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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

Does Your Bishop Enforce The GIRM?

Jeff Ostrowski · August 1, 2016

277 Cardinal Sarah “ad orientem” N 23 NOVEMBER 2014, Cardinal Sarah was appointed CDW Prefect by Pope Francis. Recently, he encouraged priests—“with prudence and the necessary catechesis”—to face the same direction as the congregation during the Eucharistic Prayer, which the current rubrics assume (though “versus populum” is also allowed). 1 Mass was said that way 99% of the time until the 1960s, and “versus populum” was never mentioned by any Vatican II document. Nevertheless, the words of the Vatican’s chief liturgical officer caused quite a stir.

Some claim the GIRM favors “versus populum” celebration, but enormous obstacles fly in the face of such an assertion. First of all, the sentence erroneously used to justify this assertion comes from the GIRM’s section on constructing new churches and simply doesn’t mean what they claim. More importantly, on 10 April 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship specifically said nobody is allowed to say the GIRM “favors” either position. 2

Even some bishops have attempted to be “rigid” about the GIRM, trying to outlaw “ad orientem” celebrations in their dioceses. For example, Bishop Martin J. Amos (Davenport, Iowa) recently sent a letter which is absolutely bizarre considering what the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship said on 10 April 2000 (SEE ABOVE).

IF BISHOPS WANT STRICT ENFORCEMENT of the GIRM, why do they ignore certain paragraphs? For example, numerous sections of the GIRM specifically say texts replacing the 1970 propers—Entrance, Offertory, and so forth—must be approved in advance by the local bishop. This is stipulated by both the “universal” GIRM and the “American adaptation” of the GIRM. So what happened to the alleged RIGIDITY we heard so much about following the “ad orientem” suggestion of Cardinal Sarah?

Some maintain that their hymnals were approved by the USCCB, but this is not true. For more than four decades, the front of many hymnals has “approved by the United States Conference”—but that doesn’t apply to any of the hymns! The BCL has confirmed this over and over again, for example:

I point out that the designation in hymnals “published with the approval of the Conference of Bishops” applies only to liturgical texts per se, and not to hymnody or other paraphrased texts.
—Msgr. Richard Hilgartner (21 December 2011)


Monsignor Hilgartner is correct, but most Catholics will never accept that. They will assume—and why shouldn’t they?—that “approved by the USCCB” applies to the hymns and songs, although it never has. You can stand on your head and shout till your face is blue, but you’ll still be doubted. Was this counterintuitive wording written on purpose to confuse? Readers must decide for themselves…

A tremendous amount of musicians in the Ordinary Form replace the propers (illicitly) with songs not approved by the local bishop, in spite of the GIRM requirement. Again, I ask: “What happened to the rigidity?”

For example, when Bishop Amos ends his letter (SEE ABOVE) by saying “I am confident of your obedience in this matter,” does he also expect priests to obey paragraph 48 of the GIRM?



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Furthermore, even when Ordinary Form Masses are offered “ad orientem,” the vast majority is still done facing the people (Liturgy of the Word, Homily, and so forth).

2   Let’s remember that this congregation—which Cardinal Sarah currently heads—is the same congregation which drafted the famous clause in paragraph 299 and got it approved by the pope!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Ad Orientem, General Instruction Roman Missal, GIRM Paragraph 299, Hymns Replacing Propers, Robert Cardinal Sarah 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

    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st 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 spectacular feasts website. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 21st Sunday Ordin. Time
    You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) which is coming up on 24 August 2025. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. It’s set in a melancholy mode, but if you heard my choir’s female voices singing it your soul would be uplifted beyond belief. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I tried to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

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[Let there be:] “The Latin, the whole Latin, and nothing but the Latin.”

— Cardinal McIntyre (one of the Vatican II fathers)

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