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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

Too Many Options

Fr. David Friel · January 31, 2016

HAVE OCCASIONALLY had conversations with people who are choosing not to raise their children in any particular faith. This they perceive to be some sort of noble action, respecting and cultivating the future freedom of their children. The practical result, though, is that most of these children will never embrace any faith.

As a priest, I see firsthand the need for children to be raised in the faith. The Church perceives this to be so great a need that parents require assistance with the task; for this reason, we have the tradition of choosing godparents at Baptism.

I recently discovered a medical doctor who agrees that faith needs to be inculcated in children from birth. This doctor, Meg Meeker, M.D., has a great deal of experience as a pediatrician and as a counselor, so she approaches things from the perspectives of both medical science and psychology. Yet another qualification is that she is a wife and mother of four children, herself.

I discovered Dr. Meeker by reading a few chapters out of her 2008 book, Boys Should Be Boys: 7 Secrets to Raising Healthy Sons. In her chapter entitled “The God Factor,” Meeker addresses the problem of parents who do not stress the value of religion. This results in “religious ignorance among too many boys,” she contends. While young men earnestly want answers to life’s biggest questions, parents too often feel uncomfortable or too unprepared to provide them. On top of this, many of the same parents refuse to take their sons to church, where they might find the answers they seek.

Meeker observes:

As a doctor, my own clinical experience confirms what all the research tells us: that religion is good for boys. And I think too many parents have been mislead about what their responsibilities are in this regard. We baby boomers who have read reams of child care books and psychology books replete with tips on how not to stifle our child’s self-esteem and unique personality have faded quietly into the background of our kids’ spiritual lives. We so eagerly don’t want our children to be pushed by us in any direction educationally, psychologically, and spiritually that we hold back when we should lead. Many parents tell me that they want their kids to grow up to make their own decisions about God. They want their boys to make their own choices about which, if any, religion they want to believe. This is, in a way, noble. Our job as parents should be to educate and stimulate our boys to read and think on their own.

But this laissez faire approach does not, ultimately, work as intended. Children raised in no faith rarely become people of faith as adults. Meeker brilliantly captures the essence of the problem:

But the fatal flaw is that boys can’t choose from an empty menu. Asking a child to choose his own faith is like flying him to Prague, taking him to the center of the city, and asking him to pick out where to stay and what to do. He doesn’t have a clue, because he doesn’t know what his options are. He has never been there before, and the city is expansive and overwhelming.

Dr. Meeker makes a compelling argument that leaving faith up to an adolescent’s discretion is a form of parental indiscretion.

It strikes me that much the same thing is true in the world of sacred music. We live in an age when the GIRM gives us the freedom to choose what can be sung at many different times during Mass.

The unfortunate truth, though, is that very few parish musicians are equipped to be making such decisions. Like Meeker’s hypothetical child dropped in Prague with no further instructions, a great many parish musicians are volunteers with little liturgical formation and scant familiarity with the options that exist (beginning with the Propers themselves, moving to vernacular settings of the Propers, and devolving eventually to the four-hymn sandwich).

The solution to the present state of affairs is twofold. First, parish musicians need to be given better liturgical formation. We must make this an urgent priority. We need more initiatives like the St. Cecilia Academy for Pastoral Musicians.

Secondly, the Church needs to exercise her role as Mother. Just as parents must raise their children in the faith, rather than leaving it up to them to decide, so the Church must give clear direction to her children about what should be sung at Mass. The USCCB document Sing to the Lord, which is a vast improvement compared to the documents it replaced, leaves too much room for maintaining the status quo. We need more leadership like the Diocese of Marquette is receiving from Bishop John Doerfler.

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

Filed Under: Articles, Featured Tagged With: Authentic Liturgical Renewal Reform, Hymns Replacing Propers, Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Propers, Reform of the Reform, Singing the Mass, USCCB Sing to the Lord Document on Music Last Updated: December 6, 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

    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
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “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
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The Catholic Church has a dignity far surpassing that of every merely human society, for it was founded by Christ the Lord. It is altogether fitting, therefore, that the language it uses should be noble, majestic, and non-vernacular.”

— Blessed John XXIII (22 February 1962)

Recent Posts

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  • “Puzzling Comment” • By A Respected FSSP Priest
  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
  • “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)

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