Office of Worship
Altar & Pews
By Rosalind Sanchez
Director, Office of Worship
July 27, 2007 - Song of Praise
July 13, 2007 - The Communion Song
May 11, 2007 - The Eucharistic Prayer: Become What You Pray
April 13, 2007 - The Paschal Cycle: Lent, Triduum Easter (Part I)
March 23, 2007 - Reflections on the Stations of the Cross
March 9, 2007 - The Transfiguration
February 23, 2007 - Lent
February 9, 2007 - Liturgy: Summit and Source
January 26, 2007 - Music ministry forms, rather than teaches
January 12, 2007 - Music ministry, Intensifying the symbolic
Originally published in the East Texas Catholic newspaper
July 27, 2007 - Song of Praise
Although it almost never occurs in a typical parish liturgy, the rubrics in the sacramentary and directives from other documents invite us to consider utilizing a communal song of praise after the silence that follows the sharing of Communion:
After communion, the priest and people may spend some time in silent prayer. If desired, a hymn, or psalm or other song of praise may be sung by the entire congregation.
The singing of the psalm or hymn of praise after communion is optional.... A congregational song may well provide a fitting expression of oneness in the Eucharistic Lord. Since no particular text is specified, there is ample room for creativity.
These directives DO NOT speak of the placement of a “meditation song” (an unfortunate practice that has become too prevalent), but a communal song of praise by the entire assembly, a response of thanks and gratitude to God for the gift of the Eucharist.
It truly can be a wonderful way to unite the assembly and serve as a solution to the problem of the closing recessional song, which far too often becomes an opportunity to leave early and is perceived as “traveling” music for the priest as he leaves the worship space.
More parishes are using the option of a Song of Praise, with the assembly standing and singing a joyous and strong hymn, immediately followed by the Prayer After Communion, the Final Blessing and Dismissal.
An adaptation of this practice is to sing a few stanzas of the hymn and then keep it going instrumentally, underpinning the prayer and final blessing.
After the dismissal, the music could crescendo, and the priest and ministers could exit with the remaining stanzas. There is much room for creativity here.
From The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer, by David Haas, quoted or paraphrased with permission.
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July 13, 2007 - The Communion Song
From The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer, by David Haas, quoted or paraphrased with permission.
The Communion Song
(Part 2 of 2)
In following the church’s teaching regarding the communion song, the first consideration is to follow the directives that instruct us to begin the song immediately after the “Lord, I am not worthy....”
In fact, the music can begin instrumentally beneath the priest’s invitation: “Behold the Lamb of God....” The sooner the communion song begins, the more opportunities for success. If the music ministers receive communion first and wait to begin the song after they are all back in place, then the silence or instrumental music during the first few communicants’ (or more) reception will only encourage passivity and private piety. Begin the song as soon as possible.
Also, choose one communion song only. Do not fill up the time with two or more pieces, (or with a completely new song by the instruments only) which would only communicate the role of music as “filler.”
Find ways to extend the communion song through singing additional verses, or adding instrumental verses and interludes. (There is nothing wrong with repeating). The song should “cover” the entire action of the communion sharing: – one song – one message – one thought.
The type of song chosen is helpful in this regard. First, the text of the song should reflect what is happening. The message is not devotion but common sharing. Texts that speak to banquet and meal are the most appropriate and should be chosen above other texts. Second choose songs that are not strophic-through composed, such as hymns. Find pieces that utilize a refrain accessible for the assembly that can be sung by heart, with the verses initially sung by the cantor or choir.
The role of the assembly during the sharing of Communion is in deep need of reform, and the choice of music and deportment of musicians have great influence in helping us mature in our understanding of true Communion.
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May 11, 2007 - The Eucharistic Prayer: Become What You Pray
The Eucharistic Prayer: Become What You Pray, is the topic for the keynote address that Father. Ed Foley will deliver at the Diocesan Liturgical Conference, May 31- June 2 at St. Jude Thaddeus Parish Family Life Center.
In this article and in the next is an explanation of the Eucharistic Prayer and its acclamations, taken from The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer, by David Haas and used with permission.
The origin of the Eucharistic Prayer, a prayer of blessing, is the Jewish berakah. As Christianity grew, this prayer was adapted into many forms and styles, finally taking the present structure of the Eucharistic Prayer that we have today.
The inner voice of the prayer is thanksgiving and praise: remembering God’s saving action throughout history, in the present and in the kingdom that is to come. The prayer is truly a summary of life rooted in Jesus Christ.
Prior to Vatican II, there was for many generations only one approved form of the prayer. Now there are several prayers appearing in the Sacramentary.
The renewal of the council has helped us to remember that the prayer is not a solitary exercise of the presiding priest, but rather, the prayer of the entire gathered community:
The eucharistic prayer, a prayer of thanksgiving and sanctification, is the center and high point of the entire celebration. In an introductory dialogue the priest invites the people to lift their hearts to God in prayer and thanks; he unites them with himself in the prayer he addresses in their name to the Father through Jesus Christ. The meaning of the prayer is that the whole congregation joins Christ in acknowledging the works of God and in offering the sacrifice [The General Instruction on the Roman Missal, n. 54]. [end, part 1]
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April 13, 2007 - The Paschal Cycle: Lent, Triduum Easter (Part I)
From The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer by David Hass. Used with permission.
In our Catholic Christian faith, in our liturgical life, in our mission in faith, the primacy of Easter is foundational, as is every Sunday. Originally, Easter was called Pasch, from the Greek word for Passover. This linkage of Passover to the Sunday Eucharistic gathering comes from the events that surrounded Jesus at that last meal of his earthly ministry, including his farewell, incarceration, crucifixion and death, and his resurrection, ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. This is only one of many Jewish festivals that became "christianized."
Here the "new Passover" extends beyond the dramatic story of the Red Sea, but transforms into an all-night sharing of stories and songs of God's liberation, centering on the Paschal Mystery of Jesus (betrayal, crucifixion, death and resurrection). This celebration always concluded with an early morning sharing of bread and wine. As the Jewish calendar became less of a focus for the early Gentile Christians, Sunday then became the regular day of celebration. It is in the context of these early celebrations of Easter that baptism became a focus of the season.
This vision is given to us in the New Testament, and proclaimed at the Easter Vigil in Paul's Letter to the Romans, 6:3-11). Paul's letter clearly states his understanding of baptism as a dying with Christ, joined by the promise of rising again and is an important link. This connection with Christian initiation and the passion and resurrection of Jesus has remained to this day. It gives clear focus to the Easter Vigil celebration and the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation celebrated by those participating in the RCIA process.
Baptism truly is a celebration of moving through death to life, ending one way of life and embracing a new path.
The newly baptized at the Easter Vigil become part of the faith community not through learning new formulas or improving their moral life; they do so by dying as slaves to sin and choosing to be reborn into new freedom through the water of baptism.
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March 23, 2007 - Reflections on the Stations of the Cross
To walk the Way of the Cross is to walk with Jesus. And Jesus still walks among us, meeting the poor, the blind, the sick, those who grieve, the hopeless.
As he walks with us, he listens with mercy, gentleness, respect.
How am I poor? What is my own poverty, my inner brokenness, my fatigue, my powerlessness, my mortality?
How am I blind? What, whom do I choose not to see in my family, in my co-workers, in my parish family? What do I refuse to see within myself that needs the healing word and touch of Jesus?
How am I sick? What are my physical ailments that overtake me sometimes to the point of despair? What are my emotional ailments that cripple my ability to live? What are my spiritual illnesses that cause me to be incomplete because I have drawn away from my relationship with Jesus?
Why do I grieve? Is it for the pain caused by my husband, my wife, my children? Is it for something said to me in anger? Is it for what I don’t have, can’t have?
Why am I hopeless? Is it because I have not reached out to those who love me, who wish to reconcile with me, to Jesus whose hand is always open and reaching for me?
As I walk the journey with Jesus toward his cross, I discover all those who are also walking with Jesus and with me. Together we discover that, because of each other, we can make the journey at all.
As we live together in resurrection faith, our shared burdens become light and we find rest in the heart of Jesus, the gentle and humble heart of Jesus, the heart that belongs for all eternity to God.
This is our faith, out baptismal call, our celebration of Lent.
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March 9, 2007 - The Transfiguration
"God says, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!'
Then Jesus was found alone. And they fell silent.'
What a great opportunity for an experience of silence in liturgy the Second Sunday of Lent, and in church and in daily life throughout Lent. This Gospel of Luke offers us a glimpse of the value of silence in Lent, of less in the way of words and music.
Silence after a homily offers the assembled faithful a chance to reflect on the Lenten Gospel words that are so unlike the words we hear throughout our Liturgical Year.
Silence creates space. The space that silence creates can be filled with Christ, and his words to us and for us in the depth of our hearts and souls.
Silence can create peace and serenity, a peace that allows us to be open to Christ's calling. The challenge for us individually, and for those celebrating and preparing Mass — musicians, ushers, those who prepare the environment, the assembly — is to allow time and space for silence, to discipline ourselves to permit silence.
The Church is in the desert of Lent, preparing to hear God's word and its meaning for us.
Our daily routine is changed. So should our celebration of Mass be changed. Less clutter, less distraction from the God who calls us back to him this Lent. More quiet, more silence. "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
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February 23, 2007 - Lent
Our desert experience. The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert before they were able to enter into the land of milk and honey. What happened to them during that time? They were transformed from being a people into becoming God's people. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his public ministry. What did he do during this time? He practiced self-denial.
What will our own desert experience be? It will depend in great part on our observance of Lent within our parish community.
Notice how the environment in church differs from the Ordinary Time we have just celebrated. We step from freshness and greenness of environment into the dryness and bareness of the Lenten environment.
We sing no Gloria. We sing no Alleluia. We are aware of less — less musical accompaniment, less extra singing.
Like the Israelites this can be for us a time for transformation — through the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, through a turning away from sin and a turning toward God, through a clearing of our cluttered minds and lives into a solemn time of reflection on our lives, through an earnest hearing of the word of God through the mouth of our lectors, through a deliberate singing of the psalms that call out to the God for whom our souls crave.
Because God loves us, he leads us into the desert. Let this be a time to prepare and to celebrate our Lenten liturgies, and come to the Easter sacraments a transformed and joyous people.
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February 9, 2007 - Liturgy: Summit and Source
The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (SC) affirms that liturgy is both the summit and the source of all the church's activities.
We find so much evidence of this when we look further into the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, beginning with the nature of the liturgy. Article 7 tells us Christ is always present in His Church, especially in its liturgical celebrations and most especially under the eucharistic elements.
Liturgy is an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. In the liturgy, full, conscious and active participation are performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the head and His members.
Therefore, because it is an action of Christ, the priest and of his body, which is the church, the liturgical celebration is a sacred action, surpassing all others.
In liturgical celebrations the glorification of God and the salvation of souls both take place.
SC describes the eucharist as "a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is received, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us [SC47] — a reaffirmation of the centrality of the eucharist in our life and that of the church. No other action of the church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree [SC7].
We know that Christ is present in all the sacraments and in all ecclesiastical ministries, and these are all bound up with the Eucharist and directed towards it. Thus we can say that the eucharist is the summit and source of all the church's activities.
And the reason must be in the special presence of Christ in the eucharistic species, understood together with the presence of Christ in the minister, the word, the assembly. A privilege, a gift, a grace — ours in the liturgy.
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January 26, 2007 - Music ministry forms, rather than teaches
Certainly we can learn from sung prayer, but true music ministry forms and nurtures the whole person in every aspect of our lives.
Music evangelizes because the liturgy is a proclamation of God's vision; music announces and celebrates this vision.
It catechizes through its message and way of speaking the message in music. It intensifies our theology and belief within the core of our entire selves.
Did you ever think of music in liturgy in this way? Most of us take it for granted that there will be singing at Mass.
We may give no thought to what we are singing. It may not touch us in the least. Or we may wonder why a particular hymn was used, what it had to do with the liturgy.
Perhaps this is because the music used in liturgy has no connection with the focus of the liturgy or the Scripture within the liturgy. But what we may not realize or experience is that music, well chosen, brings out the meaning of Scripture and goes beyond simply hearing and singing.
Music that intensifies the Scripture is ministerial, and as such helps to form us in subtle ways. This music becomes prayer for us, is not taken for granted, is felt deep within whether we sing or listen, and is deeply appreciated by our entire being.
Quality worship music should take us over, as we attempt to express our faith and beliefs.
In communal ritual, music builds up the Body of Christ, because when the Christian assembly together sings both their praise and lament, they bond themselves to one another, and thus are strengthened and empowered to go forth and live the gospel call.
All ministry is to empower and nurture conversion, change, transformation, whether it be an initial conversion or turning point, or the ongoing conversion. Our hope is all we have, and music ministry and liturgical prayer are always about proclaiming the promise that awaits us on the other side.
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January 12, 2007 - Music ministry, Intensifying the symbolic
Symbols are signs, actions, and gestures that attempt to express what we believe. They help to foster and nurture the very center of what we believe.
The liturgy, by its very essence, is symbolic, with particular symbols that strive to name that which is unnamable. Words and art forms cannot contain or confine God, but they can be ways of touching without totally grasping.
Israel touched the face of God, found help for discerning a way, moved toward the reign of justice and peace through the symbols of flood, fire, the rock, the sea, the mountain, the cloud.
Music is an artful expression that can be a pathway to enter into the mystery of God -- the mystery of life and death. Our life then has meaning as a result of suffering and the journey to new life.
The symbolic language of music can be a road to a new place, a new way of living -- the biblical vision of God's way: "... And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem ... and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying ... he will wipe every tear away; death will be no more. And the one on the throne said, 'See, I am making all things new.' "
How beautifully this is expressed in music. Music ministry enables us to rejoice and revel in this promise, that God makes all things new.
As we recognize the power of music as symbolic language in ritual activity, we are, at the same time, humbled by the seductive power of music.
Music is a part of the symbolic nature of worship. Music's sacramental power is rooted in the nature of sound, the raw materials for music.
Sound is our starting point for understanding music and its capacity to serve as a vehicle for God's self-revelation. In sound, God is both present and hidden. Sound gives music its power, and as such has a potential to express the vastness of human condition and our relationship to God, and our need for God.
Truly, music in liturgy is to be, above all else, ministerial.
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