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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

Intercession by saints? Why not go directly to God?

Jeff Ostrowski · August 5, 2014

898 Pope Pius XII IANIST STEPHEN HOUGH publishes a blog on The Telegraph in which he often talks about the Catholic faith … but don’t get too excited. He frequently attacks Catholic beliefs, and recently assaulted the notion that saints can intercede.

Similar to other “famous cases” against the truth of Catholicism, 1 intercession by the saints has been defended a hundred million times by Catholic authors, and I was surprised Mr. Hough didn’t Google before posting. However, let me offer another “take” on this subject—perhaps Fr. Friel or some other priest can let me know if I’m on the right track.

First, a brief story. My wife took our van to have the oil changed and tires rotated at Nissan. The ones performing the service damaged our vehicle. Nissan promised to fix the damage, and asked us to wait three weeks for the new parts to arrive. Once it arrived, they told us that if brought the van in at 8:15am, they’d have it fixed by 3:00pm. So, we dropped off the van, but a secretary called and said it might not be ready for a few days (which was unacceptable, since the children’s seats were in the van). To make a long story short, I spent two days trying to reach somebody in the maintenance department, but each time I called, various people “blocked” me from speaking to the man in charge of the repairs. My cell phone shows I called a total of fifteen times without being allowed to speak to him. Finally, I drove to the place where I knew my van was being repaired, only to discover it had already been fixed, and was just waiting to be picked up.

This story illustrates a fact that many have learned the hard way: giving the public direct access to you (like your private cell phone number) is to be avoided. Most company “higher ups” place a hundred billion secretaries and “intermediaries” between them and you, to make sure you’re kept in your place. For instance, consider that guy at Nissan. His secretary kept saying to me, “Oh, I’ll tell him.” His partner Doug kept saying, “I’ll get an answer for you when I see him.” It was like a type of shield he wore around himself. 2

I’m not going to belabor this point, because those who know what I’m talking about will understand already. Those who don’t will have to learn the hard way. An “intermediary” can be a very useful thing. I’d give anything to have a secretary who could make sure I never see the nasty letters we occasionally receive from people who don’t understand our mission to eliminate secular-style music from Mass. For some reason, my brain continues to dwell on these nasty letters, instead of the letters of encouragement we receive.

NOW CONSIDER THIS: if a “bad” intermediary like that Nissan secretary can have such a terrible effect, couldn’t a “good” intermediary like a saint have a positive effect? Besides, many times in the Bible, God did things difficult to understand on a human level—like requiring Moses to strike the Rock for water to come out, when God could have made water come without any striking—yet later we see that He had a reason. I could say more about this, especially in light of last week’s Gospel, but I’ll refrain for the time being.

When somebody says, “I don’t need a saint—I can go directly to God,” maybe we should respond: “Certainly, but how dare you?” Sometimes it seems we take for granted the fact that God lets us speak directly to Him (and He does). In other words, isn’t it a mark of humility when Catholics ask for the intercession of the saints? Shouldn’t we poor sinners be somewhat hesitant to approach the Holy Creator directly?

This is but ANOTHER TAKE on intercession, in addition to all the other explanations put forth by Catholic teachers over the years (which I’ve not even mentioned here).



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Another example would be the erroneous assertion that our Lady had other children. This was utterly demolished by St. Jerome.

2   Years ago, I worked for a priest like that. No matter how many times I’d call his phone, he’d never pick up. But when I called from a number he didn’t recognize, he’d pick up. Also, when he needed me to play a funeral or do him a favor, he’d call me. If I didn’t answer the phone when he called (even on my day off), he’d read me the riot act, or he’d keep calling my number over and over. If I still didn’t answer, he’d start calling my family members, including siblings who lived 900+ miles away!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Pope Pius XII Second World War Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Liturgical Round (“Canon”) in C-Major
    Those who direct children’s choirs are always on the lookout for repertoire that’s dignified, inspired, and pleasing—yet still within reach of young choristers. Such directors will want to investigate this haunting liturgical round (PDF download) which has been married to the KYRIE from Mass VI (EDITIO VATICANA). I have provided an accompaniment, but it’s only for use during rehearsal; i.e. when teaching this round to your choristers. I also provided an organ accompaniment for the KYRIE—which some know by its trope (Kyrie Rex Genitor)—so that your congregation can take part when this round is used as a choral extension during Mass.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Latin Liturgy Association
    We note with pleasure that Mrs. Regina Morris, president of the Latin Liturgy Association, has featured—on page 4 of Volume CXXIX of their official newsletter—the three (3) terrific versions of the Stations of the Cross found in the Brébeuf Hymnal. One of the main authors for the blog of the Church Music Association of America said (6/10/2019) about this pew book: “It is such a fantastic hymnal that it deserves to be in the pews of every Catholic church.”
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Music List” • 28th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 12 October 2025, which is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the dazzling feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —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

“As late as 1834, British society had many restrictions on any person not adhering to the Anglican church. For example, Roman Catholics could not attend a university, serve on a city council, be a member of Parliament, serve in the armed forces, or even serve on a jury.”

— Regarding the Church of Henry VIII

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