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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

Video • Disrespect For God’s House

Jeff Ostrowski · June 9, 2015

OME WILL CLAIM I’ve posted the below video 1 so we can mock it—with a “holier than thou” attitude—and feel better about ourselves. Those who read my entire article will realize that’s not accurate.


Growing up in a wealthy (mainstream) 1990s Catholic parish, I’m afraid that kind of stuff happened frequently. I was there. I witnessed it.

Please understand: I’m not against people being happy. I think being happy is a blessing. I just feel that in God’s House—where our Lord is present—we ought to maintain a certain level of DIGNITY. The laughing, dancing, giggling, and so forth always struck me as inappropriate and made me uncomfortable. When you read the rest of my article, you’ll see why I bring this up.

SOME POSTCONCILIAR LITURGISTS claim Vatican II changed how we look at the Eucharistic Prayer. According to their theory, the entire Eucharistic Prayer is what causes Transubstantiation—a word they dislike & avoid, by the way. However, another school of thought says the formula printed in a special font (This is my Body, etc.) constitutes the moment when Transubstantiation happens.

Fr. Adrian Fortescue addressed some of these issues 100 years ago:

The practice of elevating the Blessed Sacrament immediately after the words “Hoc est enim corpus meum” had been spoken developed as a sign that the bread was consecrated then at once. For, in the XIIth century—and chiefly at the University of Paris—there was much dispute as to this point; several theologians maintained the view that the bread was not consecrated till after the consecration of the wine. I, myself, am not quite sure. One might perhaps take the elevation as one more dramatic misplacement, like the “immaculata hostia” at the offertory, the Byzantine Cherubikon, and so on. Is Consecration by the words of Institution de fide? It certainly seems to be sententia catholica. Pope Pius VII (May, 1822) forbade any other theory to be defended.   (SOURCE)

Interestingly, the “dramatic misplacements” Fortescue mentions are rejected by progressive liturgists when it comes to the Offertory prayers, which were totally eliminated. Here’s more from Fortescue:

Our baptism service is the obvious parallel case. All through it we ask God to give the child the graces which, as a matter of fact, He gives at once—at the moment at which the essential matter and form are complete. So the Ordination rite dramatically separates the elements of the priesthood (power of sacrificing, of forgiving sins) which, presumably, are really conferred at one moment, when the man becomes a priest. In all such cases we say that at whatever moment of our time God gives the Sacramental grace, He gives it in answer to the whole prayer or group of prayers, which, of course, take time to say.

Why do I bring this up in the same article as that video above?

When St. John Vianney was in the presence of the Sanctissimum, he was so overwhelmed by God’s Presence he could scarcely breathe, move, or speak. 2 Regardless of the precise moment when Transubstantiation happens, the entire Holy Mass is connected to this great miracle. Let us redouble our efforts to maintain proper reverence throughout the entire Mass.

If we try our best to maintain reverence in Church, God will be pleased.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   I came across this video on a blog called Offerimus Tibi Domine.

2   In former times, men used to smoke cigarettes outside of Church until they heard the “AMEN” of the Credo—which was repeated over and over—then rush into Mass so they could fulfill their obligation which (some said) required physical presence from Offertory till Communion. This is quite different from the example given to us by St. John Vianney.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Rev Fr Adrian Fortescue Liturgy 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Corn” From Heaven?
    The Westminster Version of the Sacred Scriptures was produced by Roman Catholics in England and bears an IMPRIMATUR dated 15 March 1958 by the Archbishop of Westminster. Its IMPRIMI POTEST was given by the director of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. Sometimes the words chosen by translators can sound funny to American ears. For instance, one of our Responsorial Psalms has as its refrain: “The Lord gave them bread from heaven.” But the British version has “The Lord gave them corn from heaven.” Feel free to examine this with your own eyes. (It comes from Psalm 77.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

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

After sixty years as teacher, composer, and organist, I may state that the Gregorian Chant should be part of the basic material of any musical education, be it religious or secular. The study of it enormously enlarges the spiritual background of any musician. Whereas students in literature will always be required to study Dante, Petrarch and Chaucer, why neglect Gregorian in music education?

— Flor Peeters

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