Mr John Paul Sonnen

Jeff Ostrowski · January 8, 2015

“The best I have ever seen. Anywhere. In the world. Period.” —Mr. John Sonnen

“The vitality of the Classical Rite is as fresh as ever.”

16 November 2021 • So Valuable!

If people only knew about this this website, they would be amazed. It is called the “snippets” index, and I could not live without it. We’ve tried everything we can think of to let people know about it—and we’ll keep trying—but even some of our most faithful readers don’t realize that hidden treasure!

—Jeff Ostrowski

11 November 2021 • “Iste Confessor” Hymn

The brief little SATB piece, O Pater Sancte (PDF), has been requested by many. The full title is O Pater Sancte, Mitis Atque Pie (“Father most holy, gracious and forgiving”). The melody occurs many times in the The Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal—including on page 724 with a fabulous translation by Monsignor Knox. The tune is called “Iste Confessor,” and you can learn more here.

Harmonies are © Brébeuf Hymnal (2018)

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Hymnals Compared” • with PDF files!

Mr. Daniel Craig, an accountant, comes from a musical family. His sister is a nun, and his brother is currently a seminarian. He has put together a detailed comparison of fifteen traditional Catholic hymnals. Many PDF files are included. Click here to view the article.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Unfortunately, on the one hand a deadly error in judgment placed the official leadership of this committee into the hands of a man who—though generous and brave—was not very knowledgeable: Cardinal Lercaro. He was utterly incapable of resisting the maneuvers of the mealy-mouthed scoundrel that the Neapolitan Vincentian, Bugnini, a man as bereft of culture as he was of basic honesty, soon revealed himself to be.”

— ‘Fr. Louis Bouyer, an important member of the Consilium’