Lift every voice and sing: A sacred atmosphere

The National Association of Pastoral Musicians, which supports the training of music ministers, instrumentalists and choir members at Catholic churches across the country, held its annual conference in New Orleans last week. How important is good music to the worthy celebration of the Eucharist?

Music helps create a sacred atmosphere and uses our senses to call us in a joyful way to lift our minds and hearts to God. Music helps us create community. Liturgy is not private prayer; it is community prayer. Having the convention in New Orleans gave us an opportunity to thank all the musicians in our various parishes, as well as the choir members and cantors who generously give of themselves to lead us in song and inspire us to pray and open ourselves up to the spirit of God.

What’s the tradition of music in the liturgy?

As we know, singing in liturgy is nothing new. The Israelites certainly sang psalms in Old Testament times; and, in New Testament times, song was very much a part of the Jewish community and the early Christian community. It’s interesting that many of the hymns we use today date back hundreds of years.

In your ministry throughout the archdiocese, you’ve probably heard a variety of choirs and musical styles.

In many parishes, there is good music. What’s interesting about the conference is that it opens up the opportunity to encourage musicians and choirs to have a balance between music that has been used for generations and some of the more recent music. It’s always advantageous in a parish to have Masses that have a variety of modes of music. It’s possible to have, within a given parish, more traditional music, youth music, Gospel music or African-American music or any kind of ethnic music. The ethnicities that we are blessed with in the archdiocese – the Hispanic community, the African-American community, the Vietnamese community, the Korean community, the Filipino community – all bring their own unique expressions of music, which I find very beautiful.

In traveling around the archdiocese, what is your sense of music ministry from parish to parish?

It’s evident that many parishes take music ministry seriously and that they are in touch with the needs of the people and how to make music in the liturgy something that people can truly participate in. Liturgical music is not supposed to be a concert. That’s not to say that you can’t have some solo pieces, but music is intended to increase participation among the people of God, not to separate people. Even for people like me who don’t sing well, it’s important that we invite all people to do their best in singing. Some of our priests and deacons sing very well. That’s not my gift, and I know that, but that’s OK. The experience of sacred traditional hymns and more contemporary church music is something I cherish, and it does lead me and all within the church to a deeper appreciation for all that God has done for us. I am grateful to Betty-Ann Hickey and several others who planned the conference. They were most effective and provided a great experience for several hundred participants.

Questions for Archbishop Aymond may be sent to [email protected].