• 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
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Deo Gratias

Fr. David Friel · November 28, 2013

HANKS BE TO GOD. Deo Gratias. You can always tell how many Catholics are in the congregation by the strength of the response the lector gets after saying, “The Word of the Lord.” “Thanks be to God” is a liturgical formula with which all churchgoers are very familiar, because we repeat the phrase two or three times in every Mass.

The first time we say it is after the first reading (and after the second reading, too, if one is appointed for the liturgy being celebrated). The other time the phrase is used is at the end of Mass, in response to the dismissal, “Go in peace.” At both moments, something similar is happening. At both times, we have just received something.

In the first case, we have just received the Lord in His holy Word in the Sacred Scriptures. The second time we have just received our Lord in His holy Eucharist. That is an interesting rhythm: as soon as we receive something, we say “Thanks be to God.”

That’s not such a bad rhythm to adopt and apply to all the facets of our life. When we receive anything at all, is it our natural inclination to say, “Thanks be to God”? It should be, but often it’s not. Too often, our natural inclination is to think that we worked hard for what we got, so there’s no one to thank but ourselves. Other times, our reaction to receiving something might be to complain that it’s not exactly what we wanted or to philosophize about how the thing we received could be improved.

The liturgy gives us a better model. As soon as we receive anything, we should simply respond, “Thanks be to God.” After all, as St. Paul wisely asks: “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor 4:7).

No matter what we receive, let’s be grateful.

•  Food
•  Shelter
•  Family
•  Friends
•  Education
•  Good reputation
•  A second chance
•  Intelligence
•  Artistic ability
•  Employment
•  Good health

For all these things—to whatever degree and in whatever timeframe we receive them—we ought to be grateful. For all the many gifts we have received, we say with heartfelt conviction: “Thanks be to God.”

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Novus Ordo Lectionary Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Hymn by Cardinal Newman
    During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world's experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. Father Louis Bouyer—famous theologian, close friend of Pope Paul VI, and architect of post-conciliar reforms—wrote thus vis-à-vis the elimination of Septuagesima: “I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed (with no good reason) Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3). I'm not a fan of chant in octaves, but we had such limited time to rehearse, it seemed the best choice. After all, everyone should have an opportunity to learn “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium,” which summarizes Candlemas.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“If the right is given to African tribes to include their pagan traditions in the liturgy, I think the same should also be given to the rite of a thousand year-old Christian Church, based on a much older Roman tradition.”

— Professor László Dobszay

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • Symposium Kyrie Revealed
  • Did Pope Francis Just Publicly Rebuke the Prefect of Divine Worship?
  • Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Normal Syllabic Value” (6 Feb 2023)
  • Hymn by Cardinal Newman
  • Church Music Shouldn’t Be “Headache-Inducing”

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues 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.