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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

Sacred Music As Entertainment

Guest Author · July 10, 2014

0319_Card-Flute-LG UMMER AND AUTUMN in the Midwestern United States are filled with church and parish festivals. Anyone armed with a copy of the diocesan newspaper, opened to the “date book” section, could spend every weekend or so visiting a new city, a new parish, and taking in the sights and sounds of the parish festival. These festivals, however, also bring out the annual “Polka Mass” for the parish.

If you’re not familiar with the “Polka Mass,” it is a regularly celebrated Ordinary Form Mass in which the music is done by a polka band and choir. The Ordinary of the Mass and all the hymns are sung in the style of polka music. Unfortunately, very often the texts of the Ordinary are paraphrased, changed, or from previous English translations. The melodies are often traditional polka tunes with the Mass text or hymn pasted onto the melody. While it’s not my desire now to critique these so-called “Polka Masses,” a recent headline in a Midwestern newspaper encouraged me to think.

The headline read Polka choir marks 40 years of entertaining. Entertaining? A church choir is all about entertaining? I wasn’t taught that in my years of seminary. And yet there are so many people who feel that Mass needs to be more “fun” (or, in other words, “entertaining”). If only the choir wasn’t so dull, some say, those pews might be full. It’s really one symptom of a larger problem that the headline alludes to: is Sacred Music simply for entertainment value?

ET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME of the Church’s teaching in regard to Sacred Music. St. Pius X in his motu proprio Tra le Sollecitudini calls Sacred Music “a complementary part of the solemn liturgy” and states that its “principal office is to clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for the understanding of the faithful” and that its “proper aim is to add greater efficacy to the text.” I don’t see anything in there about Sacred Music’s entertainment of the congregation.

In Pius XII’s encyclical Musicae Sacrae, Pius explains that Sacred Music has a special power and excellence that should lift up to God the minds of the faithful who are present. Pius further explains that Sacred Music “should make the liturgical prayers of the Christian community more alive and fervent so that everyone can praise and beseech the Triune God more powerfully, more intently, and more effectively.”

Finally, the 1967 Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, Musicam Sacram, from the Sacred Congregation of Rites, written after the Second Vatican Council, makes clear that the duty of the choir is “to ensure the proper performance of the parts which belong to it, according to the different kinds of music sung, and to encourage the active participation of the faithful in the singing.”

HAT IS THE POINT OF ALL THIS? Sacred Music and the choir of a church aren’t there for entertainment value. Music isn’t part of the liturgy to add “spice and flavor” to the liturgical action. St. Pius X described Sacred Music’s function as “suitably clothing” the liturgical text and its aim as adding greater value to the text. Pius XII elucidated the effect that Sacred Music has on making the community’s prayers more alive and more fervent, so that everyone can praise and entreat God “more powerfully, more intently and more effectively.” Musicam Sacram continues in this thread by stating clearly that a choir should encourage the active participation of the faithful in the singing.

The Liturgy and Sacred Music aren’t the theatre―a place built for entertainment―but rather a place for worship of God and prayer to Him. The Liturgy is “a sacred action surpassing all others; no other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree” (as says Sacrosanctum Concilium). We go to theatres and cinemas for entertainment. The newspaper article I read headlined the forty years of “entertaining” that that polka choir has done: I hope there’s also been forty years of encouraging the active participation of the faithful in the singing; and “suitably clothing” the liturgical text so that the community’s prayers can be more alive and fervent.


We hope you enjoyed this guest post by Fr. Alan M. Guanella.

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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President’s Corner

    2-Voice Arr. • “Creator of the Starry Height”
    Do you direct a choir consisting of women or children only? (Some call this a “treble” choir.) Download a two-voice arrangement of Creator of the Starry Height set to the tune of IOANNES by clicking here and then scrolling to the bottom. In our times, this hymn is normally used during ADVENT, and the Latin title is: Cónditor alme síderum. It’s important to say “cónditor”—placing the accent on the antepenult—because ‘condítor’ in Latin means “one who embalms the dead.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Equal Voices” Choir Pieces
    My colleague, CORRINNE MAY, has posted some delightful compositions for equal voices: that is, choirs consisting of all men or all women. Included there are settings of the “Ave Maria” and “Tantum Ergo.” They strike me as relatively simple and not excessively lengthy. (In other words, within reach of volunteer singers.) Even better, all the scores have been made available as instant PDF downloads, completely free of charge. Bravo!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —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
    “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

Random Quote

Let us ponder the incontrovertible fact that Eucharistic Adoration in the Ordinary Form (“Novus Ordo”) is always and everywhere celebrated “ad orientem.” Why, then, is there such opposition to Mass being celebrated in that way, which is actually stipulated by the 1970 Missal rubrics?

— A Benedictine Monk (2013)

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