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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

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —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

At papal Masses, the regulations against tardiness were more stringent than at Masses celebrated by cardinals or bishops. Giovanni Maria Nanino records that any singer who is not in his place—and in his vestments—by the end of the repetition of the “Introit” will be fined eight vinti. At papal Vespers, the singer who is not present at the “Gloria Patri” of the first psalm pays a fine of fifty balocchi.

— Giovanni M. Nanino (d. 1607), Papal “Maestro di Cappella”

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