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Views from the Choir Loft

Does a Liberal Arts Education Have Any Value?

Fr. David Friel · May 11, 2014

O MANY VOICES in the world today would have us believe that the goal of life is to receive specialized training, find a job that pays well, live comfortably, and enjoy retirement. There are many issues with that approach, but let’s just start with the first. When did the Western obsession with specialization take control?

In America, much of higher education has been reduced to mere career training. Students enroll in programs that have an absurdly narrow focus, and they are required less and less to broaden their studies. This is a far cry from the ideal of true “education,” which involves the process of being drawn out of oneself to wrestle with ideas and confront challenges.

The only fields of study that hold merit, we are increasingly being told, are those in applied sciences, particularly STEM-related studies. Studying anything that won’t directly translate to employment is seen as futile, purposeless, or even poor judgment. What about languages? What about music? What about philosophy & theology? What ever happened to the value of a liberal arts education?

I recently read a thoughtful article about liberal arts education in a newspaper opinion piece. The author (Leslie Anne Miller, a trustee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art) writes this:

It is time to recognize the importance of a well-rounded education and not lose sight of our rich cultural heritage, which has added such a critical dimension to life in this country. Without the visual arts, music, theater, architecture, and the like, future generations will have no sense of culture. Liberal arts degrees teach students how to communicate, think, solve problems, and be team players. Understanding the “why” is imperative; we know the “how” and “what.”

Had I not entered the seminary after high school, I likely would have gone to college to study journalism, literature, or something similar. My course of studies would have been fairly narrow and very much directed to helping me succeed in a particular professional field. One of my life’s blessings for which I am most grateful, though, is that I entered the college seminary and received a first-rate liberal arts education. That was not something I ever would have chosen on my own, but it opened my mind and heart in many unexpected and thrilling ways.

There is a place for vocational training, to be sure. But, is there not also a place for the liberal arts? We who are interested in the arts & culture & liturgy ought to encourage young people to take up the liberal arts. Life, after all, is about more than technical training and entry-level salaries.

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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

“I prefer to preach,” said one priest “even without immediate preparation, for I can always draw—from the various studies stored away during the seminary years—enough material to interest our good Catholic people. But when I have to go to the altar and sing High Mass or a Requiem, and I know that I cannot read a note of the Preface and the ‘Pater Noster’, I feel like going to martyrdom. Yet the notes are right there before my eyes, but they seem to mock my ignorance.”

— From a 1920 article by Very Rev. Leo P. Manzetti

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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.

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