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Views from the Choir Loft

Returning Home

Fr. David Friel · August 14, 2013

Y PARISH is in a neighborhood called Parkwood Manor. Most of the folks in our parish at some point moved to this neighborhood from another Philadelphia neighborhood. Some of them have roots in Kensington & Fishtown, others in West Oak Lane or South Philly. Many of them moved here as young couples in the 1960’s, and others have moved in more recently.

No matter where you are from, if you have ever relocated, you know that it can be quite a difficult experience to go back. It can be an eye-opening venture when you take a drive through “the old neighborhood.” Things change after we have moved on, and, when we go back, rarely do we ever think they have changed for the better. The new owners may have painted over the woodwork or put up a new fence or let some part of the house fall into disrepair. It can be hard to observe the changes to a place we once loved. I remember my parents taking our family once on a drive by the house we lived in when I was very young. I hardly remembered the house, myself, but I’ll never forget how my dad went on a tirade about how the new owner had let the bushes in front of the house grow wild.

Perhaps this was the reason for the Assumption. Jesus spent his earliest days in Mary’s womb; He went on to spend 30 years at her side; she was there when He died. Perhaps Jesus couldn’t bear to allow His Mother’s body to decay, like all of ours will some day. She is the Immaculate Conception, after all, so we ought not to be indignant that she would receive special treatment. All of us are sinners, and the “wages of sin” are death and decay. But Mary was sinless from the first moment of her conception. Just as our Lord preserved her from the stain of sin before her conception, we believe that He preserved her from the stain of decay after her death. Instead, He chose to bring her, body & soul, to heaven. This we call the Assumption.

It can be hard to go back to the neighborhood where we grew up. Ultimately, though, the place we really come from isn’t a neighborhood, but the heart of God, Himself. On this feast of the Assumption, Mary shows us the way back home. Where our Blessed Mother has gone, we hope to follow!

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 served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

[Speaking about the Silent Canon, with audible “per ómnia”] — “So in all such cases it is usual for the otherwise silent celebrant occasionally to sing a clause aloud, to show how far he has arrived.”

— Father Fortescue (pages 313-314) • “A Study of the Roman Liturgy”

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