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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

“Homily for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost” (EF) • Father Valentine Young, OFM

Jeff Ostrowski · August 18, 2020

This coming Sunday (23 August 2020) is the 12th Sunday after Pentecost in the Extraordinary Form. The following is a homily by Father Valentine Young, OFM, who died on 17 January 2020. We received permission to post these homilies, as well as to correct “grammatical errors, etc.” To learn more about Father Valentine, scroll to the bottom of the page. These homilies were all delivered sometime between 2013 and 2020.

Homily • 12th Sunday after Pentecost

AINT KATHERINE DREXEL was the daughter of a rich—yes, a millionaire!—banker of Philadelphia, PA. On one occasion she got to visit with the then-reigning Pope Leo XIII. In their conversation she told the Holy father that she felt there was little being done around that time (namely in the late 1800s) for evangelizing the Indians and Black people in the United States. (These were the words used at that time to refer to these people; and I am certainly not wanting to be racially insensitive by using these terms, even though they may not currently be in use much.) She told the Holy Father that perhaps he should start some religious order or community to start working with these people, to bring them the truth of the Catholic religion. She complained that—at that time in history—no religious communities seem to be devoted to that work. Perhaps with tongue in cheek the Pope asked her: “Then why don’t you start one?”

Sisters of Blessed Sacrament: The short version of the story is that Katherine Drexel returned home and made plans for herself to become a religious sister and to found a community of sisters whose work would be with Indians and “colored,” mainly in the United States. In a movie of her life, I was especially impressed by this incident. The thought or idea which occurred to her was that the best way to help these people would be by giving them the opportunity to get an education—and, of course, learn about the Catholic faith in the process.

Establishment: She managed to do this (I believe it was in 1891) and her community grew and flourished until the onslaught which followed the Second Vatican Council. At one time, there were over 600 sisters serving in 64 schools, and even a college or university. Unfortunately they—like so many others—were affected by what I will call “the Vatican II bug.” I hear that now there are only about 45 sisters left, and most of them are over eighty.

Reason for topic: I bring up this topic because of today’s Gospel, which tells us we must love our fellow man and do what we can for him, both spiritually and materially. Saint Katherine Drexel knew that the best way the people would be genuinely and permanently helped would be by receiving a good education; and she used her millions of inheritance to help bring this about. I always considered myself privileged for being able to serve as Pastor at one of the places in Houck, Arizona, where she built a church and grade school. I knew that this (now canonized) religious had visited this mission and attended Mass there when she was visiting her Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

Today’s Gospel: Today’s Gospel speaks of: Genuine love of God and neighbor. Soup kitchens and homeless shelters may be necessary for temporary needs and measures, but they are not the solution for genuine help. And if they only enable one to continue in their needy plight, they may in the long run end up doing more harm than good.

Conclusion: And then when political motives get involved in these issues, it just makes things all the worse. In the meanwhile, the people needing genuine help are still left out in the cold. I know in preaching I have to be careful not to become “political”—but I do think I should warn you (or make you aware) that not everything come from some Catholic pulpits is necessarily genuinely Catholic or true Catholic social teaching. I think our Saint Katherine Drexel gives us good advice and example. Even though her community may not seem to have been long in this world, the results and effects of her foresight will last a long time.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Valentine Young SERMON Last Updated: September 4, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “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
    (Part 2) • Did they simplify this hymn?
    Choirs love to sing the resplendent tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1929, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. Their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Father Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1929 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. As always, the Germans added an organ INTRODUCTION. For the record, I posted a different harmonization a few months ago which was downloaded more than 2,000 times.
    —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

“The council did not say Latin should be abolished. It said Latin should be used. […] While at Ecclesia Dei, I once received a letter from a chancery office in the United States, asking me if I didn’t know that the council had abolished Latin!”

— Cardinal Mayer, Prefect (1985–1988) of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship

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