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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

Musical and Liturgical Life at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center

Guest Author · April 6, 2016

596 St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center EFF OSTROWSKI contacted me recently and asked me to put together a description of our musical & liturgical life here at the St. Lawrence Center (Lawrence, Kansas) which I am happy to do. What follows is based on our liturgies and other special events during the academic year.

Masses at the Saint Lawrence Center

MASS • Saturday 4pm Vigil — A typical parish Vigil Mass with Cantor, Organ and hymns from the St. Michael’s Hymnal. No chant propers, no choir. Attended by 120-150.

MASS • Sunday 8:30am — This is a smaller Mass attended primarily by permanent community members and some students. There is no choir, and the music is led by our Organist and Assistant Choir Director Katie Burchfield: An entrance hymn with organ from St. Michael’s Hymnal 4th edition, a cappella sung psalm and Gospel acclamation, English missal chants and communion antiphon from Simple English Propers. No recessional hymn.

MASS • Sunday 10:30am — This is the principal Mass of the day with attendance between 225 and 325 comprised of a wide cross section of students, permanent community, other people from town. The choir of 16-20 is likewise composed of students, faculty and permanent community members and is led by the Director of Sacred Liturgy and Music. This choir is the “flagship” choir of the St. Lawrence Center, with all members having some significant choral experience and able to read music at least minimally.

Mass begins with an entrance hymn accompanied by Organ with English Mass parts from one of the metered settings in the St. Michael’s hymnal. During Advent and Lent we do the Latin Missa Jubilate Deo for Mass parts. The Responsorial Psalm is introduced by the organ, intoned by a cantor and sung by the congregation as normal with choral verses on most Sundays. The Gospel acclamation—antiphon and verse— is done by a cantor. The Offertory Antiphon and verse is sung by the men of the choir from Simple English Propers, followed by an offertory hymn. The Communion antiphon and verse are sung by the women of the choir from SEP on most Sundays, with an occasional chant from the Gregorian repertoire for major Solemnities like Easter or significant seasonal Sundays (e.g. Second Sunday of Lent – Transfiguration). The communion motet or anthem is from the classic sacred choral repertoire both new and old (e.g. Palestrina Ego Sum Panis, Duruflé Ubi Caritas). With the exception of “super solemnities” such as Christ the King, there is no recessional hymn.

MASS • Sunday 5:00pm — This is also a large Mass, with similar attendance to the 10:30. In contrast to that Mass, however, both the congregation and the choir are comprised primarily of students. The musical format is more like a typical parish Mass with cantor, choir and piano accompaniment. The same hymns are sung as at the 10:30am Mass, but with no chant propers. The choral repertoire is sometimes the same as 10:30, but often supplemented with some Taize and other easier pieces. The choir sings on a three-weeks-on/one-week-off schedule and is open to anyone who is interested, regardless of singing experience and/or the ability to read music. It is therefore more of a training choir than the 10:30am. Even so, we still have a number of very experienced choral singers in the group. Also conducted by the Director of Sacred Liturgy and Music, this choir rehearses one hour before Mass.

MASS • Sunday 9:00pm — This is our Chant Mass and features the most distinctive format of any of the Sunday Masses at St. Lawrence. The lights in the nave are turned off with large candles on stands placed around the perimeter of the chapel and at the corners of the base of the Altar. Led by the Director of Sacred Liturgy and Music is a Schola of 4-6 male singers, all of whom must have a substantial choral and sacred music background. There are no hymns and all the sung propers are taken from SEP. We use the English Missal chants for Mass parts (Missa Jubilate Deo during Advent and Lent). The responsorial Psalm and Gospel acclamation are done a cappella—as is the entire Mass—with choral verses as arranged/composed by the director. Following the communion antiphon, we do a polyphonic piece such as Palestrina’s Jesu Rex Admirabilis or an English piece in two or three parts. After the final blessing, we sing the Salve Regina as a recessional. This Mass is usually attended by about 150 people, with a nice mix of town and gown.

Other Liturgies and Events

Tuesday Adoration — Beginning at 9am and going through about 10pm in the Chapel. Includes praise and worship beginning about 8:30pm and ending with Night Prayer and Benediction.

Easter Triduum — Done with an augmented choir like Lessons and Carols and similar to the format of the 10:30am Mass as described above, but with even more solemnity. The liturgical high point of the year here at the Center!

Annual Lessons and Carols Presentation — Now on its 28th consecutive year! Combined choirs doing classic a cappella and accompanied repertoire, the O Antiphons and an occasional men’s or women’s piece. The 10:30am Mass choir is core of the group, with others invited to join from the other groups and the permanent community. Publicly advertised and well-attended by about 200 people with a reception following.


We hope you enjoyed this guest article by Dr. Brian J. Nelson, Director of Liturgy and Music at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center.

Watershed readers may remember Dr. Nelson from his appearance on EWTN.

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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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“There are some so restless that when they are free from labour they labour all the more, because the more leisure they have for thought, the worse interior turmoil they have to bear.”

— Pope Gregory the Great

Recent Posts

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  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?

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