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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

“No Time For Cowardice” • A Letter To Liturgy Columnists

Jeff Ostrowski · April 18, 2016

552 USCCB IKE YOU, I constantly read articles from liturgy blogs, liturgical journals, and major publications dealing with liturgical questions. Far too many columnists focus endlessly on tiny details that don’t amount to much, yet leave untouched a crucial issue that goes to the heart of the matter. The following is a letter to liturgical opinion makers.

The Entrance Chant in the Ordinary Form for the FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (Year C) is from Psalm 33. If you don’t believe me, here’s how it appears in a book approved by the USCCB on 3/20/2014.

HE EARTH IS FULL of the mercy of the Lord, alleluia; by the word of the Lord, the heavens were established, alleluia, alleluia. Vs. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! Praising befits those who are upright.

ISERICÓRDIA Dómini plena est terra, allelúia: verbo Dómini cæli firmáti sunt, allelúia, allelúia. Vs. Exsultáte, iusti, in Dómino: rectos decet collaudátio.

On 20 November 2012, the Bishops’ Liturgy Committee confirmed a practice that had been going on for decades behind closed doors. The committee said that several sections in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal can be ignored. For those unaware, the official GIRM (going back all the way to the 1970s) requires that any text replacing the Entrance Chant must be approved by the local bishop. In light of the 20 November 2012 statement, there’s nothing to stop someone from replacing Psalm 33 (see above) with a “gathering song” like this:

And we accept bread at this table,  |  broken and shared, a living sign.
Here in this world, dying and living,  |  we are each other’s bread and wine.

If you doubt that’s a real hymn from a real GIA hymnal, click here.

CONSIDER A SECOND EXAMPLE: the Entrance Chant for the THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year C) taken from Psalm 105. You can verify this by clicking here.

ET THE HEARTS of those who seek the Lord rejoice; seek the Lord and be strengthened; seek his face for evermore. Vs. Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name; declare his deeds among the gentiles.

ÆTÉTUR COR quæréntium Dóminum: quaérite Dóminum, et confirmámini: quaérite fáciem eius semper. Vs. Confitémini Dómino, et invocáte nomen eius: annuntiáte inter gentes ópera eius.

According to the 20 November 2012 USCCB statement, nothing prevents a choirmaster from replacing Psalm 105 with the following, even though it lacks the approval required by the GIRM:

I am reaching for the highest goal, that I might receive the prize.
Pressing onward, pushing every hindrance aside,
Out of my way, ‘cuz I want to know you more.
I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more.
I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more.

A THIRD EXAMPLE will have to suffice for now. The Entrance Chant for the ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A) comes from Psalm 27. Click here to verify.

EARKEN, O Lord, unto my voice which has called out to you; deign to be my help, forsake me not, and do not despise me, O God my Savior. Vs. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

XÁUDI, DÓMINE, vocem meam, qua clamávi ad te: adiútor meus esto, ne derelínquas me neque despícias me, Deus, salutáris meus. Vs. Dóminus illuminátio mea et salus mea, quem timébo?

Thanks to the 20 November 2012 ruling, nothing prevents someone from replacing Psalm 27 with a hymn like this, taken from the “American Catholic Hymnbook” (1992):

The time has come for roses; they’re blooming bright today.
And while we walk in daylight, the sun will show the way.
God grant us joy and justice from our birth until life closes.
With men and women equal, give us bread and give us roses.
When women rise as equals, their gift enriches men.
Let friendship grow and flourish; let love be born again.

If you believe I’m cherry picking the worst songs I can find, you’ve completely missed the point. Once we eliminate the official texts & music for the Ordinary Form, we can no longer speak of a Roman Rite. The irony is that Vatican II wanted to make the treasures of authentic liturgy more accessible to congregations—not replace them with songs about roses!

557 General Instruction of the Roman Missal OME WILL ARGUE that certain hymns replacing propers have already been approved by another American bishop. Those who make this argument are partially correct, but it’s more complicated. Consider the following:

(1) When the USCCB approves a hymnal—as they often do—the approval does not apply to any of the music inside that hymnal. The approval only applies to certain texts excerpted from the Missal, such as the Ordinary of the Mass. I realize—oh, never doubt how I realize—that 99% of Catholic priests who see USSCB approval will (wrongly) assume it extends to the musical sections, such as the hymns. 1

(2) Nobody agrees what precise “wording” is required for a bishop to approve a substitute text. I demonstrated above how much difference the “alius cantus congruus” makes—is it too much to demand after five decades that we agree on this important process? Bishop Doerfler has already done so. If a bishop approves a substitute text, surely there ought to be some indication regarding when it should be used during Mass, right? (For more on this, cf. the footnote.)

(3) The Bishops’ Liturgy Committee maintains a principle called “one-for-all,” which says that if any USA bishop approves a substitute text, that same permission automatically extends to every other USA diocese. That means a musician in Los Angeles can use an alternate text approved by the bishop of Philadelphia in 1978. Likewise, a musician in Houston can use an alternate text approved in 1984 by the bishop of Minneapolis. Is this really what the GIRM meant when it stipulated that an alternate text must be approved by the local bishop? Many believe this “one-for-all” rule violates the spirit and letter of the law. Moreover, according to this rule, if the bishop of Milwaukee approves the Douay-Rheims for singing the Responsorial Psalm, all the other bishops in the USA must accept this as a valid option forever—but were that to happen, the “one-for-all” rule would suddenly receive scrutiny!

(4) To complicate things further, the 20 November 2012 ruling said that no approval by any bishop is needed. Therefore, whether a hymn gets precise approval by the correct bishop becomes irrelevant.

Catholic authors who claim to care about the liturgy have an obligation to discuss this topic openly. There is no good reason for such ambiguity. Moreover, these rules ought to apply equally to everyone—and be articulated clearly. I understand trying to be irenic. I understand hesitancy when it comes to “getting on the wrong side” of powerful Church leaders. At the same time, it’s absurd to keep pretending that progress can be made on liturgical reform without addressing this pivotal issue.

That is why I say to anyone writing about liturgy: If cowardice has prevented you from speaking out before now, take heart!  Let us boldly attack the heart of the matter, and stop beating around the bush.

 


A discussion about this post is underway.

 


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   And who can blame them for making such an assumption? Yet the USCCB has denied this time and again.

Speaking of “counterintuitive,” I have a copy of an email shared publicly on a liturgical mailing list. Composed on 1 Feb 2012 (12:53pm), a Senior Research Editor at OCP named Bari Colombari admits that Responsorial Psalms printed in one of their major hymnals cannot lawfully be used, since they lack approval by a bishop. However, then Mr. Colombari says they can be used as recessional hymns. Can you imagine using a Responsorial Psalm as a recessional hymn? My strong suspicion is that many people who purchase that hymnal use the Responsorial Psalms as … Responsorial Psalms!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hymns Replacing Propers Last Updated: July 19, 2022

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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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President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

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

“We decided to entrust this work to learned men of our selection. They very carefully collated all their work with the ancient codices in Our Vatican Library and with reliable, preserved or emended codices from elsewhere. Besides this, these men consulted the works of ancient and approved authors concerning the same sacred rites; and thus they have restored the Missal itself to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers.”

— ‘Pope St. Pius V (Quo Primum, 1570)’

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