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Views from the Choir Loft

Here’s How the Mass Will Change

Fr. David Friel · October 4, 2020

UST recently, I struck upon The Catholic News Archive, a valuable and fully searchable online collection of newspapers from various cities and periods. While looking for a particular article in an early issue of the National Catholic Reporter, I stumbled upon something else that caught my eye. The headline that usurped my attention was this: “Here’s How the Mass Will Change.” Curious, I decided to read the brief piece, and I’m glad I did. It offers a fascinating glimpse into a moment when the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council were just beginning to take shape.

To put the article in context, it’s important to know that this was a front-page news story (below the fold) in the very first issue of the Reporter ever published. It appeared in vol. 1, no. 1 on 28 October 1964. The article originated with the news service of the bishops’ conference, so it may also have been published in other outlets.

The purpose of the short article is to describe what the Mass might look like after implementation of the reforms mandated by Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC). At the time the article ran, the Sacred Congregation of Rites had just published Inter Oecumenici (26 September 1964), the first of five instructions on the right application of SC. The other four instructions include:

Tres abhinc annos (4 May 1967)
Liturgicae instaurationes (5 September 1970)
Vicesimus quintus annus (4 December 1988)
Liturgiam authenticam (28 March 2001)

At the time of the article’s publication, the work of the “Consilium ad exsequendam Constitutionem de Sacra Liturgia” was still in its infancy.

The article is available from The Catholic News Archives, and a digital “clipping” of the article is pictured below. Click the thumbnail to expand the image.

NCR, 28 October 1964

Many aspects of what the article describes are interesting. It reflects twentieth-century liturgical reform at a very specific moment in time. Following are some unsystematic observations, following the order of the article:

1. “Four or five hymns” of congregational singing were envisioned at a Sunday low Mass. This is the continuation of an impoverished view of liturgical music, which the Liturgical Movement sought eagerly to remedy.

2. The manner of reciting the Gloria is particularly interesting. According to the article, it would begin as a dialogue between priest and people, then shift to a corporate recitation.

3. The description of the homily is noteworthy because it does not exclusively focus on the biblical readings. It admits, rather, the possibility of focusing on the ordinary or proper of the Mass.

4. The article mentions the Prayer of the Faithful, but it still envisions that this would be an official text (i.e., not something composed freely).

5. I am very intrigued that the editors of the brand new National Catholic Reporter presumed a readership that would have enough familiarity with the Mass and its parts in order to understand the content of this article. Could any Catholic publication presume so much today?

The gap between what was first envisioned and what ultimately was promulgated is wide. Taking a close look at the liturgical reform in media res is worthwhile and instructive.

St. Roch Church, Indianapolis (February 1964)
Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 31, 2021

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

“It is the same Church which has introduced the vernacular into the sacred liturgy for pastoral reasons, that is, for the sake of people who do not know Latin, which gives you the mandate of preserving the age-old solemnity, beauty and dignity of the choral office, in regard both to language, and to the chant.”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (15 August 1966)

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