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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

Queen of May

Fr. David Friel · May 16, 2012

Here in Pennsylvania (or “PA,” as we call it), we have many places of historical importance. As one of the original thirteen colonies, many significant things happened here early in (and even before) our nation’s history.

One of the local ways we remember major historical people/places/events/etc. is by Pennsylvania Historical Markers—wrought-iron blue signs with gold lettering that explain the person/place/event/etc. being commemorated.

I love these signs, and I always enjoy reading them. There’s an interesting one downtown. It stands on the sidewalk between City Hall and the Wanamaker Building (home of the world’s largest pipe organ!). It says, in part: “Mother’s Day: Founded by Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia. First officially observed in 1908. An early supporter was John Wanamaker. Mother’s Day was given federal recognition, 1914.” That sign caught my attention enough to make me look into things a bit more, and I found the original House resolution from 1914 recognizing the celebration. It describes Mother’s Day as “a public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”

Long before 1914 or 1908, however—and long before Anna Jarvis or John Wanamaker—this time of year, May, was already devoted to our Mother. For centuries, Christians have set aside this entire month to honor Mary, the Blessed Mother of us all. May crownings and other special devotions have long been “public expression[s] of [our] love and reverence” for the Blessed Mother.

It’s good and wonderful and praiseworthy to honor our human mothers on this day. But our celebration of these mothers would be lacking—it would be incomplete—if it were detached from our celebration of Mary. For whatever is good and loveable in our human mothers is a reflection of what is good and loveable in Mary. In fact, our human mothers are “good” mothers only insofar as they are good reflections of the Blessed Mother. Aren’t the best mothers honest, pure, loving, merciful, sweet, beautiful, grateful, compassionate, and gentle? And is that not the perfect description of Mary?

Mary is the ideal Mother and the ideal woman. Bishop Sheen once observed: “[Mary] is the one whom every man loves when he loves a woman, whether he knows it or not. She is what every woman wants to be, when she looks at herself. . . . She is the secret desire every woman has to be honored and fostered.”

Mary’s life, of course, was defined by her Child. It was Jesus for Whom Mary spent so much of herself, from the home at Nazareth to the Cross on Calvary. It was Jesus for Whom Mary willingly embraced suffering. It is for her Child, first and foremost, that Mary is remembered and honored. I suspect that every mother would have it the same way. Ask a mother who has found success in her profession. Ask a mother who holds some high-ranking position. Ask any mother who has reached any measure of worldly accomplishment. I suspect they will be most proud—before all else—of the children they have sent into the world.

The blue & gold historical marker that stands at Market & Juniper Streets in Philadelphia reminds us of the history of this Mother’s Day holiday. All the more, our own wonderful mothers should remind us of Mary, clothed in blue and wearing a golden crown. Celebrating motherhood without celebrating the very prototype would be futile. So, today—and throughout this month of May—we honor the Blessed Mother. We renew our love for her, and we ask for her guidance in our family life.

O Virgin most tender,
Our homage we render,
Thy love and protection,
Sweet Mother, to win;
In danger defend us,
In sorrow befriend us,
And shield our hearts
From contagion and sin.

O Mary! we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the Angels, Queen of the May!

(Bring Flowers of the Rarest, Traditional)

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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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

On October 14, 1968, our Holy Father, Pope Paul VI, in an address to the Roman liturgy Consilium, pointed out the abuse which wants to “remove the sacred from liturgical worship and replace the holy with the commonplace and the every-day.”

— Quoted by Roger Wagner in a 1970 article

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  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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