• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Catholic Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

A Papal Blessing

Fr. David Friel · March 14, 2013

HE EXCITEMENT we’ve all seen on the faces of people in St. Peter’s square the last few days is appropriate. It is never good for a family to be without a father for long, so joy and gladness are the right reaction to the election of a new Holy Father (even during Lent).

One of the moments that seems to have most moved onlookers was the new Pope’s request for the prayers of the people before giving his first Apostolic blessing. Two things impressed me about this particular action.

First, the pope asked for God’s blessing. Speaking in Italian, the new Holy Father said, “Pray to the Lord so that He blesses me.” As he embarks on his new mission, Pope Francis realizes that he needs the blessing of Almighty God. I pray that he will have it.

Secondly, the pope asked for our prayers. Notably, he did not ask for the blessing of the crowd. Blessings come to us only from God directly or through the hands of an ordained minister. But the prayers of our brothers and sisters in Christ are, indeed, powerful.

That moment of prayer on the balcony of St. Peter’s is very similar to an exchange that occurs four times in every Mass. When the priest says, “The Lord be with you,” it is really a prayer, asking that God would be present with all those in attendance. The people respond, also, with a prayer: “And with your Spirit.” The people’s prayer asks that the Lord would be with the minister, particularly in his role as a minister—a “steward of the mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1).

This action is bound to be interpreted variously. I see in it an expression of prayerful Christian solidarity ordered toward the reception of a unique blessing. May God’s blessing, which has come to us at the hand of Pope Francis, bring forth abundant fruit.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

Fr. David Friel

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

5 April 2021 • When Girls *SING*

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • Condemned?

On Palm Sunday, the Passion was read. Immediately after mention is made of the betrayal by Judas, the Holy Eucharist is introduced. Is this not a condemnation of “Christians” who deny the Church teaching on the SANCTISSIMUM? Here is Matthew 26: And Judas that betrayed him, answering, said: “Is it I, Rabbi?” He saith to him: “Thou hast said it.” And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The Pope is not an absolute monarch whose thoughts and desires are law. On the contrary: the Pope’s ministry is a guarantee of obedience to Christ and to his Word. He must not proclaim his own ideas, but rather constantly bind himself and the Church to obedience to God’s Word, in the face of every attempt to adapt it or water it down, and every form of opportunism.”

— ‘His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI (11 May 2005)’

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • Vespers for Holy Thursday?
  • PDF Download • “Sanctus for Three Voices” (Soprano, Alto, and Bass)
  • Live Recording • “Jesus My Lord, My God, My All”
  • 5 April 2021 • When Girls *SING*
  • (Hymn) • “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today”

Copyright © 2021 Corpus Christi Watershed · Charles Garnier on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.