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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

Homily: 4th Sunday of Lent (Year A)

Guest Author · March 30, 2014

HE INCIDENT in today’s Gospel about the man being blind from birth reminds me of one of the first courses we studied when we began our four years of theology in Oldenburg, IN. The course was called ‘Apologetics’ and was taught by Fr. Lambert Brockman, OFM a Franciscan who was one of the wisest men I ever met. I make a distinction here between being wise and being knowledgeable. He had insights that showed real wisdom, which had to be a gift from the Holy Spirit.

Briefly stated the study of Apologetics was a branch of Christian theology which attempts to give a rational defense to the Christian Faith. It may be summed up by saying that Christ claimed He was God; Christ proved the truth of His statement by the miracles that He worked. Therefore what Christ said was true. The Catholic Church is the only Church that can trace its origins back to the time of Christ. Therefore the Catholic Church is the Church which Christ founded. Needless to say this is a simplified version of what we studied in this course.

Fr. Lambert particularly liked the miracle in today’s Gospel because it showed our Lord’s enemies trying to disprove its super-naturalness. They went from one ridiculous position to another. First they tried to say, “Well, maybe this man wasn’t really blind from birth after all.” And so they go and ask him if he is the one who was blind from birth, or was it maybe someone else. And he assures them that he is the one. And that it was this man named Jesus who cured him. And so they go to the parents. The parents have the same story, namely, that he is their son and that he was blind from birth. But they are starting to get somewhat nervous in all of this. They know that the Pharisees don’t like Jesus and are out to get Him. They don’t want to get in trouble with them either. And so, they try to ease out of the situation by saying, “well, he’s our son alright. But he’s old enough. Ask him.” Already the community had agreed that if anyone said Jesus was a prophet they would be expelled from the synagogue or ostracized.

What we have in the Pharisees is simply refusal to believe. Their minds were made up. They had no use for this Jesus and they were out to get him. But let’s face it. Our concentration should not be on what other people did or are doing now. They were certainly suffering from what spiritual writers call ‘spiritual blindness’. Now the question should be: “Are there any areas in my life where I am suffering from spiritual blindness?” Another way of asking this would be: Are there any areas where I am rationalizing, that is, trying to justify something I am doing that is wrong, but trying to tell myself it is alright? And we might give this just a little different tweak by saying, “Is there something more I could be doing, but am not?” Think of your final judgment day. Would there be some things that you would wish you had done that you haven’t done? As I have said before: “You are going to get a lot more in eternity for a Holy Hour spent in Church than you are going to get for an hour spent in watching television.” It is somewhat of a spiritual blindness which keeps us from seeing things in this way.

In the Epistle Reading St. Paul tells the Ephesians that they were once darkness, but now they are children of light. Light produces every kind of goodness, righteousness and truth. A simple way of saying this would be to say, if we truly see we will clearly see what is the next right thing to do and will do it. In my opinion that is doing the will of God.


We hope you enjoyed this homily by Fr. Valentine Young, OFM.

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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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

“We decided to entrust this work to learned men of our selection. They very carefully collated all their work with the ancient codices in Our Vatican Library and with reliable, preserved or emended codices from elsewhere. Besides this, these men consulted the works of ancient and approved authors concerning the same sacred rites; and thus they have restored the Missal itself to the original form and rite of the holy Fathers.”

— ‘Pope St. Pius V (Quo Primum, 1570)’

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