Monday, August 30, 2010
Ministry of Music
Reflection for Music
Ministers
(From Austin Fleming's
book "Preparing for Liturgy, a Theology and Spirituality")
Yours is a share
in the work of the Lord's
Spirit
who draws us together into one,
who makes harmony out of
discord,
who sings in our hearts
the lyric of all that is
holy.Yours is the joy of
sounding that first note
which brings the assembly
to its feet,
ready to praise God.Yours is to impart
a "quality of joy and
enthusiasm
[that] cannot be gained in
any other way."Yours is a ministry
that reaches the deepest
recesses
of the human heart;
your work is
soul-stirring.Yours is none other than
the Lord's song;
you draw us into that
canticle of divine praise
sung throughout the ages
in the halls of heaven.You help us respond to
God's word,
to acclaim the gospel,
to sing of our salvation
of Christ.Yours is a ministry
that gathers so many
voices
Come to your work from
your personal prayer.
Let your rehearsals begin
with prayer in common.
Let your practice be
marked
by unanimity in spirit and
in ideals.Be gentle in correcting
one another:
The kingdom will not fall
on one flatted note.Open your choir to those
whom the Lord has blessed
with musical gifts;
help the not-so-gifted
discern the talents that are theirs.
Rehearse the Lord's song
with the reverance it is due.
Take care to study the
scriptures
for the liturgy in which
you will serve;
know well the word that
calls forth our praise.Let the lyrics of your
songs
be strong, true and rooted
in the scriptures;
those who sing the Lord's
word sing the Lord's song.Make no room for the
trite, the maudlin, the sentimental.
Open your hearts and
voices
to new songs
worthy of God's people at
prayer.Let your repertoire change
as all living things must,
but not so much that the
song of God's people is lost.
Be ambitious for the
higher gifts,
but not beyond your gifts;
respect the range of
talent
the Lord has given you and
your community.Think first of the
assembly's song,
for this is the song you
serve.
Let your music be always
the servant
of the Lord,
of God's people,
of the divine service they
offer.Let the service of your
music
complement but never
overshadow
Let your performance become a prayer,
and your art a gift.Let technique become no
idol,
but a tool for honing the
beauty of your gift.
Remember that your
ministry
is ever an emptying out of
yourself;
when the solo is assigned
to another,
let that singer's offering
become your prayer.When no comments on the
new motet,
be thankful that your work
led the people to God, not to you.
When the assembly will not
sing,
be patient with them and
with yourselves;
the Lord's song is
sometimes a quiet one,
and silence precedes every
hymn.Waste no time wondering,
"Do you think they
liked it?"
but ask at all times,
"Did it help them and
all of us to pray?"When your ministry leads
you to music,
it has led you astray.
When your ministry leads
you to the Lord,
it has brought you home.
When your brothers and
sisters
thank and praise you for
your work,
take delight in the song
their prayer has become,
and rejoice in the work
the Lord has accomplished
through you.Be faithful in the work
you do,
for through it the Lord
saves his people.