This was written on Tuesday, the fifth day of the St. James and St. Albert the Great choir tour of Ireland and Northern Ireland. A choir tour means that organists and singers will prepare multiple programs of music to be sung in public in addition to the traditional touring of significant places in the countries visited. The blended choir has rehearsed together in the past few months and the organists have worked and rehearsed for their roles over the past year. Unlike a traditional pilgrimage, a choir tour is the equivalent of preparing and learning Advent and Christmas music (choirs begin this work each year immediately after Labor Day).
The first choir event on the trip was Sunday morning Mass at Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas Cathedral in Galway. Fr. Michael Schultz, Parochial Vicar at St. Albert the Great and I concelebrated the Mass with the Cathedral rector. The cathedral was literally filled with worshippers. Completed in 1965 in the Italian Renaissance style, the cathedral is made of native sandstone and Connemara marble, with beautiful stained-glass windows and a radiant blue dome. The form of the building is cruciform with a long nave in front of the main altar, a shorter area behind the altar, and similar areas to the right and the left of the altar. People sit in all four sections.
As Fr. Michael and I entered in the opening procession, we knew we were entering with a large assembly. The opening notes of the hymn are well-known to me, but the effect in the moment was stunning. Here, in this beautiful historic church almost 4,000 miles from home, the music was exactly as I hear it at St. James. I have gotten to know our choirs’ voices and in the large space I could pick out many of the voices. It sent chills up and down my spine, almost disorienting, but then became a moment of great pride. Our choir is mostly amateur voices, but they have formed a beautiful community that socializes, prays, and sings together – and the fruits of those many years of work were evident. The entire liturgy and a small concert afterwards only heightened these unexpected “chills,” and I realized this was a profound spiritual moment.
Music has a unique ability to elicit our emotions and stir our imaginations. The Divine Liturgy is designed to be accompanied with music. It is often an afterthought for some who have no idea of the amount of work that is required, and it is an annoyance for those who prefer a quiet liturgy – which has never been the Church’s design for divine worship. I have tried to navigate this divide by offering one “quieter” Mass on Sunday morning at each parish. Until this trip I had almost forgotten how essential music is to the proper celebration of the Divine Liturgy, in which we literally lift up our hearts and our voices to praise the Lord. You don’t have to travel to Ireland to learn this. It’s as close as your nearby Catholic church.
