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Corpus Christi Watershed

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

Response to the Flood

Fr. David Friel · March 1, 2012

When the world seemed lost and gone too far astray, God brought mankind back by means of the great flood. Two-by-two, representatives of every creature had to pile onboard the ark to be saved.

Even now, God uses the same mechanism to bring us back. From the earliest Christian centuries, the great saints and Fathers have always seen in the ark a symbol of the Church. Indeed, now, in our times, we must all pile onboard the ark of the Church to be saved.

Although we can never be baptized again, God empowers His Church with another Sacrament that can bring us back from the evil and sin that still persists in our lives. God offers us the Sacrament of Penance so that, “through the ministry of the Church,” we may be kept safe from the floodwaters that surround us.

This Lent, let’s get on board. Let’s make use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let’s climb aboard the ark of the Church. Waves are coming, I assure you. As a priest of Philadelphia, I know well that the tide is rising and, before this Lent is over, we will be surrounded by many floods. But the solution is not to break free—to somehow try to make a go of it on our own, jumping ship in the hope of finding our way to some illusory island of refuge.

Doing that, we are destined to drown. The real solution, as always, is actually to step closer to the heart of the Church. The Church, after all, is not just some incorporation founded by men. The Church is our Mother, given to us by Christ, Himself. The Church is the Ark of our salvation! This is what it means to believe that extra ecclesia nulla salus (“outside the Church, there is no salvation”). It was the ark that spared Noah from the flood; it was Baptism that spared us from original sin; and it is confession that spares us from our personal sins. Apart from Christ & His Church, we are nothing but hapless sinners.

Perhaps each of us could reach out to someone we know who has somehow become disenfranchised from the Church and invite them to come onboard with us. Even today, thousands of years after the flood, it’s still easier to go two-by-two than to do it alone.

God’s promise to Noah was that “the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings” (Genesis 9:15). How similar are Christ’s words to Peter: “Upon this rock, I will build My Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). From another angle, Bishop Sheen once reflected that “there are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church.”

This Lent, let’s fall in love with the Church for Who She really is. She is not a sinking ship. She is the Ark of our salvation.

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

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

To the extent that the new sacred music is to serve the liturgical celebrations of the various churches, it can and must draw from earlier forms — especially from Gregorian chant — a higher inspiration, a uniquely sacred quality, a genuine sense of what is religious.

— Pope John Paul II (June 1980)

Recent Posts

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  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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