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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Free From All Anxiety

Fr. David Friel · January 31, 2012

“I should like you to be free of anxieties.” Those were the first words of St. Paul in the second reading this past Sunday. Paul wasn’t crazy, though. He lived in the real world, and he knew that normal people have lots of anxieties in life. He even says so much. But, what does he say we should be anxious about?

Paul makes an interesting distinction. He looks at unmarried men & women differently than he looks at married people. What does he say married folks are anxious about? “The things of the world.” And what does he say unmarried folks—young folks—should be anxious about? This is the kicker: “the things of the Lord.” Is that the answer you would have expected?

The last couple of days, I’ve been thinking about this in terms of my own existence as a priest and specifically as an assistant pastor. The pastor of my parish has concern for many of the “things of the world” that I don’t. For example, I don’t pay the bills to heat and cool the church. I don’t take care of the maintenance in the gym. I’m not involved in the administration of our wonderful school.

The result is that I have more time to be concerned with “the things of the Lord.” I have plenty of opportunity, for example, to visit the sick. I have time to be involved in CYO events. I have the opportunity to spend serious time in prayer every day. Hopefully I make good use of that availability, because God will hold me accountable for it.

Now, of course, my pastor does all of those things, too, so his duties among “the things of the world” are really in addition to his responsibilities to “the things of the Lord.” So Paul doesn’t mean that adults should no longer be anxious about “the things of the Lord.” He means that “the things of the world” get added on top of their responsibilities.

It works the same way for parents and children in a family, doesn’t it? Children have certain responsibilities: prayer, study, recreation, helping out around the house. Parents have those responsibilities in addition to others: paying the bills, providing shelter, earning a paycheck, raising children, contributing to the community.

What all this means for young people is simple: they should be grateful for the time and freedom and opportunity they have now to serve the Lord. And what it means for adults is this: we are not excused from “the things of the Lord” simply because “the things of the world” are pressing down upon us. All of us—young or old, married or unmarried—are equally responsible for serving the Lord.

“I should like you to be free of anxieties,” St. Paul says. And, yet, there are so many things competing for our time and attention. At the very least, we can prioritize the demands that are placed upon us. When we do that, “the things of the Lord” must always take first place.

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” • 17th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (27 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 Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the the feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Communion • “Ask & You Shall Receive”
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025 have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down” menu. The COMMUNION ANTIPHON (both text and melody) are exceedingly beautiful and ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —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

“Ways to receive Our Lord as King of the Universe…read and reflect on the Sunday Scriptures, plan your whole weekend around receiving your King, wear your best garments, spend time in quiet, kneel to receive Him, receive Him on the tongue, offer silent time of thanks after mass.”

— Most Rev. Bishop Strickland (15 December)

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