• 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

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

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

“The Chasuble, or upper garment, represents the purple garment which the soldiers put upon Jesus Christ, and the heavy cross that He carried on His blessed shoulders to Mount Calvary.”

— Guide for the Laity (1875)

Recent Posts

  • Vespers for Easter Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
  • Hidden Gem: Ave Regina Caelorum (Steven Talley)
  • Four (4) Shimmery Hymns for Lent & Passiontide
  • “Go!” • The Word That Changed My Life Forever
  • Vespers Booklet (4th Sunday of Lent)

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.