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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

Fulton Sheen on the Priesthood of the Baptized

Fr. David Friel · November 4, 2018

ECENTLY, I delivered a paper at the annual conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy. The theme of the conference was Romano Guardini, in honor of the centenary of his classic book, The Spirit of the Liturgy (1918). The title of my presentation was “Romano Guardini and the Priesthood of the Baptized.”

In researching this topic, I have grown more keenly aware of the need for renewal in the common understanding of the baptismal priesthood. The Second Vatican Council speaks very clearly about the subject in Lumen gentium, nos. 10–11. Too often, however, it seems that we are hesitant to speak about the priesthood of the baptized, for fear that it might somehow denigrate or take away from the ministerial priesthood. A healthier view might see the necessity of understanding both forms of the priesthood together.

Disclaimer: I may be the only member of the millennial generation who still regularly uses cassette tapes. Most of the cassettes I own are retreats and catechism talks by Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen. While listening to one of his retreats, given to the presbyterate of Gary, Indiana in 1973, I was struck by a section in which he speaks forcefully, albeit indirectly, about the need for the laity to recover a sense of their share in the baptismal priesthood.

Although the retreat was directed chiefly at priests, there were also religious sisters and members of the laity present for the conferences. Here is my transcription of Sheen’s comments directed toward the laity:

Lay people: you are Christ. You belong to the royal priesthood. The royal priesthood differs from the hierarchical priesthood in two ways. First of all, you make spiritual offerings, we [ministerial priests] make a Eucharistic offering. Secondly, we are directly united with Christ the Head, you are in the Body and then are united to Christ the Head through His priests. But that we need not stress.

What I wish to emphasize is that, simply because you have the faith, you offer something. You are not just coming here and offering Mass, offering something in the collection. You’ve also got to be victims! And this we’ve forgotten. . . . We are all victims. . . . We are tied up to Christ, Who offers Himself. 1

In Sheen’s view, the difference between the baptismal and ministerial priesthoods was not in need of stress. It was, rather, the commonality between them—namely, the ability to unite oneself to the sacrifice of Christ—that required attention.

In Ratzinger’s book, The Spirit of the Liturgy, titled in homage to Guardini’s text, the future pontiff argues that, during the canon, the human action steps back in order to allow the divine action to take priority. Ratzinger goes even so far as to observe: “In this real ‘action,’ in this prayerful approach to participation, there is no difference between priests and laity. . . . Participation in that which no human being does, that which the Lord himself and only he can do—that is equally for everyone.” 2

Renewal of this sense among the faithful, I have found, was a prevailing goal of the Liturgical Movement of the early twentieth century. Even now, in the early twenty-first century, such renewal remains a largely unfulfilled goal.

HILE composing this blog, I discovered that Sheen’s retreat for the Diocese of Gary, IN is now available on CD. I would highly recommend this retreat, as well as his famous Dublin retreat, to priests and seminarians. I have found much spiritual profit—as well as homiletic material—in these retreats.

Details of next year’s conference of the Society for Catholic Liturgy have already been announced. The theme will be The Sacred Liturgy and the Family, and it will be held at the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul in Providence, RI from September 26–28, 2019. The call for papers is posted on the SCL website.




NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Fulton J. Sheen, Bishop Sheen Retreat for Clergy, cassette 1, side 2, “Christ, Priest and Victim” (North Haledon, NJ: Keep the Faith, Inc., 1973).

2   Joseph Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, trans. John Saward (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2000), 174.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Bishop Fulton J Sheen 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

    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

“Of course, the Latin language presents some difficulties, and perhaps not inconsiderable ones, for the new recruits to your holy ranks. But such difficulties, as you know, should not be reckoned insuperable. This is especially true for you, who can more easily give yourselves to study, being more set apart from the business and bother of the world.”

— Pope Saint Paul VI (15 August 1966)

Recent Posts

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  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
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