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Views from the Choir Loft

Solemn Mass • Ruins of Saint Mary’s Cathedral (Nagasaki, 1949)

Jeff Ostrowski · November 10, 2020

ERY SOON, December 7th will be here. On that day in 1949, most Rev’d Paul Aijirō Yamaguchi, Archbishop of Nagasaki, celebrated a Solemn Pontifical Mass on the ruins of Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Nagasaki. This was in honor of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Saint Francis Xavier in Japan and concluded with veneration of the right forearm—the arm he used to conduct blessings and baptisms—of Saint Francis Xavier (inside a reliquary). Father Xavier was a very important Catholic priest whom Father Valentine Young spoke about in one of his sermons.

Nagasaki remained largely devastated by the atomic blast of 1945. Its people were still dying—slowly—from radiation poisoning. Nevertheless, they wanted to honor Saint Francis Xavier, and somebody had a camera:

A different angle shows what is left of the Cathedral:

Here is yet another angle:

More photographs:

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Mass Outside Invalid?

Due to government restrictions, California has been “locked down” since March, and all our Masses are celebrated outside. A few weeks ago, someone on Facebook—who not surprisingly calls himself an ultra-traditionalist Catholic—was promoting the idea that all Masses offered outside are “invalid.” This theologian (self-proclaimed) even mockingly referred to outdoor Masses as “tent revivals.”

It would be good to remind everyone that, objectively speaking, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is of infinite value no matter where it’s offered: in a prison cell, outside under a tent, inside a church, and so forth. Indeed, Views from the Choir Loft for decades has been posting striking photos of the Mass celebrated outside. Saint Charles Garnier frequently offered the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on a boat while traveling from France to Canada. By the way, Father Garnier died on 7 December 1649AD.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Mass During World War Last Updated: November 10, 2020

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Jeff Ostrowski

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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Quick Thoughts

6 January 2021 • Anglicans on Plainsong

A book published by Anglicans in 1965 has this to say about Abbat Pothier’s Editio Vaticana, the musical edition reproduced by books such as the LIBER USUALIS (Solesmes Abbey): “No performing edition of the music of the Eucharistic Psalmody can afford to ignore the evidence of the current official edition of the Latin Graduale, which is no mere reproduction of a local or partial tradition, but a CENTO resulting from an extended study and comparison of a host of manuscripts gathered from many places. Thus the musical text of the Graduale possesses a measure of authority which cannot lightly be disregarded.” They are absolutely correct.

—Jeff Ostrowski
2 January 2021 • Temptation

When I see idiotic statements made on the internet, I go nuts. When I see heretics promoted by people who should know better, I get angry. Learning to ignore such items is difficult—very difficult. I try to remember the words of Fr. Valentine Young: “Do what God places in front of you each day.” When I am honest, I don’t believe God wants me to dwell on errors and idiocy; there’s nothing I can do about that. During 2021, I will strive to do a better job following the advice of Fr. Valentine.

—Jeff Ostrowski
31 December 2020 • “COMITES CHRISTI”

The feasts for Saint Stephen Proto-Martyr (26 December), Saint John the Evangelist The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved (27 December), and the Feast of the Holy Innocents (28 December) seem untouched by any liturgical reforms. These are very powerful feasts—I believe they once possessed octaves—and I believe they could sometimes “overpower” a Sunday feast. The rules for octaves in the olden days are extremely complex. These feasts are sometimes referred to as a single entity as: Comites Christi (“Companions of Christ”). This is just a guess, but there seems to be a triple significance: STEPHEN martyred after Christ lived, JOHN was a martyr who knew Christ personally, and the HOLY INNOCENTS were martyred before Christ’s birth.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Victoria not only made his professional debut as church organist: he also continued active on the organ bench until the very eve of his death. Indeed, during his last seven years at Madrid (1604-1611) he occupied no other musical post but that of convent organist.”

— Dr. Robert Stevenson (1961)

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