Parish Music

Music in the Liturgy

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Along with silence, the new edition of the General Instruction places special emphasis on the important role of singing
in the liturgy. This applies to the Sunday Eucharist, special celebrations and also to the weekday celebrations.
This article will look at the role of music in the Eucharist in the light of the GIRM and recent documents.

Can you image a birthday party without all singing "Happy Birthday?"
The ritual involves the person, the cake and the singing. These are important elements for any celebration, and it would be
impossible to celebrate without the people, the ritual and the cake. The same may be said about the celebration of the
Eucharist. The Eucharist needs the same ritual elements as a birthday celebration: a group of people who come together
for a purpose, a central person of Christ and event of our salvation and the ritual that surrounds the symbols of the
lectionary, the bread and the wine. Singing is an integral part of most rituals. It is the glue that binds the people,
that express love and joy and that brings the purpose of the ritual to the forefront. Without it there can be no true
sense of celebration and joy.

Singing plays an important part in ritual of the Church. It unites all present in a single act of worship; it expresses our faith
and love for God from the heart. Music also creates an environment of prayer and meditation; it moves and inspires us.
The songs and refrains express our response to a loving Creator who sustains us in love, and it opens our heart to
the presence of Jesus in our midst. As Father Lucien Deiss, noted liturgist and musician, writes, "In truth, music, like all
created beauty, is a path to God. It is not a dwelling place to remain forever. Like all creation, it is simply a loan of God's
love on the road to heaven."

Singing creates an environment of faith among those gathered. Besides the important role of expressing our faith in and
love for God, it also unifies the people who have gathered and strengthens them in faith. The Second Vatican Council
put it this way: "[Christ] is present... when the Church prays and sings, for he promised: 'Where two or three are gathered
in my name, I am there among them' (Mt 18.20)." That is why Vatican II insisted, "that all the faithful be led to that full,
conscious and active participation in the liturgical celebrations" (Liturgy Constitution, 14). In fact it called this "the aim to be
considered before all else" in its renewal of the liturgy, "for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful
are to derive the true Christian spirit...." When we sing we are sharing with others our joy and faith. When all sing there is
an enthusiasm and joy that spreads to all and builds up the body of Christ (see Acts 2.46). Singing expresses our self-givingand willingness to give our lives to others as Jesus did. When we are willing to give and share our life with others, we experience the paradox of the paschal mystery: those willing to give shall receive (see Matthew 16.25).
This openness that begins in our heart and is made visible in our singing, opens us to the presence of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit among us.

Great importance should be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of Mass. Although it is not always necessary to
sing all the texts that are of themselves meant to be sung (e.g., in weekday Masses), every care should be taken that singing
by the ministers and the people is not absent in celebrations that occur on Sundays and holy days of obligation.

Music is important even in weekday Masses, although it is not expected that there would be as much singing as on Sunday.
When we understand Christ's presence among us, we can never look upon the Eucharist as something that we watch.
The Eucharist is an exercise of our baptismal priesthood. We have gathered to praise God and pray for the salvation of all
people. We understand why even the shy and the unmusical are called to give everything within them in making the songs,
acclamations, and responses of the Mass their own. We understand that liturgical ministries are not present for their
own sake or to entertain or even to create a prayerful environment, but always to aid and advance the participation of the
assembly.

Music has a practical purpose as well. Hymns and acclamations accompany processions or ritual actions and enhance their
meaning. The entrance, gospel, preparation, and communion hymns accompany the various processions that are part of
liturgy: the entrance of the ministers, the procession of the gospel book, the presentation of gifts, the procession to
communion. Music is functional, but we would loose our appreciation for singing if we saw it only as cover music.
The hymns express our involvement in what is happening, and open for us the meaning of what is happening.
In other words, the text of the hymn or song gives meaning to the event or act. It is for this reason that the works
of the hymn must be suitable to the liturgical action. This is especially important for the communion hymn.

Singing surrounds the more important parts of the Eucharist: our response to the word of God and our action of giving
thanks in the Eucharistic Prayer. Thus guidelines emphasize singing those parts which express and affirm our faith in
God's word and activity in the assembly. These are the primary sung elements of the Eucharist.

Acclamations are shouts of joy and praise from the whole assembly that express our forceful and meaningful assent to
God's Word and Action. They are important because they make some of the most significant moments of the Mass
stand out ..(Music in the Liturgy, no. 53). These are the gospel acclamation, the "Holy, holy," the memorial acclamation
[Christ has died ...] and the great "Amen." These should be sung even if nothing else is.

Processional Chants:
These are the entrance and communion hymns. The purpose of these songs is to form community, to
"intensify the unity of the gathered people, lead their thoughts to the mystery..." that is being celebrated (GIRM, 47).
The entrance song is the first corporate act of the assembly and is usually a hymn of praise. The communion song also
fosters unity by helping all to reflect on the meaning of Communion. Not only are we in union with Christ but with the whole
Body of Christ, represented by those around us with whom we journey. During the communion procession, songs with
refrains assist the active participation of the assembly since, ideally, they should not have to carry hymnbooks to
Communion.

Responsorial Psalm:
The psalm is the congregation's response to the word of God in the first reading. As such, the refrain is not the response to the psalm, but the response to the preceding reading. The psalm as a whole assists reflection on the
preceding reading. The psalm also helps us see that the liturgy of the word is a dialogue between God and the assembly.

Other hymns may be sung during the Mass. Certainly there should be music, choral or instrumental, to accompany the
presentation of gifts and the exiting of the ministers. These do not properly belong to the assembly and may be sung by the
choir or cantor. At times instrumental music may be desirable. The people should also sing the "Glory to God".