Singing & St. Cecilia

According to the U.S. Catholic Bishops, “God has bestowed upon his people the gift of song.” In the document about music titled Sing to the Lord, the bishops go on to say that “God, the giver of song, is present whenever his people sing his praises.”

“A cry from deep within our being, music is a way for God to lead us to the realm of higher things. As St. Augustine says, “Singing is for the one who loves.” Music is therefore a sign of God’s love for us and of our love for him...By its very nature song has both an individual and a communal dimension. Thus, it is no wonder that singing together in church expresses so well the sacramental presence of God to his people.”

Singing is one of the primary ways that the assembly of the faithful participates actively in the liturgy. The people are encouraged to sing and reminded that “The quality of our participation in such sung praise comes less from our vocal ability than from the desire of our hearts to sing together of our love for God.” In other words, ignore all those people who told you that you can’t sing – you can and should because God wants to hear you sing!

Saint Cecilia is recognized as the patron saint of music, especially church music, because as she was dying a martyr’s death, she sang to God. It is also written that as the musicians played at her wedding, she “sang in her heart to the Lord.” St. Cecilia was born in the 2nd or 3rd century A.D., although the dates of her birth and martyrdom are unknown. A religious romance telling the love story of Saint Cecilia and Valerian, a pagan who later converted to Christianity, appeared in Greece during the 4th century A.D., and there is a biography of St. Cecilia dating from the 5th century A.D. Her feast day is celebrated on November 22nd, and musical tributes in honor of St. Cecilia are common this time of year. In our own parish, our combined choirs will present a St. Cecilia concert next Sunday, November 21st at 3:00 PM right here in the church, and you are all invited to attend and sing along.

Those choirs who faithfully lead us in sung prayer every Sunday understand that the most important function of music in the Mass is to unite us in a common act of worship. It is a unifying element that continually calls us to worship as one Body in Christ.