Views from the Choir Loft

Knowledge of the Infant Lord

Fr. David Friel · December 10, 2017

MARVELOUS line from St. Therese of Lisieux graced the front of a Christmas card I once received: “A God Who became so small could only be mercy and love.”

That wise remark from the saint of the Little Way caused me to think of all the characteristics of God we can know simply from looking to our Infant Lord. Numerous words came to mind. Here are some of them:

Mercy. Love. Humility. Peace. Life. Joy. Sacrifice. Subtle. Captivating. Real. Inviting. Youth. Curiosity. Hope. Spirit. Power. Glory. Strength. Weakness. Truth. Goodness. Beauty.

It is astonishing to me that King Herod felt threatened by the coming Messiah. How could a grown man be afraid of a Baby—even a Baby Who possessed all the powers of the world? A thousand years earlier, another king, David, expressed it thus: “The Lord is my light & my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1).

That God would become so small testifies to Whom He is. Yet, who are we to have this insight into His nature, much less to benefit from His extraordinary gift of Self? In the words of St. Augustine of Hippo: “Ask if this were merited; ask for its reason, for its justification, and see whether you will find any other answer but sheer grace.”

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

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).

“Music List” • 19th in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (10 August 2025). 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 feasts website.

—Jeff Ostrowski

This Sunday’s Communion Antiphon

This coming Sunday—10 August 2025—is the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). The COMMUNION ANTIPHON is really gorgeous, and two of its features are worth mentioning. First of all, the Gospel reading assigned is from Saint Luke, whereas the the antiphon—although it matches the account—comes from Saint Matthew. (If anyone can point to a similar example, please notify me.) Furthermore, if you look at the authentic Gregorian Chant version posted on the feasts website, you’ll notice that it’s MODE III but ends on the ‘wrong’ note. A comparable instance of such a ‘transposed’ chant would be KYRIE IV.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Using “Ye” Vs. “You” Correctly

Using “Ye” vs. “You” is rather tricky, because it depends upon which era one is trying to recreate—if that makes any sense. In other words, the rules haven’t always been the same for these two. Nevertheless, Father Philip George Caraman (the legendary Jesuit scholar) gives us a masterclass using Saint Luke’s Gospel. Father Caraman was close friends with Monsignor Ronald Knox, Evelyn Waugh, and Sir Alec Guinness.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Pope Pius XII Hymnal?

Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

“Hybrid” Chant Notation?

Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.

—Corpus Christi Watershed

Antiphons Don’t Match?

A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).

—Corpus Christi Watershed