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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 • “Congregational Booklet” (Printable) for Jeff’s New Mass Setting

Jeff Ostrowski · October 4, 2023

WO THINGS HAPPEN at every Mass: (1) JESUS CHRIST is made present on the Altar; (2) JESUS CHRIST is offered to His Heavenly Father. Catholics in former times had “Sunday clothes” worn only to Mass. During the mass apostasy (pardon the pun) of the 1960s, some attempted to “de-sacralize” the Mass. In response, the CONGREGATION OF SACRED RITES condemned (29 dec 1966) “travesties of worship, springing from mere private initiative” which “tend inevitably to desacralize the liturgy, the purest expression of the worship the Church offers to God.” Even Annibale Bugnini was forced to admit, during a press conference (4 jan 1967), that the Church condemned “music which is profane, thus not worthy of the place of worship; and worldly, that is, of a style whose performance requires or seems to require movements, gestures, and attitudes unworthy of a sacred service.” Here’s one of the actual songs sung at the parish where I grew up (in the 1990s):

*  Mp3 Download • Typical “Church” Song from Jeff’s Youth
—Sung in a rich, suburban, Novus ordo Catholic church in the 1990s.

Wife Gone! • Even as a youngster, I could “sense” such music was totally inappropriate for Mass. Indeed, I had to make sure my wife was out of the house when I made that recording (above) because if she heard me singing that goofy nonsense she’d tell me: “You’re clearly not working; come hold the baby.”

Paul Inwood • Many years later, I found out that “hymn” was composed by a man named PAUL INWOOD, whom I wrote about in 2015 when he praised the 1973 ICEL translation for “concealing” the true meaning of the prayers. According to Inwood: “If we had known what the prayers really said, we would not have wanted to pray them any longer.” A friend sent this recent screenshot showing a statement by Inwood riddled with basic theological errors. Notice how Inwood says nary a word (!) about the SECOND PERSON OF THE DIVINE TRINITY becoming present on the Altar. If that’s really what Paul Inwood believes about the Mass, should anyone be surprised at the type of music he produced for it? Suddenly it all makes sense.

“CONGREGATIONAL BOOKLET” •  Rather than cursing the darkness, let’s light a candle! I recently released all seven (7) movements of my Mass setting in Honor of Saint Noël Chabanel for the Ordinary Form. It involves your CONGREGATION, your CANTRIX, and your CHOIR. My setting was designed to be extremely brief. Since it’s vernacular, it works for choirmasters whose priests have forbidden the traditional lingua sacra of the church. Mr. Seth Bauer requested the following booklet for his congregation. I thought readers might appreciate seeing it:

*  PDF Download • “CONGREGATIONAL BOOKLET”
—Mass setting in Honor of Saint Noël Chabanel (Ordinary Form).

I hope my Mass setting, although relatively simple, is adequately sacred (“set apart”) in style. Rehearsal videos for each movement are available free of charge here.

Is He Proud • Am I proud of my Mass setting? On the one hand, I studied the THESAURUS MUSICAE SACRAE for decades in order to produce it. But on the other hand, we recently welcomed a new baby into our family. I’ve been thinking a lot about the Native Americans with whom Father Noël Chabanel attempted to share the Good News. In those days, what was it like when a Native American had a baby? There was no electricity, no internet, no iPad, no plumbing, no supermarket, no clothing store, no telephone, and no hospital. They were alone out in the woods. After Father Isaac Jogues surrendered voluntarily (!) to comfort the captured Hurons, he was scheduled to be burned alive on Good Friday. How could they keep track of the liturgical season? Every day for months they were placed on torture platforms and slowly burned, cut, abused, hung from cords, and sliced with knives. How could they keep track of what day it was? I mention all these things for a reason. Even though I worked really hard to produce (and record) my Mass setting, a Native American taking care of her baby for a single day probably did more work than I’ve done in my entire life. That’s also why it’s puzzling to see some current church leaders suggest a softening (or elimination) of God’s Commandments because “life in today’s age has special difficulties.”

Article Summary • When I speak of “goofy, undignified music at Mass,” people frequently demand that I cite examples. In today’s article, I recorded a “hymn” popular when I was growing up in the 1990s. I did so in the context of releasing a congregational booklet for a Mass setting I recently released. It’s worth pointing out that I do not condemn people who have sung inappropriate music at Mass. Only God can judge them. I’m sure most had the best of intentions. On the other hand, nobody has been able to persuade me I have an obligation to “hide” or “cover up” or “stay silent about” what I’ve experienced at Mass. Another way to put this would be: This is not a joke to me. I feel called by God to try to improve the church music situation. I’m not doing this because I’m bored. If we really believe what we say we believe, we should not sing goofy music at the holy Mass.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: MASS IN HONOR OF NOEL CHABANEL, Paul Inwood, Paul Inwood Composer, Thesaurus musicae sacrae Last Updated: October 4, 2023

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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

Is this the dumbest statement ever written? “When considering texts for his motets, Gombert obtained his inspiration from Scripture—such as the Psalms—as opposed to the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church.”

— Wikipedia

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  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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