Music As Service by Ed Horodko   During Vatican II in the '60's, the pope, bishops, and scholars around the world agreed that music is essential to the Mass, and that music is a ministry. So when we sing, we not only pray, we serve each other. As many of us remember, our liturgy, the "work of the people," was dramatically changed by Vatican II in the '60's. The Tridentine Mass, celebrated globally in Latin for 500 years, was no longer standard. Indeed, the understanding of who is doing the liturgy shifted. The role of music also took on new life. The first document to come from the Council was Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Published December 4, 1963, and it showed the maturity of the twentieth century liturgical movement that had thrived for some time. It also demonstrated a global concensus among Pope Paul VI, the bishops, scholars, and liturgists worldwide on the nature of Catholic Liturgy. Renewal of our Mass had been in the works for more than 60 years, sparked by Pope Pius X (d. 1914). The CSL asserts that music is actually a ministry, one which is necessary and in fact integral to the liturgy (CSL, no. 112). So the appropriateness of the selection, leading, and performance of liturgical music is a serious business. Guidelines for music are set forth in another document, Music in Catholic Worship , a document for the Roman Catholic church in the USA. This document was so admired for its breadth and insight, that its principles have been adopted by other language groups and by other denominations. The heart of MCW identifies three levels of judgment in selecting music: musical, liturgical, and pastoral. For music to be effective ministry, it must satisfy all three: it must be of high musical quality, it must be meaningful and appropriate liturgically, and it must serve the pastoral concerns of the particular church community. A parish's effective liturgical team attends to all three concerns. The music industry that has grown to meet these demands produces a a growing and rich variety of music, much of it excellent. Pastors, liturgists, liturgy committees, and musicians can find abundant choices as they select the music for each liturgy. But they have to know what to look for. An awareness of what fine liturgical music can be is spreading in our living church. Periodicals, other literature, and workshops are helping, as is the virtual community fostered by the Internet. © copyright 1996, Edward R. Horodko Originally printed in the newsletter of Sacred Heart Church, Olema, CA, USA. Published online by Digital Liturgy with permission. Permission is hereby granted for reprinting in whole or part for distribution solely within one parish community. Email permissions@turning.to for other reprint permissions.   RETURN TO ARTICLES MENU .