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Corpus Christi Watershed

We’re a 501(c)3 public charity established in 2006. We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and run no advertisements. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors.

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Views from the Choir Loft

Novus Ordo Lectionary Reform

Jeff Ostrowski · March 31, 2025

Regarding “Pay-To-Pray” + Lectionary Errors

Many decisions, even those with monumental consequences, were made in secret.

Jeff Ostrowski · February 10, 2025

The New Lectionary & “Voice of God” Hymns

The sale of indulgenced prayers is immoral. Someday they’ll have to make restitution for this.

Fr. David Friel · July 17, 2016

Are the Readings at Mass Meant to Be Didactic or Doxological?

Reflections from the Fota IX International Liturgy Conference

Jeff Ostrowski · August 6, 2014

Did The Ancient Mass Really Have Three Readings?

“We are repeatedly assured that there was an Old Testament reading each Sunday morning, but that quite mysteriously these all vanished by the seventh century, and vanished leaving no memory that they had ever existed…” — Fr. John Parsons

Corpus Christi Watershed · May 12, 2014

When will there be a new Lectionary for Catholics in the United States?

“The sooner we get started, the sooner some of you will live to see it.” — Donald Cardinal Wuerl, talking in 2012 about the forthcoming Lectionary revisions.

Jeff Ostrowski · January 2, 2014

When Is The Sequence Sung? Before The Alleluia?

In 2000, there was an effort made at restoring the Sequence to its proper place.

Jeff Ostrowski · December 29, 2013

Bugnini Wanted To Eliminate Ash Wednesday!

They failed to realize that one cannot simply “sit down over tea and crumpets” and VOTE INTO BEING the Church calendar. It’s supposed to develop organically.

Jeff Ostrowski · December 2, 2013

How “Catholic” Is Congregational Singing?

John Paul II asked your forgiveness in 1980 … did you forgive him?

Jeff Ostrowski · November 14, 2013

More Thoughts On The 3-Year Lectionary …

“The Instruction pretends that we actually do have Propers for the Mass, whereas everyone knows that today the Mass Propers are sung perhaps at one Mass in ten thousand.” — Professor László Dobszay

Jeff Ostrowski · November 5, 2013

What’s So Great About The Mass Propers?

“If the world is progressing intellectually, should not the existence of God have been defined in the 1st century and the nature of the Trinity in the 19th?” — Fulton J. Sheen

Jeff Ostrowski · October 30, 2013

Definition Of Liturgical “Piccoluomini” ?

Human beings are “geared” toward annual events. Our minds, emotions, and memories simply aren’t programmed to work in 3-year cycles.

Jeff Ostrowski · October 22, 2013

Does The Vatican II Lectionary Distort Scripture?

“I have noticed that when the present Lectionary occasionally proposes a ‘Shorter Form’ for one of the Gospel readings, the lines edited are something Our Lord said that comfortable people would rather He had not said.” — Fr. George W. Rutler

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —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

They were not ashamed to lay their hands on Sedulius, on Prudentius, on St. Ambrose himself. Only in one or two cases does some sense of shame seem to have stopped their nefarious work. They left “Ave maris stella,” “Jam lucis orto sidere,” and St. Thomas Aquinas’s hymns alone (they would have made pretty work of “Sacris solemniis”). In 1629 their mangled remnants were published.

— Rev’d Adrian Knottesford Fortescue (25 March 1916)

Recent Posts

  • Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
  • (Rehearsal Clips) • Sacred Music Symposium 2025
  • Hidden Gem: Ascendit Deus (Dalitz)
  • PDF Download • Soprano Descant — “Hail, Holy Queen Enthroned Above”
  • “Dom Jausions had a skilled hand. His transcriptions are masterpieces of neatness & precision.”

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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