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Views from the Choir Loft

Living for Heaven

Fr. David Friel · May 29, 2014

E LIVE IN a very remarkable age. But I propose that, when future generations look back upon the Modern age, what will be most remembered is not what we might think.

It was in the Modern age that mankind first traveled to the moon. But that is not what makes us stand out. Every culture & every age before us has traveled farther than their predecessors and made discoveries of new lands. Think of Columbus sailing to America and the explorers who first traveled to the North Pole. Traveling to the moon was just the next step, which will some day be surpassed.

In the Modern age, we have treatments & inoculations & even cures for many diseases. But that is not what makes us stand out, either. Every culture & every age before us has contributed knowledge to the field of medicine. Think of DaVinci’s studies in human anatomy and Fleming’s discovery of antibiotics.

In the Modern age, we have computers with enormous amounts of memory and the power to communicate instantly. But even that is not what makes us stand out. Every culture & every age before us has developed new ways to catalog information and to communicate. Think of the great ancient library of Alexandria and the later inventions of the telegraph & telephone.

When future generations look back upon our age, what I think will be most memorable is none of those things. The achievements of our digital age will not seem so exceptional as maybe we would like to think. What will stand out is this: the fact that the Modern age is the first age in all of history to have lost sight of why we are living. From the Garden of Eden to the Aztecs to the ancient Greeks to the Ming dynasty to the British Empire, every culture has recognized, in some fashion or another, that the goal of life on Earth is, ultimately, life in heaven.

Until our own. Our culture has lost the sense that we are made for God and destined to be with Him forever in heaven. This is what makes our age unique, and it is no compliment.

Yet this is the very meaning & significance of the Solemnity of the Ascension. Today, we celebrate the truth that we are not made for this Earth. Our bodies and souls are made for heaven, our true home. The Ascension is not some grand exit, whereby Jesus leaves us behind. Rather, He is showing us the way. We should hope, one day, to follow where Jesus Christ has led. So many people around us live as though comfort & pleasure on Earth are the greatest goods to be most highly prized, yet this life is but a prelude to the fullness of life in heaven.

There is a well known story about one of my favorite saints, St. John Vianney. Back in the year 1818, he was just Father Vianney, a parish priest in France. That year, Fr. Vianney was assigned to a new parish. His new parish was in a town called Ars, a backwoods little village in very rural France. Father Vianney was trying to find his new parish, but he wasn’t sure where to go exactly. While searching for the church & rectory, he came upon a young man named Antoine Givre, whom he asked for directions. The young man happily took Fr. Vianney right to the church in Ars. Then the saintly priest said something about which he was very serious: “My son, you have shown me the way to Ars. Now I shall show you the way to heaven.”

A great many people in our age have no desire to be shown the way to heaven. Do we?

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

    Schola Director Posts ‘Live’ Recording
    As I explained in my article posted earlier today, Nun Komm Der Heiden Heiland is actually a Catholic tune (in spite of what some have claimed). The volunteer choir I direct sang that beautiful ADVENT melody last Sunday, and I invite you to listen to the live recording. It will get better the more we sing it.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Message from the Vice-President!
    The Vice-President of the Church Music Association of America, Dr. Horst Buchholz (who also serves as Director of Sacred Music for the Archdiocese of Detroit) sent us an email yesterday regarding the harmonizations (PDF) I composed for the Gregorian Chant psalm tones. Dr. Buchholz says: “Those settings are absolutely exquisite, as I'm used to when it comes from you. Bravo! Well done! Now, as a sequel, if you could write something for accompanying psalms in English that would be awesome.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Requesting Our Advent Eucharistic Hymn
    A young lady named Agnes wrote to us: “Dear Mr. Ostrowski, do you have the PDF score for Ave Corpus Domini set to the ADVENT melody? Last year, we sang the hymn tune “Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland” quite a bit using your contrafactum technique. My choir appreciates the Latin hymns and practice videos, especially in the ADVENT and CHRISTMAS seasons. Your recent article on Gregorian Psalm Tones is a great help to my organist brother, and reminds us of attending VESPERS years ago when we lived in California. Thank you so much for all the effort put into providing these wonderful resources!”   Agnes, if you are listening! Yes, the PDF file you desire can be downloaded for free at the Brébeuf Portal via this URL link. Thanks for writing to us!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

To the extent that the new sacred music is to serve the liturgical celebrations of the various churches, it can and must draw from earlier forms — especially from Gregorian chant — a higher inspiration, a uniquely sacred quality, a genuine sense of what is religious.

— Pope John Paul II (June 1980)

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