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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Puzzle • “Now Thank We All Our God”

Jeff Ostrowski · July 26, 2018

88112 sperabo OME PEOPLE get very upset when they hear a teacher say: “Children, make sure you have a pencil in your hand.” Another sentence that bothers some people is: “Masses are often referred to by their Introit.” They feel there is a Plural/Singular issue with such sentences.

Some are bothered by the following hymn. They insist it should be “hearts” and mothers’ (notice the apostrophe). They also insist upon “Oh,” not “O.” They also want “our lives.”

1. Now thank we all our God,
With heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done,
In Whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mother’s arms
Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.

2. O may this bounteous God
Through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts
And blessèd peace to cheer us;
And keep us in His grace,
And guide us when perplexed,
And free us from all ills
In this world in the next.

But very fine hymnals have mother’s (notice the apostrophe):

1910 • Woodward Songs of Syon
1998 • London Oratory Hymn Book
1986 • New English Hymnal
1972 • Hymns Ancient and Modern
1958 • New Saint Basil

Other hymnals (e.g. Ted Marier’s) use mothers’—with the apostrophe at the end.

Hymn by Dr. John Mason Neale:

1. Come, ye faithful, raise the strain
Of triumphant gladness;
God hath brought his Israel
Into joy from sadness;
Loosed from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke
Jacob’s sons and daughters;
Led them with unmoistened foot
Through the Red Sea waters.

Some change “foot” to “feet.”

Saint Robert Southwell, a poet admired by Shakespeare, wrote:

Though thralls of sin lie lingering in their grave,

Some change “grave” to “graves.”

The original 1833 version of “The First Nowell” has “Their knee”:

5. Then entered in those Wise Men three
Most rev’rently upon their knee,
And offered there, in His presence,
Their gold and myrrh and frankincense. R.

AM TOLD the American Book of Commom Prayer has “we have not loved you with our whole heart”—whereas some would insist upon “hearts.” For myself, I don’t have a problem with sentences like: “Let all present now take a breath.” I also don’t mind: “The police carry a gun on their belts.” To me, that sounds just fine. But others will disagree.

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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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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PDF Download • Trinity Sunday (22 pages)

Feel free to download this Organ Accompaniment Booklet for Trinity Sunday (Second Vespers). Notice how the modes progress by number. Psalm 1 is mode 1; Psalm 2 is mode 2; Psalm 3 is mode 3; Psalm 4 is mode 4; Psalm 5 is mode 5. I am told by an expert that other feasts (such as Corpus Christi) are likewise organized by mode, and it’s called a “numerical office.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
10 June 2022 • “Official” rhythm of plainsong

I continue to search for the most beautiful way to present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores. (Technically, the “pure” rhythm of the official edition is what everyone is supposed to use.) You can download my latest attempt, which is the Introit for this coming Sunday: Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. Because this is not an ancient feast, the Introit had to be adapted (perhaps around 750AD). Prior Johner says the adaptation is “not an entirely happy one.”

—Jeff Ostrowski
7 June 2022 • FEEDBACK

From Chelan, Washington: “CCWatershed is a God-sent resource that I can’t function without! Such great work by the team to bring beauty back to our liturgy!” From Gainesville, Florida: “I am so appreciative of the work, of my brothers and sisters in music!” From Troutman, North Carolina: “Keep up the excellent work in service of the Liturgy!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Pope Francis breaks Catholic traditions whenever he wants because he is free from disordered attachments. Our Church has indeed entered a new phase: with the advent of this first Jesuit pope, it is openly ruled by an individual rather than by the authority of Scripture alone or even its own dictates of tradition plus Scripture.”

— Fr. Thomas Rosica (31 July 2018)

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