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Views from the Choir Loft

PDF Download • “Missal for the Laity” (1846)

Jeff Ostrowski · September 20, 2017

WO THINGS happen at Mass: (1) Jesus Christ is made present on the Altar; (2) Jesus Christ is offered to His Heavenly Father. If we were to ask the average Catholic for a basic definition of the Mass, how many could provide one? I don’t need to answer that question, because our readers know how dreadfully low the percentage would be. Yet, we still find authors posting lengthy statements about the “massive effect” Magnum Principium will have. In my view, we would obtain a massive effect if we taught every Catholic the basics about the Holy Mass.

Here’s an 1846 ORDO MISSAE published for the laity:

* *  PDF Download • “Ordinary of the Mass” (1846)

The entire book is phenomenal, and Google has placed several (complete) versions online:

* *  VERSION 1   (download to your Hard Drive to see images) • 821 pages

* *  VERSION 2   (download to your Hard Drive to see images) • 886 pages

This was published 90 years before most homes in America had electricity!

Viewing a book like this, we’re reminded how seriously Catholics once took the sacred liturgy. Those of us who love liturgical history can’t help but admire the careful illustrations:

The Vatican II bishops had good intentions, I’m sure. But after the Council, our liturgy was greatly impoverished, in direct contradiction to the what the Vatican II documents actually said. How many Catholics, for example, will hear the official Entrance Chant for the Pentecost, which even today is supposed to be identical to what is found in the 1846 Missal?

4405 Missal for the Catholic LAITY

Most parishes delete the official prayer—even though it’s incredibly ancient—and replace it with a song of their choosing. If you don’t believe me when I say the 1974 Graduale texts are ancient, pick up a copy of the Jogues Illuminated Missal (which has full approval from the USCCB as well as the local bishop).

Have you noticed the liturgical progressives are never happy? All we’ve heard for fifty years is grumbling and bellyaching. Those who love the traditional liturgical practices, on the other hand, cannot say enough. They love to share the music and prayers and books containing these treasures. They are filled with joy. And it’s the same with authentic Catholic music. There’s nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to Guerrero, Palestrina, and plainsong. Such things—being pure, holy, and beyond reproach—constitute the “worm that dieth not” for liturgical progressives.

I’ll never forget reading a 2009 article wherein a leading progressive liturgist (Fr. Robert Taft) was asked “What is the biggest liturgical abuse out there?” He didn’t talk about disrespect for the SANCTISSIMUM. He didn’t mention irreverent, goofy music. Instead, he cited priests distributing the Blessed Sacrament from the Tabernacle. Many popes have said it is more fitting (from a liturgical point of view) to distribute “hosts consecrated at the same liturgy”—and that’s just fine, as far as I’m concerned. 1 But at the end of the day, when we receive the SANCTISSIMUM, we receive Jesus Christ: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. This is a reality, irrespective of when Consecration took place. To imply that Jesus Christ—our Infinite God—is somehow deficient (in any way whatsoever) is utterly wrong. It’s actually satanic to say that “God is not enough for me.”

Rev. Taft has a right to claim “the biggest liturgical abuse” is Catholics receiving from the Tabernacle. But I also have a right to say: “No, that’s not the biggest abuse.”

Here are a few more images from that marvelous 1846 Missal:

4404 Prose 4407 Crucif 4408 Medieval Mass

 

 


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Some will fail to carefully read my words, and erroneously claim that I oppose this church rule: “As a general rule, Holy Communion is given from hosts consecrated at the same Mass and not from those reserved in the tabernacle.” I have made it clear I do not oppose that rule.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Medieval Manuscripts Last Updated: September 7, 2021

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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

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III, often denoted by its trope name: Missa Kyrie Deus sempiterne. This year, I’m traveling from Singapore to serve on the symposium faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. (See below.) This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is, the congregation sings for the beginning and end, but the choir alone adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. You may download the score, generously made available to the whole world—free of charge—by CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “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

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

«In the same quarter where he was crucified there was a garden.» (John 19:41) — The word “garden” hinted at Eden and the fall of man, as it also suggested through its flowers in the springtime the Resurrection from the dead.

— Fulton J. Sheen

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “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

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