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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

“Ad Orientem” • Why I’m Rejoicing over Sloppy Errors in the Catholic Herald

Jeff Ostrowski · August 23, 2016

184 Ad Orientem N AN APPARENT effort to “counterbalance” the views recently put forward by the Vatican’s chief liturgical officer, the Catholic Herald has published an article dealing with ad orientem celebration. To accomplish this goal, they turned to Collegeville, which exists to promote “progressive liturgy.”

The Collegeville Press currently sponsors three blogs: (1) RAIDS ACROSS THE COLOR LINE; (2) PRAY TELL; and (3) ROCK AND THEOLOGY. The author chosen was Fr. Anthony Ruff, who runs the second blog. The sloppiness of the article leaves the impression it was composed under a tight deadline.

I will first demonstrate the article’s flaws, then explain why I’m thrilled.

First Point : The author called his article “The Worst Reasons for Ad Orientem,” and attempts to show that “some people” (he doesn’t give specific names) choose to celebrate ad orientem for bogus reasons. The author writes:

It is said that the now famous “quod” in article 299 of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal clearly refers to the placement of the altar away from the wall but not the direction of the priest facing the people, and the latter is a willful liberal misinterpretation.

He’s incorrect. No serious person ever claimed §299 is a “reason” to celebrate ad orientem. It is true that §299 does allow priests to celebrate facing either direction, but the author goofed by saying it justifies ad orientem celebration. In other words, §299 is not a “reason” for anything; but neither does it impede either orientation. Later, the author attempts to show that the official Latin for §299 is ambiguous, but runs into trouble. 1

Second Point : The author writes:

Once the smoke clears, and once we all get back on the same page, behind Francis and behind the Council, who knows where it will lead?

Who precisely is not “behind” the Council? The Second Vatican Council never said ad orientem celebration should be eliminated. Moreover, no Vatican II document mentions “versus populum” celebration. If the author truly desires to get “behind the Council,” an excellent start would be promoting things mandated by the Council.

Third Point : The author writes:

It is said that ad orientem was the universal practice of the early Church.

Unfortunately, the author has misunderstood the reasons given for ad orientem. While it is true that the overwhelming tradition of the Church for centuries—disputed by no serious person—does support ad orientem celebration, the question of whether Mass was occasionally celebrated “versus populum” in the early Church is irrelevant. It simply does not enter the discussion. Nor does his passionate defense of antiquarianism, a few paragraphs later.

Fourth Point : More examples could be given, but let us end with this statement:

Pope Francis has a way of smoking out his enemies. So much of the opposition to him is being unmasked for what it is: opposition to the Second Vatican Council.

The author seems unaware of the reason ad orientem has been in the news, and should have searched google before submitting his article. He would have discovered that Pope Francis handpicked the very man who has brought this topic to the forefront in recent weeks. The author’s assertion that “smoking out one’s enemies” is best done by appointing them to the Vatican’s highest offices—and keeping them there—is absurd.

DITORS AT THE CATHOLIC HERALD had an obligation to remove the inaccuracies before publication, especially the most egregious ones. Moreover, the person who brought that article to my attention was bothered by the author’s condescending tone, and I agree that a more irenic tone would have been appropriate. To be fair, progressive liturgists are deeply uncomfortable discussing ad orientem celebration. This is not a conversation that was supposed to be happening in the year 2016.

Nevertheless, I’m thrilled the article was published because any discussion of traditional praxis—even by uninformed authors—introduces these concepts into liturgical parlance. Catholics deprived for a generation will have recourse to google, and one thing will lead to another. 2

Twenty-five years ago, the notion that a considerable number of bishops would eventually celebrate and/or tolerate the traditional rites would have been inconceivable. Indeed, the idea that ad orientem would be hotly debated in the year 2016 would have been considered laughable.

I will close with a quote that certain parties have avoided mentioning at all costs—for obvious reasons. It’s from the Vatican congregation which drafted our current GIRM:

THIS DICASTERY [i.e. the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship] wishes to state that Holy Mass may be celebrated versus populum or versus apsidem. Both positions are in accord with liturgical law; both are to be considered correct. There is no preference expressed in the liturgical legislation for either position. As both positions enjoy the favor of law, the legislation may not be invoked to say that one position or the other accords more closely with the mind of the Church.
—10 April 2000 (PROTOCOL NO. 564/00/L)




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   To back up his claim that §299 is ambiguous, he cites an author who has publicly admitted (12/1/2014) only an elementary comprehension of Latin. Furthermore, this same “authority” has been caught making demonstrably false statements about the GIRM.

2   When I visit the blogs of progressive liturgists, I never cease to be amazed at the disproportionate amount of time spent attacking, for example, the Traditional Latin Mass. The unintended consequence is that Catholics (especially young Catholics) become curious and start investigating matters.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Ad Orientem, GIRM Paragraph 299, Mass Facing The People, Robert Cardinal Sarah 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “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
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Kids’ Choir Sings Thomas Aquinas
    Last Sunday, a children’s choir I’m teaching sang with us for the very first time at Sunday Mass. Females from our main choir sang along with them. If you’re curious to hear how they sounded, you can listen to a ‘live’ recording. That’s an English version of TANTUM ERGO by Saint Thomas Aquinas. That haunting melody is called GAUFESTRE and was employed for this 2-Voice Arrangement of a special hymn for 9 November (“Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome”) which replaces a Sunday this year.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Reminder” — Month of September (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“To speak the language of God’s beauty, we must first begin to listen. And to listen, we must have silence in our lives. I pray that God will open our eyes and ears to beauty, and help us use it in the service of the Truth.”

— Bishop James D. Conley (10/4/2013)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Kids’ Choir Sings Thomas Aquinas

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