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Views from the Choir Loft

Spare Us, O Lord!

Fr. David Friel · April 18, 2012

In the year 2000, for the first time, Pope John Paul II celebrated the “Sunday within the Octave of Easter” as “Divine Mercy Sunday.” The relatively recent devotion to Divine Mercy is inspired by the writings of Sr. Faustina—a Polish nun, whom John Paul canonized.

“Mercy” is one of those great Church words, like “blessing” & “peace” & “virtue” & “spirit.” Priests & sisters & religious people use them all the time, but what do they really mean? “Mercy” has a very precise meaning, but in order to make sense of it, I want to first say something about another Church word: the word “grace.”

What is “grace”? If you went to Catholic school, you probably learned the definition somewhere along the line that grace is “a participation in the Divine Life.” That’s a good definition, and very true. But I want to share another definition, which comes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism teaches that: “Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us” (CCC 1996). Said another way, grace is God giving us something good that we don’t deserve.

Now, that definition sheds light for us on what mercy is. If grace is God giving us something good that we don’t deserve, mercy is the converse. Mercy is God NOT giving us something BAD that we DO deserve. All of us are sinners, so all of us deserve punishment—even death. But God, in His mercy, doesn’t give us the punishment we deserve. Instead of letting us die in our sins, He let His own Son die for our sins. And that is mercy.

We have all received many graces from God—favors of the Lord, which we don’t deserve. Perhaps even more stupendously, we have all received God’s mercy. That is to say, we haven’t been punished for our sins as we deserve. Jesus, instead, bore the weight of our guilt. So, mercy, itself, is a grace. And, as Christ revealed to St. Faustina, mercy is “God’s greatest attribute”!

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

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

“We have baptized about 240 this year … All the labors of a million persons—would they not be worthwhile if they gained one single soul for Jesus Christ?”

— Father Isaac Jogues, writing to his mother

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • Palestrina’s “Ave Maria”
  • PDF Download • “2025 Booklet for Participants for the Sacred Music Symposium” — (155 pages)
  • Luis Martínez Must Go!
  • Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
  • PDF Download • “Gospel Acclamation” for 29 June (Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles)

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Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.

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