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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

Permission Needed to Replace the Propers?—(4 of 7)

Dr. Lucas Tappan · February 24, 2015

239 Bishop Sample ECENTLY Dan Craig wrote an article regarding the use—or lack thereof—of the Propers within the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, as well the practice of replacing the Propers with less than ideal texts.

In his closing statement, he opined: “I feel many of our present difficulties [he refers here to liturgical difficulties] would vanish if we simply followed the GIRM.” I agree with him wholeheartedly and confess that I find it rather odd that we tend to replace most of the Propers of the Mass (usually taken from Sacred Scripture) with songs that at best leave the believer in a confused theological state (I think of the text Sing a New Church Into Being). That being said, I don’t foresee those in authority publicly setting things aright any time soon. 1

To be honest, I think some of our clergy suffer from the same problem that many dads do, namely, they have lost all sense of what it means to lead as a father. A good father doesn’t raise his children by following the latest trends, but unfortunately that seems to be the rule of the day. What about the father who has a spiritual awakening and realizes that his family is far from where it needs to be? Should he merely resign himself to the fact that his family will never come closer to the good Lord? Sometimes good priests do the same thing. I have heard members of the clergy pass the buck and say they are waiting for their bishop to speak about the matter, or for the Church to take a stronger stance. The priest is waiting for the bishop, the bishop is waiting for the bishop’s conference, the bishop’s conference is waiting for Rome, and Rome is, well… You get the point.

Perhaps the only advise I can offer are a few points:

(1) Think of how far we have come regarding music in the Church, even in the last 20 years. I realize some readers feel the situations in their own parishes are hopeless, but take heart. There has been an explosion of interest in chant and other great liturgical music in the Church and the younger clergy are on board. Several years ago a good friend of mine was ordained for a rural diocese and asked me to provide music for his first Mass, which included the Simple English Propers and the English chants from the Roman Missal. Last May another friend was ordained who asked me to lead a Schola singing English Propers by Fr. Samuel Weber and Mass XIII. This year one of the seminarians from our parish is being ordained and he has asked that our parish’s Schola Cantorum sing the Propers from the Graduale Romanum and Juan Padilla’s Missa Ego flos campi for his first Mass. Take heart and be of good cheer. It won’t be long before one of these men comes to your parish.

(2) Priests, sing the Mass! You are the father of your congregation and you must lead by example. I don’t care if you can sing or not (I mean that sincerely). It will change the way your parish worships and will provide a welcoming environment for the propers.

(3) Start a choir school, especially if your parish already has a school. My parish graduates 50 students every year. In ten years that will be 500 students who love good liturgical music (Propers included) and know how to make it—and who will have been taught why the Propers are so important. Imagine how the liturgical landscape would change if even 100 parishes across the nation made the change. That would be 50,000 people in only 10 years! It is hard to beat an army that large.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Without question, some have taken steps in this area. For example, read the letter by Archbishop Alexander K. Sample.

This article is part of a series:

Part 1 • Richard Clark

Part 2 • Veronica Brandt

Part 3 • Andrew Leung

Part 4 • Dr. Lucas Tappan

Part 5 • Andrew Motyka

Part 6 • Cynthia Ostrowski

Part 7 • Aurelio Porfiri

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hilgartner 20 November 2012, Hymns Replacing Propers Last Updated: October 15, 2022

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About Dr. Lucas Tappan

Dr. Lucas Tappan is a conductor and organist whose specialty is working with children. He lives in Kansas with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 29th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 19 October 2025, which is the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 sensational feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
    Those who direct children’s choirs are always on the lookout for repertoire that’s dignified, inspired, and pleasing—yet still within reach of young choristers. Such directors will want to investigate this haunting liturgical round (PDF download) which has been married to the KYRIE from Mass VI (EDITIO VATICANA). I have provided an accompaniment, but it’s only for use during rehearsal; i.e. when teaching this round to your choristers. I also provided an organ accompaniment for the KYRIE—which some know by its trope (Kyrie Rex Genitor)—so that your congregation can take part when this round is used as a choral extension during Mass.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    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
    “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

Random Quote

A hymn verse need not be a complete sentence, but it must have completed sense as a recognisable part of the complete sentence, and at each major pause there would be at least a “sense-pause.” Saint Ambrose and the early writers and centonists always kept to this rule. This indicates one of the differences between a poem and a hymn, and by this standard most of the modern hymns and the revisions of old hymns in the Breviary stand condemned.

— Fr. Joseph Connelly

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