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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

On the Spirit of Conservation

Fr. David Friel · August 28, 2016

NE OF MY GREAT LOVES is the National Parks. To be sure, this love falls somewhere after my love for God, Mary, the saints, my family, my vocation, etc. But my love for these magnificent places is nevertheless quite real.

This past week, the United States marked 100 years since the formal establishment of the National Park Service by President Woodrow Wilson (although the multi-layered history of the parks actually goes back to 1872, when Yellowstone was set aside as a public reservation). This seems an opportune moment to praise the spirit of conservation and to consider briefly the Christian duty to admire the natural beauty of creation.

I’m a new resident of Washington, D.C., and just yesterday I took a walk along “America’s Front Yard,” the National Mall, which is the most visited of the National Parks. I’m fortunate to have seen the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Zion, and many other of our National Parks (the above photograph is from my visit to Bryce Canyon NP). Traveling through our nation’s parks is not unlike the experience of visiting cathedrals in different cities; one finds that each park, like each church, is beautiful in a unique way. Each of these places communicates to us something of the divine, and we always emerge the better for having visited.

Sacred architecture is a very worthwhile discipline. Using our human ingenuity to build houses for God that reflect His magnificence is a holy enterprise. This does not detract, however, from the richness to be found in the beauty of wilderness. The National Parks are special sanctuaries not made by human hands. Their subtlety, splendor, and variety inspire the creative mind. Why do we not build cookie-cutter churches? For much the same reason that God did not build cookie-cutter forests and rivers and rock faces and galaxies.

In the act he signed to establish the National Park Service, President Wilson stipulated that the parks were intended not only for the enjoyment of those presently living. They were to be cared for, rather, “in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” There is great nobility in this project of preservation. It places the treasures of our land in the possession of the whole people, not in the hands of individuals.

The natural wonders found in the territories of the United States are worth protecting. This spirit of conservation, of course, must similarly be applied to the world’s great works of art: literature, music, sculpture, painting, architecture. This spirit, sadly, has been too often violated by “renovations” and “reforms” that have done damage to what should have been preserved. The treasures of our Catholic heritage—including beautiful churches, works of art, and the corpus of sacred music—have sometimes been wrested from the hands of the whole people, to whom they rightly belong. When this has happened, these treasures invariably did not receive the proper care due them. From the iconoclasts of the early centuries to the iconoclasts of the Protestant Reformation to the iconoclasts of the post-conciliar period, Catholics have learned again and again that the preservation of our patrimony is fragile.

In May 2015, the Holy Father released an encyclical (Laudato Si) on the topic of the environment. Among many other things, the text calls for renewed dedication to the work of conservation. This is expressed beautifully in the document’s concluding prayer:

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.

Debate will and should continue about a variety of ecological concerns addressed by the encyclical. In many cases, reasonable minds can differ about specific ways in which we should exercise stewardship over the earth. What should remain unquestioned, however, is the foundational principle that creation deserves to be appreciated and conserved. The Lord’s primeval command to “subdue” the Earth is not, after all, a command to “destroy” it, or even to “neglect” it.

It mystifies me that speaking positively about conservation and similar matters makes some traditional Catholics uncomfortable. To these individuals, I point out that it was Pope Benedict who earned the moniker, the “Green Pope” (see Newsweek and National Geographic).

A healthy love for our environment in no way denigrates our higher obligations to our fellow man. Certainly, caring for the unborn and the elderly and those in between is far more important than saving endangered species of animals and plants. But saving endangered species is not unimportant. The work of conservation should not be regarded as simply the penchant of tree-hugging hippies; rather, “care for our common home” is fundamental to the Christian understanding of the cosmos.

Indeed, what we do to care for God’s creation is not disconnected from the work of inter-personal charity. “Concern for the environment . . . needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment to resolving the problems of society” (Pope Francis, Laudato Si, #91).

The father of modern conservation and the godfather, so to speak, of the National Parks was the naturalist John Muir. Throughout a lifetime spent enjoying and defending the American wilderness, Muir always contended that conservationism has spiritual underpinnings. As he once wrote:

Everybody needs beauty . . . places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul alike. (John Muir)

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Beauty, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Sacred Architecture 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

    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’ with regard to 1960s switch to 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

In the United States, Archbishop Kenrick had said in his “Moral Theology” that it was acceptable to sing the “Véni Sáncte Spíritus” before the sermon.

— Monsignor Schmitt (1977)

Recent Posts

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  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
  • Involving Women in the Communion?
  • “Toward a More Sacred Style With Pastoral Charity” • Guest Article by Dr. Myrna Keough

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