• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“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)

  • Donate
  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
    • Sainte Marie Bulletin Articles
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Catechism of Gregorian Rhythm
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
Views from the Choir Loft

No Salvation From Decrees (3 of 3)

Jeff Ostrowski · September 23, 2013

EVER WILL I FORGET what our Pastor told me years ago: “Jeff, stop looking at disciplinary decrees of the Church as if they were equal to infallible declarations of Faith and Morals. Many disciplinary Church laws are bad or become outdated. For this reason, they are often replaced with new laws.”

This came as a revelation to me, during that period of my life.

Years later, another priest (who worked for four different Popes) explained the concept of Legal Positivism with regard to Church laws. Legal Positivism basically says that anything allowed or tolerated is automatically good. Legal Positivism is false, wrong, bad. If what I’m saying sounds bizarre to you, read this superb article by Fr. Georg May, a Canon lawyer who (incidentally) faithfully heard Confessions every Saturday, even after the Second Vatican Council:

      * *  Fr. Georg May • “Ecclesiastical Legislation on Liturgy and Church Music”

I wonder what Fr. Georg May would have said about the following quote, spoken by Pope Paul VI regarding his changes to the Roman Missal:

“You know the Roman saying — one Pope approves and another disapproves, and I don’t want anyone coming along after me and restoring everything to the present status quo.”

According to Annibale Bugnini, the Pope spoke these words in January of 1968. On the other hand, Bugnini is often not a reliable source of information, so I suppose we’ll never know if Pope Paul VI truly spoke those words.


Now, here’s my whole point:

THE SAINTS WERE NOT LEGALISTIC. They prayed. They responded to God’s Will. The reforming saints never said, “anything permitted is automatically good.” They looked at the true, beautiful, holy Catholic traditions and teachings and passed them on. For example, if Abbot Pothier had been content with the “approved” editions, we might still be singing from the Editio Medicæa.

So, the lesson is: avoid legal positivism. Look for what is true, beautiful, and holy, like the saints did. Take these things as your model. Don’t look for loopholes (more on this below).

WE BEGAN THIS SERIES noting that those who hate traditional Catholic music often twist Ecclesiastical decrees. We examined in particular this false statement:

“The Second Vatican Council said Gregorian chant has pride of place only with regard to Masses celebrated in Latin.”

It is interesting to consider how the people making this (false) argument would respond to questions like these:

“How well are you following the documents of the Council? Are you singing the Creed? The Council says you should be. Are you maintaining the difference between Low Mass and High Mass? The Council says you should be. If you’re in a monastery, are you chanting the office in Latin? Pope Paul VI, in Sacrificium Laudis, says you should be.”

The point is, people who twist the documents usually ignore the sections they dislike.

WE CANNOT, in such a small article as this, treat every point. There’s simply too much. We could talk about what Pope John XXIII said in Veterum Sapientia. We could talk about what Pope Paul VI said in Sacrificium Laudis. We could go on and on. We could type until our fingers fall off.

Let me share one more thing before calling it a day. I think Susan Benofy hit the nail on the head when she wrote in an article:

This illustrates a familiar (and highly effective) technique used by those who pushed for radical implementation of the reform. A practice, often one which had been explicitly rejected for general use, would be requested for “pastoral” reasons for a particular situation. Once permission was granted, liturgists would employ the innovation in other situations. Then its “widespread use” becomes an argument for general approval.   […]

What it did do was to establish a principle that other texts could be substituted for the official Proper. The Simple Gradual itself was rarely used, but the principle of substituting new texts, which Monsignor Frederick McManus saw as its primary significance, was used to replace the Proper with other songs.

Readers are probably sick of me talking about that section, but understanding the post-Conciliar destruction of the Mass Propers is crucial. Getting rid of them was absolutely opposed to the true spirit of Vatican II and the Liturgical movement. The Vatican II Consilium said this was “cheating the people.” The more I read about it, the more astounding I find it. How could such a thing happen? It helps to learn that people who lived through this period were deeply troubled about these types of issues. For instance, Msgr. Richard J. Schuler wrote in 1977:

It seems almost incredible that only ten years ago the Church was ordering that “in accordance with the norm of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy and the centuries old tradition of the Latin rite, the Latin language is to be retained for clerics in celebrating the divine office in choir.”

This article is part of a series:

Part 1   •   Part 2   •   Part 3

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hymns Replacing Propers Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

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

Re: Low Mass: “It is desirable that in read Masses on Sundays and feast-days, the Gospel and Epistle be read by a lector in the vernacular for the convenience of the faithful.”

— 1958 document, issued under Pope Pius XII

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Jeff’s Mom Joins Our Fundraiser”
  • “Musicam Sacram” (5 March 1967) • Does It Apply?
  • “What Martin Luther Said…”
  • “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • Worship the Lord in Holy Attire

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!

But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”

We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.

Our president has written the following letter:

President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)

Are you able to support us?

clock.png

Time's up