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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

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music. Read more.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · February 6, 2014

Poverty, Self-Denial, and Peace – Part II

How do we learn the art of self-denial? In small steps that prepare us for the ultimate step: surrendering our soul to the Lord at death.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · January 30, 2014

Poverty, Self-Denial, and Peace – Part I

The remedy for disordered desire is mortification and the longing for God, the living God, who calls us to intimate union. How different is Christian redemption from a Buddhist annihilation of self!

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · January 23, 2014

Lord, Deliver Me From My Persecutors

It is only a matter of time before being a Catholic at all will involve renouncing much that the world considers important and necessary. And soon there will be open persecution. Are we ready?

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · January 16, 2014

Liturgical Abuse and Abuse of Minors

The decades-long abuse of the sacred liturgy—and therefore, of faithful Catholics who have a right to the sacred liturgy in its fullness—constitutes the first and fundamental form of clerical abuse of the laity, of which sexual abuse is a particular and more demented moral variety.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · January 9, 2014

Byzantine Splendor and Roman Sobriety

The traditional Western Mass is intent on reminding the worshiper of the death of Christ and the believer’s own sinfulness and unworthiness, while the Eastern Divine Liturgy accents the victory of Christ and the Christian’s triumph with Him in glory.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · January 2, 2014

‘Medieval’ Liturgy and ‘Scholastic’ Theology

The prejudice against the ancient (or, in many respects, medieval) Roman Rite is quite similar to the long-fashionable prejudice against scholastic philosophy.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · December 19, 2013

Prayer and Action

If we want our apostolate or our daily round of duties to be fruitful, we need to begin and end with the continually burning fire of adoring union with God.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · December 12, 2013

General and Particular Examen

Many saintly authors recommend a “particular and general examination of conscience,” but seldom explain what is meant by this, apparently because it used to be extremely well known.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · December 5, 2013

Recovering the Greatness of the Roman Rite

Why did we suppress the most precious, most beautiful gift the Lord had given to us? What were we thinking? A child’s perspective brings out the importance of the solemn sung liturgy.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · November 28, 2013

Spiritual Reading

Do you have a plan about which spiritual book you will be reading this Advent?

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · November 21, 2013

Is the Mass “Just” the Mass?

It is too easy to fall into the trap of thinking that nothing else matters in the liturgy besides “Jesus is present.” This is a superficial and relativistic way of thinking that has to be challenged and corrected, if the Real Presence is to be of any benefit to us—indeed, if our faith in the Real Presence is even going to survive.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · November 14, 2013

A Sober Assessment of Liturgical Reform

The official statements always sing the praises of reform, but the people in the pews know better. They are the ones who have suffered the most.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · November 7, 2013

The Fear of the Lord

Do we rightly fear the Lord?

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · October 31, 2013

Incarnation and Divinization

Why did the Son of God become man? “God became man, that men might become gods” (St. Athanasius).

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · October 24, 2013

On Aweful Ambos and Lilliputian Lecterns

Why can’t churches have grand furnishings and fixtures—like the lofty pulpits you see in older churches? And why aren’t those pulpits, where they exist, still being used today?

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —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

“Partly on account of these alterations, and partly because I have been unable to ascertain the authorship of many compositions—which have come to me either in manuscript or through other collections—I have thought it right to publish the volume without appending the names of writers to their works. This, however, I confess to be a defect…”

— Benjamin Hall Kennedy (1863)

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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