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Views from the Choir Loft

“Homily for the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany” (EF) • Father Valentine Young, OFM

Jeff Ostrowski · January 13, 2021

The following is by Father Valentine Young, OFM, a faithful Catholic priest who died on 17 January 2020. It was delivered sometime between 2013 and 2020. To learn more about Father Valentine, please scroll to the bottom of the page.

*  PDF Download • READINGS IN ENGLISH
—Taken from the Saint Edmund Campion Missal [LINK].

ACK in 1981, I observed my 25th anniversary as a priest. At the time, I was stationed at a Navaho Mission in Kayenta, AZ. My younger sister offered to take care of all the arrangements for me to celebrate the occasion at my home parish, Sacred Heart Church in Bellevue, KY. She reserved the school hall for the reception after Mass and did all the work in getting the invitations and other preparations done, including the food, etc.

Today’s Gospel: But for her, it somewhat turned out like today’s Gospel—because a lot more people showed up that she ever expected. She was afraid they were going to run out of food. (I didn’t know anything about this at the time.) She only told me later how she prayed to the Blessed Mother all during the reception that they would not run out. As far as I know, they didn’t run out and it turned out to be a glorious event. The Blessed Mother made sure there was enough food.

Mary and our needs: As we are beginning this New Year it might be good for us to remind ourselves of what an ADVOCATE, or what a ‘provider’ we have in Mary. I might ask you, “When is the last time that you prayed the Memorare?” Do the younger people even know what I am talking about? I’m referring to this prayer:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

Learning from Mary: I think it goes without saying that the problems we face today are a lot more serious than not having enough wine for a wedding feast or enough food for a silver jubilee celebration. To me, it is almost ironic that on the one hand our country is enjoying great material prosperity in many respects: Many people have never had it so good. On the other hand, we are living with perhaps one of the biggest political “messes” we have ever experienced. I hesitated to use that word (mess) to describe our political situation, but my limited vocabulary doesn’t enable me to think of any other word to describe the current political situation. If anyone has a more polite word to describe this, please let me know.

Mary is still with us: And yet I feel Mary is still with us, provided we do what she told the CHIEF STEWARD to do. She told him to do whatever Jesus told him to do. And that is what she is telling us. And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know what that is: It’s right in front of you. It is doing the next right thing that God puts in front of you to do. It is doing that next right extra thing that God may be inspiring you to do, like that extra Mass during the week, that extra Holy Hour, that extra rosary, that extra fasting and/or act of penance.

Conclusion: I may not like or even agree with the idea of people wanting to enter our country in an illegal way. And yet I have to feel sorry for them for having to live in circumstances which seem to be forcing them to be doing this. And one question I cannot answer is: why have I been so blessed and spared such hardships? I didn’t do anything to deserve it. I do think God is expecting something ‘extra’ from those of us so blessed. Ask Mary to inspire you as to what you can do to show your gratitude and maybe also be able to help others in the process. +

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Valentine Young SERMON, Wedding Feast Cana Last Updated: January 21, 2021

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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

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

It should be borne in mind that there is no preference expressed in the liturgical legislation for either “versus populum” or “ad orientem.” Since both positions enjoy the favor of law, the legislation may not be invoked to say that one position or the other accords more closely with the mind of the Church.

— ‘Congregation for Divine Worship (Vatican City), 10 April 2000’

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  • Available! • Free Rehearsal Videos for Agnus Dei “Mille Regretz” after Gombert (d. 1560)

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