Views from the Choir Loft

Articles

Fr. David Friel · October 28, 2012

My Soul Proclaims

Out of the Depths

Fr. David Friel · October 19, 2012

The Year of Faith

Top 10 Ways to Celebrate

Fr. David Friel · September 28, 2012

Faith Is Obnoxious

Life as the Just One

Fr. David Friel · September 21, 2012

Source of Excitement

Weddings vs. Receptions

St. Edmund Campion Missal and Hymnal · September 14, 2012

“Lead, Kindly Light”

Cardinal Newman Beatification Film

Fr. David Friel · September 14, 2012

Ephphetha

Beyond the Physical

Fr. David Friel · September 4, 2012

Arbeit Macht Frei

Or, Ora et Labora?

Fr. David Friel · September 2, 2012

The Meaning of Marriage

‘Til Death Do Us Part

Fr. David Friel · August 22, 2012

Eating from Above

Lessons from Freshman Biology Class

Fr. David Friel · August 15, 2012

The Flesh

In Heaven?

Fr. David Friel · August 6, 2012

A Mini-Retreat

John 6 over 5 Weeks

Fr. David Friel · July 28, 2012

Gratitude for Gifts

A Double Remembrance

Fr. David Friel · July 23, 2012

Carmel

The Vineyard of God

Corpus Christi Watershed · July 13, 2012

New Missal & Hymnal for the Latin Mass

To help your congregation follow the Extraordinary Form, our book includes more than 100 full color photographs.

Fr. David Friel · July 7, 2012

Freedom

The Fruit of Sacrifice

“Truly Great Processional” • (Pipe Organ)

I stumbled upon this live recording of a PROCESSIONAL I played on the pipe organ in 2002. It’s an excerpt from a much longer composition by Sebastian Bach. In those days, there weren’t sophisticated recording devices allowing one “fix” wrong notes. (Perhaps they existed, but we didn’t have machines like that.) So it was necessary to play the entire piece from beginning to end. If you’re a church organist, feel free to download the PDF score. I suppose it’s only a matter of time until some joker uses “artificial intelligence” to play music at church … but there’s something so satisfying about playing an organ in real life.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Proof Which All Can Immediately See!

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” as the famous maxim goes. Over the years, I’ve observed malicious attacks on the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. Rather than scoring a ‘hit’ on the Brébeuf Hymnal, its attackers often reveal profound ignorance. I’ve been advised never to reply … but I break that rule today. Certain voices online assert that the Brébeuf Hymnal is “untraditional” because it includes both the Urbanite and pre-Urbanite versions of the hymns. But if only they would glance at a copy of the 1913 VESPERALE (printed by order of Pope Saint Pius X) they would see how mistaken such statements are.

—Jeff Ostrowski

New Bulletin Article • “8 June 2025”

My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for the parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article includes a few anecdotes about Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and Abraham Lincoln.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962

There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop

—Veronica Brandt

The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum

Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.

—Daniel Tucker