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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

Sheed on the Missal of 1968

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · April 17, 2014

NE OF MY FAVORITE Catholic authors is Frank J. Sheed, a vigorous Catholic apologist and author of many fine books. He was the finest flower of that remarkable preconciliar “golden age” of Catholic apologetics and popular theology to which, even now, we do not have anything exactly comparable. Sheed’s book Theology for Beginners is an accessible, refreshing, and illuminating book that every single Catholic ought to read at some point in his or her life; the larger Theology and Sanity, laid out on similar lines, is a masterpiece by all standards. And I could mention many other books, all worthy of study.

This is why I was so surprised at a little book of his published by Sheed & Ward in 1968, entitled Is It the Same Church? Coming from the pen of this great man, how disappointing it was! Reading between the lines, it sounds like Sheed is feeling plenty disturbed at what’s going on in the Church by 1968, and yet he more or less forces himself to put a good face on it all, rather than following the heroic path of men like Dietrich van Hildebrand who fearlessly identified the errors that were causing the confusion and who responded to them with cogent arguments that still nourish serious Catholics today.

Perhaps the most dismaying chapter is the fifth, “Mass and Eucharist,” which, in response to the serious objections people were making back in the mid-sixties to the increasingly radical and senseless changes in the Church’s liturgy, repeats the comfortless truism that “the Mass is the Mass.” Sheed seems to think that all you have to say is: “Look, the changes don’t affect the essence, so give up your attachment to the accidents!”―which is a superficial position, both devotionally and theologically. A hippy priest wearing love beads could say Mass in the great outdoors with teenagers singing pop songs and roasting marshmallows over a campfire, and it would still be THE mass. But come now, is this the way that our Lord wants His sacrifice to be represented among us and applied to us? Would it be fitting either to the objective reality of the holy, immortal, awesome, and life-giving mysteries of faith or to our subjective grasp of their meaning and our preparation for partaking of them? Has not our Lord offered us guidance in this matter over the course of twenty centuries of tradition, church councils, and the papal magisterium? Is there no such thing as a profound schooling by means of the celebration of the liturgy, and a worship we pay to God through the very forms we use?

The Sheedian answer―which is all too commonly heard in conservative circles―effectively dismisses as inessential everything other than the words of consecration. Yet this position leaves itself wide open to the critique of Schmemann, for whom the corruption of Western liturgy is proportional to the increasing isolation of the act of transubstantiation as the one “moment of divine activity” in the entire liturgy. While Schmemann is incorrect about many aspects of the history and theology of the Latin liturgy, he is correct to posit corruption as the inevitable result of insisting on the inessentiality or accidentality of everything other than the Eucharist qua confected sacrament. This reductionism―traces of which, incidentally, are seen not only in the Cartesian ethos of the Novus Ordo but also, within the context of traditional Catholic worship, in a determined preference for the Low Mass over the High or Solemn Mass―reflects a shallow grasp of the ecclesial meaning, cosmic dimensions, and heavenly archetype of the Eucharistic Sacrifice itself, a lack of attentiveness to the total signification of the rite in and through the rich intertwining of all its parts.

Apropos the same historical period in which Sheed was writing, Robert Fay observed:

[T]he Christian faith, and the Catholic Church in particular, have been in full-cultural retreat since the 1960s…. Yet there was another revolution in the 1960s―an internal Catholic one―that was in many ways as profound as the one taking place in the streets of Paris, New York, and London. It was a liturgical revolution, and it impacted each and every Catholic at that most fundamental unit of faith―Sunday morning Mass.

With typical forthrightness, Fr. Zuhlsdorf explains what happened, and, by implication, what must be done in order to address the catastrophe:

The Church’s identity was dealt a massive blow with the sweeping changes to Holy Mass and other rites during and after the Second Vatican Council. Paul VI permitted the Consilum, the committee set up to execute the changes mandated by the Council Fathers, to go way beyond the Council’s mandates and make a staggering number of changes not actually called for by the Council. The result was the artificially constructed “Novus Ordo.” Making matters worse, the “spirit” of the times so deeply quaffed by liberals short-circuited even the faithful implementation of the artifically created Novus Ordo. The results were wide-spread liturgical abuses and illicit experimentation, a loss of continuity of worship from place to place and with our forebears, and a grave enervation of our Catholic identity. With the weakening of our Catholic identity, we also became weaker in the eyes of the world at large and therefore easier to drive from the public square.

What, then, is the answer to this crisis? It must begin with the peaceful acceptance of the wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI, who said to every one of the world’s bishops in July 2007:

What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.

Once the Mass of the Ages has won the “proper place” that belongs to it, we may then begin to speak with humble truth of a new springtime in the Church.

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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 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 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The training in singing, to sing in a chorus, is not only an exercise of external listening and of the voice; it is also training for interior listening, listening with the heart, an exercise in training for life and for peace.”

— Pope Benedict XVI

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  • “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)

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