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“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

1965 English Mass Demonstration “Sign Of Peace”

Jeff Ostrowski · June 16, 2013

ROBABLY NINETY PERCENT of my blog entries are “made-to-order.” In other words, I write them when I feel inspired. The remaining ten percent are not “time sensitive” — that is, I keep them in reserve for a rainy day. Many of these are articles I wrote years ago, but never published for one reason or another. Today’s blog entry is one of the “ten percent.” I decided to release it because I saw a discussion on the NLM Blog about the “Sign of Peace.”

Monsignor Francis P. Schmitt documented the tumultuous introduction of the Novus Ordo Missae (which is now called the Ordinary Form). We have quoted him in the past, and we shall continue to do so. There’s a lot more material and some is quite interesting!

In 1965, Msgr. Schmitt described a “Demonstration Mass” in which he took part. At the bottom of this blog, I give a link to the full article. Here is an excerpt from the article:

On the structural side, I would only mention the boy-scout hand-shake which replaces the Pax, and which the promoters wish to be fairly noisy. It is no reflection on the reverential, if let’s-play-house, attitude of the ministers and participants of the dry-run I observed to state that the lady with whom I shook hands accused me of trying to steal her bracelet.

Wow! So the handshake started all the way back in 1965! I didn’t know that. Here in South Texas, people give a “hippie peace sign” to one another in the pews. I remember being pretty scandalized when I first saw it. After all, this is Church! But I digress . . .

Here’s another interesting quote from Msgr. Schmitt about early attempts at the “Sung Canon,” which I wrote about towards the end of a rejected article:

The most successful portion of the demonstration musically, is the adaptation of the Canon of the Mass to the formula of the Exultet.

Finally, here’s the entire article:

      * *  1965 Article by Fr. Frank Schmitt: “English Mass Demonstration” [pdf]

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: 1965 Missal Last Updated: November 5, 2021

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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

    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
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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 claim that the bishop or the priest originally celebrated “versus populum” is a legend, which Otto Nussbaum (d. 1999) originally did a great deal to spread.

— Dr. Helmut Hoping (University of Freiburg)

Recent Posts

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  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
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  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
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