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Views from the Choir Loft

Samuel & Eli

Fr. David Friel · January 16, 2012

The first reading for this Sunday tells the warm story of Eli & Samuel. I imagine that almost everyone in the world can identify with one of these two characters.

For young people in the Church, Samuel is a tremendous model. When he first feels himself being called, Samuel wants to respond immediately, even though he doesn’t really know how. The Scripture even tells us that “Samuel ran to Eli.” The boy doesn’t get frustrated, either, even as the mysterious voice he hears continues to nag him. Perhaps most notably, he demonstrates great humility by asking for Eli’s help. Samuel is, indeed, a great model for our young people and for how they should go about discerning the Lord’s call in their lives.

For others in the Church, it is Eli who serves as the great model. Did it not require the aid of Eli’s wisdom for Samuel to recognize the voice of the Lord? Eli, himself, had to recognize the Lord’s presence and then give Samuel direction so that he could respond to it. This is the great contribution of parents, teachers, coaches, aunts, uncles, Scout leaders, and all types of mentors: to point out the voice of the Lord. They have the opportunity to help young people discern their calling in life and to offer them encouragement as they learn to live it out.

There is no doubt in my mind & heart that God has a plan for every single one of us. Perhaps the greatest task young people face is figuring out what that plan is. A great many people, though, unfortunately never bother with taking up that task. This is, of course, a terrible shame, since none of us can ever be happy apart from God’s plan for us.

This is proven over & over & over again in the news every day. Some people think that doing whatever they want whenever they want will make them happy. They are (I would imagine) surprised to find that the end result of living in such a way actually isn’t happiness, but misery. Only in doing the will of God do we ever find peace; only by living out God’s plan for our lives can we be truly happy.

Our Church needs many young people like Samuel, who are willing to be called and formed in unique & beautiful ways. We need them to stand up and say with Samuel, “Here I am. You called me.”

Our Church also needs many wise Eli’s to guide our young people. We need them to point out the voice of the Lord—whatever it might be saying—in the midst of our societal noise.

I am confident that the Lord is speaking. My hope is that His young servants will be listening.

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

Filed Under: Articles 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

    “Music List” • 15th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (13 July 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and propers for this Sunday are also provided at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —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

What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.

— ‘His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)’

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