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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

The Spirit of All Souls’ Day

Fr. David Friel · October 22, 2017

LL SOULS’ DAY lies just around the corner. November 2nd is typically a day filled with Masses—the result of the Church’s longing for the salvation of the departed and her confidence in the merits of the Lord’s sacrifice to obtain that salvation.

It has been the Church’s longstanding practice to permit priests to offer Mass not once, not twice, but even three times on this day. The same permission is granted for only one other observance of the liturgical year: Christmas Day. For a discussion of this permission and whether it constitutes an encouragement, take a look at two posts from a couple of years ago (here and here).

The ethos of All Souls’ Day stands in stark contradistinction to the universalism of our age. When attending a Catholic funeral or a Mass on All Souls’ Day, one does not encounter the spirit of “life celebration.” This idea is, indeed, foreign to the funeral and All Souls’ Day liturgies.

What these liturgies do clearly convey is a spirit of profound grief and mourning, salved by the hope of resurrected life. On the fittingness of this liturgical spirit, Dietrich von Hildebrand writes:

It is a regrettable sophism to say (as it was sometimes said in sermons) that the death of a father or mother, husband or wife, or of a child, is no reason for sadness as long as they have died well, after receiving the last Sacraments, as long as we can hope that they are with God. Of course the eternal happiness of one whom we truly love is the most important thing, but separation from the beloved, even if only for a time, remains a terrible cross.

Whoever does not feel this cross, whoever just happily goes his way with the consolation that the beloved has found eternal happiness, is not directed to eternity in a special way—he is simply insensitive and does not want to be disturbed in the normal rhythm of his daily life. He is simply making a comfortable excuse when he emphasizes that the eternal salvation of the other is the most important thing. He has forgotten that even Jesus Christ, the God-Man, prayed in Gethsemane: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” He does not understand that a cross which has been imposed on us should be suffered under as a cross. Only then can we attain to the true consolation which lies in the perspective of eternity, to the true hope of eternal blessedness.” [Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Devastated Vineyard (1973), pg. 130]

Again this year, many parishes will offer special commemorations of the faithful departed on or near November 2nd. I would like to draw your attention to just two.

First, the National Shrine of St. John Paul II here in Washington, DC has announced that they will host a Missa Cantata at 7 PM on November 2nd in their main church (3900 Harewood Road NE, Washington, DC). Faure’s Requiem in D minor (Op. 48) will be sung, adhering closely to the original instrumentation for strings, choir, and soloists. Of this Mass, the composer once wrote: “Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem, which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest.”

Second, the Catholic Artists Society will host their 15th annual solemn Requiem Mass on November 13th at 7 PM in the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (869 Lexington Avenue, NYC). The music for this Mass will be Mozart’s Requiem in D minor (K. 626). This society is the same group that sponsors the Art of the Beautiful lecture series, featured before on these pages.

Requiescant in pace!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: All Souls, Requiem Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st 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 spectacular feasts website. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 21st Sunday Ordin. Time
    You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) which is coming up on 24 August 2025. Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. It’s set in a melancholy mode, but if you heard my choir’s female voices singing it your soul would be uplifted beyond belief. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I tried to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

“Except the psalms or canonical Scriptures of the new and old Testaments, nothing composed poetically shall be sung in church, as the holy canons command.”

— ‘Council of Braga, 563AD’

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