestial sweetness unalloyed! Who eat Thee hunger still, Who drink of Thee still feel a void Which naught but Thou can fill! O my sweet Jesus! hear the sighs Which unto Thee I send! To Thee my inmost spirit cries, My being’s hope and end! Stay with us, Lord, and with Thy light Illume the soul’s abyss; Scatter the darkness of our night And fill the world with bliss. O Jesu! spotless Virgin flower! Our life and joy! to Thee Be praise, beatitude and power, Through all eternity! Amen.

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 Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    PDF Comparison Chart • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”
    EARS BEFORE truly revolutionary changes were introduced by the post-conciliar reformers, Evelyn Waugh wrote (on 16 August 1964) to John Cardinal Heenan: “I think that a vociferous minority has imposed itself on the hierarchy and made them believe that a popular demand existed where there was in fact not even a preference.” We ask the kind reader— indeed, we beg you—to realize that those of us born in the 1940s and 1950s had no cognizance of Roman activities during the 1960s and 1970s. We were concerned with making sure we had the day’s bus fare, graduating from high school, taking care of our siblings, learning a trade, getting a job, courting a spouse. We questioned neither the nuns nor the Church.1 Do not believe for one instant any of us were following the liturgical machinations of Cardinal Lercaro or Father Bugnini in real time. Setting The Stage • To never question or resist Church authorities is praiseworthy. On the other hand, when a scandalous situation persists for decades, it must be brought into focus. Our series will do precisely that as we discuss the Lectionary Scandal from a variety of angles. We don’t do this to attack the Catholic Church. Our goal is bringing to light what’s been going on, so it can be fixed once and for all. Our subject is extremely knotty and difficult to navigate. Its complexity helps explain why the situation has persisted for such a long time.2 But if we immediately get “into the weeds” we’ll lose our audience. Therefore, it seems better to jump right in. So today, we’ll explore the legality of selling these texts. A Word On Copyright • Suppose Susie modifies a paragraph by Edgar Allan Poe. That doesn’t mean ipso facto she can assert copyright on it. If Susie takes a picture of a Corvette and uses Photoshop to color the tires blue, that doesn’t mean she henceforth “owns” all Corvettes in America. But when it comes to Responsorial Psalm translations, certain parties have been asserting copyright over them, selling them for a profit, and bullying publishers vis-à-vis hymnals and missals. Increasingly, Catholics are asking whether these translations are truly under copyright—because they are identical (or substantially identical) to other translations.3 Example After Example • Our series will provide copious examples supporting our claims. Sometimes we’ll rely on the readership for assistance, because—as we’ve stressed—our subject’s history couldn’t be more convoluted. There are countless manuscripts (in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin) we don’t have access to, so it would be foolish for us to claim that our observations are somehow the ‘final word’ on anything. Nevertheless, we demand accountability. Catholics in the pews are the ones who paid for all this. We demand to know who specifically made these decisions (which impact every English-speaking Catholic) and why specifically certain decisions were made. The Responsorial Psalms used in America are—broadly speaking—stolen from the hard work of others. In particular, they borrowed heavily from Father Cuthbert Lattey’s 1939 PSALTER TRANSLATION:
    *  PDF Download • COMPARISON CHART —We thank the CCW staff for technical assistance with this graph.
    Analysis • Although certain parties have been selling (!!!) that translation for decades, the chart demonstrates it’s not a candidate for copyright since it “borrows” or “steals” or “rearranges” so much material from other translations, especially the 1939 translation by Father Cuthbert Lattey. What this means in layman’s terms is that individuals have been selling a translation under false pretenses, a translation they don’t own (although they claim to). To make RESTITUTION, all that money will have to be returned. A few years ago, the head of ICEL gave a public speech in which he said they give some of “their” profits to the poor. While almsgiving is a good thing, it cannot justify theft. Our Constant Theme • Our series will be held together by one thread, which will be repeated constantly: “Who was responsible?” Since 1970, the conduct of those who made a profit by selling these sacred texts has been repugnant. Favoritism was shown toward certain entities—and we will document that with written proof. It is absolutely essential going forward that the faithful be told who is making these decisions. Moreover, vague justifications can no longer be accepted. If we’re told they are “making the translations better,” we must demand to know what specifically they’re doing and what specific criteria they’re following. Stay Tuned • If you’re wondering whether we’ll address the forthcoming (allegedly) Lectionary and the so-called ABBEY PSALMS AND CANTICLES, have no fear. We’ll have much to say about both. Please stay tuned. We believe this will end up being the longest series of articles ever submitted to Corpus Christi Watershed. To be continued. ROBERT O’NEILL Former associate of Monsignor Francis “Frank” P. Schmitt at Boys Town in Nebraska JAMES ARNOLD Formerly associated w/ King’s College, Cambridge A convert to the Catholic Church, and distant relative of J. H. Arnold MARIA B. Currently serves as a musician in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. Those aware of the situation in her diocese won’t be surprised she chose to withhold her last name.
    1 Even if we’d been able to obtain Roman journals such as NOTITIAE, none of them contained English translations. But such an idea would never have occurred to a high school student or a college student growing up in the 1960s. 2 A number of shell corporations claim to own the various biblical translations mandated for Roman Catholics. They’ve made millions of dollars selling (!) these indulgenced texts. If time permits, we hope to enumerate these various shell corporations and explain: which texts they claim to own; how much they bring in each year; who runs them; and so forth. It would also be good to explore the morality of selling these indulgenced texts for a profit. Furthermore, for the last fifty years these organizations have employed several tactics to manipulate and bully others. If time permits, we will expose those tactics (including written examples). Some of us—who have been working on this problem for three decades—have amassed written documentation we’ll be sharing that demonstrates behavior at best “shady” and at worst criminal. 3 Again, we are not yet examining the morality of selling (!) indulgenced texts to Catholics mandated to use those same translations.
    —Guest Author
    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). 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 the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —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

Nothing should be allowed that is unworthy of divine worship, nothing that is obviously profane or unfit to express the inner, sacred power of prayer. Nothing odd or unusual is allowable, since such things, far from fostering devotion in the praying community, rather shock and upset it—and impede the proper and rightful cultivation of a devotion faithful to tradition.

— Pope Paul VI • 10/13/1966

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
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  • Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
  • Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser

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