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Views from the Choir Loft

Why Did Vatican II Happen?

Jeff Ostrowski · September 29, 2016

977 Montini Gracida HY DID VATICAN II happen in the first place? The liturgical reforms were not a surprise, as we learn from this book by Bishop Gracida, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1959. I think it’s fair to say that a major reason was an attempt to achieve a higher degree of participatio actuosa, and that’s what I’m writing about today.

Consider the following pages from a Roman Catholic Hymnal (CANTIONES SACRAE, 440 pages) published in 1878 by Father Joseph Mohr:

    * *  PDF • “Cantica et Preces at Missam Privatam”

This was no fluke, as demonstrated by these pages from a 1913 American hymn book. The only difference is that Fr. Mohr’s prayers and hymns are in Latin, as they were intended for Jesuit colleges where the young men were learning Latin. 1

Again, these hymns would have been sung during Low Mass:

981 Fr. Joseph Mohr SJ


I don’t believe I’m alone when I say it seems jarring to see encouragement of hymn singing rather than joining with the priest in the actual prayers of the Mass. I feel that many bishops who voted for Sacrosanctum Concilium wanted to get away from this type of thing, because they wanted the congregation to pray along with (or sing) the actual liturgy.

THE GREAT IRONY, OF COURSE, is what happened after Vatican II. While the bishops had wanted to help the faithful enter more deeply into the ceremonies and prayers of the Mass, the complete opposite happened. These days, 99% of Catholic Masses include a bunch of songs that have nothing to do with the formularies of each feast. This was partially done because composers found out they could make money by substituting their own translations for the Church’s official ones. Another very damaging aspect was a decision by the USCCB Liturgy Committee, which ruled that the GIRM is not a binding document and can be ignored when it stipulates that permission is required to replace the Mass Propers. 2


FUN FACT : Until a certain year, priests attending papal audiences were required to wear a ferraiolo, and Bishop Gracida once described how he had to scramble desperately to obtain a black one before the photograph shown at the top.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Father Mohr explains that the prayers are for “youths acquainted with the Latin language” [juvenes latini sermonis gnari]. By the way, Fr. Joseph Mohr (1834-1892), a remarkable priest and musician, is treated extensively by Fr. Robert Skeris in Divini Cultus Studium (1990) beginning on page 162.

2   Some have even argued that obtaining permission from a bishop is virtually impossible and only a fool would be so silly as to try to follow the GIRM—but I’ve never found that argument plausible.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Hymns Replacing Propers 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

    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

These prayers were not peculiar to Good Friday in the early ages (they were said on Spy Wednesday as late as the eighth century); their retention here, it is thought, was inspired by the idea that the Church should pray for all classes of men on the day that Christ died for all. Duchesne is of opinion that the “Oremus” now said in every Mass before the Offertory—which is not a prayer—remains to show where this old series of prayers was once said in all Masses.

— Catholic Encyclopedia (1909)

Recent Posts

  • Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?

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