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Views from the Choir Loft

Ministry vs. Edification

Fr. David Friel · January 5, 2014

HERE IS A COMMON turn of phrase that I have often heard from brother priests. It’s a sort of heart-warming sentiment that sounds very pious and inviting at first. I find myself, however, wholeheartedly disagreeing with it.

This is roughly how the saying goes. The priest will say, “Many times during my priesthood, I have gone to visit people in their homes and in hospitals and in hospice centers. I may have thought that I was going there to minister to them. But, during the course of the visit, I discovered that it was really they who were ministering to me.”

I am neither a curmudgeon nor a clericalist. I recognize and have experienced the very thing these priests are trying to express. More often than I could ever recount, I have been inspired by the faith of the homebound; the perseverance in hope of the sick & dying; the honesty & humility of penitents; the trusting vulnerability of the addicted; the genuine gratitude & remarkable generosity of the poor; and so many other examples of courageous Christian witness.

Yet I still take issue with this particular phrasing. There is, after all, no such thing as “lay ministry”; the laity may engage in a particular apostolate, but the word “ministry” specifically refers to the evangelical work of a deacon, priest, or bishop. “Ministry,” without a doubt, has become one of the most misused and abused words in ecclesiastical vocabulary. Liturgical musicians, for example, often refer to “music ministry,” when it would be better to refer to the apostolate (or the work) of sacred music.

There is no contesting the fact that priests need not only to be ministers, but also to be the recipients of ministry. But this ministry can only come from another sacred minister. So many things in recent times (especially in the liturgical realm) have confused and blurred and obscured the authentic, Catholic notion of ministry. One thing that strongly supports the real meaning of the term, however, is the corrected translation of Et cum spiritu tuo in the Third Edition of the Roman Missal.

The USCCB website acknowledges that the response “And with your spirit” is addressed only to an ordained minister because “spiritu refers to the gift of the spirit he received at ordination.” The same web page explains further:

The dialogue is only used between the priest and the people, or exceptionally, between the deacon and the people. The greeting is never used in the Roman Liturgy between a non-ordained person and the gathered assembly.

That ordained ministers have received a unique configuration to Christ is not a novel interpretation of sacramental theology. The reservation of this classic Roman dialogue for use between priests & people supports this understanding. Notably, a layperson leading a Communion service does not use this dialogue. Why? Because he or she does not possess the gift of the Spirit specific to sacred ministers. “There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4).

Every priest will acknowledge that he is constantly inspired in many & various ways by the laity, but it would be inaccurate to describe this as ministry. Lest I be accused of lodging a complaint without proffering a solution, let me propose a better way of expressing what so many priests want to express. Would it not be better to say that priests can be “edified” by their people, rather than “ministered to” by them? “Edify one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:11; Romans 14:19).

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Roman Missal Third Edition, The Old ICEL Translation of the Mass, USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(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

If they protest and want, for example, to retain at least the familiar chants of the ordinary Mass in Latin, they are told that their protest is worthless. They are not “trained.” There is no reason to take account of what they say!

— Father Louis Bouyer (1968)

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