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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

Four Steps • “Homeschoolers, learn an Advent hymn!”

Veronica Moreno · December 4, 2019

80698 Veronica LTHOUGH I GREW UP Catholic, I never truly understood the season of Advent. Growing up, “Christmas Season” began immediately after Thanksgiving and consisted of decorating the house with an army of Santas, putting up the tree, and shopping for presents. It was not until I had my own children and matured in my faith, that I began to understand how special Advent is and how set apart it should be from Christmas.

“Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare the way before thee. A voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” (Mark 1:2-3)

Five years ago, Advent became extra special to our family because it marks the very first time we attended the Traditional Latin Mass; the advent of our family’s new spiritual journey into the Mass, growing deeper in love with our Lord in the Eucharist, and discovering the ancient roots of our faith. As we navigate through this season, the secular world bombards us with decorated Christmas trees, “holiday music” on every station, and house after house drenched in festive lights and projected swirling stars. I know…I’m preaching to the choir! But this is what I lived growing up. This is what my children see constantly. This is what I am fighting.


Five years into our transition to the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite and into homeschooling, I feel we’ve been able to create, cultivate, and embrace an Advent atmosphere in our home. Not only that, but it’s been a joy to see my children take ownership of these traditions. They know it is a time of preparation and expectation, a joyful waiting for our Lord. They can sense the penitential aspect of Advent through the things that are lacking within our home, compared to the secular holiday season: no Christmas music, no Christmas decorations, no Christmas tree (until Gaudete Sunday), and no Christmas shopping (its been done prior to the season).

Instead, we spread an Advent feast, in the hope that they carry on these traditions as part of their Catholic identity. We pray the St. Andrew novena, light the Advent wreath, adorn the Jesse tree, read Advent books, and learn Advent hymns. As we partake in these few activities, we attempt to journey with Mary and Joseph during the first Advent. 1


Adventide Hymn Study

80697 ver0 I would like to describe in depth how our family learns hymns. Learning about, listening to, and appreciating music is just one way our family is exposed to the true, the good, and the beautiful.

Last year, we studied O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Creator Alme Siderum during Advent. It was my first time strategically planning an Advent specific hymn study, so I went with tunes I was already familiar with. The children learned the songs easily, memorized them quickly, and could not stop singing them as we lit our wreath each night.

This year, with the Brébeuf hymnal as a resource, we were able to learn some new advent songs. As I write this, we’ve been studying On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry, O Come, Divine Messiah, and The Heavens, Savior, Open Tear. This hymnal puts the treasure of Catholic hymnody at my fingertips. Furthermore, these three songs have already been recorded and are available for anyone to listen to and learn, making this easily accessible to those of us who don’t know how to play an instrument or sight-read:

FREE REHEARSAL VIDEOS :

“On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry” = #654

“O Come, Divine Messiah” = #657

“The Heavens, Savior, Open Tear” = #659


Our hymn Study Routines

80696 ver0 Preparations: After selecting a hymn, I try to familiarize myself with the tune before introducing it to the children. There are an increasing number of hymn recordings now available, with more in the works. This is not a necessity, but is has been very helpful for us.

Hymn introduction:

1. To start, we try to understand the words. What does the hymn say? What do the words mean? Each child is given a hymnal or a printed copy of the lyrics to follow along. I slowly read through them and they listen. Then we discuss the hymn. Mostly, I bring up specific phrases or words to illustrate interesting points or talk about theology. Often, I clarify vocabulary, if needed.

2. We then listen to the hymn. I will sing it or play a recording for them to listen. This first time is just to experience and enjoy it.

3. Finally, I invite them to sing. We sing it three times together. At this early stage, it is only an invitation; they don’t have to sing if they are not comfortable yet. I encourage them to follow along with the music and practice sight-singing but there’s always an auditory anchor. This is also a great opportunity for your budding pianists to play accompaniment as the family sings.

4. From then on, the hymns are sung every day together during our morning basket time. We may focus on one song at a time or alternate between different songs every other day; it really depends on the length of the song and the time we have.

Extension activities: While not essential, hymns are easily extended into other academic areas. I have already described how our studies may encourage sight-singing, organ accompaniment, and general musicality. Lyrics can be used for copy work. Verses or entire hymns can be used for recitation. The more poetic texts can be used as poetry for memorization. Not to mention the deep theological conversations you can have from the beautiful and lyrical hymns of our Church.

Finally, as the melodies carve lines into our souls and the words become second nature, we enjoy them throughout the season. The Advent hymns we’re currently learning, we will sing during the lighting of our Advent candle, or after we pray the rosary. Sometimes we may even hear these hymns at Mass! That’s the point! They surround our family as part of our Adventide identity.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   This is not an exhaustive list of Advent activities. Check out even more awesome ideas by Dr. Tappan.

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 Veronica Moreno

Veronica Moreno is married to a teacher and homeschools five children. She has been cantor at her local Catholic parish for over a decade.—(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    PDF Comparison Chart • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”
    EARS BEFORE truly revolutionary changes were introduced by the post-conciliar reformers, Evelyn Waugh wrote (on 16 August 1964) to John Cardinal Heenan: “I think that a vociferous minority has imposed itself on the hierarchy and made them believe that a popular demand existed where there was in fact not even a preference.” We ask the kind reader— indeed, we beg you—to realize that those of us born in the 1940s and 1950s had no cognizance of Roman activities during the 1960s and 1970s. We were concerned with making sure we had the day’s bus fare, graduating from high school, taking care of our siblings, learning a trade, getting a job, courting a spouse. We questioned neither the nuns nor the Church.1 Do not believe for one instant any of us were following the liturgical machinations of Cardinal Lercaro or Father Bugnini in real time. Setting The Stage • To never question or resist Church authorities is praiseworthy. On the other hand, when a scandalous situation persists for decades, it must be brought into focus. Our series will do precisely that as we discuss the Lectionary Scandal from a variety of angles. We don’t do this to attack the Catholic Church. Our goal is bringing to light what’s been going on, so it can be fixed once and for all. Our subject is extremely knotty and difficult to navigate. Its complexity helps explain why the situation has persisted for such a long time.2 But if we immediately get “into the weeds” we’ll lose our audience. Therefore, it seems better to jump right in. So today, we’ll explore the legality of selling these texts. A Word On Copyright • Suppose Susie modifies a paragraph by Edgar Allan Poe. That doesn’t mean ipso facto she can assert copyright on it. If Susie takes a picture of a Corvette and uses Photoshop to color the tires blue, that doesn’t mean she henceforth “owns” all Corvettes in America. But when it comes to Responsorial Psalm translations, certain parties have been asserting copyright over them, selling them for a profit, and bullying publishers vis-à-vis hymnals and missals. Increasingly, Catholics are asking whether these translations are truly under copyright—because they are identical (or substantially identical) to other translations.3 Example After Example • Our series will provide copious examples supporting our claims. Sometimes we’ll rely on the readership for assistance, because—as we’ve stressed—our subject’s history couldn’t be more convoluted. There are countless manuscripts (in Greek, Hebrew, and Latin) we don’t have access to, so it would be foolish for us to claim that our observations are somehow the ‘final word’ on anything. Nevertheless, we demand accountability. Catholics in the pews are the ones who paid for all this. We demand to know who specifically made these decisions (which impact every English-speaking Catholic) and why specifically certain decisions were made. The Responsorial Psalms used in America are—broadly speaking—stolen from the hard work of others. In particular, they borrowed heavily from Father Cuthbert Lattey’s 1939 PSALTER TRANSLATION:
    *  PDF Download • COMPARISON CHART —We thank the CCW staff for technical assistance with this graph.
    Analysis • Although certain parties have been selling (!!!) that translation for decades, the chart demonstrates it’s not a candidate for copyright since it “borrows” or “steals” or “rearranges” so much material from other translations, especially the 1939 translation by Father Cuthbert Lattey. What this means in layman’s terms is that individuals have been selling a translation under false pretenses, a translation they don’t own (although they claim to). To make RESTITUTION, all that money will have to be returned. A few years ago, the head of ICEL gave a public speech in which he said they give some of “their” profits to the poor. While almsgiving is a good thing, it cannot justify theft. Our Constant Theme • Our series will be held together by one thread, which will be repeated constantly: “Who was responsible?” Since 1970, the conduct of those who made a profit by selling these sacred texts has been repugnant. Favoritism was shown toward certain entities—and we will document that with written proof. It is absolutely essential going forward that the faithful be told who is making these decisions. Moreover, vague justifications can no longer be accepted. If we’re told they are “making the translations better,” we must demand to know what specifically they’re doing and what specific criteria they’re following. Stay Tuned • If you’re wondering whether we’ll address the forthcoming (allegedly) Lectionary and the so-called ABBEY PSALMS AND CANTICLES, have no fear. We’ll have much to say about both. Please stay tuned. We believe this will end up being the longest series of articles ever submitted to Corpus Christi Watershed. To be continued. ROBERT O’NEILL Former associate of Monsignor Francis “Frank” P. Schmitt at Boys Town in Nebraska JAMES ARNOLD Formerly associated w/ King’s College, Cambridge A convert to the Catholic Church, and distant relative of J. H. Arnold MARIA B. Currently serves as a musician in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. Those aware of the situation in her diocese won’t be surprised she chose to withhold her last name.
    1 Even if we’d been able to obtain Roman journals such as NOTITIAE, none of them contained English translations. But such an idea would never have occurred to a high school student or a college student growing up in the 1960s. 2 A number of shell corporations claim to own the various biblical translations mandated for Roman Catholics. They’ve made millions of dollars selling (!) these indulgenced texts. If time permits, we hope to enumerate these various shell corporations and explain: which texts they claim to own; how much they bring in each year; who runs them; and so forth. It would also be good to explore the morality of selling these indulgenced texts for a profit. Furthermore, for the last fifty years these organizations have employed several tactics to manipulate and bully others. If time permits, we will expose those tactics (including written examples). Some of us—who have been working on this problem for three decades—have amassed written documentation we’ll be sharing that demonstrates behavior at best “shady” and at worst criminal. 3 Again, we are not yet examining the morality of selling (!) indulgenced texts to Catholics mandated to use those same translations.
    —Guest Author
    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). 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 the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

“I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed—with no good reason—Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”

— ‘Fr. Bouyer, Consilium member appointed by Pope Paul VI’

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