Today at Mass, the music was wonderful! A band from another church came to play, and everyone really appreciated them for coming. It was great to hear the congregation singing along.
As a church organist and pianist, I may be somewhat bias, but I have to say that music is very important at church. Some people open the hymnal for every song and sing at the top of their lungs, but others don't even touch the hymnals in the pews and awkwardly twiddle their thumbs during the songs. Overall, I think some people forget why music is part of our Mass. It is not for entertainment or for musicians to show off. The music has much greater purpose than that. These are some reasons why Catholics sing at Mass:
1. Prayer. Singing christian music to God is prayer. You may often hear the phrase, "Singing is praying twice." Many people throughout the Bible sang their prayers to God. ("For this I will extol thee, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to thy name." -2 Samuel 22:50)
2. Unity. The Catholic church really promotes unity as a congregation. People come together at church every Sunday as a supportive community. We Catholics need each other to make it through this world......we are not meant to be alone. As a community, we pray together, and the easiest way to pray together is to sing. We have a beat to follow so we can all sing prayers to God as a group. Therefore, don't let the cantor be the only one singing........the congregation needs to do their part too.
3. Mood. Music sets the mood for the Mass. During Lent, you may hear more minor music, symbolizing that Lent is a difficult time. During big holidays like Christmas and Easter, you may hear more loud and fast music, symbolizing the joys of the season. Music is filled with emotion, so it has the power to influence people's feelings.
4. Mass theme. The music often helps indicate the theme of the readings. If the readings are about God being a light to the world, you may sing "I Am the Light of the World." If the readings are about blindness, you may sing "Open My Eyes." Most of the songs you sing at church are based off of Bible verses. The music helps you dig deeper into the meaning of the readings.
The music does not function as a concert where the organist/pianist/guitarist and the cantor/choir perform. In fact, part of the reason why many churches were built with choir lofts was so the musicians would not be seen.....only the music would be heard. The music is meant for the whole congregation to take part in.
Even if you don't like to sing, or are self conscience about your singing voice, open that hymnal at Mass and recite the words to the songs in your head. You can sing to God in your heart with the voices of the rest of the congregation.
...I am going to leave you with one of my favorite Bible verses...
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God." -Colossians 3:16
I have a cool story! The other day, I walked into the library. They had free bread samples, so of course I had to make a stop. After I ate the bread, I walked by a bookshelf and saw a book titled "Te Deum: The Church and Music." It caught my attention so I opened the book to the middle and read the first paragraph I saw......and it was a list of the reasons why we sing at church! Ah! The book basically gave the same reasons I did, and I really liked how it illustrated the "unity" idea. It said that people use music everywhere to unite a group. Like at a rally, people sing and chant together for a common cause. Cool.
ReplyDeleteEnd of story: I checked out the book....but now I can't find that page I read in the library. I guess I'll have to read the whole book to find it again :)
That is Awesome!! Go Holy Spirit!!! =)
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