• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Catholic Hymnal
  • Jogues Missal
  • Site Map
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Trust the Good Shepherd

Andrea Leal · April 26, 2020

If a business does something you don’t like, you leave and go to their competitor. If a CEO does something customers disapprove of, the people can boycott. Companies are expected to bow to customer demands. The customer, after all, is always right. But what happens when the the faithful begin treating Holy Mother Church as though she were a corporation with a commodity to be demanded?

As Catholics in an age of Coronavirus, how are we responding to the extended shutting down of the sacraments? Hopefully, instead to taking to social media to complain about how much our Bishops have failed us, we have quietly redoubled our prayer and fasting. If every negative comment posted on social media was replaced with a prayer for an end to the virus and the reopening of the sacraments, we would probably be in much better shape.

This is the Divine Economy – not the American economy. We do not have the right to demand the Eucharist. It would be wrong to “shop around” for the Holy Eucharist as though the very Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ was a bag of rice on a grocery shelf. We didn’t find it at this store, so we go and find it at another store that under normal circumstances we would never frequent. Are we guilty of treating the Sanctissimum like a commodity?

These times call for an extra measure of humility. The faithful are filled with deep and abiding love of the Lord and His sacraments. But if we aren’t given what we so deeply desire, we should not grab at it like a child demanding candy from his parents. Yes, we are children. We are God’s children. We must trust Him, and we must wait for Him to feed us at a time of His own choosing. He will not let his sheep starve. Trust, be patient, and hope.

Communion Antiphon for 2nd Sunday after Easter
I am the good Shepherd, alleluia: and I know My sheep, and mine know Me, alleluia, alleluia.
John 10:14

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: April 26, 2020

Subscribe to the CCW Mailing List

Andrea Leal

About Andrea Leal

Andrea Leal is a wife and homeschooling mother of 6 children. She serves as choir director for the Traditional Latin Mass in Las Vegas.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

—Jeff Ostrowski
5 April 2021 • When Girls Sing

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Ronald Knox explained why the Modernists do not compose hymns: “Birds of prey have no song.”

— Fr. George William Rutler (2016)

Recent Posts

  • Did Solesmes Abbey Drink The 1960s Kool-Aid?
  • Fr. Thomas Reese • “Young People Should Not Be Allowed To Attend” Latin Mass
  • 10 Examples • “Diversity of Musical Styles” (Latin Mass)
  • Can You Spare 33 Seconds?
  • “The Great Reset” • For Your Choir?

Copyright © 2021 Corpus Christi Watershed · Charles Garnier on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.