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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

Mary is the Immaculate Conception … does that mean that God loves her more?

Corrinne May · December 15, 2022

WAS DRIVING DOWN the freeway for weekday Mass a couple of weeks ago, and I was pondering Mary’s IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, and marvelling at how God must have loved Mary so much as to choose her out of all His creatures, to be His Mother! I remember telling her, in my prayer right there and then, that she was so blessed to be so loved by God. I remember thinking that God probably loves her more than anyone else in all creation. But in that moment, it was as if I heard Our Lady chiding me gently, saying ‘Dear child, God loves you just as much! He doesn’t know how to love you any less than perfectly, for His Love is Perfect.’

Matthew 5:48 • I remember being very struck by that epiphany…God’s love is perfect! He doesn’t love anyone any less than perfectly. He can only love with perfect love because He is perfect! Then I recalled how in scripture, Jesus exhorts us to ‘be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ (Matthew 5:48) Wow…in my limited human understanding of love, for some reason, I felt as if God loved some people more than others. Little children after all, often ask their parents “Do you love me more than my brother?” or “Do you love me more than my sister?” or “Whom do you love the most?” I suppose it was as if I thought that God had a limited supply of love to give, and that if he loved the saints or Mother Mary or Saint Joseph that much, He couldn’t possibly have enough love left to give little old me.

“We see now through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then I shall know even as I am known.” (I Corinthians 13:12)

“As Through A Glass” • In my limited human understanding of love, it felt as if God must love the saints and Mary and Joseph more than me…after all, they were so holy, they lived lives of virtue, Mary was immaculately conceived and sinless and never did anything to displease Our Lord! Yet, I was looking at love from my limited human perspective and understanding. God’s love is Perfect! He doesn’t know how to love any less than perfectly… His love for Mary is perfect. His love for St. Joseph is perfect. His love for little old me is perfect! It’s as if we were all different vessels of various sizes—God’s love fills us to the brim no matter what shape or size we are!

Question Posed • So we are called to be perfect, to love as perfectly as He loves us. To love our neighbor as perfectly as He loves them. It seems like a tall order! And my human heart sometimes fails to grasp at how this is possible. Here again, God comes to the rescue. I remember that not too long ago, like a little child asking this of his parent, I posed this question to God. “God, how do I know, that out of all the billions of people in this world, that if I were the only person here, that you would STILL have chosen to die for me? To be crucified for me?” In other words, I was like that proverbial child, asking his or her parent, if I was worth all their sacrifice, if I was worth their love. If I was lovable enough. With that question posed to God, I went to bed, asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind if He so chose to do so.

Answer Received • The next morning, after I woke up, I had my answer! The answer is in the Eucharist! When we receive Him in the Eucharist, we believe that it is truly God in His entirety, His whole Divinity, His whole Humanity is present in that very host that we receive at Holy Communion. It is entirely Him! He gives His whole, entire SELF to us. And as He is received into our bodies, and the Eucharistic species dissolves within us, consumed by our bodies, He is in a very real way dying to give us life. So yes, I had my answer. The Lord loves me so much that He would indeed, die for me, if I were the only one present in all creation, because He does that every time whenever I receive Him in Holy Communion. As He gives Himself fully to me in that moment, I am His entire world. I am everything to Him in that moment!

Deeper Appreciation • Understanding this has made me appreciate the Eucharist so much more. It has given me new eyes in which to view His love for my neighbor and to marvel that even if I don’t know the person behind me in the communion line, God loves him or her so much, that He is giving His entire self to him or her, and dying for him or her, right there and then. That in itself is inspiration enough to look behind the veil, to view my neighbor, my friend, my spouse, my child through the eyes of a God who loves them so much that He gives Himself completely, with perfect love, to them, each and every time they receive Him in the Holy Eucharist.

What a generous, merciful and loving God we have. Deo gratias!

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Immaculate Conception Feast Last Updated: December 15, 2022

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About Corrinne May

Corrinne May is one of Singapore’s most celebrated singer-songwriters. She is also a wife and homeschooling mother.—(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

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

“Franz Liszt was an eminent keyboard virtuoso but a dangerous example for the young. … As a composer he was terrible.”

— Clara Schumann

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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