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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

Eating from Above

Fr. David Friel · August 22, 2012

I was talking to a group of high school students the other day, and I could tell how excited they were to go back to school . . . not at all! Some of them were talking about having biology this year, which reminded me of when I had biology class in freshman year.

I loved the class, partially because Mr. Franchella was an awesome teacher and partially because of the anticipation of the fourth quarter. My buddies and I spent the whole first three quarters anxiously awaiting the fourth quarter and the exciting opportunity to dissect a frog.

I guess I learned a thing or two in the first three quarters, too. One thing, in particular, that I remember is this fact: every organism needs to obtain energy in order to live.
• So grass, for instance, gets its energy through photosynthesis.
• Then, some animals, like grasshoppers, eat the grass.
• Then rats get their energy by eating grasshoppers.
• And then snakes eat the rats.
• And then, finally, hawks eat the snakes.
I think we called that a “food chain” when we were in bio class. Creatures higher on the food chain get their energy by consuming those lower on the chain.

We, as humans, are organisms, so we need to get our energy from somewhere. To some degree, we accomplish that through eating various minerals, plants, and animals. But, there is something unique about us as humans. Whereas eating meat and vegetables is sufficient for many other animals, that kind of eating is never really sufficient for mankind. If we humans only ever eat that which falls below us on the food chain, we may be physically fed, but we’ll still be malnourished.

Humans—and humans alone—are given the great privilege of consuming not only that which falls below us on the food chain, but also that which sits above us on the food chain. We are given, namely, the gift of the Eucharist. We can eat cows & pigs & chickens & turkeys & carrots & potatoes all we want. But we will never be satisfied if we do not eat “the Bread that came down from heaven.”

The Lord says so much, Himself: “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you do not have Life within you.” The Lord gives us the antidote to all our hunger, for “[His] Flesh is true food, and [His] Blood is true drink.” The Eucharist is not a symbol, nor is it a metaphor. It truly is the sacred Body and precious Blood of Jesus. Jesus says to us, “Just as . . . I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will have Life because of Me.”

As I learned in biology class, every organism needs to get its energy from somewhere. If we are to be filled with true energy—with Life, Itself—we must eat not only from below, but from above. God lowers Himself to become our very Food. May we find our deepest nourishment and our highest energy in the unfathomable gift of the Eucharist!

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

    17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    All of the chants for 27 July 2025, which is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), have been added to the feasts website, as usual under a convenient “drop down.” The COMMUNION ANTIPHON—both text and melody—are particularly beautiful and exceedingly ancient.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Jeff’s Mother Joins Our Fundraiser
    To assist our fundraiser, Mrs. Kathleen Ostrowski has drawn several beautiful sketches which she offers to all our readers free of charge. If you have a moment, I invite you download them at this link.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Errors in Latin: “17th Sund. Ordinary”
    The COMMUNION for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) contains several typos in the Jogues Illuminated Missal with regard to the Latin text. That particular COMMUNION ANTIPHON is extremely ancient, and the English Adaptation is utterly gorgeous. For the record, it’s normal for books to contain typos; even books by Father Fortescue and Monsignor Knox have errors. Books by Solesmes Abbey—surely among the finest ever produced—contain many printing errors. Click here to see a few examples of typos.
    —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 the Orthodox Churches they have kept that pristine liturgy, so beautiful. We have lost a bit the sense of adoration. They keep, they praise God, they adore God, they sing, time doesn’t count. God is the center, and this is a richness …

— Pope Francis (8/2/2013)

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