Views from the Choir Loft

On the Manner of Distributing Holy Communion

Corpus Christi Watershed · December 23, 2024

Reader Question • “Extra Verses” for the Propers

Jeff Ostrowski answers a reader’s question with nine (9) statements.

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Fr. David Friel · February 18, 2018

St. Thomas More on the Reception of Holy Communion

“Let us not lose this time…for we can hardly tell whether we will ever get in to church again or not.” —St. Thomas More

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Fr. David Friel · May 22, 2016

Guide for Large-Scale Celebrations

10 Points from a Newly Translated Document

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Guest Author · October 29, 2014

True Devotion to Jesus

You will definitely want to read the quotes from Paul VI about reception of Communion in the hand.

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Music List • (29th Sund. Ordinary Time)

Readers have expressed interest in seeing the ORDER OF MUSIC which I created for this coming Sunday, the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. The INTROIT for this Sunday explains why this Sunday is called “Apple Sunday.” As we approach the end of the liturgical year, most of the INTROITS seem to be in Mode III or Mode IV, which are ‘haunting’ tones.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Holy, Holy, Holy” transposed lower

A simple setting based on a work by Canon Jules Vyverman.

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—Jeff Ostrowski

Music List • (27th Sund. Ordinary Time)

Readers have expressed interest in examining my “music list” for this coming Sunday: 4 October 2026

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—Jeff Ostrowski

Preface of Saint Joseph (added by the pope)

You can see the “Præfatio de Sancto Joseph” inserted directly into the priest’s missal.

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—Jeff Ostrowski

“Predictable Rhymes?” • A Follow Up

We received considerable correspondence regarding my article, Two Ways to Defile a Hymn. More specifically, what really raised certain people’s hackles was its follow-up article dealing with the keyboard accompaniment for the CHRIST THE KING HYMNAL. But to quote Eliza Doolittle: “Have I said anything I oughtn’t?” Please examine this PDF file and see whether you agree. Were the editors of the BRÉBEUF HYMNAL incorrect to insist upon sophisticated and clever rhymes, rather than mind-numbingly predictable rhymes?

—Jeff Ostrowski

‘Ould’ But Not Good

Dom Samuel Gregory Ould (note the spelling) was a Benedictine monk at FORT AUGUSTUS ABBEY in Scotland. As musician, organist, and composer, Dom Ould was highly regarded. Moreover, he was considered an authority on Gregorian Chant. But not everything found in an old book—or, in this case, an “Ould” book—is necessarily praiseworthy. Consider this page from Dom Ould’s hymnal. Do you see the rhymes? They offend severely by ABR (“Abuse By Reuse”) and are utterly predictable. In my recent article—Two Ways to Defile a Hymn—I addressed this topic.

—Jeff Ostrowski