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Views from the Choir Loft

Homily: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)

Guest Author · July 7, 2014

ERY OFTEN WE THINK that reading the Bible, especially the Gospels, is the same as living or observing them. And that is far from the truth. I think this can readily be seen in just a few words that our Lord says in today’s short selection. He tells us to “come to him if we labor and are burdened and he will give us rest.” Now I think we would all agree that these are very consoling words. But really how many of us have really ever done this?

First of all we all have to agree that in life we labor and are burdened. I think our Lord is referring here to when things are getting more difficult than usual. Sure we have to work every day. But I think He is especially referring to the times when the work or the burdens get bigger or harder than usual. And that can happen in so many ways. And when that does happen, how often do we think to take them to our Lord? Do we ever think to just take and pour them out to our Lord in His presence?

What do you think our Lord meant when He said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened?” He meant that we should take our burdens to Him, offer them to Him, and talk to Him about Him, asking for a solution. And let me add in regard to this point that when we talk to Him about Him, we at times have to be quiet and just reflect to see what kind of answer He might be suggesting to us.

What do we do most of the time? I guess I should not really try to speak for you but should only relate my own experience and perhaps what I have heard from my dealings with other people. Most of the time we tend to take matters in our own hands. If we have a problem or something that is burdening or bothering us we immediately try to fix it. To me it seems our Lord is suggesting that we first put it in His hands, that we first entrust it to Him. Then wait and see what He is going to suggest as to the possible solution. We might be surprised at the different and possibly much better solution. But then we so often can’t wait and want what we want right now. Remember when Jesus said, “Ask and you shall receive”, He never added the word “immediately.”

YOU PERHAPS HAVE NOTICED that I have first commented on the last part of today’s Gospel reading. I guess I did that since I considered that part to be so important. It goes without saying that some parts of the Bible may seem more important or meaningful than others. And this can vary from individual to individual. The wonderful thing about Jesus and His teaching is that it is within the grasp of everyone. No one can be too illiterate to be a follower of Jesus. One need not be wise or educated to be a follower of Jesus. Jesus speaks about, or rather praises His heavenly Father for revealing things to the little ones, the unimportant people, what He has hidden from the wise and the learned.

I would venture to say that Jesus is mainly thinking here of those things in life, or even more importantly in the life hereafter, that really matter. The poor or unimportant person in this life who knows and accepts his position or status in this life, knowing that something much better is awaiting him or her in the next life, is much wiser and better off than the person who is mainly intent on making money or accruing wealth or power in this life. I would venture to say that is what Jesus was referring to when He said these words. Unfortunately it seems most people are not going to believe this until it is too late to do anything about it.

In conclusion, I know that when driving we are supposed to keep both eyes on what we are doing. But in our general living on this earth, I think it is a good idea always to keep one eye focused on the next life. Whatever we do in this life can have repercussions in and for our next life. If we are truly wise and prudent we will keep that in mind. We won’t think just of how something might be affecting us here and now, but also how things will affect us now and for all eternity.


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

    “Truly Great Processional” • (Pipe Organ)
    I stumbled upon this live recording of a PROCESSIONAL I played on the pipe organ in 2002. It’s an excerpt from a much longer composition by Sebastian Bach. In those days, there weren’t sophisticated recording devices allowing one “fix” wrong notes. (Perhaps they existed, but we didn’t have machines like that.) So it was necessary to play the entire piece from beginning to end. If you’re a church organist, feel free to download the PDF score. I suppose it’s only a matter of time until some joker uses “artificial intelligence” to play music at church … but there’s something so satisfying about playing an organ in real life.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Proof Which All Can Immediately See!
    “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,” as the famous maxim goes. Over the years, I’ve observed malicious attacks on the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. Rather than scoring a ‘hit’ on the Brébeuf Hymnal, its attackers often reveal profound ignorance. I’ve been advised never to reply … but I break that rule today. Certain voices online assert that the Brébeuf Hymnal is “untraditional” because it includes both the Urbanite and pre-Urbanite versions of the hymns. But if only they would glance at a copy of the 1913 VESPERALE (printed by order of Pope Saint Pius X) they would see how mistaken such statements are.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “8 June 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for the parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article includes a few anecdotes about Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and Abraham Lincoln.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

When the matter is thus regarded, an assertion which is being made today, not only by laymen but also at times by certain theologians and priests and spread about by them, ought to be rejected as an erroneous opinion: namely, that the offering of one Mass, at which a hundred priests assist with religious devotion, is the same as a hundred Masses celebrated by a hundred priests. That is not true.

— Pope Pius XII (2 November 1954)

Recent Posts

  • “Breathtaking Photographs” • First Mass of Father Michael Caughey, FSSP (Muskegon, MI)
  • “Truly Great Processional” • (Pipe Organ)
  • “Re: Vigil Masses” • Reader Feedback (3 June 2025)
  • Proof Which All Can Immediately See!
  • New Bulletin Article • “8 June 2025”

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