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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

Top Six Liturgical Quotes By Robert Cardinal Sarah

Jeff Ostrowski · June 16, 2015

POPE FRANCIS appointed Robert Cardinal Sarah as PREFECT of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship on 23 November 2014. Statements he’s made so far :

625 Cardinal Sarah Quote Number 1 liturgical


ENGLISH (1 June 2015) letter to a liturgical conference in New York :

628 Cardinal Sarah Quote Number 2


FRENCH (3 March 2015) intervew with Aleteia :

628 Cardinal Sarah Quote Number 3


ITALIAN (12 June 2015) letter printed in L’Osservatore Romano :

628 Cardinal Sarah Quote Number 4


ENGLISH (1 June 2015) letter to a liturgical conference in New York :

628 Cardinal Sarah Quote Number 5


ITALIAN (12 June 2015) letter printed in L’Osservatore Romano :

624 Replace Number 6


Cardinal Sarah is not alone in his efforts for authentic liturgical renewal. A surprising number of prominent American bishops have publicly offered the Extraordinary Form. Moreover, consider the leading American bishops who favor the Reform of the Reform:

His Excellency, ARTHUR J. SERRATELLI • Chairman of the Committee on Divine Worship|
His Excellency, ALEXANDER K. SAMPLE • Head of Oregon Catholic Press|
His Excellency, JOSEPH E. KURTZ • President of the USA Catholic Bishops

OT LONG AFTER Pope Francis was elected, numerous articles began to appear asking the question “Is the Reform of the Reform dead?” Several of these were thoughtful and serious, resulting from prayer and sober reflection. Sadly, we also witnessed knee-jerk, sensationalist, and irresponsible articles written by those who wrongly believed the RotR was a byproduct of the personality of Benedict XVI. On the contrary—as I tried to point out—the “RENEWAL OF THE RENEWAL” (as Bishop René H. Gracida calls it) is an act of love.

Regarding my comments of 23 February:

“It is highly unlikely that Pope Francis would condemn the RotR, which Pope Benedict XVI favored.”

…Cardinal Sarah’s appointment by Pope Francis would seem to support this. On the other hand, I doubt anyone cares about my speculations. It’s all in the hands of God!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Authentic Liturgical Renewal Reform, Reform of the Reform, Robert Cardinal Sarah Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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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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President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 26th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 28 September 2025, which is the 26th 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a gorgeous melody and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of September (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Communion (26th Sn. Ord.)
    This coming Sunday, 28 September 2025, is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON with Fauxbourdon verses in honor of William Couture sparkles with beauty. It comes Psalm 118 (the lengthiest psalm) which is an “alphabetical acrostic.” That means each verse begins with the successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Side-By-Side Comparison”
    Pope Urban VIII modified almost all the Church’s ancient hymns in 1632AD. The team responsible for creating the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal spent years comparing the different versions of each hymn: “Urbanite” vs. “pre-Urbanite.” When it comes to the special hymn for the upcoming feast (9 November)—URBS BEATA JERUSALEM—Dr. Adrian Fortescue pointed out that “the people who changed it in the 17th century did not even keep its metre; so the later version cannot be sung to the old, exceedingly beautiful tune.” Monsignor Hugh Thomas Henry (d. 1946), a professor of Gregorian Chant at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary (Overbrook, Philadelphia), wrote: “Of this hymn in particular some think that, whereas it did not suffer as much as some others, yet it lost much of its beauty in the revision; others declare that it was admirably transformed without unduly modifying the sense.” You can use this side-by-side comparison chart to compare both versions. When it comes to its meaning, there’s little significant difference between the two versions: e.g. “name of Christ” vs. “love of Christ.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In case of urgent danger of life anyone may baptize, even a heretic or pagan. It is sufficient that he administer the essential matter and form and have the implicit intention of doing what Christ instituted. Naturally a Catholic must be preferred, if possible. A man is preferred to a woman; but anyone else to the parents.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue (1917)

Recent Posts

  • Church Facelift • Saint Andrew’s (Tipton, Missouri)
  • “Music List” • 26th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Unison • “Deceptively Easy, Relentlessly Unforgiving”
  • “Reminder” — Month of September (2025)
  • PDF Download • Communion (26th Sn. Ord.)

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