Views from the Choir Loft

“For The Souls In Purgatory” • A Catholic Hymn

Jeff Ostrowski · November 12, 2021

HEN I WAS STILL in college, I remember arguing with a priest about whether those involved in sports should offer prayers “that our team wins.” In my view, praying to win a sports game is trivial; but he disagreed. Leaving that debate aside, we can all agree that praying for the souls in Purgatory is one of the best things we can do. If we pray for these souls, according to Father Irwin, “they have an obligation to pray for us” when they reach Heaven. Saint John Vianney was once overheard—when he was deep in prayer—saying something to the effect of: “I am not ready to go to Heaven; I am happy, O Lord, to live in this world and offer sacrifices for the souls in Purgatory.”

Here’s a beautiful hymn for the souls in Purgatory:

That hymn is #800 in the Brébeuf hymnal. At the bottom of the page, you can learn more about the hymn text (“De Profundis Exclamantes Audi”), which has a really awesome history. By the way, the month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

A Very Small Group: In addition to our large choir which sings at our 11:00am Mass, we have a very small group of singers who take care of the 9:00am Mass. Here’s an example of this small group singing a hymn (number 835 in The Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal) during Mass last Sunday:

I don’t know a more beautiful hymn than that one!

57211-Saint-John-Vianney-stained-glass

57207-monks-singing

57209-Saint-John-Vianney-stained-glass

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

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

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).

“Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”

All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser

To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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