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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

Liturgical Custody of the Eyes

Fr. David Friel · March 10, 2020

HEN I first became a priest, I experienced a great temptation to maintain eye contact at many points during the celebration of the Mass. I had practiced the art of making eye contact in many other contexts, such as public speaking and various types of performances. It felt only natural to apply what had been learned through those experiences to my new role as a priest.

Not long after ordination, however, it began to feel less natural. As I grew into the role of speaking publicly to God the Father and leading the parish community in prayer, it became more apparent to me than ever before that eye contact is not always a virtue. I found that—like all the other gestures of the priest during the liturgy—the use of my eyes was a true means of communication. But what was I communicating?

To be clear, I do not suggest that priests should fashion an idol out of making no eye contact whatsoever during the celebration of the Mass. I have witnessed this very thing on a few occasions, and it has been counter-productive. What I do recommend is more modest, namely that priests should learn from the wisdom of our own tradition, which calls for a certain discipline with respect to our eyes at Mass. The fruit of this discipline, when practiced well, is increased devotion and love for God, among both priests and people.

ORAL theology teaches us to maintain custody of the eyes (custodia occulorum) in daily life. All of our human senses require a measure of control, and the sense of sight is no exception. Keeping guard over one’s eyes is certainly a praiseworthy practice for avoiding sin, but it is also more than that. It is a beneficial way to focus one’s attention on the thing at hand, and, ultimately, it is a path toward centering one’s love on God, Himself. The distinction between avoiding sin and loving God, of course, is more a matter of perspective than an essential difference. To avoid sin, in other words, is to love God; loving God, likewise, entails the avoidance of sin.

Practiced rightly, custody of the eyes helps us to look past surface appearances and into the depths of the heart. In this way, we become more like God, Who once spoke to Samuel in the context of choosing David as king of Israel: “The LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam 16:7, RSV).

We ought to strive after this ideal in the way we use our sense of sight at all times. It should be our desire to catch this higher vision, above all, during the sacred liturgy.

HE RUBRICS of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite specify where the eyes of the priest should be cast at many points during the Mass. When he processes to and from the altar, for example, his eyes are to be cast downward. His eyes are to be directed toward the sacred host on the corporal during the first minor elevation, the Memento of the Dead, the Pater noster, the prayers before the priest’s Communion, and whenever he is handling the host following the consecration.

Perhaps most interestingly, these rubrics dictate nine moments at which the priest is to raise his eyes to the cross. They are as follows:

1. Before the Munda cor meum (preparation for the Gospel)
2. Before Suscipe, sancta Pater (offering of the host)
3. During the entire Offerimus tibi (offering of the chalice)
4. At the words Veni, sanctificator (during offertory)
5. Before Suscipe, sancta Trinitas (during offertory)
6. At the words Deo nostro in the Gratias agamus (preface dialogue)
7. Before the words Te igitur (beginning of canon)
8. At the words elevatis oculis in caelum (before consecration of the host)
9. At the words Benedicat vos (final blessing)

Expounding upon these rubrics as they apply to the Missale Romanum 1962, O’Connell has this to say:

By the raising of the eyes, the celebrant, following the example of our divine Lord, more expressly directs his prayer of offering, thanks, or petition to God; and so his eyes are to be raised . . . to the image of the Crucified. This image, if the altar cross be in accordance with the rubrics, will ordinarily be higher than the six large candlesticks, so that the priest, in looking at it, will look heavenward (as Ritus VIII, 4 and XII, 1 expressly enjoins). Should the cross, however, contrary to the prescriptions of the rubrics, be a very small one, or set low down, the celebrant should raise his eyes above it, so as more obviously to direct them ad Deum, ad caelum. If, on the other hand, the cross be very high, it suffices to look towards it; the celebrant should not throw his head back to look at the image of the Crucified. (J. B. O’Connell, The Celebration of Mass: A Study of the Rubrics of the Roman Missal [Milwaukee: Bruce, 1964], 195)

The cross is central to our Catholic faith, and its centrality is ritualized and concretized by these rubrics of the Extraordinary Form.

Experience has taught me that the discipline of guarding my eyes during the celebration of the Mass is beneficial for my own prayer and for that of the faithful. It is the sort of healthy rigidity that, far from diminishing the human quality of liturgical celebration, facilitates our approach to the divine and conduces to our spiritual growth.

HE PROCESSES of mutual enrichment have not, as yet, taken any official form. In the meantime, however, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) includes a very important admonition:

The gestures and bodily posture of both the Priest, the Deacon, and the ministers, and also of the people, must be conducive to making the entire celebration resplendent with beauty and noble simplicity, to making clear the true and full meaning of its different parts, and to fostering the participation of all. Attention must therefore be paid to what is determined by this General Instruction and by the traditional practice of the Roman Rite and to what serves the common spiritual good of the People of God, rather than private inclination or arbitrary choice. (GIRM, #42)

My argument here is simply this: priests would do well to be less arbitrary in their choices concerning eye contact and more informed by the GIRM and the traditional practice of the Roman Rite. This would go a long way towards fostering that participation of mind and heart which the Liturgical Movement so earnestly encouraged.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal, Mutual Enrichment, Participatio Actuosa, Traditional Latin Mass Last Updated: May 2, 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

    “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
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th 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 spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Kids’ Choir Sings Thomas Aquinas
    Last Sunday, a children’s choir I’m teaching sang with us for the very first time at Sunday Mass. Females from our main choir sang along with them. If you’re curious to hear how they sounded, you can listen to a ‘live’ recording. That’s an English version of TANTUM ERGO by Saint Thomas Aquinas. That haunting melody is called GAUFESTRE and was employed for this 2-Voice Arrangement of a special hymn for 9 November (“Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome”) which replaces a Sunday this year.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Reminder” — Month of September (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
    “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
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Religious worship supplies all our spiritual need, and suits every mood of mind and variety of circumstance.

— John Henry Cardinal Newman

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