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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

Faith Seeking Understanding

Fr. David Friel · April 21, 2013

VERY SAINT HAS A FEAST DAY at some point throughout the year on which the Church celebrates his or her life, work, and sanctity. Today, April 21st, is the feast of St. Anselm, the great philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century for whom my parish is named. Because he is our parish patron, today is a Solemnity for us here in northeast Philly.

Anselm is truly one of the great thinkers in Church history. For this reason, he is one of the “Doctors of the Church.” He wrote numerous very important theological texts, each of which is worthy of our study. For now, though, let’s consider just one of Anselm’s brilliant ideas.

St. Anselm had a sort of motto that sums up a good bit of his life and teaching. In Latin, the famous motto is: fides quarens intellectum. In English, that literally means: “faith seeking understanding.” That certainly sounds nice and pious, but what does it mean? What does it matter?

It means that faith comes before understanding. We don’t have to understand God in His entirety in order to have faith. Faith comes first, and then it leads us to deeper understanding. We see this so clearly in the Easter season. When Mary Magdalene & Peter & John went to the tomb and found it empty, they certainly did not understand everything that had happened. But, the Scriptures tell us that they “saw and believed” (John 20:8). Their lack of understanding didn’t keep them from having faith. Rather, they began with faith, which led them to greater understanding at Pentecost and in the days & weeks that came after.

We have to be careful, though. It’s not good enough to say, “I have faith, so I don’t really need to understand.” Not at all! Remember, the motto is “faith seeking understanding.” So, yes, we begin with the virtue of faith, which is paramount, but we must absolutely seek deeper understanding.

Think about your own faith. What have you done lately to nurture that faith, to seek understanding?

§ Have you thought about reading a little bit out of your Bible?
§ Have you made the effort to participate in Advent & Lenten adult faith formation events at your parish?
§ Does your family own a catechism?
§ Have you ever stopped to make a visit at an adoration chapel in your area?

We need to move beyond the idea that graduating from Catholic school or receiving Confirmation prepares us with everything we need to know about our faith. Personally, I went through 21 years of Catholic school, and I know I still have room to grow and learn.

Our faith seeks understanding. Is that statement true for us? There are still more than six months remaining in this “Year of Faith” that we are celebrating as a Universal Church. What could your parish do, and what could you do individually, to seek greater understanding of our holy Catholic faith?

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

“We wish to express the hope that students of Gregorian Chant come back to the pure Vatican Edition, in the ancient block-note form, without the addition of any signs whatever, in order to achieve Gregorian unity.”

— Josef Gogniat (12 March 1938)

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