Views from the Choir Loft

Novus Ordo Lectionary

Jeff Ostrowski · July 26, 2022

Open Letter to Bishop Roche • “12 Considerations”

I write in response to the 6 July 2022 statement by Pope Francis: “Make your voices heard! If they do not listen to you, shout even louder.”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 4, 2021

They Did Something Bad & Inexplicable • (Documentation Included)

I beg you on my hands and knees to read verses 12-20.

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Jeff Ostrowski · January 23, 2021

Glaring Omission from Post-Vatican II Lectionary

In the 1980s, Father Valentine wrote to a Vatican Congregation in Rome about this omission. It still hasn’t been fixed.

Fr. David Friel · March 11, 2018

A Literal Translation of the New Testament

David Bentley Hart’s experiment in recovering the conceptual vocabulary of a distant

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

Fr. David Friel · April 5, 2015

All Nine Readings

Celebrating the Easter Vigil in Its Fullness

Jeff Ostrowski · March 17, 2015

Improve Your Parish Liturgy … Instantly!

Have you noticed the change in atmosphere when people dress fancy, as opposed to tank tops with jeans?

Fr. David Friel · January 4, 2015

Preparing Funeral Liturgies

Who Should Pick the Readings?

Jeff Ostrowski · July 14, 2014

The Real Trouble With Missalettes

Did you catch that last quotation? “Unless proper readings are given.” What does that passage mean?

Fr. David Friel · July 13, 2014

The “Children’s Liturgy of the Word”

Are We Past This Yet?

Jeff Ostrowski · June 2, 2014

Problematic Sequence Translations In Our Current Lectionary

Are you bothered by the VANDALISM done to Lectionary Sequence translations?

Jeff Ostrowski · May 5, 2014

PDF Download: Ordo Lectionum Missae & Ordo Cantus Missae

“…otherwise the entire Mass might be placed into the vernacular; whereupon the Council fathers burst into uproarious laughter.” — Cardinal Stickler speaking of Vatican II

Fr. David Friel · April 13, 2014

Who Should Proclaim the Passion?

The “Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts”

Fr. David Friel · November 28, 2013

Deo Gratias

The Liturgical Model of Gratitude

Corpus Christi Watershed · November 24, 2013

Official Lenten Acclamations In Latin & English

“Acclamationes pro tempore Quadragesimae”

“Entrance Chant” • Christ the King

Download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the Solemnity of Christ the King (24 November 2024). It mimics the Mode III Latin version in a truly spectacular way. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, I attempted to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Music List” • (33rd Sund. Ordinary Time)

This coming Sunday—17 November 2024—is the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. Some have expressed interest in perusing my “ORDER OF MUSIC.” If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. You’ll notice we’re learning Moreau’s “Congregational Polyphonic Enhancement” for the OUR FATHER. For the record, our opening hymn is particularly beautiful. So is the Mode 6 ENTRANCE CHANT.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Lectionary Errors

If you look at the official Responsorial Psalm (PDF) for this coming Sunday, you’ll notice the current Lectionary has the wrong refrain. Why is this a big deal? Why even mention such a thing? Everybody makes mistakes, right? Here’s why it matters. The USCCB—which makes money by selling the sacred liturgical texts—has historically been ruthless when it comes to such matters. When various publishers point out errors to them, their response has been: “If you dare to correct the error, we’ll sue you.” These errors are not a matter of nuance; e.g. sometimes the previous (English) edition of the Lectionary got them right! Bottom Line: mandatory, indulgenced, liturgical texts shouldn’t be sold; they should be freely available to all Catholics.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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

Principles vs Preferences

I ran into this idea recently: principles vs. preferences in planning out a curriculum or music lineup. In this idea, it is imperative to not misconstrue personal preferences into principles—that the music (or subject matter) is great because: “I have good taste, and I like it.” De gustibus… Education, study and docility to the Magisterium of the Church on matters of liturgical music must be present in those who make the music at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Hours. Who knows? Maybe you might start to prefer the music that is fitting according to the principles Catholic Sacred Music?

—William J. Fritz

Liquescent Notes in the Official Edition

The official edition—the EDITIO VATICANA itself—is somewhat inconsistent when it comes to liquescent notes. If you wish to see a perfect “apples-to-apples” comparison, click here. Such “inconsistency” was not owing to ignorance on the part of Abbat Pothier: the manuscripts themselves are inconsistent when it comes to liquescent notes.

—Jeff Ostrowski