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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

The Pope’s interview, context and Latin.

Veronica Brandt · September 21, 2013

Elizabeth My daughter, who currently speaks Latin and English equally well. EADING THE POPE’S INTERVIEW is a great way to start the day. I’d better admit though, I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but quotes have been flying around the interwebs like confetti. Everyone is doing a take on it. There’s so much in the interview that everyone can find a chunk to bolster their own personal bandwagon. But if you want to really understand it, you need to go back to the interview and look at the chunks in context.

Just out of interest, the word “Latin” pops up in the interview three times. Which is exactly the same frequency as “abortion” and “homosexual”, so let me go off on that tangent, although, like abortion and homosexuality, that is not the main message in the Pope’s interview.

From time to time the idea comes up that it is not practical to use Latin prayers or hymns because your average person in the pew can’t understand it. Some will say that one must study Latin before attempting any liturgical applications of the language. There is a logic here – if one were writing a letter or watching a show, it would be important to know the language, but that is a different context.

Back when I first came across a place that used Latin with lavish abandon, I did fret that I was missing out because I didn’t know what it all meant. I was used to being on the inside of the choir, knowing what was coming up next, having the words and music handy. So I put together a new book of old hymns, digging up old translations and bugging people to help me with new ones.

Then I was sort of disappointed to find that most people didn’t really care that much. They were happy to listen to the beautiful music. Over time they would become familiar with bits and pieces. They might ask after Mass about a particularly striking piece and there would be a choir member there to give more than enough information about its meanings and origins.

More recently someone was warning against relying on Latin hymns, saying the average person can’t understand them. I reassured her that the Mass books in the church had the English versions following each Latin hymn. Except O Sanctissima. That was one of the later additions, when I was making all those compromises that come with collective decisions. But that was alright, she said, because everyone knows that one.

Which is the point with Latin in the liturgy. People just get to know the bits they like. The translations are not that far away. You’re not expected to know everything. If you want to know, then there is someone to ask. And most people don’t care that much.

To borrow a chunk from the Pope:

I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds…. And you have to start from the ground up.

People come to Mass to pray in all sorts of ways. Some for the peace, some to plead for a loved one, some to give something of themselves, some just to glorify God. In our parish there are broken families, broken hearts, people struggling with various trials. In our world it is even crazier. So much to pray for. So much beyond our ability to comprehend!

If you want to join in the singing, then come an hour before Mass starts and I’ll go through the music with you. Please. Your kids can kick a ball around with my kids. And I’ll make sure there’s a piece of cake for you after Mass.

In the meantime you can read Jeffrey Tucker’s pick from the Big Interview at Chant Cafe.

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 Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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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

“Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another… It teaches that all are to be tolerated, for all are matters of opinion. Revealed religion is not a truth, but a sentiment and a taste; not an objective fact, not miraculous; and it is the right of each individual to make it say just what strikes his fancy. […] Men may go to Protestant Churches and to Catholic, may get good from both and belong to neither.”

— Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman (May of 1879)

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