Our Lady of Grace

Worship and Music Ministry

Mr. Terence Purtell Principal Organist and Choirmaster

Music in Catholic Worship

 The Assembly that sings prays twice!  by Diane Vella, Director of Worship

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and sacred songs;

         sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts!

                                                 Ephesians 5:19

 With these words, Saint Paul encourages the first Christians to lift up their voices in praise of the Living God!  Singing has been a part of Christian Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations since the earliest days.  Accounts of Eucharistic celebrations from the early centuries speak of all those gathered chanting psalms and prayers.   St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day we celebrated earlier this month, noted to his followers, “Those who sing pray twice!”

 For many reasons, singing – especially congregational singing – never caught on in the Roman Catholic Church in the United States as it was established in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  Many of us who grew up in the Church prior to the mid-1960’s may or may not remember choirs in our churches, but usually didn’t experience congregational singing.  As a result, some of us don’t feel comfortable singing in church, or perhaps even feel that singing doesn’t belong in church, or that it’s something extra just added on to the Mass but not really important.

 The primary goal of the renewal of the liturgy that came with the Second Vatican Council was to foster “full, conscious and active participation” by all of the people at Mass.  The bishops of the world who met at the council felt that too many people were passively “attending” or “hearing” or “observing” Mass, but not fully and actively participating in it or doing it as the first Christians had.  One of the ways that the council sought to stimulate greater participation was to encourage congregations to sing both some of the prayers and acclamations of the Mass (like the Gloria and the Holy Holy Holy) and to sing hymns at Mass (like the gathering and sending hymns at the beginning and end of Mass.)

 Today, many parishes are again establishing choirs, whose primary responsibility is to support and augment the congregation’s singing, but also to provide musical prayers and meditations that are beyond the ability of the assembly (more on choirs at a later date!).  However, the primary “music ministers” in any assembly are really the people in the pews themselves.  (Any of us who have ever gone to Eucharist at a Protestant Church have seen how this can work – and they do it without a song leader!)  This is an understanding and a practice that we Roman Catholics are just beginning to grasp.

 Throughout this fall season, we will be printing weekly reflections in the bulletin on the place of music in Catholic worship, and the role of the assembly and the music ministers.  Hopefully, they will give us all food for thought as we consider our own participation in our community’s worship!

 Do you have a particular interest in sung prayer??

Consider joining one of our choirs!!!

Adult Choir (teens welcome!)

 Rehearsals Thurs. at 7:30, sing at 12:00 Sunday. Contact Terence Purtell at 587-5185 x 219

Youth Choir (teens)

Rehearsals Wed. at 7:30, sing at 5:30 Sunday.  Contact Patti & Steve Anderson at 587-0111.

Children’s Choir (grades 3-8)

 Rehearsals Thurs. at 6:30, sing at 10:30 Sunday.  Contact Terence Purtell.