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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Ministry vs. Edification

Fr. David Friel · January 5, 2014

HERE IS A COMMON turn of phrase that I have often heard from brother priests. It’s a sort of heart-warming sentiment that sounds very pious and inviting at first. I find myself, however, wholeheartedly disagreeing with it.

This is roughly how the saying goes. The priest will say, “Many times during my priesthood, I have gone to visit people in their homes and in hospitals and in hospice centers. I may have thought that I was going there to minister to them. But, during the course of the visit, I discovered that it was really they who were ministering to me.”

I am neither a curmudgeon nor a clericalist. I recognize and have experienced the very thing these priests are trying to express. More often than I could ever recount, I have been inspired by the faith of the homebound; the perseverance in hope of the sick & dying; the honesty & humility of penitents; the trusting vulnerability of the addicted; the genuine gratitude & remarkable generosity of the poor; and so many other examples of courageous Christian witness.

Yet I still take issue with this particular phrasing. There is, after all, no such thing as “lay ministry”; the laity may engage in a particular apostolate, but the word “ministry” specifically refers to the evangelical work of a deacon, priest, or bishop. “Ministry,” without a doubt, has become one of the most misused and abused words in ecclesiastical vocabulary. Liturgical musicians, for example, often refer to “music ministry,” when it would be better to refer to the apostolate (or the work) of sacred music.

There is no contesting the fact that priests need not only to be ministers, but also to be the recipients of ministry. But this ministry can only come from another sacred minister. So many things in recent times (especially in the liturgical realm) have confused and blurred and obscured the authentic, Catholic notion of ministry. One thing that strongly supports the real meaning of the term, however, is the corrected translation of Et cum spiritu tuo in the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.

The USCCB website acknowledges that the response “And with your spirit” is addressed only to an ordained minister because “spiritu refers to the gift of the spirit he received at ordination.” The same web page explains further:

The dialogue is only used between the priest and the people, or exceptionally, between the deacon and the people. The greeting is never used in the Roman Liturgy between a non-ordained person and the gathered assembly.

That ordained ministers have received a unique configuration to Christ is not a novel interpretation of sacramental theology. The reservation of this classic Roman dialogue for use between priests & people supports this understanding. Notably, a layperson leading a Communion service does not use this dialogue. Why? Because he or she does not possess the gift of the Spirit specific to sacred ministers. “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4).

Every priest will acknowledge that he is constantly inspired in many & various ways by the laity, but it would be inaccurate to describe this as ministry. Lest I be accused of lodging a complaint without proffering a solution, let me propose a better way of expressing what so many priests want to express. Would it not be better to say that priests can be “edified” by their people, rather than “ministered to” by them? “Edify one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Romans 14:19).

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Roman Missal Third Edition, The Old ICEL Translation of the Mass, USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship 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

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

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 cannot exaggerate our indebtedness to Dr. Julian’s “Dictionary of Hymnology,” a monumental work, without which we could not have reached the high standard of accuracy, as to both texts and authorship, which we set before us when entering upon our labours.

— Committee for “New English Hymnal” (1906)

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