“When we see the words on the screen that is your cue to sing!”
– Fr. Bill
As we enter into March, our Synodal journey is taking a new turn. We are now in the process of inviting our faith formation families and youth to join us in these sessions. Our parish-wide sessions ended in February, with almost 200 parishioners participating! We are most grateful for their shared responses! Fr. Bill is looking forward to collaborating with our Parish Leadership Team to review and summarize all of the feedback to forward to our Archdiocese. This information will also be very helpful as the parish looks ahead to our future goals and planning. So, please stay tuned. The journey continues and we look forward to experiencing the fruit of our parish engagement in the months and years ahead!
The Second Vatican Council spoke of both “internal” and “external” participation in the Mass. Internal participation is an openness to what you see and hear: the prayers recited by the priest, the readings, and the singing of the choir. It is a listening with your heart and mind, letting the words resonate within you. This sort of listening is an art that takes practice and discipline. External participation includes actions, gestures, bodily attitudes, acclamations, responses and singing. The quality of our participation in sung praise comes less from our vocal ability than from the desire of our hearts to sing together of our love for God.1
Both our internal and external participation in the liturgy expresses and strengthens our faith. During Covid, in regards to singing, we have had to move from external to more internal participation. We are now able to return to more external participation in song, singing the shorter acclamations and refrains. The longer hymns will still call for internal participation as we let the cantors and musicians stir our hearts. We have decided not to purchase the annual paperback hymnals we once used. This annual subscription was rather expensive and we are still not at the point of re-handling common material. We will begin projecting the words of the common acclamations and refrains on the screens for all to sing. This will include a common refrain for the opening hymn, the penitential rite (Lord have mercy), the responsorial psalm and gospel acclamation as well as the Eucharistic acclimations. When we see the words on the screen that is your cue to sing! God dwells within each human heart, in the place where music takes its source. Indeed, God, the giver of song, is present whenever his people sing his praise.2
St. Augustine says, “Singing is for the one who loves.” Song is, therefore, a sign of God’s love for us and of our love for God. When you see those
words on the screen, SING!
– Fr. Bill
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1 Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, United
states Conference of Catholic Bishops, #13
2 Sing to the Lord. #1.