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Views from the Choir Loft

The Resurrected Christ

Fr. David Friel · April 24, 2012

I’ve been annoyed all this week. You know why? Because I haven’t been able to watch the Phillies. You know why? Because they’ve been on the West coast since Monday, and the games have all started at 10:15 at night. I’m what you would call a diehard Phillies fan, but there’s no way I am going stay up to watch a baseball game that begins at 10:15 PM. It just ain’t happening.

I can tell you, though, that they’ve won 3 games and lost 4 games since Monday. How do I know their dismal week’s record? I wasn’t there, and I didn’t see it on TV or hear it on the radio. So, how do I know how the games turned out? Simple: I read about it in the paper.

Why do I mention all this? The Gospels from the last two Sundays recount very similar occasions of the resurrected Lord appearing to the disciples. I think sometimes when we hear these stories, we get jealous. After all, the risen Christ really appeared to the disciples; He showed them the wounds in His hands and His feet; He even ate a meal with them. How come those disciples got to have that experience, but we can’t? Wouldn’t it be so much easier to believe if the risen Christ appeared to us?

I’m not so sure. Think about this: if I can believe that the Phillies won 3 of their games last week because I read about it in The Inquirer, is it really that unreasonable to believe what the Gospels tell us about the Life of Christ? Sure, you can’t believe everything you read, but it’s reasonable to trust the sports section, because a reporter was actually there, watching the game, so that he could tell all of us back home on the East coast what happened.

It’s far more reasonable to trust the Sacred Scriptures, which aren’t simply the work of a staff reporter. The Bible is inspired by God and written by actual eyewitnesses who lived with Jesus and saw Him and touched Him and broke bread with Him. St. Peter said it, himself, in the Acts of the Apostles: “The Author of Life you put to death, but God raised Him from the dead; of this we are witnesses.”

Think of another example: I’ve never been to Utah, but I believe that it exists. That’s a reasonable thing to believe. No one would call me crazy for believing in Utah, even though I’ve never been there. In much the same way, having faith in Jesus and in His Resurrection is reasonable. We have it on good authority.

The modern, empiricist idea that we need to have physical evidence presented to us before we can ever believe something (aka, the “verification principle”) is ridiculous. If we used that standard for everything in life, I would have no reason to believe that Utah exists. So, why do we sometimes try to apply that standard to faith? We live in a time that exalts scientific proof and disparages religious faith. There should, however, be a great harmony between the two, since both science and faith are reasonable. We advocate for Fides ET ratio.

The Resurrection accounts should never make us jealous. We don’t need to have been there—in the Upper Room or at the tomb—in order to encounter and believe in the risen Christ. The Scriptures are worthy of our trust, and faith is a virtue that could stand to be strengthened in all of us.

Through the testimony of the Scriptures and the gift of faith, we, too—like Peter and the Apostles—are witnesses of the Resurrection!

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

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —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

“Gerard Manley Hopkins once argued that most people drank more liquids than they really needed and bet that he could go without drinking for a week. He persisted until his tongue was black and he collapsed at drill.”

— A biography of Fr. Gerard M. Hopkins (d. 1889)

Recent Posts

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  • Bishop François Charrière Vs. Hannibal Bugnini
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  • “My First Year with the Latin Mass” • A Music Director’s Perspective
  • Boston Auxiliary Bishop: “In offering the Traditional Mass for the first time, after removing the vestments, I knelt in the back pew and wept.”

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