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Views from the Choir Loft

As Seen On Facebook…

Jeff Ostrowski · April 20, 2020

HIS TERRIBLE Covid-19 crisis has caused results I never expected; and not in a good way. People—even people I used to respect—seem incapable of thinking about this crisis in a rational way; it’s pure emotion with them. For example, on my Facebook feed Sunday morning, a dear friend was asking for monetary help because he lost his job due to forced governmental closures. A doctor immediately replied as follows:

“Oh, you lost your job? Poor baby. Go find another one—there are tons out there. Get off your butt, and stop being lazy.”

(Except he didn’t use the word “butt.”)

I condemn such notions. Leave aside his silly statement about “tons of jobs” being available; is this how rational beings should speak to one another? Emotion has take over… Rational thought is gone.

I don’t have an answer to this crisis, except to suggest that all of us proceed with caution. People seem to be easily “triggered”—and I suspect many friendships are being lost due to the high tensions and different perspectives being adopted regarding this Covid-19 crisis.

There is only one (small) positive result I can see which *might* come from this crisis. For decades, too many priests have put up with silly nonsense songs at Church, instead of authentic sacred music. Now that we have seen such a severe crisis, perhaps they will find the strength to stop “fooling around”—even if it means they get a few complaints from people who prefer Hootenanny Masses.

One thing all Catholics can agree on: Union with God must be our first priority.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: April 20, 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    26 January 2023 • FEEDBACK
    “Jeff, I wanted to personally thank you for your spiritual witness at the Symposium & often blogs that you write too. Praying that prayer in the mornings My God, my Father and my all (by Cardinal Merry Del Val), mentioning saints’ stories of Brébeuf, Jogues, John Vianney, monks who fought in WWII, their hard work in spite of terrible conditions, their relentless zeal for the faith, their genuine love for the laypeople they served, etc. Overall though—more than anything concrete I can point to that you did or said—it was your demeanor at the Symposium. I could tell you really absolutely love and believe the Catholic Faith. You don’t get that everywhere, even in Church circles. And your humility is what then makes that shine even brighter. It is super inspiring! God is working through you probably way more than you know.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Like all other liturgical functions, like offices and ranks in the Church, indeed like everything else in the world, the religious service that we call the Mass existed long before it had a special technical name.”

— ‘Rev. Adrian Fortescue (THE MASS, page 397)’

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