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Views from the Choir Loft

Another “Oops” Moment For Liturgical Press

Jeff Ostrowski · December 30, 2015

EARCHING GOOGLE, I stumbled across a book published by the Collegeville Liturgical Press. According to the author, “the purpose of the book is to show the excellence and superiority of the reformed liturgy over the previous one … the ordinary form over the extraordinary one.”

Like so many Collegeville books, this book is riddled with false statements:

893 Patrick Regan Extraordinary Form Ordinary


False! When the subdeacon chants the Epistle in the Extraordinary Form, the priest does not read it in a quiet voice. Likewise, when the deacon chants the Gospel according to the 1962 Missal, the priest does not read it in a low voice.

Msgr. Kevin W. Irwin of CUA says this book “reflects the best of liturgical scholarship and wisdom gleaned from the liturgy.” Julia Upton of St. John’s in New York says, “For those of us who were shaped by the 1962 Missal, this analysis enables us to see how richer our lives and spirituality are following the Vatican II reforms.” The book’s author, Fr. Patrick Regan, claims it was proofread by Fr. Jeremy Driscoll.

Are all these people comfortable with blatant errors such as the one cited above? The author references Catholics attached to the EF, who are “unaware of the deficiencies of the 1962 Missal.” Yet, shouldn’t Fr. Regan have taken the time to become familiar with the EF before writing his book? 1 Moreover, shouldn’t someone at Liturgical Press have proofread the book before publication?

COLLEGEVILLE LITURGICAL PRESS seems “unhinged” since the publication of Summorum Pontificum. One of their blogs recently published an article by Paul Inwood claiming that excessive dynamic equivalence was more “accurate” than formal equivalence. Yet, that same author admitted elsewhere that the 1970s version (“dynamic equivalence”) CONCEALED the true meaning of the prayers. Here are Inwood’s exact words:

Seventh-century theology, spirituality, and culture are very far from where most of the Church is now. The 1973 translation concealed this fact from us. If we had known what the prayers really said, we would not have wanted to pray them any longer. Now we are faced with that question 40 years later, and it is not any easier.

Not long before that, a Liturgical Press blog published an article attacking the “ad populum conversus” rubric—even claiming this phrase never occurs in postconciliar legislation—but we published screen shots proving this assertion to be false.

Those who write about the “deficiencies” (Fr. Regan’s word) of the Extraordinary Form have an obligation to learn something about it first. My pet peeve is haughty liturgical “experts” telling everyone how horrible the 1962 Missal was, and I’ll never forget reading a comment by the man who ran the Bishops’ Liturgy Committee during the 1990s. This person is an outspoken critic of the old liturgy, yet doesn’t realize the Prayers of the Foot of the Altar were not sung!



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Fr. Regan specifically deals with the Extraordinary Form—i.e. the 1962 Missale Romanum—which he calls “the last edition of the preconciliar one.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Liturgical Press Oops Moment 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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Quick Thoughts

    Message from the Vice-President!
    The Vice-President of the Church Music Association of America, Dr. Horst Buchholz (who also serves as Director of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Detroit) sent us an email yesterday regarding the harmonizations (PDF) I composed for the Gregorian Chant psalm tones. Dr. Buchholz says: “Those settings are absolutely exquisite, as I'm used to when it comes from you. Bravo! Well done! Now, as a sequel, if you could write something for accompanying psalms in English that would be awesome.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Requesting Our Advent Eucharistic Hymn
    A young lady named Agnes wrote to us: “Dear Mr. Ostrowski, do you have the PDF score for Ave Corpus Domini set to the ADVENT melody? Last year, we sang the hymn tune “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland” quite a bit using your contrafactum technique. My choir appreciates the Latin hymns and practice videos, especially in the ADVENT and CHRISTMAS seasons. Your recent article on Gregorian Psalm Tones is a great help to my organist brother, and reminds us of attending VESPERS years ago when we lived in California. Thank you so much for all the effort put into providing these wonderful resources!”   Agnes, if you are listening! Yes, the PDF file you desire can be downloaded for free at the Brébeuf Portal via this URL link. Thanks for writing to us!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Seven (7) Hymn Verses for November!
    In the month of November, we remember in a special way the souls in purgatory. The BRÉBEUF HYMNAL often includes text alone versions for its hymns; why is that? The short answer is: flexibility. The “text only” version allows each choirmaster to employ a myriad of melodies. For example, I recently set the English translation of “De Profúndis” with the DAVOST MELODY (PDF). We are singing this before November ends. Indeed, you can hear our volunteer singing this (in real life) if you click here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The “jolly good guy” kind of pastor can be an irritant. […] Ministers of the Gospel are not used car salesmen whose heartiness is a mile wide and an inch deep. A bemused layman told me that a bishop joked with him, but turned away like a startled deer when asked an important question…

— Fr. George Rutler (7 August 2017)

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