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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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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th 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 top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    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

Random Quote

“It is when they are practicing that large groups stop in order to sleep; they don’t give themselves a new impetus after a pause (even if it is minimal) and singers pause when they should not (quarter-bar, half-bar)—everything provides temptation to go to sleep! It is thus not a question of rhythm but of musical integrity.”

— Justine Ward (20 July 1952)

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  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?

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