Views from the Choir Loft

Beautiful Savior

Fr. David Friel · February 13, 2013

E HAVE COME AGAIN to our yearly ritual for beginning the season of Lent. We join together with our fellow Catholics all around the world today by receiving ashes upon our heads. Why do we do this? I submit that there are two reasons.

The first reason we receive ashes upon our heads is to remind us that we are finite beings. Our lives on this earth have a definite beginning and a definite end. As the Book of Genesis warns us, we are all dust, and unto dust we shall return (Genesis 3:19).

The second reason we receive these ashes is to remind us that we are poor sinners. In our modern world, it’s not popular to admit our faults. But at least today, on Ash Wednesday, we can publicly acknowledge that every single day of our lives we offend God in numerous ways. We turn away from His love, and choose to reject His plan for us.

Because we are finite and because we are sinners, we do not deserve eternal life. On our own, we have no right to heaven. The only way we could possibly reach heaven is if we had a Savior Who was not finite, but infinite, and Who was not a sinner, but sinless.

Fortunately, we have such a Savior. We have the kind of Savior foreseen by the Prophet Joel: “gracious and merciful is He, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment” (Joel 2:13). We have a beautiful Savior! Through the prayer, fasting, and almsgiving we undertake this Lent, may we come to appreciate more fully the gift God has given us in Jesus Christ, our Savior!

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

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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Dom Pothier • Photo from 1904

Dom Paul Cagin, in a 1904 publication (L’oeuvre de Solesmes dans la restauration du chant grégorien) made sure to include a beautiful image of Dom Pothier, the legendary abbot of St-Wandrille. Also shown is a very young Dom André Mocquereau. Auguste Pécoul—considered the spiritual “son” of Abbat Prosper Guéranger of Solesmes—wrote as follows on 24 June 1901: “To forestall any confusion, let us remember that there is just one Gregorian notation—that restored, according to the ancient manuscripts, by the eminent Abbot of Saint-Wandrille, Dom Pothier.” ✠

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “3-Voice Motet” (Father De Laet)

I believe 99% of our readers will recognize this hymn tune. Perhaps Father Edgard De Laet should have called it a ‘hymn’ instead of a ‘motet for three voices’—but he’s technically correct, since MOTET is defined as: “a short piece of sacred choral music, typically polyphonic and unaccompanied.” The even verses are for three voices, as you will see if you download the PDF score at #20245. The odd verses may be song a cappella SATB or unison with organ.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF Chart • “Plainsong Rhythm”

I will go to my grave without understanding the lack of curiosity so many people have about the rhythmic modifications made by Dom André Mocquereau. For example, how can someone examine this single sheet comparison chart and at a minimum not be curious about the differences? Dom Mocquereau basically creates a LONG-SHORT LONG-SHORT rhythmic pattern—in spite of enormous and overwhelming manuscript evidence to the contrary. That’s why some scholars referred to his method as “Neo-Mensuralist” or “Neo-Mensuralism.”

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Reminder” — Month of January (2026)

On a daily basis, I speak to people who don’t realize we publish a free newsletter (although they’ve followed our blog for years). We have no endowment, no major donors, no savings, and refuse to run annoying ads. As a result, our mailing list is crucial to our survival. Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.

—Jeff Ostrowski

PDF • “O Come All Ye Faithful” (Simplified)

I admire the harmonization of “Adeste Fideles” by David Willcocks (d. 2015), who served as director of the Royal College of Music (London, England). In 2025, I was challenged to create a simplified arrangement for organists incapable of playing the authentic version at tempo. The result was this simplified keyboard arrangement (PDF download) based on the David Willcocks version of “O Come All Ye Faithful.” Feel free to play through it and let me know what you think.

—Jeff Ostrowski