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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

A Triptych on Mercy • Reflection II

Fr. David Friel · November 13, 2016

HIS TIME last year, I was beginning my first and only season as a basketball coach. The 7th & 8th grade boys CYO team at my parish needed a coach, so I volunteered. We had a great season that produced lots of good memories for players and coach alike.

An important part of youth basketball is teaching fundamentals, beginning with the rules. Basketball, like all sports, has rules and it has boundaries. When everybody follows the rules, everything is fun & games. As soon as someone decides to stop playing by the rules, however, the game ceases to be fun. We are all familiar with this experience from our childhood. When someone breaks the rules, all of a sudden the excitement & enjoyment vanish.

This is, in some sense, an analogy for the virtue of justice. Justice is the virtue by which we give to each person what is their due. In sports, the rules are the system of justice, and they need to be followed in order to keep the game fun. What is true in sports (in this case) is true, also, in life: we need a system of justice to follow in order to keep life joyful.

Of course, simply staying within the boundaries is not enough, either. If I had put five guys out on the court and just told them not to foul anybody, we would not have had much of a basketball team! Players must acquire skills. They have to work on communication, condition themselves, take reps at the foul line, etc. Working on a variety of skills is what takes your game to the next level and makes it really fun.

So it is in life. Satisfying the demands of justice is essential, but that is not the complete story. If we want to live a joy-filled life, there has to be room not only for strict justice, but also for the overflow of mercy.

I have never understood why, but lots of people think about justice & mercy as opposites. They are not! Sometimes, in talking with people, I have even gotten the sense that they wish God wasn’t so just. This is a strange truth. In sports, everyone wants the refs to be just. In court, everyone wants the judge to be just. So why should it be different with God?

Such people apparently conceive of divine justice simply as a negative thing, but that is quite far from the truth. Justice and mercy are both positive qualities. We should want God to be just! In the words of Romano Guardini:

Justice is good. It is the foundation of existence. But there is something higher than justice, the bountiful widening of the heart to mercy. Justice is clear, but one step further and it becomes cold. Mercy is genuine, heartfelt; when backed by character, it warms and redeems. Justice regulates, orders existence; mercy creates. Justice satisfies the mind that all is as it should be, but from mercy leaps the joy of creative life. 1

Trying to live life without mercy is like putting five guys on the court and just telling them not to foul anybody—it’s cold and lifeless. Thus we see that all of us stand in need of mercy.

The concept of “the need for mercy” leads to a useful question: is mercy guaranteed? Is the Divine Mercy of God a guarantee?

I think the best answer to this question is both yes and no. Yes, mercy is guaranteed in the sense that God will always offer us His mercy. There is no sin too big for God to forgive; there is no number of sins too great for God to forgive; for His part, God will always offer us His mercy.

On the other hand, though, mercy is not guaranteed, in the sense that there is no guarantee we will accept God’s mercy. Divine Mercy must be accepted, and, in order to accept His mercy, we must first know that we need it.

So, yes and no. Divine Mercy is guaranteed for God’s part, but it is not guaranteed on our end.

We see this truth conveyed in a familiar prayer. In every Mass, the priest prays a prayer of consecration over the chalice, by which the wine is transubstantiated into the Precious Blood of Christ. In that prayer, the priest speaks about “the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many.” In Latin, “for many” is pro multis. Why “many,” instead of “all”?

Does this mean that Jesus did not die for all of us? No. The death and Resurrection of Jesus absolutely is meant for us all. What pro multis means is this: although Jesus paid the price for the salvation of all, we are free to reject His gift. Our Lord has purchased the salvation of every person who ever lived, but we remain free to leave that gift sitting on the shelf unused.

Every time we hear those words of consecration, they should be a reminder to us that by our lives—what we say and what we do—we choose for ourselves whether we wish to be among the “many.”

Justice & mercy are not contradictory; they are complementary. This truth has been ratified over and over in my heart while sitting in the confessional, while listening to God’s Word, and while coaching from the sideline.

We need God’s justice. It is the justice of God that gives us grounding—the boundaries we need to guide our lives and actions. We also need God’s mercy. It is Divine Mercy that enables us to live life with the abundant joy God has planned for us.

Part 1 • The Meaning of Mercy

Part 2 • The Need for Mercy

Part 3 • The Beauty of Mercy




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Romano Guardini, The Lord, Chapter VII, 257-262.

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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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

    PDF Download • “Offertory” for this Sunday
    This coming Sunday, 12 October 2025, is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). Its OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (PDF) is gorgeous, and comes from the book of Esther, as did the ENTRANCE CHANT last Sunday. Depending on a variety of factors, various hand-missals (all with Imprimatur) translate this passage differently. For instance, “príncipis” can be rendered: King; Prince; Lion; or Fierce lord. None is “more correct” than another. It depends on what each translator wants to emphasize and which source text is chosen. All these pieces of plainsong are conveniently stored at the blue-ribbon feasts website.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF example) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —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

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

The Princess of the Palatinate once described German Protestantism to Louis XIV with this formula: “In our country, everyone makes up his own little religion.” Every priest, or almost every priest, is at this point today. All the faithful have to say is “Amen.” They are still blessed when the pastor’s religion does not change every Sunday, at the whim of his reading, the foolery he has seen others at, or at his own pure fancy.

— Professor Louis Bouyer (1968)

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