Views from the Choir Loft

PDF • “The Truth Of Papal Claims” (Merry del Val)

Jeff Ostrowski · December 29, 2015

ARDINAL Raphael Merry del Val was a special assistant to—and close friend of—Pope Pius X. It’s funny to realize that Pius X was the son of a poverty-stricken mailman, while his immediate predecessor (Leo XIII) was a prince by birth. ¹ Merry del Val, too, came from an extremely powerful family, and was a Monsignor before he was a priest! You see, he was appointed an ambassador while still a seminarian. There was some “rule” saying all ambassadors must be at least a monsignor, so (according to what I’ve been told) the pope made him a monsignor! ²

Cardinal Merry del Val published a book—in response to a Protestant—about whether the pope is “infallible” or “impeccable” and you can download it in PDF:

* * PDF Download • First Version (4.09MB)

* * PDF Download • Second Version (90.2MB)

Another great resource is RADIO REPLIES by Fr. Leslie Rumble. The entire collection can be read online, but the website is painfully slow and frequently offline. Somebody should go through and—using technology—transfer all that information to a faster, more reliable server. Here are two PDF examples I think you’ll find fascinating:

* * PDF Download • “Liturgical Changes of Vatican II”

* * PDF Download • “The Modern Papacy”

Those were taken from the 1970s volumes. You see, the RADIO REPLIES were published in many volumes, beginning in the 1920s and stretching all the way to the 1970s. here’s how the website looks, once it finally downloads:

904 Radio Replies

We hope to someday scan the RADIO REPLIES books, and this is an example of what we use $5.00 monthly donations toward. The following quote from Fr. Rumble seems like it could have been written forty years later!

“…irresponsible utterances from within the Church gain wide publicity, although to many Catholics the academics giving voice to them seem like theological termites bent on undermining the faith.” —Fr. Leslie Rumble

NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1 He’s often referred to as a prince, although I don’t know if that’s technically correct; but Leo XIII was from a very powerful European family.

2 By the way, Pope Francis abolished the title of Monsignor for most priests.

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

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).

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

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

“I prefer to preach,” said one priest “even without immediate preparation, for I can always draw—from the various studies stored away during the seminary years—enough material to interest our good Catholic people. But when I have to go to the altar and sing High Mass or a Requiem, and I know that I cannot read a note of the Preface and the ‘Pater Noster’, I feel like going to martyrdom. Yet the notes are right there before my eyes, but they seem to mock my ignorance.”

— From a 1920 article by Very Rev. Leo P. Manzetti