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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Mass Propers: Confusion Resolved

Jeff Ostrowski · March 13, 2012

The traditional Mass Propers are as follows:

1. INTROIT
2. GRADUAL
3. ALLELUIA VERSE
4. OFFERTORY
5. COMMUNION

N.B. The chants between the readings (GRADUAL and ALLELUIA VERSE) are sometimes different. For instance, during Lent, the ALLELUIA is replaced with a TRACT, because the “Alleluia” is not said during Lent. In Eastertide (except for Easter Sunday itself), there are two Alleluias (the “Lesser Alleluia” and the “Greater Alleluia”) and no Gradual. Sometimes there is a Sequence. Also, the “Gradual” is a specific chant, but the “Roman Gradual” denotes the entire set of Mass propers . . . Confusing, no?

Given here is a very short “synopsis” that, hopefully, will clear up some confusion.


1. INTROIT  •  After Vatican II, it is allowed to REPLACE the Introit with “alius cantus aptus” (some other suitable chant). Rightly or wrongly, this has always been interpreted as meaning, “anything you want.” See the article by László Dobszay on this.

Please note that the Introit antiphon found inside the Roman Missal does not always match the traditional Introit from the Roman Gradual because Pope Paul VI “revised” the Introits for Masses without music (“spoken Masses” or “read Masses) [source]. We did not include the “spoken” version in the Vatican II Hymnal, because our book only contains the readings and Propers for Sundays and holy days, and very few Catholic parishes in the United States “speak” the Introit on Sundays and holy days.


2. GRADUAL  •  After Vatican II, it is allowed to REPLACE the Gradual with the Responsorial Psalm. For this reason, the Vatican II Hymnal includes both the Gradual and the Responsorial Psalm.


3. ALLELUIA VERSE  •  After Vatican II, it is allowed to REPLACE the traditional Gregorian Alleluia Verse with the “Gospel Acclamation.” Sometimes, these two are identical, but not usually. For this reason, the Vatican II Hymnal includes both the Gregorian Alleluia Verse and the Gospel Acclamation. When there is only one reading before the Gospel, “the Alleluia or verse before the Gospel may be omitted if they are not sung” (GIRM, 63).


4. OFFERTORY  •  In the words of one Catholic priest, the Offertory antiphon was “kicked to the curb” following the Second Vatican Council. The rubric says, “When it is not sung, it is omitted.” However, I think that this was done because the priest is too busy receiving the bread and wine (Offertory procession) to read the Offertory antiphon, if not sung. After Vatican II, the Offertory antiphon can be REPLACED by “alius cantus aptus” (some other suitable chant). Rightly or wrongly, this has always been interpreted as meaning, “anything you want.”


5. COMMUNION  •  After Vatican II, it is allowed to REPLACE the Communion antiphon with “alius cantus aptus” (some other suitable chant). Rightly or wrongly, this has always been interpreted as meaning, “anything you want.”

Please note that the Communion antiphon found in the Roman Missal frequently does not match the Communion from the Roman Gradual, because Pope Paul VI “revised” the Communions for Masses without music (“spoken Masses” or “read Masses) [source]. We did not include the “spoken” version in the Vatican II Hymnal, because our book only contains the readings and Propers for Sundays and holy days, and very few Catholic parishes in the United States “speak” the Communion on Sundays and holy days. Most of them replace the Communion antiphon with a hymn, and we included more than 100 Communion hymns in the Vatican II Hymnal.


In Conclusion  •  The Vatican II Hymnal is the only pew book to include the complete texts for the Graduale Propers (in addition to everything else we included: complete readings, complete Responsorial Psalms, hymns, etc.). We do this because, in our view, it does not make sense to continue to REPLACE the ancient Mass propers, when they are so beautiful and a source of such grace. To replace the Mass propers with hymns means we are “singing at Mass” rather than “singing the Mass.” My confirmation saint, Pope Pius X, said that we should pray the Mass, not pray at Mass.

Addendum  •  We have sometimes been asked: why did you not include musical versions of all the Propers in the Vatican II Hymnal?

1. Printing the texts allows the congregation to follow along as the choir sings the Propers.

2. There are so many different versions of singing the Propers, choosing one version would have severely limited the usefulness of our book.

3. It would have been almost impossible to choose just one musical version for our book. Here are examples of composers who have set the Mass Propers: Fr. Samuel Weber, Fr. Columba Kelley, Kevin Allen, Heinrich Isaac, Adam Bartlett, Jeff Ostrowski, Richard Rice, and many others.

4. From a historical perspective, the Schola Cantorum or choir always sang the Propers, not the congregation, and there are special reasons for this. Our book is for the pews.

5. If we had printed complete musical settings of the Propers, our book would have been so long, it would not fit in the pew racks.


Download 100+ pages of free Mass Settings (Roman Missal, 3rd Edition).

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 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).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 26th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 28 September 2025, which is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a gorgeous melody and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of September (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Communion (26th Sn. Ord.)
    This coming Sunday, 28 September 2025, is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON with Fauxbourdon verses in honor of William Couture sparkles with beauty. It comes Psalm 118 (the lengthiest psalm) which is an “alphabetical acrostic.” That means each verse begins with the successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • “Side-By-Side Comparison”
    Pope Urban VIII modified almost all the Church’s ancient hymns in 1632AD. The team responsible for creating the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal spent years comparing the different versions of each hymn: “Urbanite” vs. “pre-Urbanite.” When it comes to the special hymn for the upcoming feast (9 November)—URBS BEATA JERUSALEM—Dr. Adrian Fortescue pointed out that “the people who changed it in the 17th century did not even keep its metre; so the later version cannot be sung to the old, exceedingly beautiful tune.” Monsignor Hugh Thomas Henry (d. 1946), a professor of Gregorian Chant at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary (Overbrook, Philadelphia), wrote: “Of this hymn in particular some think that, whereas it did not suffer as much as some others, yet it lost much of its beauty in the revision; others declare that it was admirably transformed without unduly modifying the sense.” You can use this side-by-side comparison chart to compare both versions. When it comes to its meaning, there’s little significant difference between the two versions: e.g. “name of Christ” vs. “love of Christ.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Thus the priest-celebrant, putting on the person of Christ, alone offers sacrifice, and not the people, nor clerics, nor even priests who reverently assist. All, however, can and should take an active part in the Sacrifice. “The Christian people, though participating in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, do not thereby possess a priestly power,” We stated in the Encyclical Mediator Dei (AAS, vol 39, 1947, p. 553).

— Pope Pius XII (2 November 1954)

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