ERRY CHRISTMAS!
Christmas is upon us and I would like to wish all our readers a blessed
Christmas. About two thousand years ago, the angles appeared to
shepherds, announcing to them the good news and sang “Glory to God in
the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests”. (Lk
2:8-14, from the Mid-night Mass Gospel) What can we learn from the Holy
Angels? There are two things we can learn from the best and most perfect
choir.
(1) Deliver the Message – We know from Luke’s
Gospel that the angels delivered the good news to the shepherd outside
of Bethlehem and the shepherd understood them clearly. Although our
choirs on earth might not be perfect, we can all do our best to deliver
the message. One way to make sure that messages are delivered is to sing
with good diction. Imagine that the angels who spoke and sang to the
shepherds mumbled the whole time, the shepherds probably wouldn’t have
gone to adore our Lord. Also, when the chant or choral pieces are not in
the vernacular, it would be nice if we can help the congregation to
understand the text. Do everything you can to get the message across,
especially to those who are visiting your parish during Christmas.
(2) Constantly Praying and Praising – Christmas can
be a stressful time for church musicians. But it really should be a
prayerful time. So, learn from the Holy Angels this Christmas and make
every pieces of music a prayer to God. There will probably be quite a
few “CEO (Christmas and Easter Only)
Catholics” in church who will be “singing at Mass”. But we have to make
sure that we sing the Mass. We are not just performing or caroling, but
we are singing the Mass itself! Try to understand and even meditate on
the texts that you will be singing. This will allow you to pray the
texts as you sing and this will also help deliver the message.
Asking for the intercession of the Holy Angels is also a good idea.
Through their intercession, may the Lord help us to grow closer to Him,
sing joyfully and prayerfully to the world the good news. And as the
conclusion of every Preface in the Mass says, may we “join in one voice with all the Angels and Heavenly Hosts” and proclaim the Glory of God.
From Corpus Christi Watershed
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