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Corpus Christi Watershed

“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

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 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

“The creed at baptism may be said in either Greek or Latin, at the convert’s discretion, according to the Gelasian Sacramentary.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue

Recent Posts

  • “How to Conduct 90 Vespers Services Each Year and Live to Tell the Tale.”
  • 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • The Tallis Scholars
  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
  • Pope Saint Paul VI to Consilium (14 October 1968)

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