Quote:
Why Do We Sing at Mass??
Posted on Mon Nov 12 2007
My Dear Parishioners,
Someone was asking about the amount of singing at Mass. Good question. From the time of Jesus, worship involved singing. At the Last Supper, Jesus and his Apostles sang the Psalms and hymns. So, the very first Mass, the Last Supper, set a precedent for the singing of the Mass. St. Augustine picked up on the theme when he said; ‘The person who sings, prays twice.’ He also added that singing is the language of love. With those reasons in mind, the church has always identified the sung Mass as the norm for the celebration of the Eucharist. In order of importance, the instruction given at the front of the Missal (the Mass book used at the altar) tells us that the dialogue between priest, deacon and people is to be sung. Then next in importance is the singing of the ordinary parts such as the Lord have mercy, Gloria, Holy, and Lamb of God. St. Anthony’s has had a grand tradition from its earliest days of the sung or High Mass. That tradition may have been obscured a bit over the years since the second Vatican Council, but neither the council nor post council church directives dismiss the importance of the singing of the Mass. So, sing and you pray twice. Sing, it’s the language of love.
Msgr. Chiodo
My Dear Parishioners,
Someone was asking about the amount of singing at Mass. Good question. From the time of Jesus, worship involved singing. At the Last Supper, Jesus and his Apostles sang the Psalms and hymns. So, the very first Mass, the Last Supper, set a precedent for the singing of the Mass. St. Augustine picked up on the theme when he said; ‘The person who sings, prays twice.’ He also added that singing is the language of love. With those reasons in mind, the church has always identified the sung Mass as the norm for the celebration of the Eucharist. In order of importance, the instruction given at the front of the Missal (the Mass book used at the altar) tells us that the dialogue between priest, deacon and people is to be sung. Then next in importance is the singing of the ordinary parts such as the Lord have mercy, Gloria, Holy, and Lamb of God. St. Anthony’s has had a grand tradition from its earliest days of the sung or High Mass. That tradition may have been obscured a bit over the years since the second Vatican Council, but neither the council nor post council church directives dismiss the importance of the singing of the Mass. So, sing and you pray twice. Sing, it’s the language of love.
Msgr. Chiodo
