My Mouth Shall Proclaim Your Praise

(This article is primarily aimed at music directors, but applies at least a little to every parish musician.) Ah yes. If you work for the Catholic Church, you will have to know how to work with priests. This is a special power hierarchy dynamic that you don't get in the workplace in other jobs. It's a little bit like how I imagine working with princes would be - there is more at play than the person himself. Depending on your own position in the parish, you will have to work with Fr Person, Fr Pastor, and Fr Persona Christi. (And sometimes Fr Confessor, so if you grouch or gossip about your pastor, this can get awkward fast. Ask me how I know.) When in a meeting with your pastor, remember your respective positions. By virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, Fr Pastor has grace of state to guide his flock. That doesn't mean he can't be wrong, but it does mean that it is wrong to work against him. (There are always at least fifty times more things going on in your parish ...

I believe I've lamented before that church musicians are often hired and expected to execute their function properly without qualifications or training, or even guidance. Well, the good news is that there is an actual instruction manual out there: the General Instructions of the Roman Missal ( it's even online for free !) or GIRM. Here is laid out, in very clear terms, whose job is what, the order of the rites, the cues to begin and finish singing, and so much more. If you can afford your own copy of the whole missal, so much the better! Once you find your way around it, it is the single most useful and important book for a cantor or choir director to own. (I bought two copies - one for my use at home planning and practicing, and one to keep in the choir loft, because I am that disorganized and can never remember to tote a copy around with me from place to place.) In the GIRM, there is a lot of language talking about "fostering participation" by the people. It empha...

 Hey, so, I'm just throwing all the Things I Wish I'd Thought Of Earlier out there, hoping that someone else will find them helpful, but everyone's situations and challenges are unique. If you have questions or issues that you'd like to read something about, comment! Here, another post, anywhere on the blog. I'd be thrilled to do a more directed post than "whatever was on my mind today." Thanks for reading! -Kathleen

 Maybe you've been conscripted into playing the organ at your parish because word got out that you play piano (same thing, right?) and there's a hole to fill. Maybe your parish currently uses a piano and there's an organ just  sitting there  and you have a vague sense that it would be more fitting. Maybe, just  maybe,  you're actually a classically trained organist and for once, someone is offering you money to play. Any way you look at it, playing the organ for your parish is a bit of a different animal from whatever you've been doing before. So first, some words on why the organ is So Great, so much better than any other instrument (including the omnipresent piano) and why you should use it in the liturgy. Three things set the organ apart. Firstly, it breathes like a singer, and sustains notes the way a singer does - its ability to hold prolonged phrases without sound decay or having to resort to "filler" notes maintains the sense of the musical line wit...

 So much for the why.  (I mean, I have not by any means dealt exhaustively with it, but so many more qualified people have said it already.) Your job is to decide the What. Good news! There is an official, prescribed "What" to sing for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! It's been very clearly and consistently laid down throughout Church history, and though the wording of council documents is often vague,  Vatican II didn't change that.  Once more for the people in the back: Vatican II did not substantially change the  church's directives  for sacred music in the liturgy. (except to allow the use of the vernacular language with the local bishop's permission) The implications of this are huge. There seems to be a general understanding that what the Vatican II documents said  is far less important than what a handful of people want the documents to mean , and that's why the state of Liturgy In The Church Today is kind of a mess. I have sat through liturgi...

  Me, personally My name is Kathleen, and I’m the music director at a Catholic parish in a small college town in Southern California. During my 20+ years at this parish and throughout my whole lifetime of liturgical music, I’ve worn many different hats - organist, choir member, cantor, choir director, person who chooses the music, person who manages the music staff - so I can speak from many different perspectives. My experience is my main qualification - I am the owner of zero pieces of paper validation except for a certificate of completion of the kind of Child Safety Training I’m sure most of my target readership is painfully familiar with. But I’ve studied a lot, thought a lot, had a lot of discussions with a lot of thoughtful people, and tried a lot of different things, so I do hope that my experience and perspective will be helpful. I do have one publication to my name: a  hymnal for Catholic schools  that I helped edit for the  Institute for Catholic Liberal E...