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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

The “Winking” Part • Where’d Father Lasance Get It?

Jeff Ostrowski · November 30, 2020

HE INTROIT for Ash Wednesday—from chapter 11 in the book of Wisdom—says: “Miseréris ómnium, Dó­mine, et nihil odísti eórum quæ fecísti, dissímulans peccáta hóminum propter pæniténtiam et parcens illis.” A very popular Extraordinary Form hand-missal was published by Francis Xavier Lasance (d. 11 dec 1946). 1 Notice the way he translates that verse: “Thou hast mercy upon all, O Lord, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast made, winking at the sins of men for the sake of repentance, and sparing them.”

Where did Father Lasance get that translation, and why does it matter?

Whence Wisdom’s Winking?

When it comes to the Father Lasance liturgical translations, I had been under the impression he took his Ordo Missæ from a Catholic hand-missal published in 1806 (London) and the Scripture passages from the so-called “Douay-Rheims” translation. Let us look at the Father Lasance hand-missal, published—as far as I can tell—in the 1930s (English-only) and 1940s (English/Latin version). I believe Father Lasance took his translation directly from an 1806 (Roman Catholic) hand-missal published in London:

This translation seems to have been widely adopted; e.g. it appears in Mass and Vespers (Solesmes Abbey, 1957):

This translation does not come from the so-called Douay-Rheims Bible. The reason I say “so-called” is because what people call the “Douay-Rheims” is actually a revision by Bishop Richard Challoner (d. 1781), which is quite different from the authentic Douay-Rheims translation. The Douay-Rheims-Challoner does not use “wink,” and neither does Monsignor Ronald Knox, as you can see:

The original Douay-Rheims also does not use the word “wink”—instead using an unfamiliar word (“dissemble”) which the dictionary says means: conceal one’s true motives, feelings, or beliefs; disguise or conceal (a feeling or intention).

The 1990 Gregorian Missal does not use the word “wink,” as you can see:

The 1965 Missal does not use “wink,” as you can see:

Here is what the Westminster Bible says:

*  PDF Download • Westminster Bible
—The Westminster Version of the Sacred Scriptures was produced by Roman Catholics in England.

My understanding is that Father Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923) assisted William Wilfred Oates with the creation of a hand-missal, but I have never been able to obtain a copy. I would like to see what they did for the Ash Wednesday Introit.

Was He A Jesuit?

Some have asked whether Father Lasance was a Jesuit. Here is what a liturgical expert replied:

“Lasance was not a vowed member of the Company of Jesus. He was trained by them (classics and philosophy) at Xavier College in Cincinnati, did his theology at St Meinrad, and was ordained for the archdiocese of Cincinnati. It was during the last half of his life that he wrote the many prayer books, missals and devotionalia which were so widely used… He was not exactly of robust health, and he turned the years spent as an invalid to good use as a prolific author. It would not be inaccurate to refer to him as a spiritual son of St Ignatz, but more than that would be wide of the mark…”

Finally, here is how the Introit looked in the Middle Ages:

 


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I have never been able to ascertain the exact date of publication for the Missal published by Father Lasance, and it really doesn’t matter because numerous feasts were added after Father Lasance had already died, such as the “new” feast of the Assumption in the 1950s (“Signum magnum appáruit in cælo”).

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Father Lasance Missal Last Updated: December 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 Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

Random Quote

“The plea that the laity as a body do not want liturgical change, whether in rite or in language, is, I submit, quite beside the point. … (it is) not a question of what people want; it is a question of what is good for them.”

— Dom Gregory A. Murray (14 March 1964)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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