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Corpus Christi Watershed

“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

What Jesus Looked Like

Fr. David Friel · December 21, 2012

HAT DID JESUS LOOK LIKE? Do you have an image of Jesus that comes to mind when you hear His name? Maybe He looked like Chase Utley. Or maybe He looked like the Brawny paper towel guy. I personally like to think Jesus had red hair. But what did Jesus actually look like?

Your initial reaction might be to say, “Well, we really don’t know. That was 2,000 years ago, and there are no photographs around, so we really can’t say for sure.” But that’s not true. We can say for sure what Jesus looked like. We may not know for certain whether he had straight or curly hair or light or dark skin. But we can say, without a doubt, that He looked like . . . Mary.

Jesus is the Son of God but, when He chose to be born into time, He chose to subject Himself to the realities of human existence. He even became subject to the laws of science, which He, Himself, created. One of those realities of human existence is genetics. As we learned in high school biology, we all inherit genetic traits from our parents. One of the first people to study this—and the person now considered to be the “Father of Modern Genetics”—was Gregor Mendel (an Augustinian priest). As he, and those who came after him, could tell us, a child’s appearance is determined by the genes he or she receives from the parents.

So how did this work in Jesus’ case? Scripture—from Isaiah to Luke—emphatically makes the point that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. As we say in the creed, Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, not by relations with a man. So, because of the astonishing truth that Jesus was born of a virgin Mother, we can say that Jesus received all His genetic material from Mary. As a result, Jesus & Mary would have shared a very strong physical resemblance.

Of course, outward appearance is not what ultimately matters. Many young people struggle with being overly concerned about their appearance. They often feel pressured to resemble this or that famous person, or even this or that particular classmate. The truth is that God has made each person uniquely beautiful, so there is no need to try to look like anybody else. But, if it is not our outward appearance that ultimately matters, what is it? What does ultimately matter?

What ultimately matters is our interior resemblance to Jesus. The interior resemblance of Mary & Jesus was just as strong as their physical resemblance. They resemble each other in mercy, in gentleness, in compassion; they resemble each other in forgiveness, in love for the poor, in selfless sacrifice. Insofar as we resemble Mary, we also resemble her Son.

Every one of us is a reflection of our parents. My dad has red hair and big ears, and so do I. But we aren’t just children of our parents. We’re also children of God. Whereas our physical resemblance to our parents comes naturally, our interior resemblance to Mary & Jesus takes some work. So, let’s resolve to put some time and energy into fostering that resemblance. Let’s put aside our gossip and our grudges. Let’s put aside our judgmental attitudes and our laziness. Let’s put aside our pride and our jealousy. Let’s make time for our family and friends. Let’s make time for prayer and for service.

If we do that, the image of the Christ Child will be born again in us, and, when people see us, they will see the face of Christ.

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

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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

“From six in the evening, his martyrdom had continued through the ghastly night until nine o’clock in the morning. After fifteen hours of torture rarely if ever surpassed in the bloody annals of the Iroquois, the soul of Gabriel Lalemant was freed from its charred and mutilated prison and summoned to join his comrade Jean de Brébeuf in the radiant splendor of God. March 17th, 1649, was the date; for Brébeuf it had been the sixteenth.”

— ‘Fr. John A. O’Brien, speaking of St. Gabriel Lalemant’

Recent Posts

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  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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