The National Association of Pastoral Musicians held their annual convention virtually this summer. Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso gave the opening address on the function of music in times of distress. In a time when it is not safe for our choirs to gather to sing, when so many of us cannot safely gather for worship, and when our nation seems divided in many ways, how can we sing?
In this Sunday’s gospel of the Parable of the Sower we hear Jesus announce, “But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” Click the title to read more.
Singing together, which means being responsible for the singing, is different than listening to music on the radio – or on Facebook Live as we attend Mass remotely as best we can. We can hear the beautiful singing of the cantor, and we can sing along, we can even try our best to imagine that everyone else is singing, but it just isn’t the same as making our own heartfelt, imperfect music together.
Liturgy is our communal response and participation in the many sacred celebrations we as Catholics pray together. But with no people physically present in the church, how do we do liturgy?