• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

“I confess that I was a liturgical nut” says Bishop consecrated by Pope Paul VI

Jeff Ostrowski · April 6, 2016

590 Bishop Gracida Interview 2015 ARLIER TODAY, my friend emailed me a fascinating YouTube interview with Bishop Emeritus René H. Gracida, who fought the Nazis in Germany as a young man and later became a close friend of Pope Saint John Paul II. The interview was conducted by someone named Michael Voris, and you might want to skip to the 1:30 marker, where Bishop Gracida starts talking:

* *  YouTube • Bp. Gracida Interview (2015)

His Excellency, currently 92 years old, does not mince words about post-conciliar chaos:

“It was the virus of the false spirit of Vatican II.  I was one of them; I was very enthusiastic about some of the reforms of Vatican II. But a little later I came to realize how I had been hoodwinked, and how I had been misled by the progressives.”

When asked about the most concerning areas in the Church today, Bishop Gracida says:

“I have no doubt that the area of the Church’s life that needs the greatest attention is the liturgy. The liturgy is not only worship of God; it is the way we are formed in our faith. So all that has happened in the liturgy since the Second Vatican II that is bad is malforming Catholics even today. So the Novus Ordo—although I have celebrated it, and have appreciated its value at times—I never celebrate it now. All my Masses are in the Traditional Rite because it is the most spiritual, the most reverential, the most clear proclamation of what we believe!”

Then Bishop Gracida explains precisely what he means, ending with a warning:

“When we ruin the liturgy, we remove that which protects the faithful.”

Later on, Bishop Gracida speaks of the “modified” Traditional Rite, by which he means the 1965 Missal. (You can download the 1965 Missal, in Latin & English, as a PDF file.)

AT ONE POINT during the interview, Bishop Gracida is asked when he came to these realizations (see above). His Excellency says:

“I confess that I was a liturgical nut.”

Then he elucidates upon this statement…evening naming names!  It seems that people who pay a monthly fee to Michael Voris can watch the full 3-hour interview. I am not a subscriber, but perhaps one of our readers could give us the “highlights” using the CCW Facebook comments section.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: February 14, 2023

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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 Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
    The organ accompaniment booklet (24 pages) which I created for the 4th Sunday of Lent (“Lætare Sunday”) may now be downloaded, for those who desire such a thing.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Vespers Booklet, 3rd Sunday of Lent
    The organ accompaniment I created for the 3rd Sunday of Lent (“Extraordinary Form”) may now be downloaded, if anyone is interested in this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Weeping For Joy! (We Hope!)
    Listening to this Easter Alleluia—an SATB arrangement I made twenty years ago based on the work of Monsignor Jules Van Nuffel—one of our readers left this comment: “I get tears in my eyes each time I sing to this hymn.” I hope this person is weeping for joy!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“We know that originally the offertories of the repertoire included a series of verses, just like the introit and the communion, but generally more ornate. Many of these are musical compositions of great beauty. They quickly fell into disuse, and we find them only in the most ancient manuscripts. The only remaining trace of this older arrangement in our present-day liturgy is that of the offertory of the Requiem Mass.”

— Dom Joseph Gajard (1956)

Recent Posts

  • Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
  • “Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
  • Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)
  • At the Cross • Stabat Mater
  • Summer Ward Method Courses • CUA 2023

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.