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Views from the Choir Loft

The Scandal and Allure of the Priesthood

Fr. David Friel · August 4, 2017

ACK IN late May, I attended the annual convocation of priests for my home presbyterate of Philadelphia. Our speaker this year was Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow, Scotland. He gave three excellent talks, each marked by simplicity, gentleness, and insight.

The best of these presentations was the final one, in which the archbishop reflected on a mysterious duality of the priesthood. Priests in every age, he argued, are both scandalous and alluring, as a result of their unique call to holiness (or “set-apartness”).

This talk has just been published as an article in First Things. It is rather short, and I highly recommend it, especially as a reflection for priests on this feast of their patron, St. Jean-Marie Vianney.

Archbishop Tartaglia writes:

Priests are consecrated and set apart—this is fundamental to the priesthood. It means we invariably embody the scandal and the allure of the divine. Ordination consecrates a priest to a life of service. This means performing very tangible tasks, such as maintaining the parish buildings and ensuring that the parish school is well run. But that is not the core of the priestly ministry. . . . Priests are commissioned by God to handle divine things. We are custodians of the Church’s sacred liturgy and mysteries of faith. We are not the sources of divine grace. Jesus alone is the source. But like the ancient priesthood of Israel, priests are instruments of that grace, which reaches its fullness in the sacraments of the Church that Jesus Christ instituted. The world’s vision may be impaired by sin, but it’s not blind. Our secular culture can’t help but see us as odd and out-of-date, even scary—but strangely attractive. Even non-believers recognize that our job, as priests, is to stretch the umbilical cord of human nature toward the divine.

He goes on in another part of the article:

We’ve all heard the complaint that the Church should do more to meet the needs of the poor or address climate change, and worry less about liturgies and worship and spiritual realities. Fundamentally, that’s a complaint against holiness as the Church’s highest aim. And yet, the Church’s transcendent orientation fascinates our culture. Holiness offends and frightens people.

The full article is worth a few minutes’ attention.

St. Jean-Marie Vianney was a man who placed priority on holiness and prayer as the fundamentals of his pastoral plan, well ahead of parish programs and capital campaigns and motivational speakers. By holiness and prayer, he was able to bring about the conversion of his parish in Ars. Might not all parishes benefit from this pastoral plan?

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 served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“All those who take part in sacred music, as composers, organists, choir directors, singers, or musicians should above all give good example of Christian life to the rest of the faithful because they directly or indirectly participate in the sacred liturgy.”

— Directive issued under Pope Pius XII on 3 Sept. 1958

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