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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

Round Yon Virgin

Fr. David Friel · May 12, 2013

URELY, YOU HAVE SEEN the painting of two arms outstretched toward one another, with the fingertips not quite touching each other. That scene is one of the centerpieces of the ceiling artwork in the Sistine Chapel. One of the two arms in the fresco is the right arm of God the Father, and the other is the arm of Adam, the first man. The artist rather dramatically depicts through those arms the passionate love of God, Who, ever since creating man, has constantly been reaching out to us.

Where is God’s other arm? We usually only see a cropped image of the two hands, but have you ever looked at the fuller panel to see what God the Father is doing with His left hand? What we see is this: God’s left arm is around the shoulder of a mother holding her child. That’s a remarkable detail! Michelangelo is teaching us that, even as God creates mankind and reaches out to us, He has already thought of, and in fact is embracing, the mother & child.

Motherhood is one of the great ideas God had for the world when He fashioned it, and every one of us has been the beneficiary. There is no way into this world without a mother—not even for the Son of God, Himself. The topic of motherhood makes me think of the long prayer Jesus prayed the night before He died, on the first Holy Thursday. I have a favorite line from that prayer. Jesus, speaking to His Father about us, says this: “Father, they are your gift to Me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me.” That is the way Jesus honestly thinks about us, His children, His sheep, His people. He considers us a gift!

Can’t you hear that line being spoken by your mother? Whether you’re an only child or one of 10, every mother worthy of the name would say the same thing about her children: “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me.” In so many ways, our society no longer sees children as a gift, and that is tragic. We need to reclaim the sense that children are pure gift—not an entitlement, not a burden, not something to be avoided, not to be taken advantage of or mistreated, and certainly not a choice. We also need to reclaim a healthy veneration for the role of mothers, since nothing could ever replace a good mother—no man, no machine, and no government program. Mothers are indispensable because of the love they bring into the world. Is there any warmer image—any image that better captures love & peace & joy—than the image of a mother holding her child?

The universal Church places just such an image before us. Today, the secular world celebrates Mother’s Day, which is a good & worthy celebration. But, in the Church, every year throughout the month of May, we honor the one great Mother whom we all mutually share. In so many statues and images of the Blessed Mother, we recognize the innate beauty of the Mother holding her Child. In my home parish growing up, our statue of Mary also showed her holding the brown scapular. For me personally, I wear the brown scapular as a daily reminder to me that Mary is, in fact, my Mother, and that I am a child in her arms. If you have never worn the scapular, I encourage you to be invested in it.

Some people think we Catholics focus too much on Mary. Many of our Protestant brothers & sisters think we are Mary worshippers. But those charges don’t make sense. For the same reason the world today recognizes natural mothers, the Church every May (and all year long) celebrates the gift of supernatural motherhood. In the words of St. Maximilian Kolbe: “ Do not be afraid to love the Immaculata too much, because we could never equal the love that Jesus has for her.”

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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President’s Corner

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Church officials frequently asked Tomás Luis de Victoria for his opinion on cathedral appointments because of his fame and knowledge. He was faithful to his position as convent organist even after his professional debut as an organist, and never accepted any extra pay for being a chapelmaster. Held in great esteem, his contract allowed him frequent travel away from the convent, and he attended Palestrina’s funeral (in Rome) in 1594.”

— ‘Dr. Robert Stevenson, 1961 (mod.)’

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