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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

The Danger of Being Arbitrary in the Liturgy

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · May 29, 2014

N THE CONTEXT OF the Novus Ordo, there are so many options, so many permitted ways of doing things, so many modules that can be fitted together this way or that way, it can be very difficult to achieve coherence―especially in regard to compromise Masses where different “sensibilities” must be included in the liturgical planning and are therefore discernible in the resulting concoction.

But why take one traditional feature and reject another? Why take one modern feature and reject another? Have we lost our instinct for consistency?

The traditional practices form a coherent whole; they developed organically together, like a plant or animal maturing over time to become more and more itself. The reform, whether you consider it well-movitated or ill-motivated, was, in any case, inorganic; in the same way modern science views nature as a machine or mechanism, modern liturgists viewed public worship as a human construct with interchangeable pieces. It is not a whole that is greater than its parts so much as a mere sum of parts. And once you begin to change this or that part, you might as well change all of them. If the whole does not command a fundamental reverence, why would one stop here or there?

That is why the inherent tendency of the postconciliar liturgy has been towards jettisoning one traditional feature or element after another. Brass candlesticks are locked away, to be replaced by stumps on square pillars; solid altars or altars with antependiums are replaced by tables; beautiful vestments are thrown away or locked away, and polyester drapery takes their place; noble music from the ages of faith is forgotten in the strumming of guitars or the plinking of pianos.

The program that Pope Benedict XVI put before the entire People of God is the “hermeneutic of continuity”: the Church must live her life in continuity with all she has been in the past, with her full Tradition, and not as if everything started over after Vatican II. Wherever the Church is limping along in a state of discontinuity and rupture, she must make heroic efforts to find her way back to a vital connection with her own identity, history, and heritage.

POPE BENEDICT XVI KNEW that the sacred liturgy is the heart of the Church’s life, the most exact and expressive symbol of her faith, and the vehicle through which the faithful are always being catechized by word and sign. Hence this great Pope began to demonstrate what continuity can and should look like by the way he himself celebrated the sacred liturgy, and by continually pointing us to the Church’s past inheritance as well as her present rules and norms. He restored the traditional altar arrangement of candles and crucifix, he brought back the beautiful vestments so long locked away, he restored grand processions with cope and cross, he ensured that the music was truly reverent and sacred, suggestive of divine majesty and the loftiness of the immortal soul.

The tradition of the Church, the beauty of her rituals and art, is not something to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. Pope Benedict was the voice in the desert, proclaiming that we need to restore and rediscover these things―our identity, our very survival, our mission in this world, depend on it. People have been badly miseducated, and they have a right to the truth. Indeed, we have a right to our Tradition and a duty to embrace it.

The only non-arbitrary way to approach the liturgy is to celebrate it not only with total fidelity to the rubrics, but also in a spirit of maximal continuity with the Roman liturgical heritage that preceded it for almost 2,000 years. To do less than this is to endorse, at some level or to some extent, that ideology of rupture that has gripped and wounded the church over the past 50 years. Once we discover that certain changes were unnecessary and unmandated, that they occurred because of experimental theories fused with a desire for novelty, the only consistent and principled thing to do is to reject these changes and return to the tradition of the Fathers, with the humble repentance of prodigal sons.

Please visit THIS PAGE to learn more about Dr. Kwasniewski’s exciting new publication,
Sacred Choral Works, a 273-page collection of a cappella choir music for the Liturgy.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

“The following question is asked by the Most Reverend Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Chur: May this Diocese’s ancient custom be continued of having the Celebrant in Sung Masses (excepting more solemn Masses) intone the Credo and when he is finished reciting it going on immediately to the offertory and finishing it while the credo is being sung by the choir?” (Dubium of Dec 1909)

— 11 December 1909

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