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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

Catholic Identity Crisis: Who Are We? What Do We Believe? How Should We Live?

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · March 20, 2014

0319_east-rite-lg YZANTINE CATHOLICS and Eastern Orthodox Christians have maintained in full and essential integrity the depth, beauty, and sacredness of the Church’s Eastern liturgical heritage; the Western Church has eradicated countless elements of her equally deep, beautiful, and sacred heritage. The latter is slowly coming back, but for a time, it looked like it was going to become extinct―and, even now, it is still an endangered species in far too many dioceses.

This is troubling because it puts educated and loyal Roman Catholics at a disadvantage in their apostolic work, not only in regard to using persuasive apologetics about the Church’s continuity with her own apostolic tradition (something we used to assert as true and would still like to be able to say), but also in regard to the very effort to live out an authentically Catholic life from day to day, week to week, year to year, which is the foundation for every fruitful apostolate.

So much of the structure of Catholic life was disturbed, distorted, or obliterated in the past five decades that it is much harder to see who we are any more, what we believe, or why we do what we do. Ask lots of Catholics out there about the teachings of the Church on faith or morals, and about what happens at Mass and even what the Mass is, and you will quickly sense the crisis―the fragmentation, balkanization, vacancy of content―the dimensions of which very few people are willing to stare in the face. That is what the mainstream looks like, and no wonder: we are only just now beginning to get beyond the period when the ranks of the clergy, from top to bottom, were stacked with soft or hard modernists who changed, as far as it lay in their power, the content of “the Faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3). On top of this is the new silly season that has been unleashed by the media’s running away with papal comments taken out of context.

As goes the clergy, so goes the faithful. St. Pius X is purported to have said, “If the priest is a saint, the people will be good; if the priest is good, the people will be mediocre; if the priest is mediocre, the people will be wretches; and if the priest is bad, the people will be beasts.” As T. S. Eliot foresaw, we have around us the grotesque spectacle of high-tech barbarism: men and women with the latest gadgets but with a moral conscience equal to or lower than that of the ancient barbarians. Pope Pius XII spoke of modernity’s “monstrous masterpiece,” namely, “transforming man into a giant of the physical world at the expense of his spirit, which is reduced to that of a pygmy in the supernatural and eternal world.”

OFTEN THINK of Joseph Ratzinger’s disturbing remark: What are we to think of a Church that all of a sudden repudiated that which it had once held to be its most sacred possession? What happens when those who are striving to remain loyal to the 2,000-year doctrinal, liturgical, and disciplinary heritage of the Church are driven away, alienated, mocked, left without comfort, without a clear sign that their Church has not in fact collapsed under the weight of modernity’s errors and treacheries?

So we grit our teeth and courageously say “I will never abandon the Church of Christ,” and our Lord will reward us for that fidelity. But does it not seem strange that divine worship, in which we are supposed to see and hear and feel a foretaste of heavenly glory, should be, for so many, an onerous burden, as from Sunday to Sunday we behold abominations in the sanctuary, improvisations, innovations, that sever the “Catholicism” of today from its entire patrimony? Is divine worship really meant to be such a trial?

Should catechesis, grammar school, and seminary life have changed so drastically that individuals who want to convert to the true faith no longer know where to turn, orthodox parents no longer want to send their children to Catholic schools, and young men eager to become holy priests can find only with difficulty a diocesan seminary that is fully in line with the tradition and magisterium of the Church?

All of this bodes ill for the future of the Church, and that is why so many disgruntled Catholics are leaving for good. The uneducated ones are sucked into evangelical congregations where they can get firm and demanding (or at least highly entertaining) doctrine from Bible preachers, not a wishy-washy sermon about being nice. The more educated may fall prey to the aesthetic majesty and persuasive polemics of the Eastern Orthodox, who can quench any man’s thirst for genuine ascetical-liturgical spirituality. Often, the best that can be realistically hoped for is that earnest and educated Catholics will simply go East “half way,” so to speak, by migrating to an Eastern Catholic church like the Ukrainian, Ruthenian, or Melkite, or that they will be fortunate enough to discover a thriving Tridentine community nearby that can fulfill their need for profound worship and serious Catholic doctrine.

I was struck by the words of Benedictine monk Fr. Hugh Somerville-Knapman (here):

One thing seems sure: without a wholesale renewal of liturgical practice and spirituality the New Evangelization will remain just another expensive white-elephant of a programme. And priests will remain faced with the temptation to entertain and be creative in worship, and in so doing seriously undermine that worship. Without authentic worship the faithful, especially the young, will not be truly challenged to live with integrity, treating their own bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, and their neighbours as Christs in disguise.

As Dr. Alcuin Reid recently wrote, if you want to find Catholics who actually know who they are and what they believe with some clarity and depth―people who know why they do what they do in the worship of God or in the duties of daily life―you will generally find them in traditional enclaves. There is no future for those who reject their past.

Please visit THIS PAGE to learn more about Dr. Kwasniewski’s exciting new publication,
Sacred Choral Works, a 273-page collection of a cappella choir music for the Liturgy.

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 Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music.

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President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 14 September (Holy Cross)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for 14 September 2025, which is the Feast of Exaltation of the Holy Cross. 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “14 September 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 14 September 2025) discusses OFFERTORY ANTIPHONS and contains a wonderful quote by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    PDF Download • Draft Copy (Pamphlet)
    A few days ago, I posted a draft copy of this 12-page pamphlet with citations about the laity’s “full, conscious, and active participation.” Its basic point or message is that choir directors should never feel embarrassed to teach real choral music because Vatican II explicitly ordered them to do that! We’ve received tons of mail regarding that pamphlet, with many excellent suggestions for improvement. Please feel free to chime in!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Karl Keating • “Canonization Questions”
    We were sent an internet statement (screenshot) that’s garnered significant attention, in which KARL KEATING (founder of Catholic Answers) speaks about whether canonizations are infallible. Mr. Keating seems unaware that canonizations are—in the final analysis—a theological opinion. They are not infallible, as explained in this 2014 article by a priest (with a doctorate in theology) who worked for multiple popes. Mr. Keating says: “I’m unaware of such claims arising from any quarter until several recent popes disliked by these Traditionalists were canonized, including John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. Usually Paul VI receives the most opprobrium.” Mr. Keating is incorrect; e.g. Father John Vianney, several centuries ago, taught clearly that canonizations are not infallible. Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen would be another example, although clearly much more recent than Saint John Vianney.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Vatican II Changed Wedding Propers?
    It’s often claimed that the wedding propers were changed after Vatican II. As a matter of fact, that is a false claim. The EDITIO VATICANA propers (Introit: Deus Israel) remained the same after Vatican II. However, a new set of propers (Introit: Ecce Deus) was provided for optional use. The same holds true for the feast of Pope Saint Gregory the Great on 3 September: the 1943 propers (Introit: Si díligis me) were provided for optional use, but the traditional PROPRIA MISSAE (Introit: Sacerdótes Dei) were retained; they weren’t gotten rid of. The Ordo Cantus Missae (1970) makes this crystal clear, as does the Missal itself. There was an effort made in the post-conciliar years to eliminate so-called “Neo-Gregorian” chants, but (contrary to popular belief) most were retained: cf. the feast of Christ the King, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and so forth.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

The liturgical reform bears absolutely no relation to what is called “desacralization” and in no way intends to lend support to the phenomenon of “secularizing the world.” Accordingly the rites must retain their dignity, spirit of reverence, and sacred character.

— Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship (5 September 1970)

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