Views from the Choir Loft

“Tell Me Lies; Tell Me Sweet Little Lies.” • Re: Post-Conciliar Lectionary Problems

Jeff Ostrowski · July 18, 2025

ROWING UP, I remember a song with these lyrics: “Tell me lies; tell me sweet little lies.” According to Google, the song was written by a band called FLEETWOOD MAC, founded in 1967. I didn’t realize Apple computers were so popular in the 1960s, but I guess that shows what I know! And I must admit that it’s far better to name a band after a Mac than a PC. In any event, those words came to my mind thinking about the post-conciliar LECTIONARY, which has a sad and sordid history. Apropos of this, our organization has reached the final stages of an agreement with several authors who have written a chronicle about the simony problem that arose in the United States after the Second Vatican Council.¹

Little Lies • For the moment, let’s consider just one example. The 1970 LECTIONARY makes the following claim:

Notice they didn’t say “altered” or “modified” or “bowdlerized.”

But look what they printed in 1970, hoping nobody would notice:

Here is what they falsely claimed to be reprinting:

A Sneaky Trick • Do you see how they shamelessly modified the original? Do you see how they completely destroyed the rhyme scheme in a puerile effort to make the language less sacral and more casual? The whole point of a SEQUENCE is to sing it. That’s literally how it developed in the first place. Its poetic rhythm is its raison d’être—but they cared not. And don’t even get me started on how their vandalism destroyed the ‘register’ of the poem.

We’ve had 55 years of this nonsense. Enough!

We must have the courage to fix such things.

1 You’ll be hearing tons more about this soon, so please stay tuned. If we don’t confront these problems—honestly and soberly—they’ll never get solved.

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

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).

Eucharistic Prayer No. 2 on Sundays?

Highlighted in yellow (on this single-page PDF file) is documentation concerning whether the 2nd Eucharistic prayer may be used on Sundays.

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—Jeff Ostrowski

Knox. Has. No. Equal.

Dr. Finberg (of the University of Leicester) famously said: “No living writer possesses a greater command over the English language than Monsignor Ronald Knox.” A lifetime spent among his works would not exhaust them; always another thing to see, never once a reason to look away. Consider the marvelous way Knox Englished the famous VERBUM SUPERNUM of Saint Thomas Aquinas. The 4th verse (in Latin) means: “By being born, He became man’s companion; at this supper, He became man’s food; in dying, He became man’s ransom; in reigning, He is man’s reward.” Knox brilliantly makes the English fit the Latin meter: The manger, Christ their equal made, | That upper room, their souls’ repast, | The Cross, their ransom dearly paid, | And heav’n, their high reward at last. I believe the meaning of the French word “manger” was not absent from his thoughts when he penned that stanza.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Proportionalist Plainchant • (Documented)

On this website, we believe: “If we don’t know where we came from, we can’t know where we’re going.” As a result, we often spend hours scanning old books of GREGORIAN CHANT (and organ accompaniments). We don’t claim those items are useful or desirable for today’s circumstances; the goal is understanding where we came from. Here is a fascinating musical score from the 19th century. At that time, it was believed that MENSURALISM (a.k.a. “proportionalism”) was the historically correct way to sing plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Predictable Rhymes?” • A Follow Up

We received considerable correspondence regarding my article, Two Ways to Defile a Hymn. More specifically, what really raised certain people’s hackles was its follow-up article dealing with the keyboard accompaniment for the CHRIST THE KING HYMNAL. But to quote Eliza Doolittle: “Have I said anything I oughtn’t?” Please examine this PDF file and see whether you agree. Were the editors of the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL incorrect to insist upon sophisticated and clever rhymes, rather than mind-numbingly predictable rhymes?

—Jeff Ostrowski

‘Ould’ But Not Good

Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Reader Feedback” • 22 June 2026

A reader wrote to us from Virginia: “I really appreciate the 23 harmonizations that you posted on CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED for the Daily, Daily, Sing to Mary hymn. I hope to find willing voices in our small Schola Cantorum to try the three-voice version. Carry on, sir! You’re doing the Lord’s work.” While we don’t know this gentleman personally, we note that he earned a Ph.D. (which demonstrates that our blog has something for everybody). 😊

—Corpus Christi Watershed