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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

A Priest’s Litany of Thanksgiving

Fr. David Friel · April 17, 2014

OT LONG AGO, I posted a catalog of saints who were artists, drawn from a series published in Magnificat, the monthly companion to the sacred liturgy utilized by many members of our Church. Today, with the express permission of the editors, I am pleased to present another wonderful piece from Magnificat. Composed by Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P., editor-in-chief, this Litany of Thanksgiving is intended for devotional use by priests, who celebrate the institution of our vocation of service today, Holy Thursday.

A Priest’s Litany of Thanksgiving

R./ Lord, you know that I love you.

For instituting the holy priesthood, R./
For setting me apart to work for the Kingdom of God, R./
For the privilege of serving your holy Church, R./
For the grace of preaching, R./
For the honor of pasturing your people, R./
For the capacity to teach the faith, R./
For the power to baptize, R./
For the honor of being able to witness marriages, R./
For the joy of bringing healing to the sick and consolation to the dying, R./
For the miracle of being able to say, “This is my Body,” R./
For the wonder of the words, “I absolve you from your sins,” R./
For all the ways I act in persona Christi, R./
For making me a man of prayer, R./
For consecrating my hands for sacrifice, R./
For priestly paternity, R./
For proposing me, despite my unworthiness, as an example of holiness, R./
For making me capable of offering pastoral counseling, R./
For priestly fraternity, R./
For the strength you provide in times of trial and distress, R./
For the desire to reach out to the poor and the alienated, R./
For priestly compassion, tenderness, and generosity, R./
For transforming me in my weakness and sins, R./
For helping me to live in unfailing dependence upon you, R./
For making me ardent in self-sacrificing love, R./
For the presence of Jesus that radiates from my fatherhood, R./
For the grace to be able to generate others, R./
For the ability to feed your sheep, R./
For making me an instrument of grace, R./
For every host that I have distributed in Holy Communion, R./
For the gift of holy celibacy, R./
For my love of Mary, Mother of priests, R./
For creating the priesthood to be the love of the heart of Jesus, R./
For the divine commission to sanctify others, R./
For the inestimable grace of being an alter Christus, R./
For the countless graces with which you bless my life, R./

On the day of my priestly ordination I declared that:
•I am resolved, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to discharge without fail the office of the priesthood in the presbyteral order as a conscientious fellow worker with the bishops in caring for the Lord’s flock;
•I am resolved to celebrate the mysteries of Christ faithfully and religiously as the Church has handed them down to us, for the glory of God and the sanctification of Christ’s people;
•I am resolved to exercise the ministry of the word worthily and wisely, preaching the Gospel and explaining the Catholic Faith.

Most merciful Father, as I prepare to celebrate the institution of the priesthood on Holy Thursday, please strengthen my resolve and perfect my efforts to live as another Christ, always thankful for my priesthood and for the supreme privilege of serving God’s people in holiness. I ask you this united to Jesus Christ, the great High Priest. Amen.

(With permission of Magnificat, Rev. Peter John Cameron, O.P., Monthly Vol. 16, No. 1 / Holy Week 2014).

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

I am convinced that if the Church is to prosper in the present age, it cannot hesitate to embrace and support traditional Catholics, traditional liturgies and traditional moral values. “Do not conform yourself to this age,” St. Paul warned followers of Christ. (Rom 12:2)

— Most Rev. Thomas Tobin, Bishop of Providence (12 August 2022)

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