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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

Live Recording • “Jesus My Lord, My God, My All”

Jeff Ostrowski · April 6, 2021

WENTY YEARS AGO, I remember learning that during High Mass the FSSP parish in Sacramento sang vernacular hymns at Communion. (This was long before my colleague, Keven Smith, took over as music director.) At that time, this practice struck me as odd—because I knew Pope Pius X declared in Tra Le Sollecitudini (22 November 1903): “The language proper to the Roman Church is Latin. Hence it is forbidden to sing anything whatever in the vernacular in solemn liturgical functions.”

But #727 from the Brébeuf hymnal (“Jesus My Lord, My God, My All”) is in English—so how did my choir sing this during an EF High Mass? *

*  Live Recording • Jesus My Lord, My God, My All
—Number 727 in The Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal • Recorded live in Los Angeles.

We sang in English for three reasons:

First Reason :

California’s draconian Covid-19 restrictions have been in place for more than a year, and we’re doing whatever we can under these circumstances. I wrote about this in a recent article: Music For Two Voices.

Second Reason :

Readers already know that before Vatican II it was normal and expected for vernacular hymnody to be sung during Low Mass. We have provided profuse documentation which leaves no doubt about how common that was. Having studied legislation on sacred music for twenty-five years, I have come to realize that the prohibition against vernacular music at High Mass was aimed at the parts of the Mass. It was not really intended to forbid vernacular music during the distribution of Holy Communion, because the reception of Holy Communion was extremely rare in those days, partially owing to very strict fasting laws. Indeed, in 1945 (Journal d’un prêtre ouvrier en Allemagne)—because of the fact that Mass was always celebrated early in the morning due to fasting regulations—Father Henri Perrin declared: “It is not normal or right for Mass and Communion to become the special prerogative of those who have nothing to do: viz. old women and the well-to-do.” If you doubt what I am saying, you can examine screenshots which show Holy Communion was normally distributed outside of Mass before the Second Vatican Council. For example, notice headline from 1943 which says: “Women to Receive Eucharist April 18.” Hundreds more examples could be given.

Whenever we read pre-conciliar documents, we must remember there was no “Communion music.” The priest alone received Holy Communion, which meant the entire Communion lasted about 90 seconds—and I saw this with my own eyes during Covid-19 when only the priest was allowed to receive Holy Communion. But our current circumstances, in the year 2021, are not the same as 1921. We have six Masses every Sunday, and sometimes as many as 450 people attend a single Mass—which means Holy Communion can easily take 25 minutes. In other words: legislation at that time was not aimed at something not yet in existence!

Writing in 1917, Father Fortescue said that, technically speaking, nothing prevents the distribution of Holy Communion at any Mass.

Third Reason :

We adhere to the 1962 Missal. Under Pope Pius XII, the Sacred Congregation for Rites issued De musica sacra et sacra liturgia (“Instruction on Sacred Music and Sacred Liturgy”) on 3 September 1958. This document allowed vernacular singing at the Communion under certain circumstances:

Whether we like it or not, the custom in Los Angeles for more than half a century has been Masses completely in the vernacular, with Zero Latin. Our current bishop would certainly allow us to have Communion songs in the vernacular, but a very wise priest told me “not to ask” because the bishop would find the question so absurd.

I believe in something called “the spirit of the law,” in addition to the letter of the law. I would love to hear your thoughts.


NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

*   Full disclosure: In terms of the melody and text, I personally am not a huge fan of this hymn; but choirs really love this piece, and so do congregations.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: De musica sacra et sacra liturgia, High Mass with Vernacular, Low Mass Vernacular Hymns, Traditional Catholic Hymnals Last Updated: May 4, 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” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 2025). 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 feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon
    This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
    Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.
    —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

[on Latin] “No change in Mass: people have missals and can read. More vernacular can be useful in the Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Extreme Unction, Matrimony.”

— Cardinal Spellman (one of the Vatican II fathers)

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  • Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly
  • Installment #3 • “Serious Problems with the Lectionary Translation”

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