Views from the Choir Loft

Father Friel • Article Archive

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served for five years 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 in Washington D.C.—Read full biography.

Fr. David Friel · November 18, 2012

Will All Men Be Saved?

Hope vs. Certainty

Fr. David Friel · November 16, 2012

First Century Progressives

Really?

Fr. David Friel · November 4, 2012

Right Priorities

Public & Private

Fr. David Friel · November 1, 2012

Mozart’s Sacred Music

Extra Ecclesiam

Fr. David Friel · October 28, 2012

My Soul Proclaims

Out of the Depths

Fr. David Friel · October 19, 2012

The Year of Faith

Top 10 Ways to Celebrate

Fr. David Friel · September 28, 2012

Faith Is Obnoxious

Life as the Just One

Fr. David Friel · September 21, 2012

Source of Excitement

Weddings vs. Receptions

Fr. David Friel · September 14, 2012

Ephphetha

Beyond the Physical

Fr. David Friel · September 4, 2012

Arbeit Macht Frei

Or, Ora et Labora?

Fr. David Friel · September 2, 2012

The Meaning of Marriage

‘Til Death Do Us Part

Fr. David Friel · August 22, 2012

Eating from Above

Lessons from Freshman Biology Class

Fr. David Friel · August 15, 2012

The Flesh

In Heaven?

Fr. David Friel · August 6, 2012

A Mini-Retreat

John 6 over 5 Weeks

Fr. David Friel · July 28, 2012

Gratitude for Gifts

A Double Remembrance

Fr. David Friel · July 23, 2012

Carmel

The Vineyard of God

Fr. David Friel · July 7, 2012

Freedom

The Fruit of Sacrifice

Fr. David Friel · July 3, 2012

Mother of God

Really?

Fr. David Friel · June 22, 2012

Fatherhood

Gift & Mystery

Fr. David Friel · June 5, 2012

It’s Personal

The Blessed Trinity

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski

15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski

15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski