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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

PDF Download • “Essential Liturgical Chart”

Jeff Ostrowski · January 5, 2021

F YOU HAVE READ the excellent book by Lauren Pristas, Collects of the Roman Missals: A Comparative Study (2013), you probably noticed the chart she included, explaining certain changes to the Christmastide feasts. (Some will quibble with that term, because a diversity of opinion exists regarding the “true” definition of when Christmastide ends.) These changes to the calendar were enacted after the Second Vatican Council by CONSILIUM COETUS I—“Study Group 1”—whose members were Ansgar Dirks, Rembert Van Doren, Adrian Nocent, Aime-Georges Martimort, Pierre Jounel, Agostino Amore, Herman Schmidt, and Annibale Bugnini, who served as “Relator.” About twenty years ago, Father Valentine Young had warned me about certain feasts (The Holy Family, The Holy Name, and so forth) which underwent changes over the last century, and he was absolutely correct.

The chart created by Lauren Pristas seemed inadequate, so I created my own. Even before Vatican II this season was incredibly confusing:

*  PDF Chart • CONFUSING FEASTS (1 Page)
—History of the Confusing Feasts which follow Christmas (1908, 1962, 1970).

When it comes to several feasts mentioned in that Chart, you can examine for yourself some of the research that went into its creation. There remains one final mystery which I don’t understand—and you can read about it and attempt to solve this mystery for me.

Feasts Replacing Sundays

Writing in 1912, Father Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923) produced six amazing pages which anyone interested in “the olden days” should read. Pay special attention to FOOTNOTE NUMBER 1 on page 213, concerning legislation by Pope Pius X circa 1912. Here is an excerpt, for those who don’t want to read all six pages:

“So the Proper of Saints—once an occasional exception—now covers very nearly the whole year, and the search for the Mass to be said has become a laborious process.”

To give an example of what Father Fortescue was talking about, look at this page from 1847, explaining to the laity the Sundays replaced by modern feasts:

“Octaves” for Important Feasts

In the olden days, feasts had “octaves,” but for the sake of “simplicity,” Pope Pius XII eliminated most of these—using a decree dated 23 March 1955—leaving only three: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. All other octaves in the Roman Rite were suppressed, including those in local calendars. A diversity of opinion exists regarding whether getting rid of octaves made sense; they did make life complicated, especially with all the commemorations and so forth. On the other hand, life was already extremely complicated, as you can see:

*  PDF Download • DIRECTIONS FOR UNDERSTANDING
—This “explanation of an explanation” is from 1864.

I certainly can’t comprehend many items in the old directories. For example, look where it says “of which nothing” (below). I’ve been informed that means the complete Proprium Missæ for the 1st Sunday after Epiphany is “overpowered” by the Octave Day of the Epiphany, which (I guess) means Epiphany’s Octave Day is “stronger” than the 1st Sunday after Epiphany:

The old directories themselves agree that certain items are quite confusing.

For example, reading this:

…we remember in those six amazing pages how Father Fortescue complained: “We now need a current ORDO that tells us which Mass to seek in which appendix.”

Dominica Vacat • “Vacant Sunday”

A fascinating feature of old Catholic calendars is the Dominica vacat (“Vacant Sunday”). For example, the Sunday after 1 January had no feast; instead, an Octave Day was celebrated. Do you see how the “Octave Day of Saint Stephen” was celebrated on the “vacant” Sunday in 1859?

Do you see how the “Octave Day of Saint John the Evangelist” was celebrated on the “vacant” Sunday in 1875?

Do you see how the “Octave Day of Saint Stephen” was celebrated on the “vacant” Sunday in 1881?

If you want to see “vacant Sundays” from 1861, click here. By the way, those old Catholic almanacs often have funny items. Look how they claim their Chapel Choir Book is—quite literally—“the cheapest music book in the world” in an attempt to attract buyers:

The Feast of the Holy Family

A very close companion of Father Jean de Brébeuf was FATHER JOSEPH CHAUMONOT (1611-1693), who was born in France but died in Quebec. Father John A. O’Brien has written: “Many of the Indians regarded writing as magic and feared that it might do them harm; Père Chaumonot, one of the chroniclers, at times had to write in secluded places and carry his letters in his clothing, because of the superstitious fear with which the Indians sometimes regarded them.” In 1640, Father Jérôme Lalemant commissioned Father Brébeuf and Father Joseph Chaumonot to preach the Gospel to the Neutrals. While returning to Fort Sainte Marie with Chaumonot—and four other missionaries who had joined them on the way—Father Brébeuf fell on the ice, breaking his collarbone. The pain was intense, and he could not lift his left arm. His companions strapped the arm to his side and suggested that a sled be made to carry him over the trails. Declaring he “was still able to use his legs,” Brébeuf turned down the proposal, and they continued on. They cleared places in the snow and passed the nights there, while the wind blustered and the cold pierced the marrow. Brébeuf at one point confided to Chaumonot that the pain was severe, but no greater than the agony he had asked from God. “We proceeded joyously and with courage,” wrote Chaumonot, “despite the cold, the fatigue, and countless falls on the ice.” Their goal was not only to reach Sainte Marie, but to reach it by March 19, the feast of Saint Joseph, to whom they eagerly wished to offer Masses. They fasted from midnight and arose with the dawn. They weathered the sodden snow, the muddy, slushy paths, and the swollen streams. Limp and exhausted, they straggled into Sainte Marie a few minutes before noon on the nineteenth. Waving off the customary welcome, they washed, confessed, and hurried to the Altars, where the Missals already were open at the Mass of Saint Joseph. If I had more space, I would describe the absolutely crucial role Père Chaumonot played in the early missions of North America, alongside Saint Isaac Jogues and the others.

Although he was a Jesuit priest, Chaumonot founded the CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY FAMILY, which figures extensively in early Canadian history. Indeed, the feast of the Holy Family seems to come from Canada. In the Graduel Romain a l’usage du Diocese de Quebec (1841) we see that the Holy Family replaced the Third Sunday after Easter. But in the 1871 edition, we see that the Holy Family replaced the Second Sunday after Easter. In 1921, Pope Benedict XV made the feast of the Holy Family part of the General Roman Calendar.

As far as I can tell, my chart is the first effort to carefully detail the changes made to feasts which follow Christmas (unless we also count the rather basic one by Lauren Pristas). Has anyone else made such a chart? My hope in publishing this would be that we can begin the process of returning the feast of the EPIPHANY to where it belongs—viz. 6 January—and also begin the process of restoring the ancient feast of the 1st Sunday after Epiphany. Modern feasts, in my humble opinion, should not replace feasts which stretch back 1,600+ years.

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

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Filed Under: Articles, Featured, PDF Download Tagged With: Dominica Vacat, Feast of the Holy Family, Feast of the Holy Name, General Roman Calendar, Vacant Sunday Last Updated: January 3, 2022

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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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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“I am now old but I was young when I was received into the Church. I was not at all attracted by the splendour of her great ceremonies—which the Protestants could well counterfeit. Of the extraneous attractions of the Church which most drew me was the spectacle of the priest and his server at Low Mass, stumping up to the altar without a glance to discover how many or how few he had in his congregation; a craftsman and his apprentice; a man with a job which he alone was qualified to do.”

— Evelyn Waugh (7 August 1964)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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