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Views from the Choir Loft

Something That Would Fix So Much … But Nobody Mentions It

Jeff Ostrowski · February 16, 2016

750 Queen of Hearts HEN I WAS GROWING UP, my brothers and I hated the villains in television shows, especially the annoying ones. But now I realize that people watching the shows are supposed to hate the villains; that’s why they say “the villain you love to hate.” I suspect this is why the topic of Watergate—a subject I know a lot about—endlessly fascinates historians, who continue producing documentaries about it. After all, Nixon was such a captivating villain! He was passionate, complicated, sneaky, intelligent, and had severe emotional issues. 1

When it comes to Church music, addressing one liturgical abuse would fix a whole bunch of problems instantly—but this abuse is not being promoted by a “bad guy” like Richard Nixon. The villain is…SILENCE.

That’s right: silence. Nobody cares. Nobody will listen. Nobody will lift a finger.

EVER SINCE VATICAN II, CHURCH LAW has required approval from the local bishop to replace the Mass texts—but this requirement has been ignored. Indeed, the Bishops’ Liturgy Committee confirmed on 20 November 2012 that we are not obligated to follow the GIRM. To get around this, they said each local bishop gives his “tacit approval” to texts he’s never seen. To make matters worse, the USCCB “approval” on the front page of some hymnals doesn’t apply to any of the music! But the answer is silence. Nobody cares. As a result, 90% of Church musicians are not taught what Church law requires.

Try sending the following letter to your bishop’s office. You won’t receive a response:

    * *  PDF Download • Sample Letter to your Ordinary

Many liturgical blogs claim they wish to improve the sacred liturgy. Yet, the crucial issue—this purported “tacit approval” which has been abused by 90% of parishes for 40+ years—is never mentioned. Here at Watershed, we will continue doing what we can (in our own small way) to promote authentic Church music. But it’s strange how few seem willing to talk about this most serious liturgical abuse.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   The documentaries often show “good guys” denigrating Nixon, but neglect to mention that many of these men have been caught playing fast and loose with truth. After all, why complicate things? It’s easier to simply make Nixon the “bad guy” and the ones against him the “good guys.” Please note: I’m not excusing Nixon’s deplorable behavior. I’m merely pointing out that many of his enemies were pretty unsavory human beings, too.

Here’s something you might not know. The whole point of Watergate was proving that “nobody, no matter how high up in government, is above the law.” However, at least one highly placed man never got punished for his crimes. You see, the famous source that gave information to Bob Woodward about Watergate was referred to as “Deep Throat”—and people sought his true identity until 2005. It turns out “Deep Throat” was Mark Felt, of the FBI. The reason he waited so many years to reveal his identity was that his actions were highly illegal. Moreover, “spilling” information about cases to the press was against the FBI code of conduct, considered by his colleagues to be extremely dishonorable. Mark Felt went on trial later on for other crimes he committed—having nothing to do with Watergate—but Ronald Reagan pardoned him.

Someone amazingly came to Mark Felt’s defense, giving money to his legal defense fund and even testifying on his behalf in court. That man was Richard Milhous Nixon.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hilgartner 20 November 2012, Hymns Replacing Propers, Traditionis Custodes Vernacular, USCCB approval Last Updated: October 15, 2022

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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

    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for Pentecost Sunday (8 June 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. Because our choir is on break this week, the music is relatively simple.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

The claim that the bishop or the priest originally celebrated “versus populum” is a legend, which Otto Nussbaum (d. 1999) originally did a great deal to spread.

— Dr. Helmut Hoping (University of Freiburg)

Recent Posts

  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday
  • “Participation” • Recovering its Receptive Dimension

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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.

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