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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

First Impressions of Bishop Sample’s Pastoral Letter on Sacred Music

Aristotle A. Esguerra · February 18, 2013

On January 21 of this year Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette issued “Rejoice in the Lord Always,” a pastoral letter on Sacred Music in Divine Worship. (H/T to Adam Bartlett of the Chant Café.) You may download it directly from the Diocese of Marquette’s website here.

What struck me the most about this letter is that it calls for the following:

  • Pastors and musicians to possess knowledge of the musical directives as found in Church documents (listed in the appendix) and to base preparations for liturgies on them;
  • An understanding that one prepares for the liturgy instead of plans it (subtle but important distinction);
  • At least one Sunday Mass per parish be a Sung Mass (missa cantata) according to the capabilities of the priest and faithful;
  • An awareness of the nonliturgical nature of the “Recessional Hymn”, calling for an instrumental piece or silence (in Lent);
  • Moving toward the singing of the Proper of the Mass (Entrance/Offertory/Communion chants), while laying down tighter guidelines for hymn substitution of these Propers (which takes place on a widespread basis);
  • Weekday Masses to incorporate some liturgical singing;
  • All capable priests of the diocese to learn to pray the Roman Canon in chant according to the tones in the Missal;
  • All parishes to learn two chant Mass settings (VIII and XVIII);
  • All parishes to conduct Triduum liturgies a cappella from the Gloria of Holy Thursday until the Gloria of the Easter Vigil.

He is set to leave the Marquette Diocese in a couple of months, so I’m unsure how well, how quickly, or if the directives in this Pastoral Letter will be implemented. (I have read some positive reports from last June’s Diocesan Sacred Music Conference, and I understand that he has recently hired a music director to carry out some of the above at the cathedral there.) However, as he will be installed as archbishop of Portland, Oregon on April 2 his presence may very well begin to be felt (albeit indirectly) not only in the churches of the Diocese of Marquette but also in all churches that use materials published by Oregon Catholic Press. (He is also the incoming chairman of OCP by reason of his archbishopric.)

In any case, it’s extremely refreshing to see the chief liturgist of a diocese teach and issue directives about the sacred liturgy that are in continuity with Church teaching. May their number increase.

And readers aware of the Proper of the Mass know that the beginning of the Entrance Antiphon for the Third Sunday of Advent is used for the title of this pastoral letter. Could we finally be seeing the advent of sung liturgy in the Roman Rite as envisioned by the Council Fathers at a diocese-wide level?

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Archbishop Alexander K Sample Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Aristotle A. Esguerra

Aristotle A. Esguerra has served in the Diocese of Madison since 2009 as music director at the churches of St. Mary, Pine Bluff and St. Ignatius, Mount Horeb, and as the chant instructor to the Cistercian Nuns of Valley of Our Lady Monastery, Prairie du Sac.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“In particular, today we must remember that our liturgy—celebrated according to the books promulgated by Saints Paul VI and John Paul II—must be preserved from any element from the ancient forms.”

— Bishops of Costa Rica —Hat tip to ‘Catholic Arena’

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