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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

Propers and “the Menu Approach”

Andrew R. Motyka · May 14, 2014

AY WHAT YOU WILL about the music put out by most mainstream Catholic liturgical music publishers in the last 25 years, but they do have an effective business model. The publisher that is largest by far has an approach toward liturgical preparation that removes all necessity for training, familiarity with literature, and quite a bit of time from the planning equation. Pick up their quarterly magazine, flip to this week’s Mass, and there it is laid out for you: handy selection of appetizers, entrées, and desserts to plug into each musical “slot” of the liturgy. Five minutes, tops, and you are ready to go with music for the Mass.

I know that description is pretty snarky, but actually, I admire the simplicity that this publisher has boiled the process down to. Since most music directors are part time (if they are compensated at all), they don’t have the time to be familiar with six different hymnals, several Gregorian propers, and the vast and growing collection of online resources of music for choir and congregation. When you have another full time job, and your “Church gig” is what you do on the weekends, you have to budget your time accordingly (protip: spend time on what feeds your kids).

There is most certainly a glut of “options” when it comes to celebrating the Ordinary Form of the Mass. The presence of these options make it far more difficult to prepare for Mass than it would be without them. Do we have a chanted Introit? A processional hymn? Are we using the Sprinkling Rite? If not, which setting of the Penitential Act are we using? How many different Glorias does our parish know? Yikes. We haven’t even started the readings yet, and we have already been asking musicians with little-to-no liturgical knowledge to make many decisions that impact the prayer and disposition of the faithful in their parish. It’s no wonder we’ve turned to handy little periodicals that spell it out for us.

I used to use this exact same approach when I was younger and first starting out. You have Publisher X’s resources in the pews, so isn’t it easier to plan the liturgy using their resources? What’s that you say? There are other publishers? There are lots of free resources online? Pay no attention to the Other Options Behind the Curtain. You’ve already subscribed to our resource, so you should use what we tell you to.

Okay, I’ll stop being snarky now, I promise (for now). When I started to learn more about the Propers of the Mass, whether Gregorian or otherwise, I realized that the Church already has a menu set out for us, one that has been refined for hundreds of years, not just picked out last month by an editor hawking this year’s hot new partner song to Amazing Grace. These texts, this music, fits the Scripture readings of the Mass perfectly because it almost always is Scripture. The Communion Antiphon hearkens back to the Gospel. The Introit calls us to go together to the altar.

The “menu approach” has a much longer tradition than the most recent planning resource. Check out the proper texts and find a good setting. There are hymn tune settings, plainchants, choral settings, responsorial settings, and everything in between. Plus, you’ll never have to worry about choosing that piece with sketchy theology; every one of the propers is not only approved, but encouraged by the Church. So break out the menu and order.

Just don’t get cole slaw. Nobody likes cole slaw.

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 Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —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

For the most part, a “good pope” is defined as someone who does what the critic would do if he were pope.

— William F. Buckley Jr. (6 September 1978)

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