Views from the Choir Loft

Lecture: What Happens to Us in Liturgy?

Fr. David Friel · September 24, 2020

LTHOUGH its annual, weekend conference has been curtailed this year due to COVID-19, the Society for Catholic Liturgy (SCL) is offering a series of virtual lectures in its place. The first conference is scheduled for this Saturday.

Dr. David Fagerberg, professor of liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame, will present a lecture entitled What Happens to Us in Liturgy? beginning at 3 PM (EDT) on Saturday, September 26, 2020. His presentation will include a period of questions & answers and will conclude at 4:15 PM (EDT).

The conference will be conducted via Zoom and is open to all. Those interested in attending the Zoom conference should register through the SCL website.

Fagerberg is the author of several excellent books, including Theologia Prima: What Is Liturgical Theology?, On Liturgical Asceticism, Consecrating the World: On Mundane Liturgical Theology, and Liturgy outside Liturgy: The Liturgical Theology of Fr. Alexander Schmemann.

The remainder of the 2020-2021 SCL virtual lecture series has not yet been announced. Stay tuned for further information as it becomes available!

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

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

11 October 2021 • “Sing All Verses?”

Some claim Catholics deserve condemnation because (unlike Protestants) Catholics often omit verses when singing hymns at Mass. Is that true? The wonderful Sophia Institute Press—as part of a series on authentic sacred music—has provided an answer (PDF) to this question.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Where do Catholics find hymns?

The wonderful Sophia Institute Press has begun a “Q+A” section which tackles common liturgical questions, and here’s a sample: “At a conference I recently attended, the speaker said hymns don’t belong at Mass; was he telling the truth?” And you can read the answer. To access the complete set (which is a work in progress), scroll towards the bottom of this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

28 September 2021 • FEEDBACK

From a reader: “I have read the pages explaining the Blessed Sacrament in the Brébeuf hymnal and plan on continuing to contemplate them. Moreover, the Christ the King Hymn is beautifully sung on the recording you posted (to the Watershed blog), and I wish my church would sing these hymns instead of modern ones from Choral Praise. We receive a wonderful explication of the Eucharist through this hymn. I am always impressed at the simple yet beautiful melodies in the Brebeuf hymnal.”

—Jeff Ostrowski