Views from the Choir Loft

Why On Earth Would Anyone Do This?

Jeff Ostrowski · July 2, 2014

Y FRIENDS KNOW that I prefer Mass to be either entirely in Latin or entirely in English, for reasons having to do with aesthetics. However, I was involved with the production of the Jogues Illuminated Missal (for the Ordinary Form) which contains a lot of Latin.

Does that make me a hypocrite? No, for two reasons: one obvious, the other less obvious.

IRST, the obvious one. The Second Vatican Council ordered a mixture of Latin & Vernacular. The secretary of the Consilium (among many others) made this crystal clear in a succinct statement. Therefore, whether I personally believe Latin & English should be mixed is irrelevant: the Vatican Council has spoken.

You’ll want to read the words of Msgr. Overath about the verb “servetur” on page 18. By the way, on pages 22-24, Overath specifically cites statements by USA dioceses that are so flagrantly opposed to Vatican II they’ll knock you off your feet!

ECOND, the less obvious reason. Even if Latin is not used, it’s essential to at least provide the original Latin prayer, which goes back so many centuries. Consider this:

* * Sample Page (PDF) — taken from the Jogues Illuminated Missal

Did you notice how the Latin “grounds” us, even if the prayers are sung in English? After all, American Catholics have been subjected to so many different translations over the years it’s become confusing. The authentic Latin is essential, if only for reference purposes. Maybe that’s why the Vatican demanded that the official Latin always be printed alongside the English.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

Accents Do Matter!

Some have questioned why the Jogues Pew Missal—which contains full propers & readings in English—was so meticulous regarding accentuation for Latin words. The upcoming feast of the EPIPHANY gives a good example. The ENTRANCE CHANT begins: “advénit” as you can see. The Latin word advénit means “has arrived.” The Latin word ádvenit means “is approaching.” Does this matter? It certainly does. For instance, the AMERICAN GRADUAL incorrectly translates advénit as “is drawing near.” This ancient chant is in Mode II. Very few INTROITS appear to be in Mode II. For the record, “vénimus” and “venímus” also mean different things.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Year’s End Appeal • “Asking for Help”

We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity. We exist solely by the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment; we have no major donors; we run no advertisements; we have no savings. As 2024 comes to a close, we could really use your financial support—especially if you have never donated before. Click here to securely donate with any major credit card. Thank you very much!

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” • Feast of the Holy Family

Some have expressed interest in perusing the “ORDER OF MUSIC” I prepared for the Feast of the Holy Family. If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. This feast has fallen on many different days over the years. Originally, it was celebrated on the 3rd Sunday after Easter. According to the current calendar, it’s celebrated this coming Sunday.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Lessons and Carols”

Seen online! Dr. Samuel Backman conducted a “Lessons and Carols” service with his choir, and someone produced this lovely vignette.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Epiphany Proclamation 2025

Each year, without fail, someone asks me to typeset the Epiphany Proclamation, an announcement of moveable feasts chanted each year on the feast of the Epiphany. As a result, you may now find an archive of 23 such proclamations in PDF ready to print HERE.

—Veronica Brandt

The Breviary in the Life of the Laity

Recently I have been enjoying looking through the inaugural (1927) edition of a 20th-century liturgical magazine called Orate Fratres. The July 1927 issue included an excellent article by a Chicago laywoman named Ellen Gates Starr entitled “The Delights of the Breviary: From the Point of View of a Lay Woman.” As we in the 21st century have recently undergone a (blessed!) re-translation of the missal into English, and as we await with joyful hope (please God, before Jesus comes back!) a similar re-translation of the breviary, the opening of her article reminded me of that old saying, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Nearly a hundred years ago, she penned words that could just as easily have been written today: “It is indeed a privilege to be allowed any participation, however slight, in the liturgical movement in the Church – the movement to bring back the classics of devotion, the Missal and the Breviary, into general use by the laity. The wonder is that they should ever have fallen into disuse. Nothing can take the place of these great universal prayers of the Church, the prayers of the Mass and the divine Office. One has only to know them to find them indispensable. And alas, how few of the laity know them!” I know that I have been tremendously nourished by regular praying of the breviary as of late, and my wish is that you and I, dear reader, may continue to nourish our interior lives with the official prayer of the Church, which present to us (in the Mass) and extend (in the Office) the fullness of Christ’s greatest gift to us – the gift of Himself – in the Most Holy Eucharist.

—Daniel Tucker