Week 2: Sacred Music and Processions

In the book of Wisdom we hear that “the deliberations of mortals are timid” and “the corruptible body burdens the soul.” (9:14, 15)

But if we are called to contemplate the goodness of God, we cannot be timid!
And if our soul is burdened, how can it fly to the heights necessary?

Since ancient times, people have understood that music has a way of transcending our ordinary humanity. When we need to express something beyond what our words can express, we turn to music, which can speak to our hearts differently than words can. We don’t have to hear the words of a sad song or lament to know what is being expressed, just like we don’t need to hear the words of a joyful song to know what is being expressed.

Because of its ability to speak to our hearts, music has been a part of religion since before Christ walked this earth. The Jewish people and later the first Christians incorporated music into their worship of God. The book of Psalms is, basically, the very first Jewish and Christian hymn book. Musical notation was invented by the church over time to help transmit the melodies of the psalms and chants, because until that point it was transmitted from teacher to student by memory.

Because of its unique ability to speak to our hearts, both the words and the sound of the music have meaning. This is why in Church we must be careful about what we sing. The music in Church has two important goals: to glorify God and to assist us in lifting our hearts to him. God is mysterious, mystical, and transcendent of all place and time. This is why the chants the Church gives to us–the antiphons–sometimes sound a bit foreign to us: because they are trying to lift us up to this mysterious and transcendent place. The Entrance antiphon (Introit) reminds us that we are here to worship God, and tries to lift up our hearts in preparation for the celebration we are beginning. The offertory antiphon, often the most challenging piece of music to sing in the entire Mass, helps us to recognize that we must offer a gift of ourself to the mysterious and transcendent God. The Communion antiphon should help us to recognize the incredible gift we are receiving: God himself.

We also sing music during our processions. The most obvious procession at Mass are the processions at the beginning and end. If we read Scripture, God always leads the procession of his people: he led them out of Egypt as a pillar of fire or cloud, he led them around the city of Jericho in the Ark of the Covenant, and he led David into Jerusalem again in the Ark of the Covenant. At each of these moments, the Bible notes there was music. There is the Song of the Red Sea in Exodus, the trumpet blasts around Jericho, and music, dancing, and singing of songs when David entered Jerusalem. At Mass, we are led into Mass by the Crucifix, ideally with an incense cloud around it. For us, this is a reminder that God has called us here so that he can lead us into worship. During these processions, we–like our ancestors in faith–sing songs and hymns to give glory to God.

(English) I know that the music has changed a bit since I got here, and I know that some people have struggled with that. I hope that this helps you understand why it has changed. I’ll be honest, I don’t listen to chant when I’m not at Church. I like Classical music, for sure, but I also listen to what I’m told is “hard rock”. One of my favorite hymns from when I was growing up was “When the mountains may fall”–as the kids would say, I thought it was a real “banger”. But as I’ve learned the purpose of music in Mass, as I’ve learned what the Church asks of us and why, I’ve also learned that music at Mass shouldn’t be so familiar to us. It shouldn’t be like the music we hear out in the world. Because when we’re at Mass, we are not in the world. We are at the gates of Heaven, and we’re being invited to unite ourselves with God. The music, as strange as it sometimes might be to us, needs to help us understand this.

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