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Music
in the Liturgy: Let All God’s People Sing! Singing is a powerful way of uniting a group of individuals into a single
body. The singing of the national anthem at a sports event, for example,
can unite thousands of strangers in a stadium into a single body, standing
together in a common gesture of respect and honor. Similarly, communal
singing during the Mass has a way of gathering the many individuals
present and making them into a visible expression of what our faith
proclaims: that we are one body, united in Christ, offering a single
prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God. The Importance of Singing The General Instruction of the Roman Missal recalls the old
proverb, ”One who sings prays twice.” This reminds us that our music
and singing at worship is not entertainment or background music for our
prayer. Our singing is our prayer. Putting our prayer into
music not only helps to unite us in the prayer we make, it also gives a
unique expression to our prayer that words alone cannot achieve. Consider,
for example, the Alleluia we sing before hearing the Gospel. Our Alleluia
is an expression of praise to the Lord who is present to us in the
proclamation and hearing of the Gospel. Merely saying this acclamation of
praise does not easily convey the joy and strength of our prayer at that
point. The Gloria that we sing in the introductory rites of the Mass is
another example of a hymn of praise— made to be sung, not recited. Music is so important to our liturgical prayer that
the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says very
strongly, “every care must be taken that singing by the ministers and
the people is not absent in celebrations that occur on Sundays and holy
days of obligation.” (n. 40) We are heirs to a rich repertoire of chant,
polyphony, sacred music, and hymns that goes back to the earliest times.
And since the Second Vatican Council, when the use of the vernacular was
introduced into the liturgy, composers have continually been creating new
music for use in worship as well. Our experience of the liturgy has been
enriched by a variety of musical styles, and the contributions of diverse
cultures have been a wonderful gift. Who
Should Sing? All who participate in the liturgy are expected to
sing. No doubt there are some Catholics who feel that they don’t have a
beautiful singing voice. Others may feel uncomfortable singing together.
But the voices we have are gifts from God. God does not hold auditions for
prayer; God simply asks us to use the voice he’s given us. When everyone
sings, we can truly feel the power of the liturgy encircling the assembly.
We owe it to ourselves and to one another to participate as fully as we
can to make our experience of worship as rich as it can be. To help our sung prayer, there are cantors and
choirs who lead us. Their role is not to take our part away, but
to support our singing. The choir or cantor can
provide embellishment to what the congregation is singing. At times, the
choir may offer music that fosters a more meditative mood, enriching our
prayer. The ideal cantor and choir never dominate the liturgy or become a
focus themselves, What
Should We Sing? The Church has a preference for singing
those parts of the Mass that are more important. Besides the prayers that
are proper to the priest, the most commonly sung parts of the Mass are the
Gloria, the Responsorial Psalm, the Gospel Acclamation, The music is carefully chosen with respect to the
liturgy of the day and the place in the liturgy where it is used.
Sometimes worshipers wonder why we have to sing all the verses of a hymn.
But when we consider the many purposes of singing, we understand. The
opening hymn, for example, does not simply give the congregation something
to do while the ministers make their way to the front of the church. One
of its primary purposes is to help gather and unite the many individuals
into one body as we prepare to celebrate the Eucharist. Also, the verses
of the hymn all fit together as one composition. The meaning and message
of a hymn might be lost if we omit verses. In any case, our hymn singing
is our sung prayer. Pastoral
Considerations Every parish needs to consider the role and place
of music and singing in the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. Trained
music ministers are all the more important because the Church does not want to lose her heritage of Gregorian
chant and sacred polyphony. The General Instruction, like the
documents of the Second Vatican Council, urges that all Catholics be able
to chant the commonly sung parts of the Mass in Latin. The General Instruction gives clear and
sound direction about the part that music must play in our weekly
celebration of the Eucharist. In a poetic way, the instruction notes that
the intense union between God and the Church in the celebration of the
Eucharist can be described as a union between lovers whose nature is best
expressed in song (n. 39). As we gather to hear God’s Word, to eat the
Bread of Life and drink from the Cup of Salvation, our prayer must reflect
the joy and depth of this profound mystery of faith. In doing so, we can
follow the instruction of Saint Paul, who told the Church to “sing
together psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” (Colossians 3:16) as we
wait for the coming in glory of the one whose death we proclaim. Opening
song (n. 48) Kyrie
(n. 52) Gloria
(n. 53) Responsorial
Psalm (n. 61) Gospel
Acclamation (n. 62) Song
at the preparation of gifts (n. 74) Sanctus,
Memorial Acclamation, and Great Amen (nn. 79, 151) The
Lord’s Prayer (n. 81) Lamb
of God (n. 83) Song
to accompany the communion procession (n. 86) Optional
psalm, canticle of praise, or hymn after communion (n. 88) |