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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Revealed! • A Fascinating Mass Rubric Very Few Know

Jeff Ostrowski · September 7, 2019

HE COMMITTEE which worked for five years to produce the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal was quite a diverse group. Some were laymen, others were priests—and most of our time was spent examining hymn texts and tunes. One of the members discovered an intriguing rubric that was still “on the books” much later most authors realize. As late as 1957, the Roman Missal contained this rubric:

Minister autem dextera manu tenens
vas cum vino et aqua, sinistra vero mappulam,
aliquanto post Sacerdotem eis porrigit purificationem,
et mappulam ad os abstergendum.

The Server, however, holding in his right hand
a vessel with wine and water, and in his left a napkin,
a little behind the Priest proffers them

[i.e. the communicants] the purification,
and the napkin to wipe their mouths.

That’s correct: An altar boy followed the priest, giving water and wine to those who have just received Holy Communion.

The member of our committee who discovered this is very smart and very honest. Nevertheless, you can verify the truth of his discovery by a Google search. (Don’t look in the 1962 edition, because this rubric was removed.) I know many liturgical blogs, but I am not aware of any author who has spoken about this rubric. However, Fr. Herbert Thurston (d. 1939)—a friend of Fr. Adrian Fortescue—was certainly aware of this rubric. His 1911 article is encyclopedic:

* *  PDF Download • Article by Fr. Herbert Thurston, SJ (1911)

Here’s an excerpt from his article:

82760 HERBERT THURSTON

An article from 1943 rightly says:

The Ritus Servandus, we may here remind ourselves, still preserves the medieval direction that the server follow the priest, as he distributes Communion, in order to give each communicant a sip of wine and water. How surprised people would be next Sunday to see the direction being carried out!

Please read two pages from an 1883 article by Fr. James O’Kane:

* *  PDF Download • Article by Fr. James O’Kane (1883)

Fr. O’Kane explores whether the rubric can lawfully be ignored. He also discusses where the practice has fallen into disuse and where it has not—giving the following reasons for why it became unpopular:

“…the danger of effusion, the poverty of the churches, the difficulty of presenting it to each when there is a crowd of communicants, the nausea some would feel, and so on.”

I mentioned how a member of the Brébeuf committee made this discovery. He told me that he saw this practice observed when he was ordained.

We must be very careful when it comes to the Sanctissimum. For many years, I have encouraged my choir members to drink water after receiving Holy Communion, although the current rubrics only require the celebrant to do so. In very old Catholic Churches (going 1,000+ years) there are fountains near the front which used to be filled with water, so the faithful could drink immediately after receiving Holy Communion. Nevertheless, Fr. Herbert Thurston was probably correct to write, in 1911:

“Nay more, I will go so far as to say that if any priest did carry out the rubric in question, he would—at an early date—have his attention called to the matter by his Bishop, and would be reminded that it was not for private individuals to revive obsolete observances, when they have been suffered to fall into desuetude by a Church fully competent to enforce her own enactments if she wishes to do so.”

UPDATE: We have been notified that three (3) days after our discovery, the blog of the Church Music Association of America has written an article commenting on this discovery.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   We desire to thank Berthold Kress, who found the image (see above) and posted it as part of a magnificent collection.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Last Updated: January 1, 2021

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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

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    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

Random Quote

Bishops have a duty towards both wise and foolish. They have to rouse the devotion of the carnal people with material ornament, since they are incapable of spiritual things.

— St. Bernard of Clairvaux (†1153)

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