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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

A Myth That Needs To Die

Jeff Ostrowski · December 28, 2015

910 Low Mass Before Vatican II NACCURATE MYTHS are often repeated with regard to the “typical” American Catholic parish of the 1950s. These rumors—often started by people disparaging the Holy Catholic Church—are presented in a dogmatic way, and then folks who don’t know any better mimic them. It is time for such assertions to cease.

A very common version goes something like this:

The Catholic Church before Vatican II focused on externals, never stressing a personal relationship with the Lord. The priests rushed through Mass as quickly as possible—to get it over with—which made no difference because priests in those days didn’t understand the prayers (recited in Latin). Low Mass often lasted 15 minutes, and the Requiem was frequently chosen because it was shorter; not because of the priest’s sincere desire to offer prayers for the dead (something the Curé of Ars encouraged with all his strength).

I got so tired of hearing this, I sent an email to five priests ordained before the Second Vatican Council. They all said these myths were total nonsense, and not representative of the 1950s. Here’s one:

Jeff, I never heard that and I never knew any priests who said or did that. I never witnessed a Mass in the so-called “extraordinary form” done in 15 minutes. The normal time for a side altar—that is, a Mass with no congregation but with just a server—was 25-30 minutes. A Requiem Mass was slightly shorter, especially if the Sequence (optional) was not recited. And that is still the case with Masses said at the seminary, e.g. the FSSP Seminary in Nebraska.

When people make a statement like the one you quoted, I simply tell them that this was not my experience—because it wasn’t. My High Masses on Sunday with a sermon usually take an hour and five minutes. My daily low Masses with congregation normally last about 35 minutes. That is without a sermon; and I don’t preach on weekdays! People are preached at too much nowadays… Regarding preaching, we were taught in the seminary that “the preacher should always end his sermon while the people still wanted to hear more!” Some preachers don’t know when to stop!

(Regarding what he says about the Dies Irae Sequence, it was not said 1 on certain days.)

Another “preconciliar” priest—not the one quoted above—recently sent me this powerful & beautiful prayer:

915 Daily Prayer


Regarding how well priests knew Latin back then, I correspond with 5-6 preconciliar priests through email. All of them know Latin not only “sufficiently” but fluently. Some of the traditional orders these days are teaching Latin to their seminarians, and this is fantastic. 2 But most priests—even good & holy ones who offer the Extraordinary Form—are not fluent in Latin, the way these 5-6 preconciliar priests are. We must continue to work, and hopefully we will again reach preconciliar level!



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Prior to the reforms of Pope John XXIII—which were incorporated into the 1962 editions of the Roman Missal—the Sequence Dies Irae was supposed to be said or sung (depending on whether it was a Low Mass or a High Mass) at all Requiem Masses. The only exception was the so called “Daily Mass for the Dead.” Its recitation was optional at a “daily” Low Mass. (A daily Low Mass could be offered on feasts lower than a double. Today, it would mean a 4th class day.) In 1962, the Dies Irae became obligatory at all Funeral Masses and during one Mass on 2 November, unless the second and third Masses are High Masses.

2   Canon Law requires that all priests of the Latin Rite—both Ordinary Form and Extraordinary Form—possess a knowledge of Latin, because so much of the Roman Catholic teachings are in that language.

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 Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “What Martin Luther Said…”
    My pastor asked me to write little columns for the bulletin each week. The article for 20 July 2025 has been posted, and it’s called: “What Luther Said…” Martin Luther (an ex-priest and apostate) was an infamous heretic whose ignorance of JESUS CHRIST was only exceeded by his filthy and disgusting vulgarity.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 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 propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —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

“Latin has been the language of the Latin liturgy for 1,600 years. It is a sign and source of unity as well as a defense of doctrine, not because of the language so much, but because it is a language no longer subject to changes. There are so many beautiful texts which can never have the same effectiveness in translation. Lastly, Latin is bound to an extremely precious heritage of melody, Gregorian chant and polyphony.”

— Cardinal Antonelli (Secretary of the Conciliar Commission on the Liturgy)

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