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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

Every moment is a teachable moment

Andrew R. Motyka · February 6, 2013

E WHO HAVE FOUGHT in the Liturgy Wars easily fall into the trap of assuming that every liturgical anomaly is born from dissent. As someone who has seen his share of liturgical abuse in his career, I sympathize with the frustration and borderline-paranoia that faithful musicians and others experience. As I’ve delved deeper into working for an Office of Worship, I’ve found that there are far more problems that have lack of knowledge as their origin than problems that are rooted in actual opposition to the law.

One of the more edifying things that I get to do is answering musical and liturgical questions from around the archdiocese. I never thought that I would take joy in it, but it is fulfilling in a very real way. Parish musicians seldom see “breakthroughs” that exhibit their efforts in making a difference, but addressing practical matters in this way is immediate, and I find that I learn something almost every time I am asked to help.

For example, last week a parish musician contacted me to ask some details about the tradition of covering the crosses and images in the Church on the Fifth Sunday of Lent. She wanted to know:

1. What color is to be used when covering the cross and images (she assumed violet).
2. What color the cross is to be veiled with on Good Friday (she guessed red), and if that color needed to be changed on Good Friday.

If your first response to reading these inquiries is “Why doesn’t she just look in the Missal?” then you’re missing a key piece of information: most people don’t even know where to look for answers. It’s not that they’re trying to act poorly. On the contrary, most of the time they have nothing but the best of intentions and truly want to worship to the best of their ability and with the mind of the Church; they just don’t know where to start.

For the record, I double-checked the Missal, and learned something about the rubrics myself:

1. The Missal actually doesn’t prescribe a color for covering the images in the Church. I would assume and recommend violet simply because it’s Lent and that seems like good taste, but it is not explicitly given. (Side note: while the images remain veiled until the Easter Vigil, any crosses should be unveiled after the Good Friday liturgy, when the cross is unveiled and venerated.)

2. The color for the cross’s veil on Good Friday is violet, not red like the vestments.

The woman was very pleased with the information she was able to get from this experience, and I realized that most people really do want what’s best for the Church. Had she not asked, and just gone ahead and used red for the cross, she’d have been wrong, but not because she thought she knew better than the Church. All she needed was a bit of direction.

Charity demands that we assume the realistic best of people in all possible scenarios. We the “liturgical police” sometimes need to calm down, stop being so defensive, and realize that we are not always under assault. We can do far greater good by patiently explaining details than we can by expressing frustration over the average person’s liturgical ignorance. An entire generation has passed where people do not know their faith, and do not even remotely understand what is going on at the Church that they attend every Sunday. Case by case, we need get peoples’ minds in the game and understand the liturgy that they have inherited, so they can truly, fully, actively participate in it.

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 Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Corn” From Heaven?
    The Westminster Version of the Sacred Scriptures was produced by Roman Catholics in England and bears an IMPRIMATUR dated 15 March 1958 by the Archbishop of Westminster. Its IMPRIMI POTEST was given by the director of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. Sometimes the words chosen by translators can sound funny to American ears. For instance, one of our Responsorial Psalms has as its refrain: “The Lord gave them bread from heaven.” But the British version has “The Lord gave them corn from heaven.” Feel free to examine this with your own eyes. (It comes from Psalm 77.)
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

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

“Leave the Mass alone. Our churches are full—the Protestants, in spite of their vernacular, far otherwise.”

— Cardinal Godfrey (one of the Vatican II fathers)

Recent Posts

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  • Installment #2 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”

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