Views from the Choir Loft

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!

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served for five years 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 in Washington, D.C.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

“Our Christian people regard with great joy everything that contributes to the splendor of the ceremonies. Jesus—who was poor in His private life—received ointment on His feet. See Thomas Aquinas (Prima Secundae, q. 102, art. 5, ad 10) and the holy Curé of Ars. The Church has always loved beautiful churches, and so forth. We must preserve our sacred patrimony and make sure sacred objects do not become secular possessions.”

— Abbot & Council Father denouncing “noble simplicity” during Vatican II