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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

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Church Dedication

Fr. David Friel · November 19, 2011

People dedicate all sorts of things. We dedicate plaques, bricks, car windows, songs, books, performances, etc.

As a Church, too, we dedicate things. Chapels, gardens, vessels, vestments, windows, statues, etc. Today, for instance, we celebrate the Dedication of the Churches of Saints Peter and Paul—two of the most famous, most recognizable basilicas in the world. But what do we celebrate when we celebrate their dedication?

In the Church, every dedication is an invitation. The dedication of a church building is an invitation to God, asking Him to be present in that space. Certainly, God is present in every part of creation. After all, “Where can I go from Your spirit? From Your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, You are there; if I lie down in Sheol, there you are” (Psalm 139:7-8). But God, nevertheless, always appreciates our invitation.

It is a tradition as old as humanity to set aside (that is, to make sacred) certain places. Today’s first reading from the fourth chapter of 1 Maccabees is just one of manifold passages in the Bible in which the dedication of a temple is recounted. Whenever a space is made sacred, God has been invited to dwell there and to manifest Himself. This can be done even in dedicating ourselves—inviting Him to abide in our own “Temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19).

The most sacred place in the world is the place where man encounters God. May every church building be such a place for us!

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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Fr. David Friel

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

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Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

When a friend speaks of his accomplishments and triumphs, he stands at a distance from our heart. When he shares his weaknesses and failings, he’s very near.

— Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

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