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Views from the Choir Loft

The Flesh

Fr. David Friel · August 15, 2012

According to our faith, what we celebrate today is God’s extraordinary grace given to Mary as He carried her, body and soul, into heaven. Why should He have done that? Because she is the Immaculate Conception. She was at all times without sin, so she never bore the effects of the Fall, as do the rest of us. Since she didn’t bear the effects of the Fall in life, neither should she in death. This is why Jesus has preserved His Mother’s beautiful body from corruption.

For each of us, our hope is that, when we die, our souls will go to heaven. But, the end result of this teaching of the Assumption is that there aren’t just souls in heaven. We believe there are actually two human bodies in heaven—the Body of Jesus, and also the body of Mary.

What audacity it takes, on our part, to believe in the Assumption! We’re saying that our human flesh, weak as it is, is precious to God. Not only did He take it on at the Incarnation, but we are claiming that He has actually allowed it to enter into heaven. That is how much God respects us and our bodies, which He created.

We’re talking about the same human flesh we dishonor every time pass judgment on another person’s appearance. It’s the flesh we disrespect when sisters pinch their brothers and brothers punch their sisters. It’s the precious human body we violate when we get mixed up with pornography. It’s the sacred human body that mothers and fathers so often choose to destroy through abortion because it’s inconvenient.

We learn from the Assumption of Mary that God has chosen to respect our human bodies. Inspired by our Lord’s own example, may we learn truly to value our bodies and the bodies of those around us. They were made by God, and they were made for heaven. Where our Blessed Mother has gone, we hope to follow.

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 served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

It is unworthy that the stone holds Him, Who encloses everything in His hand, Locked in by the forbidding rock. (“Indígnum est cujus claudúntur cuncta pugíllo | Ut tegat inclúsum rupe vetánte lapis.”)

— SALVE FESTA DIES (Eastertide)

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