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.”
Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was […]
Saint Peter (II Peter 3:16) says the writings of Saint Paul are extremely difficult to understand—and I Corinthians 14:34-35 seems an example. But I have something else to say about silence in church: it depends upon the time of day. I have responsibility over four (4) Masses each Sunday, and there are “levels” of silence. […]
Re: February 2nd in the EF: The following verse was also removed from the 1962 Missale Romanum. Neither does it appear in the 1962 Graduale Romanum of Solesmes: “Vs. Cum indúcerent púerum Jesum parentes ejus, ut fácerent secúndum consuetúdinem legis pro eo, ipse accépit eum in ulnas suas.” It was deleted from the Antiphon “Respónsum […]
From what I can tell, the chant “Exsúrge, Dómine, ádjuva nos”—which formerly was sung while candles were being distributed, toward the end—was removed in 1962. It does not appear in the official 1962 Missale Romanum. Nor does it appear in the 1961 Solesmes Graduale Romanum. The Liber Usualis has it, but it’s well known that […]
I have a bad habit of getting frustrated when choir members take a long time to learn a particular interval or entrance. But this can be “cured.” It was cured a few weeks ago, when I made a mistake. I was supposed to go down a minor third, but instead I went down a perfect […]
The Antiphon for First Vespers of the Feast of the Purification (February 2nd) is beautiful: “The old man carried the Child, but it was the Child who was guiding the old man. The Virgin bore the Child, and after child-bearing was virgin still: whom she bore, him she adored.” —Senex púerum portábat, puer autem senem […]
I had one brother who was out of the church for quite a few years. When my mother was asked, “Did she worry about him?” I remember her answer: “I don’t worry about him; I just pray for him.” She left that in God’s hands. My mother did not live to see her son return […]
In a book printed by Solesmes Abbey in 1902, “Kyrie Rex Genitor” is also called Theoricam practicamque. Can anyone explain why? And how does that translate into English? “Theoricam practicamque vitam regens Deus Pater.”
For priests, it reads: “In memory of that day on which was given what is not given to angels—that I should offer God to God.”
Speaking of “nihil solliciti estis,” Fr. Valentine recently said: “I’ll bet that most people, including myself, have suffered more from things that never happened than from things that actually did happen.” Wise words!
This is interesting! We have made it all the way around the liturgical year for Vespers organ accompaniments—which means all we have to do now is fill in the “holes,” such as Candlemas.
I beg you to pray for Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, who I am told is dying (or may possibly have died already). He’s one of the most faithful & generous priests I know. There would be no CCWatershed without Fr. Valentine.
As of 15 January 2020, the website is still under construction. We have made progress, but there is still much to do. We thank James Doherty and Veronica Brandt for their generous assistance!
So few Catholics—even those who self-identify as “traditional” Catholics—give consideration to the sins of detraction, gossip, and libel. Some hide behind fake online identities and publish the most vile, dishonest material. Even though these hypocrites think they are “hidden,” God sees everything. By the way, never visit Twitter: it’s not a good place for one’s […]
Church musicians realize we’re currently in tough times, but even the greatest artists did not have everything “exactly as they desired.” Vladimir Horowitz (one of the greatest pianists) was often paid for his concerts with CHOCOLATE instead of money. The Russian economy was awful, and nobody had money. But Horowitz didn’t want chocolate; he wanted […]
The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!
But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”
We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.
Our president has written the following letter:
President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)
