Views from the Choir Loft

Ascension

Fr. David Friel · May 9, 2013

HAT, EXACTLY, does the feast of the Ascension of our Lord celebrate? As folks who live in the space age, this holy day can seem a little arcane to us. So, what does it really celebrate? It celebrates the fact that our home is not on Earth. Our true home is in heaven.

Bishop Sheen once said that “the Ascension of Christ is the assurance of our own ascension into heaven after the Last Judgment.” So, yes, we certainly have hope that one day we, too, will be taken up into heaven. But, we actually don’t have to wait until we die.

Is it possible for our bodies to ascend into heaven right now? No. Our bodies will have to wait until we die. But a person is not merely a body. A person is both body and spirit, and it is the spirit that drives the body.

Our minds and our hearts do not have to wait to ascend to heaven. Even now, while we live & breathe & walk this Earth, our minds and hearts can be lifted up to heaven. This is what we should be doing every time we attend Mass and, in fact, every time we pray. St. Francis de Sales describes prayer as “an ascent or elevation of the mind to God” (Treatise on the Love of God, Book VI, chapter 1). St. Paul tells us: “Set your heart on things above, not on things of Earth” (Colossians 3:2).

Is that what you do when you come to Mass? Do you let your mind & heart be raised up to God? Do you set your heart on things above? Or do you let yourself be weighed down by your body and by the distractions of the here-and-now?

Our Lord ascends today into heaven, where we hope to follow Him in the Resurrection of the body on the Last Day. In the meantime, have we allowed our spirits to ascend to Him in prayer?

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

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).

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

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)

With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.

—Jeff Ostrowski

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