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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

Coming to Church on Time

Veronica Brandt · September 12, 2015

Peter's Watch Pastel on fabric by Peter Brandt 2014 OMEONE ASKED ME how I get to church on time with a family. I thought this would be a great idea for an easy post here – what could be simpler?

I know there are many, many things that hold up a family getting to Mass on time. I know it’s always just as you buckle up the car seat that the baby does that enormous poo that you’ve been expecting for a week, and then you find your 8 year old son is wearing trousers meant for someone half his size and you just remembered that bag of clothes you said you’d bring for that family. There are many possibilities that can set you back a good half hour in the mornings.

There’s also the illusion that Sunday is a day of rest. Now, I know it is a day of rest in the proper sense, but in practice it is a day requiring effort and diligence like any other day. This can be hard if you’ve been going out to work every day this week and you would like just one morning to sleep in. Or if your partner has been up early every morning this week and you would like just one morning when he or she can lend a hand making breakfast and getting the kids ready. The reccurrence of the word “just” should ring alarm bells here.

Firstly, I don’t get to the church on time – at least, not when I hope to get there. I hope to get there an hour before Mass starts in order to get the music ready, and we’re usually twenty minutes late. But twenty minutes late for being an hour early is still forty minutes before Mass starts.

My kids kick a ball around to burn off some energy. About 10-15 minutes before Mass we round them up and settle into the pews, ready for Mass. And then people start arriving.

That hour before Mass would be an ideal time to practise the music. Anyone complaining about music after Mass would be better off getting there before Mass and lending a hand. Possibly coming along for a Thursday night practice would be better still.

So, how to get to church on time?

It’s just like arriving late, except you do it an hour earlier. Say Mass is at 10am – tell everyone we’re going to get there at 9am and work towards that. If there is dissension, then sweeten the deal with something for after Mass – Sunday is a great day for having fancy food.

An hour seems like a long time. What will I do all that time?

You can spend some time just like you do after Mass – talking outside, buying raffle tickets in the Maternal Heart Car Raffle, finding out if there are any particular differences about Mass today, see if anyone needs help setting up. You can even go into the church and pray!

But the chances of actually arriving with a whole hour to spare are so slim that I wouldn’t worry about that at all. Just pick your target, take aim and enjoy having time to get settled in the church before Mass starts.




PICTURE CREDITS:

*   The picture is one of my husband’s drawings with prints, posters and postcards available via redbubble

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Children at Mass Last Updated: July 4, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 July 2025). 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 the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“Gregorian chant is the sacred chant, proper and principal of the Roman Church. Therefore, not only can it be used in all liturgical actions, but unless there are mitigating circumstances, it is preferable to use it instead of other kinds of sacred music.”

— §16, De Musica Sacra (1958)

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