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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

PDF Download • “Can A Hymnal Be Too Catholic?”

Jeff Ostrowski · September 28, 2021

VEN THOUGH I’m not a theologian, I was still allowed to witness arguments over which texts were to be included in the Brébeuf hymnal. My expertise is music; but we had Catholic priests who did the heavy lifting regarding anything touching theology. The hymn below (Number 787) elicited a discussion I’ll attempt to describe—accurately, I hope. Essentially, Protestants reject certain teachings when it comes to the saints. Protestants are comfortable saying we should imitate holy men and women; but the problem is that many Protestants deny Church teaching when it comes to invoking the intercession of the saints.

Can A Hymnal Be Too Catholic? The following hymn isn’t by a Catholic—and if you look hard enough, you will notice the Brébeuf hymnal does include a tiny percentage of Protestant hymns. There was a discussion regarding whether to include it, since (as is typical with Protestant texts) it focuses on imitating the lives of the saints, rather than invoking their heavenly intercession. In the end, a few changes were made to the text and it was adopted. In a nutshell, it was decided that nothing is wrong with a hymn encouraging us to imitate the lives of the saints. While it does not explicate the entire Catholic teaching on Church Triumphant, no single hymn can. 1

A recording by our volunteer choir:

A Compelling Argument: The marvelous Sophia Institute Press has begun a series of papers dealing with authentic hymnody. The following document (available as free PDF file) deals with whether Protestant translations of the ancient Catholic hymns can be dangerous:

*  PDF Download • “Are Anglican Translations Dangerous?”

In particular, that paper cites books by Protestants which translate the ancient hymns of the Breviary—but the authors admit they bowdlerize the texts when they found them to be “too Catholic.”

Let’s Get Serious: Some people say: “As long as a hymn is free of heresy” it’s okay to use at Mass; but I disagree. After all, there is such a thing as a Catholic Sensibility. Moreover, certain phrases and certain texts are strongly associated with Protestantism—and that’s undeniable. Furthermore, emphasis is important, as is context. Protestants erroneously emphasize certain truths while downplaying others—and we must be aware of this. The Mass is serious business; the purity and holiness of our Redeemer is not something we should play around with. On the other hand, as time passes, certain things can lose their associations. I have argued that although “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is technically Protestant, it no longer has strong Protestant associations. (I realize that good people can sincerely disagree about some of these rather subjective evaluations.)


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Furthermore, the Brébeuf hymnal contains a multitude of hymns which invoke the saints in heaven.

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

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Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Anglican Hymn Translations, Catholic Sensibility, Feast of All Saints, For All Thy Saints O Lord Last Updated: September 28, 2021

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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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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 literal translation: “Lord, have mercy—Christ, have mercy,” does not offer much material for an acceptable song text. The words, not having any feminine syllables, are abrupt; the sounds are almost all muted and colorless; the rhythmic flow is too brief. So many people may prefer responses that further extend the song of the assembly, e.g., “Have pity on us, Lord” or “Pardon us and change our hearts.

— J. Gelineau attacking the KYRIE ELEYSON (page 64 in “Learning to Celebrate,” 1985)

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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