Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss.

The images of Advent are powerful. This first Sunday of Advent, we express our yearning for the coming of the Christ: "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old." In the responsorial psalm we sing: "O shepherd of Israel, hearken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth. Rouse your power, and come to save us." As Advent continues, the themes of kindness, and peace, and justice, and expectation of the coming of Christ

are invoked over and over. We tell the stories of St. John the Baptist, and Mary and Elizabeth.

As the rest of the world sings Christmas carols and shops "till they drop", and then forgets about Christmas on December 26, the Catholic Church is counter-cultural as it waits in prayerful expectation for the coming of the newborn Jesus. For us, Christmas carols are first sung as we proclaim the joy of Christmas Eve and we continue singing Christmas music until the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord (Weekend of January 11).

Our musicians work extra hard during the season of Advent and Christmas. Profound gratitude to all of them as they rehearse, and rehearse, and rehearse to bring the joyful song of Christmas to our liturgies in this Christmas season. Usually, when I say thank you to one of our musicians, they say that it is God's work and only by the grace of God that they can sing or play a musical instrument. And they are right….but it also takes their hard work to bring God's gift of music through them as part of our liturgical prayer. So to all musicians….thank you!

For the Liturgical Musician, the making of music is not performance for an audience, but the liturgical musician joins with the assembly in prayer through music.

Blessings to all in this beautiful Advent season.

The time of walking with Christ - Ordinary Time in the Church Year

September…October…November….The readings and the Gospel lead us into a deeper understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. We are told over and over that love is the binding force of all of our lives, and the most important law. A good example is September 7th "Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law". (Romans 13:8. Or….September 28 "Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory: rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves…(Philippians 2:4)

The gospels begin to describe the Kingdom of Heaven as A Vineyard (Oct. 5); A wedding feast (Oct. 12);and we hear The Beatitudes (Nov. 1), and at the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe (Nov. 23), Christ judges us at Judgement Day on whether we live the Beatitudes in our lives.

This is a beautiful time of year outwardly with the Autumn colors and crisp temperatures, and inwardly with the Church's focus of how to live the Christian life of love.

THE CHOIR is fully active now and sounding wonderful. This ministry is one of love. The music is not performance, but rather a participation in the ministry of music as leader of song, and as prayerful beauty. We have 20 choir members at this time, but still have 7 choir chairs in the sanctuary with no one to fill them.

There is a wonderful little book called "Catholic Choir Member" by Lawrence J. Johnson that I would like to quote: "The members of a choir form one of the numerous communities that make up the contemporary parish. As a community, these members rely upon one another for psychological and musical support. Singing together allows us to enjoy one another's company and to experience the love and friendship of other pilgrims who join us on our journey with Jesus through life."

And one more quote: "Among the numerous services or ministries that make the assembly possible is that of the choir. A choir, whether its members be few or numerous, whether its musical talents be abundant or modest, exists for one purpose. Unlike the school community, or symphony chorus which is a performance organization, the liturgical choir serves the people who have come together for prayer. More specifically, the choir serves this people's sung prayer."

THE CANTOR ministry is looking for singers who could proclaim the responsorial psalm in song, and lead the music at the 8AM Mass particularly. Is there anyone out there who is not a cantor right now, but would like to commit to once a month cantering at the 8AM Mass?

THE GUITAR GROUP is a beautiful ministry of guitarists and singers once a month and for special occasions such as "Mass In The Grass". Thank you to Al Olry for leadership in this group. He works hard to organize the preparation necessary to bring a group together to lead music at Mass.

WE HAVE two flautists who bring their gift to music at Mass: Stacy Baker, and Laura Dailey. Thank you to both of them! Do you play an instrument? We could use violin, cello, and at this time approaching Christmas….trumpet.

CHOIR OF HOPE: Open to new members to join. This choir sings for funerals…a very important music ministry of comfort for those who have lost a loved one. If you are interested, contact me.

Blessings to all who labor in the vineyard!

Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God

We are now in the month of August and summer is coming to an end. School will start within a couple of weeks. Many of you will be thinking soon about closing up lake cottages for the winter.

Liturgically, the Church is in the season of Ordinary Time and we are focused on living the Kingdom of God in our daily lives. The music for Mass reflects the scripture as you sing "Seek Ye First The Kingdom of God" and "The Summons" and many other beautiful hymns in which we ask for God's help to live our lives as Catholic Christians.

If you have musical talent, consider becoming a member of the music ministry at St. Therese. We are now actively seeking new cantors, choir members, and instrumentalists for guitar, flute, trumpet and many other instruments that you may play.

We are also searching for some "lost" music. Two books of instrumental music for B flat and C instruments are with somebody. If you have them, would you bring them back to the music room with my thanks!

Blessings to all in this beautiful time of late summer.

Some reflections on all of us assembled at Liturgy

Here is a quote from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal....our source of direction regarding the celebration of Mass.

"For this people is the People of God, purchased by Christ's Blood, gathered together by the Lord, nourished by his word, the people called to present to God the prayers of the entire human family, a people that gives thanks in Christ for the mystery of salvation by offering his Sacrifice, a people, finally, that is brought together in unity by Communion in the Body and Blood of Christ. This people, though holy in its origin, nevertheless grows constantly in holiness by conscious, active, and fruitful participation in the mystery of the Eucharist."

What a beautiful statement of the action that we take every time that we participate in the celebration of Mass.

The General Instruction goes on in #16 to state: "The celebration of Mass, as the action of Christ and of the people of God arrayed hierarchically, is the center of the whole of Christian life for the Church both universal and local, as well as for each of the faithful individually. For in it is found the high point both of the action by which God sanctifies the world and in Christ, and of the worship that the human race offers to the Father, adoring him through Christ, the Son of God, in the Holy Spirit."

From the focus of liturgical music, then these statements begin to shape how we prepare the music for liturgy:

* Music choices are not personal taste, or the latest music for it's own sake, but are embodying prayer, unity, thanksgiving, adoration, petition...focused on the Trinity. Music can do this through traditional hymn choices, through contemporary Catholic music, through chant, and through the use of many instruments....all music focused in prayer.

* Music is the prayer of the assembled people. It is not performance, or the "kingdom" of the choir/organist/cantors. It belongs to the assembly praising and thanking God, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit.

* Music choices come from the Sacred Scripture readings for a particular Mass, and from the season of the year; always within the general focus of the paragraphs referenced above. Finally, music is integral to the liturgy....not an option. We "sing" the Mass. The General Instruction #40 states: "Great importance should therefore be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of the Mass, with due consideration for the culture of people and abilities of each liturgical assembly. Although it is not always necessary (e.g. in weekday Masses) to sing all the texts that are in principal meant to be sung, every care should be taking that singing by the ministers and the people not be absent in celebrations that occur on Sundays and on Holydays of Obligation."

The liturgy is your prayer. Please watch this site for continuing education on music and the liturgy of the Church.

CHOIR/CANTORS/INSTRUMENTALISTS: If you are not already in music ministry at St. Therese, consider joining this ministry. It is my joy and privilege to be with you at St. Therese, as servant in the vineyard.

So much talent in this parish!

It has been a month since I officially began my music ministry at St. Therese. It is my joy to be here with you.

St. Therese has an abundance of musical gifts, and I am just now beginning to find out who you are. The adult choir is well-trained, very dedicated, and has a beautiful sound as it leads you in prayer at liturgy. The children's choir is really good....strong voices that are singing in two part harmony with also a lovely sound, under the direction of Vanessa Proulx. There are many quality guitarists, and flute, clarinet, rumors of trumpet and violin players. St. Therese is blessed! And very important are the cantors who proclaim the scripture through the responsorial psalm, and lead the assembly in every liturgy in the sung prayer of the Mass. St. Therese cantors are excellent! The first week I was here at St. Therese we had three funerals, and I was impressed by the Choir of Hope which comes together to support families in a very difficult time of the death of a loved one. This is an important ministry, and you do it so well!

Remember, all are welcome to join the music ministry. There is a place for your musical gift. Please refer to the previous blog writing for more information. The adult choir is actively recruiting for next choir season which begins in September. We especially need more sopranos and tenors, but also welcome altos and basses. We have 27 choir chairs....let's fill them up. The adult choir is open to all of high school age and above who can commit to a weekly Thursday rehearsal and singing on Sundays, Christmas, and Holy Week; and who can sing. You do not have to be able to read music.

We are now in the Easter season of Alleluia! Christ is risen indeed! It is also the month of May dedicated to Mary, mother of the risen Christ. The music will reflect especially the readings of Easter/Ascension/Pentecost, but at every weekend Mass in May a hymn will honor Mary.

Welcome To This New Music Blog for St. Therese

I am delighted to be your new Music Director. St. Therese has a long history of good music and an abundance of talent. Thank you to all of you who have made my first week easier by your kindness and your assistance! Be patient with me as I learn who you are and where everything is!

Have you thought about joining the choir? We have 27 seats in the choir section. Let's fill them up! Who can join?: Adults,and high school and college students. You should have a good singing voice. When you join the choir, you commit to a Thursday evening rehearsal from 7:00PM to 8:30 PM and to singing at Mass on Sunday at 11AM (or sometimes on Saturday evening at 5:00PM. The choir also leads the music at one Christmas Mass and during Holy Week. The choir season runs from September through May. We have fun together, pray together, and sing together.

Are you an instrumentalist: guitarist, flute, violin, trumpet? Many of you have played for Mass in the past, and maybe you have never played for Mass and would like to try. If you would like to be part of the music ministry at St. Therese, come and talk with me, or e-mail me.

We could use more cantors. This ministry requires a good voice and a prayerful presence. If you would be interested, contact me. If you are a high school or college student and cannot commit to a regular cantor schedule, maybe you would like to cantor during the summer. If so, please contact me.

Choir of Hope - St. Therese Funeral Choir. When we have a funeral you will be called. There is no special rehearsal, except for a warm-up before the funeral.

I am always glad to talk with you after the weekend Masses. Come and introduce yourself to me.

This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, and we enter into the sacred days of Holy Week. The time of Holy Week is an outpouring of special graces. At the Easter Vigil the Exsultet is proclaimed and we rejoice: "Exult, let them exult, the hosts of heaven, exult, let Angel ministers of God exult, let the trumpet of salvation sound aloud our mighty King's triumph!"

Happy Easter to all!