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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

“Breathtaking Beauty” • Hymn for Christ the King

Jeff Ostrowski · October 26, 2021

HEN DID IT BECOME fashionable to tamper with the sacred liturgy? Contrary to what certain authors claim, Vatican II was not the first instance of this. Some point to the manufactured feast of Christ the King in 1925 as typical of liturgical tampering. Here are some reasons why: (1) It was manufactured, meaning the Propria Missae and hymns for the Divine Office are modern creations; (2) It disturbs the two traditional times honoring Christ the King, viz. the Epiphany and Palm Sunday; (3) It replaces a Sunday rather than being fixed to a date on the calendar; (4) It added a PREFACE, and after Vatican II hundreds more would be added, contrary to the traditional praxis. 1

Jeff Is Unqualified: I am not qualified to decide whether the feast of Christ the King should have been added in 1925. As a choirmaster, I simply deal with reality: It was added. Where can we find excellent hymns in honor of Christ the King? Without question, the best source is the Brébeuf hymnal. For example, page 758 has a beautiful text by Father Percival Jones set to the BRETON melody. At the bottom of the page, the Brébeuf hymnal includes a marvelous “text only version,” allowing melodic flexibility.

Mixing Things Up: Whenever the choirmaster selects a lesser-known hymn, it’s important to also include some “favorites.” Therefore, on the same Sunday we sang that hymn to Christ the King, we also sang the following (as a recessional):

Holy Communion Hymn: When it comes to Holy Communion, an excellent choice is “Pange Lingua” by Saint Thomas Aquinas. The following version is #366 in the Brébeuf hymnal, with an English translation by Robert Campbell, a Scottish attorney who published Hymns and Anthems for Use in the Holy Service of the Church (1850). He converted to the Catholic Church in 1852, but was never a priest—despite the erroneous claim made on page 251 of the American Catholic Hymnal according to the Motu Proprio of His Holiness Pope Pius X (1913).

Former Slave Holder? I have mentioned before that anyone who carefully examines the Brébeuf hymnal will find a few texts by people who were not Catholic. An example would be #860, which is by John Newton (d. 1807), who had an “interesting” life. He was captain of slave ships, and later became an investor in the slave trade. (England got rid of slavery about forty years before the United States did.) John Newton was captured, and became a slave himself (in Africa). He subsequently became an abolitionist and Anglican clergyman. One of the songs he wrote is “Amazing Grace.”

If you read everything I’ve written, you deserve a wonderful reward—and here it is:

*  PDF Download • Image of Christ the King
—Grandes Heures d’Anne de Bretagne circa 1500AD.

More hymns for Christ the King can be found at this link.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   For about 1,000 years, the Roman Rite only had about ten prefaces. Following Vatican II, they wrote or “adapted” hundreds of new ones. Indeed, the USCCB even manufactured a Preface for the 4th of July!

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

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Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Christ the King, Hymn for Christ the King, Jean de Brebeuf Hymnal Last Updated: November 1, 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

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[Let there be:] “The Latin, the whole Latin, and nothing but the Latin.”

— Cardinal McIntyre (one of the Vatican II fathers)

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