N THE PAST, I’ve had occasion to mention the sad reality of ‘professional Catholics’ who spend hours each day offering “hot takes” on social media and arguing with strangers (usually about politics). The favorite response of such creatures is: “I’m not surprised.” They say it constantly, in a hysterical attempt to prove to the world how clever they are. They fail to realize that constantly saying “I’m not surprised” isn’t attractive. It’s repulsive. Now, I’m sure some people (if they’re quite elderly) really have seen everything. For example, it would be difficult to “surprise” or “shock” someone who’s 95 years old—because they’ve seen it all. Yet, elderly people who are truly wise refrain from incessantly telling others “they’re not surprised.” Instead—with a twinkle in their eyes—they just smile.
The Mass Propers • Having said all that, today I must ask the infamous question: Are we surprised? I’m talking about the PROPRIUM MISSAE. Are we really surprised they’re almost universally neglected? To begin with, singing the propers as they ought to be sung is no small task. Furthermore, after Vatican II, the ancient assignments (i.e. which propers are designated for which feasts) were jumbled because the post-conciliar reformers rearranged the calendar. To make matters worse, years elapsed before any collections of propers following the revised calendar were published. (For instance, it took twenty years for an English edition of the GREGORIAN MISSAL to appear.) Incredibly, a different version of the PROPRIUM MISSAE was printed in the priest’s SACRAMENTARY for use during private Masses (or Masses without music). These are commonly referred to as the Spoken Propers.* Sometimes they match the traditional version, but not always (as we’ve discussed in the past). If that weren’t confusing enough, there’s the thorny and treacherous question of what language the PROPRIUM MISSAE should be sung in: Latin or the vernacular? That’s why I ask—without hyperbole—are we really surprised the propers are neglected?
The Least We Can Do • Because of the all the confusion, I feel that the very least we can do is make sure the version being sung matches the text which the congregation is looking at in their missals, hymnals, or ORDER OF WORSHIP. At my parish, I have been doing that—as you can see.
An Example • Let me give an example of what I’m talking about. This coming Sunday—25 August 2024—is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B). Here is the ENTRANCE CHANT we are singing:
* PDF Download • ENTRANCE CHANT (Vocalist Score)
—21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B.
Our parish has The Saint Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal, Gradual, and Lectionary. You can see the text matches exactly what the congregation has in front of them:
…and from the standpoint of typography, it’s impossible to imagine a more gorgeous book!
* Needless to say, composers who create melodies for the propers in the vernacular should use the Sung Propers not the Spoken Propers. Putting music to the Spoken Propers causes great confusion. As Dr. William Mahrt wrote in 2015: “Worse, composers are now setting the introits of the missal [instead of the Graduale] to music, even to chant, though these texts were explicitly for spoken recitation only.” And Dr. Christoph Tietze wrote in 2006: “When a choir sings the Gregorian antiphon whose text may be different from the missal on that day, an uninformed priest will regard the Gregorian propers as the wrong text.”
