Hello dear colleagues. This is my first post to this wonderful forum, but it is indeed under frustrating circumstances. While I am a trained musician, I lack the liturgical experience of so many outstanding people I have met at CMAA-sponsored Chant Intensives and Colloquiums. I have been humbled to be called to be the choir director at our small parish in Wimberley, Texas, for the last seven years, and I am honored to be a part of such incredible Catholic servants and friends. The road to retrieving our Catholic musical heritage here has been challenging, to say the least, but we are making progress with the help of our dedicated choir members, and the extended efforts of Adam Bartlett and Jeff Ostrowski.

Our humble congregation is, after two years, beginning to appreciate the Simple English Propers, and the renewed interest in Catholic music, both in English and in Latin. We have been blessed by pastors who recognize our Catholic heritage and are not embarrassed by it.

That said, the main reason for my post is that we are still held hostage, to more than a minor degree, by the influences of major music publishing houses like OCP and GIA. While I myself have in the past felt their publications useful and even enjoyable, it has been only recently that I have seen the insidiousness of their reach, and how most of their offings are best suited more for charismatic renewal services than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. That is why I recently contacted OCP about their latest cover for the 2013 Today's Missal Music Issue. I suppose if one had severe myopia, a truncated education in modern art, coupled with several shots of a strong alcoholic beverage, one might be able to make out the mere attempt at what appears to be a cross. But then again, it may be upside down as I write this. My desk is a mess, so it is truly difficult to tell.

Bottom line: My parish is making a concerted effort over the next year or two to wean ourselves off of this convoluted dribble. If your parish is somehow required to order this crap and use it for your weekly Masses, I will pray for you, as I hope you will pray for us. The sooner we can restore our parish to authentic Catholic worship in utilizing music worthy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the better ourselves, and especially, our children, will be. Please pray that we make the right decisions in the not-too-distant-future for our missals and hymnals. God Bless.