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Views from the Choir Loft

It’s Personal

Fr. David Friel · June 5, 2012

As a kid growing up, I went to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Sometime—I believe around 4th grade—a new kid moved into the area and joined our class. For whatever reason, I became friends with him, and I can distinctly remember the first time I called his house. Like most kids that age, I always got nervous before making phone calls, and my mom would prep me with what to say. So, when I called my friend’s house and his mom answered, I said, as though from a script, “Good morning, this is David Friel. May I please speak with John Smith?”

She replied, “Which one?” I froze. That wasn’t in the script! My mom never prepared me for that!

I came to find out that not only was my friend’s name John Smith, but his father had the same name. And not only that, but his paternal grandfather also lived in the house, and he, too, had the same name. We eventually came up with a system: my friend became just “John,” his dad became “Mr. Smith,” and his grandfather, inventively enough, became “Mr. Mr. Olenick.” Since there were three different people with the same name, I had to do something to specify to whom I was speaking.

When you pray, to Whom do you pray? If your answer is God, let me suggest that we should clarify that. We celebrated this past Sunday the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the day on which we highlight our belief in a Trinity of three Persons Who are one God—three distinct People, Who go by the one name of “God.” So, perhaps it would be good for us to specify, when we pray, precisely to Whom we are praying.

In the course of a single day, we might pray to all three members of the Trinity, but that doesn’t preclude us from having a unique relationship with each of them. Perhaps we had a troubled relationship with our human father, and so we feel most comfortable praying to God the Father. Maybe we can really relate to Jesus, since He has a human nature, so we want to pray to Him. Or maybe you really need special inspiration, and so you turn to the Holy Ghost.

Why does it matter? Why can’t we just pray generically to “God” and let Him sort out where the prayers go?

Because God is not just a cabinet with different mail slots; nor is He just some amorphous blob in the clouds. God is a Person—three distinct, though not separate, Persons. When I wanted to talk to my friend, I couldn’t just call and speak to “John Smith-ness.” I had to specify which John Smith—which person. In the same way, when we talk to the Lord, we can do better than just addressing “God.” We can specify the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit.

The fabulous news for us is that, because God is a Personal Being, we can have a relationship with Him. He’s not just a rock or a piece of furniture. He has Personality, to which we can relate. And, for that reason, prayer is a relationship, not just the filing of a memo with God.

If we learn to pray in this way, we may discover sides to God that we’ve never before encountered. We may come to experience the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit more deeply, more vibrantly, and more personally.

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

In a meeting that took place on 23 July 2014, Pope Benedict told Father Josef Bisig, FSSP, that “Pope Saint John Paul II had the firm intention to personally bestow the episcopal consecration on an SSPX priest on 15 August 1988.”

— Libre entretien sur l’été 1988, Sedes Sapientiæ, issue 160, summer 2022

Recent Posts

  • Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
  • Bishop François Charrière Vs. Hannibal Bugnini
  • 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “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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