• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

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.”

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
    • Jeff’s Mom Joins Fundraiser
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Feasts Website
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

(Installment #8) “Catholic Hymnals” • Cynthia Ostrowski

Cynthia Ostrowski · September 15, 2020

Editor’s Note: Each contributor is reflecting upon Comparison of 15 Traditional Catholic Hymnals. Rather than rehashing Mr. Craig’s article, they were given freedom to “expand upon” this vast subject. Click here to read all the installments that have appeared so far.

UNG ON OUR kitchen wall is the morning prayer we say, written by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val and translated by Father Robert Skeris. It talks about how the Jesus Christ—the Son of God, Whose power is infinite and Who will be our Judge at the end of the world—lived a life of meekness, poverty, and humiliation. This paradox calls to mind what is believed about Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor of Rome. Shortly before dying, he supposedly exclaimed: “Pale Galilean, Thou hast conquered.” The emperor didn’t want to believe that someone Who had died the death of a criminal was also the Son of God.

Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was sensitive to paradox. He wrote that our Holy Catholic Faith began, surprisingly, with total catastrophe:

“Christianity, unlike any other religion in the world, begins with catastrophe and defeat. Sunshine religions and psychological inspirations collapse in calamity and wither in adversity. But the Life of the Founder of Christianity, having begun with the Cross, ends with the empty tomb and victory.”

I am not sure what I can add to Daniel Craig’s article comparing 15 hymnals, so I will share a recording I sang Soprano for. This melody was written by composer Kevin Allen, and it’s #869 in the Brébeuf hymnal:

Rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #869.

True Christianity is not related to the “prosperity Gospel” preached by Protestants. They claim that if you believe in Jesus, you will be rewarded in this life: a big house, fine clothing, the best food to eat, the nicest cars, etc. The Catholic Church rejects such a notion; and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen once speculated that people would become Christians for the wrong reasons if the prosperity Gospel were true. The reality is that some of the holiest saints of the Church, such as the Jesuit Martyrs of North America, lived lives of unspeakable hardship and severe poverty.

Earlier, I spoke of paradox. Number 869 in the Brébeuf hymnal (Solemn Hymn to the Son of God, an original hymn text by Father Dominic Popplewell) makes use of paradox. Most of the paradoxes should be fairly easy to understand, especially since the Scripture references were listed at the bottom of the page. For instance, this hymn speaks of Jesus Christ being the True Shepherd, but also the Paschal Lamb. The hymn is under copyright by the Brébeuf hymnal, so I can only provide a few verses:

2. Ever God, in time a man,
Limited, whom none may span,
Knowing all, whose wisdom grew, (Lk 2.52)
Paschal Lamb and Shepherd true:
(Jn 1.29, 36; I Cor 5.7; I Pt 1.19; Jn 10.11, 14; I Pt 2.25)

Who by yielding won the strife,
Who by dying garnered life,
Who departed, but to bide (Mt 28.20)
With the Church, your chosen Bride. (Eph 5.25-27; Ap 21.2, 9)

I would like to speak of the line that says: “Who departed, but to bide | With the Church, your chosen Bride.” Jesus said (John 16:7) that He must go: “And yet I can say truly that it is better for you I should go away; he who is to befriend you will not come to you unless I do go, but if only I make my way there, I will send him to you.” But Jesus said in Matthew 28:20 that He would stay: “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” Is our Lord Jesus Christ here? Or not? We know that our Savior is present in the Holy Eucharist: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The bishop of Mopsuestia (Theodore) writing in the 5th Century, said:

When Christ gave the bread,
He did not say,
“This is the symbol of my body,”
but, “This is my body.”
In the same way,
when He gave the cup of His blood
He did not say,
“This is the symbol of my blood,”
but, “This is my blood.”

We can also see Jesus in other ways. We see Jesus in the eyes of the poor. We see Jesus in the eyes of those who are persecuted. We see God in the wonders of Creation, such as mountains, clouds, oceans, and the snowflake. And Matthew 18:20 says: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them.” Theologians could probably explain more ways Jesus is here with us.

Father Popplewell’s hymn (#869) continues with more verses, making much use of paradox.

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

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Traditional Catholic Hymnals Last Updated: September 15, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Cynthia Ostrowski

Cynthia Ostrowski holds a bachelor's degree (2005) in Geographic Information Science and a minor in Computer Science from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

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

The frequent elisions, as in the verse “Hoc óstium arcae in látere est Genti ad salútem pósitum” (feast of the Sacred Heart) make for an unpronounceable and unsingable hymn, and slightly less so does the hymn for Christ the King.

— Archbishop Hannibal Bugnini

Recent Posts

  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
  • Involving Women in the Communion?
  • “Toward a More Sacred Style With Pastoral Charity” • Guest Article by Dr. Myrna Keough
  • “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Kids’ Choir Sings Thomas Aquinas

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.