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Corpus Christi Watershed

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

“I Don’t Care Anymore!” • Lead by Loving Example

Richard J. Clark · August 1, 2025

DON’T CARE anymore. Examining the veracity of this statement, it is both true and untrue. I feel more deeply, but my desire to specify or articulate what I believe one must do at every moment within the sacred liturgy is greatly diminished. Admittedly, such abatement has much to do with age. But this is not to be confused with disregard for liturgical legislation, Roman Catholic theology, or the Magisterium. Nor does this negate preferences, opinions, and understandings (that no one may care about) developed through decades of personal and professional experience, study, and prayer. Such views, hopefully as seen through the eyes of love and compassion, may further evolve and grow throughout life.

What I do care about is leading by example to the best of my ability. Often, I fail. But I will specify this: it is incumbent upon me to pray each day that I serve as God intends and not as I prefer. I need this reminder desperately as I frequently forget God is in charge. I am not. Such hubris.

My opinions, alleged contributions, and perceived accomplishments are less than a grain of sand in the vastness of God’s design. But love can fill all of God’s creation; that is why we serve God and each other. For some of us, this is through music which is ultimately filled with personal encounter with God and each other.

FRIENDSHIP AND THE beautiful people with whom we are blessed to pray and make music with are supremely important. Perhaps this is why we care deeply about what we do in service to God and each other.

Pope Benedict XVI often spoke of teaching us better how to pray not by edict or decree but through loving example. There are many servant leaders in our Church who offer such example, and among them an endless ocean of musicians serving the liturgy quite frequently in humbling circumstances: inadequate pay, support, and gratitude. Yet they persist for years. Why? I think we may gain tremendous wisdom to ask each and every person who persists despite adversity that question.

ONE SUCH SERVANT LEADER, Jeff Ostrowski has been a dear friend over the years.

We first connected over email around 2009. I admired his work and unparalleled enthusiasm. We met at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City at the CMAA Colloquium in 2012. We both got stuck at the airport when a connecting flight to Houston was delayed for three hours. He showed me his drafts of the Saint Edmund Campion Missal on his laptop. We talked for those hours. God made sure I made a friend in Jeff.

He can be controversial, and we don’t always agree on approach or tone. But we are in different situations with disparate responsibilities and pressures. Behind the strong public voice is a man who deeply loves the sacred liturgy, God, his family, and is fiercely committed to service.

TRULY EXCEPTIONAL is that during each part of his career he’s developed new monumental resources that serve the Church differently. This includes hymnals for the Novus Ordo, (Vatican II Hymnal, Saint John de Brébeuf Hymnal) and the Extraordinary Form (Saint Edmund Campion Missal), Responsorial Psalms, countless arrangements, editions, accompaniments, and an endless sea of useful liturgical resources. As if that were not enough, he is currently working on a very large project for resources in Spanish, and hopefully will come to fruition with needed support. Despite an already towering intellect, he won’t quit studying and learning. His idea of relaxing is spending hours in a university music library. And he does all this while working as a full-time liturgical musician and caring for his family.

Our Cathedral music program would have great difficulty functioning without Corpus Christi Watershed. Most rare is a Sunday without some Ostrowski produced resource that is free. A typical example is a recent Sunday with an Ostrowski edition of the Introit chant, a Responsorial Psalm, and his adaptation of a Fr. Francisco Guerrero Magnificat into an Alleluia choral extension, and an Ostrowski edition of a three-voice motet by Kevin Allen from Allen’s Matri Divinae Gratiae collection.

Here’s a recording of his Psalm 138 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross:

 

DO I STILL CARE?  Yes, but hopefully only about what is truly important. Each other is all we have. Let us support and pray for one other. Please pray for me as I will pray for all of you.

“[T]he goal of worship and the goal of creation as a whole are one and the same—divinization, a world of freedom and love.”
—
Pope Benedict XVI, (The Spirit of the Liturgy, pg. 28)

“Sacred music, being a complementary part of the solemn liturgy, participates in the general scope of the liturgy, which is the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful. It contributes to the decorum and the splendor of the ecclesiastical ceremonies, and since its principal office is to clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for the understanding of the faithful, its proper aim is to add greater efficacy to the text, in order that through it the faithful may be the more easily moved to devotion and better disposed for the reception of the fruits of grace belonging to the celebration of the most holy mysteries.”
— Pope Saint Pius X (Tra le sollecitudini, 1903, General Principals, I)

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: August 1, 2025

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “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

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

Random Quote

“In the 17th century came the crushing blow which destroyed the beauty of all Breviary hymns. Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644) was a Humanist. In a fatal moment he saw that the hymns do not all conform to the rules of classical prosody.”

— Fr. Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

Recent Posts

  • False! • “Youthful” Music Attracts the Young
  • “I Don’t Care Anymore!” • Lead by Loving Example
  • Installment #2 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”
  • PDF Comparison Chart • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”
  • “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

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