Of Graduals and Sequences

[JMJ_coder]

Hello,

Why does it seem that no one use the Gradual before the Gospel anymore (which is still normative in the GIRM, if I’m not mistaken). I don’t even see the option printed in missalettes.

And aside from Easter and Pentecost (which is mandatory) why are Sequences either omitted or severely butchered (umm…I mean shortened ).

Is this, as I think it is, the continuing trend toward trying to make the Liturgy more ‘ecumenical’ and palatable to your average Joe Pew? If it is it absolutely sickens me, as I see that trend as a true violation against the People of God who deserve as much time at Mass as possible. So-called stopwatch Masses are a grave disorder in the Church - who cares how long Mass takes. Time means nothing, only the prayer at hand and we must give it everything.

 

[jpjd]

Could you explain what a Gradual and what a Sequence is?

 

[Joannm]

Hello,

Why does it seem that no one use the Gradual before the Gospel anymore (which is still normative in the GIRM, if I’m not mistaken). I don’t even see the option printed in missalettes.

And aside from Easter and Pentecost (which is mandatory) why are Sequences either omitted or severely butchered (umm…I mean shortened ).

Is this, as I think it is, the continuing trend toward trying to make the Liturgy more ‘ecumenical’ and palatable to your average Joe Pew? If it is it absolutely sickens me, as I see that trend as a true violation against the People of God who deserve as much time at Mass as possible. So-called stopwatch Masses are a grave disorder in the Church - who cares how long Mass takes. Time means nothing, only the prayer at hand and we must give it everything.

In the Ordinary Form of the Mass the Gradual is replaced by the Responsorial Psalm which is sung or recited at every Mass. The Gospel Acclamation can be omitted if not sung (as in daily Mass). I would gather that most leave out the sequence at other times simply because it is not printed in the missalettes and people cannot follow along, not for the reason to make Mass shorter. Also, it really has not been part of our tradition to sing sequences for the last 40 years. Personally, if it is not sung it sort of loses something, so better to leave it out.

 

[VociMike]

In the Ordinary Form of the Mass the Gradual is replaced by the Responsorial Psalm which is sung or recited at every Mass. The Gospel Acclamation can be omitted if not sung (as in daily Mass). I would gather that most leave out the sequence at other times simply because it is not printed in the missalettes and people cannot follow along, not for the reason to make Mass shorter. Also, it really has not been part of our tradition to sing sequences for the last 40 years. Personally, if it is not sung it sort of loses something, so better to leave it out.

Just to elaborate, the Gradual is still an allowed option, and in my experience is always sung when the Gregorian Propers are used. From the GIRM:

61…In the dioceses of the United States of America, the following may also be sung in place of the
Psalm assigned in the Lectionary for Mass: either the proper or seasonal antiphon and Psalm
from the Lectionary, as found either in the Roman Gradual or Simple Gradual or in another
musical setting

 

[japhy]

In the Ordinary Form of the Mass the Gradual is replaced by the Responsorial Psalm which is sung or recited at every Mass.

The Gradual was supplemented by the Responsorial Psalm. I have a Graduale Romanum which was published in 1974, I think, for use in the Ordinary Form of the Mass.

Also, it really has not been part of our tradition to sing sequences for the last 40 years.

I wonder what the rationale was 39 years ago. It’s not surprising that when something is made optional in the liturgy, it’s almost always omitted; or that when multiple options are provided, the easiest (and shortest) one is usually selected.

 

[porthos11]

The Gradual was supplemented by the Responsorial Psalm. I have a Graduale Romanum which was published in 1974, I think, for use in the Ordinary Form of the Mass.

I wonder what the rationale was 39 years ago. It’s not surprising that when something is made optional in the liturgy, it’s almost always omitted; or that when multiple options are provided, the easiest (and shortest) one is usually selected.

Sequences have not been abolished, but they have been reduced. The Sequence is still required for Easter and Pentecost. It is optional for Corpus Christi (and can be shortened) and our Lady of Sorrows. It has been suppressed from the Requiem Mass.

 

[Windmill]

I am a founding member of the Brazos Valley Schola Cantorum, a Catholic men’s Gregorian chant group based in College Station, TX. All 10 of the guys are products of Vatican II, but we have all found a joy in sharing the musical treasure of chant with the local parishes. We use the Graduale Romanum, the Gregorian Missal, and the Liber Cantualis - all published by the monks of Solesmes in accord with the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite (you can find them for sale here).

While many people love the Latin (and Greek) Ordinary prayers of the Mass, the Propers are a different matter. People know the Ordinary prayers in the vernacular by heart because they hear them every time they go to Mass. Also, most worship aids (eg. Ignatius Press’s The Mass of Vatican II) only have the ordinary with Latin/English, and so that is all that people can follow along in. When you start introducing Latin Propers, you automatically increase the work that is needed for people to follow along. A worship aid must be generated with all the Propers (Introit, Gradual, Offertory, Communion) and their translations. If you don’t, people just sit through Latin song and have no idea what is being said. This can be alienating. It wasn’t a problem in the old days because people had hand missals to follow everything. That is not the case today.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not discouraging the use of Propers. Personally, I think it is one of the most neglected means we have of reconnecting with liturgical history. The Proper antiphons could play a vital part both in realizing Pope Benedict’s “hermeneutic of continuity” and reviving the Novus Ordo to its proper dignity.

So, in short, it’s the Latin and the extra work that stops people from embracing the Propers.

What we typically do is draw from the work of the Chabanel Psalms, a free, web-based resource of Responsorial Psalms composed by Jeff Ostrowski, a brilliant student of Gregorian Chant and Renaissance polyphony. He has composed R.P.'s for every Sunday of the year (all three cycles of readings) and has based the music and words on the original Graduals in the Graduale Romanum. It’s a great compromise to the current situation. You get English Psalms where the texts are faithful to the GR, and the music mixes well with Gregorian chant and polyphonic motets sung throughout the rest of Mass.

 

[bpbasilphx]

Some useages of the Western Rite had a sequence for every major Sunday (such as Advent or Lent) and feasts.

 

[johnnykins]

It’s not surprising that when something is made optional in the liturgy, it’s almost always omitted; or that when multiple options are provided, the easiest (and shortest) one is usually selected.

Perhaps, but the exception to drive us all nuts - the Kiss of Peace among the congregation is optional - but in reality seems mandatory.

 

[idrum677]

If I’m not mistaken, sequences were surpressed by the Council of Trent with the exception of the 4 that were mentioned in an earlier post.

 

[Chatter163]

The missal after the Council of Trent–the missal of St. Pius V (1570) limited the sequences to five–the four previously listed and the Dies Irae for requiems. The missal of Paul VI (1970) suppressed the Dies Irae and left the other four, making two of them optional.