Views from the Choir Loft

1998 Rejected Sacramentary

Fr. David Friel · June 21, 2015

Is the 1998 ICEL Missal Translation Worth Another Look?

When reading certain publications, one gets the sense that every Catholic in the world is up-in-arms about the present translation.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 13, 2014

Top Ten “Oops” Quotes On Sacred Music

“… we would be faced with the necessity of providing different sets of missals for different strata of intelligence.” — Msgr. Francis P. Schmitt (1963)

Jeff Ostrowski · January 7, 2014

Which Translations Do You Prefer? Literal Or Poetic?

I never thought I’d say this … but I agree with Paul Inwood.

Jeff Ostrowski · November 6, 2013

“For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours”

A mystery! The 1970s ICEL seems not to have included these words, even though they were in the official Latin …

Jeff Ostrowski · August 17, 2013

Anticipation of Richard . . .

One of our contributors, Richard Clark, plans to write about the 1998 ICEL translation . . .

“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

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