This past Sunday, I celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King with my husband at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola at 980 Park Avenue at 84th Street, New York, NY. You can visit the website at www.saintignatiusloyola.org. Take a bit of time to explore the website of this magnificent church founded and administered by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). The site includes the church’s history, its myriad ministries and many beautiful photographs of the splendid church, including the famous Mander organ. K. Scott Warren, Director of Music Ministries at St. Ignatius Loyola performed Allegro in F Major by W.A. Mozart as a postlude. Magnificent.
A well trained tongue
A friend who preaches once told me that a good homily requires a minimum of ten hours a week to prepare a worthy homily. My friend is a gifted homilist who takes his ministry seriously. I met one of his counterparts in Fr. George Ritt, S.J., the pastor whose homily exceeded my expectations. Fr. Ritt’s compelling homily propelled us from our pews of praise into post-worship Christian mission as witnesses of the foot washing servant we proclaim as Christ the King. The profound silence in the church served as an indicator of the ‘mystery of Christ ever made present and active in us’ (SC 35.2) within a finely honed homily preached ‘with the greatest care.’ (SC, 35:2) Not general or abstract in his preaching, Fr. Ritt offered concrete examples from the experiences of people in the parish, applying the Gospel to everyday life in very real and riveting paradigms. I marveled at the power of the Word yoked with a “well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.” Isaiah 50: 4.
Sacred music
For the last 50 years as a result of the Second Vatican Council, pastoral musicians acted on the principle that the musical liturgy includes the “active participation of the people. “ (SC 113) “Indeed, God, the giver of song, is present whenever his people sing his praises.” (Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, 1) “The full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else, for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit.” (SC, no 14)
As a pastoral musician, I’ve spent the last 50 years practicing and teaching from this directive and inspired principle. Further, with the recent emergence of the third edition of the Roman Missal, ecclesial ministers, ordained and lay worked diligently to compose, teach and rehearse assemblies, choirs and instrumental ensembles the plethora of musical acclamations to maximize participatory outcomes for assemblies worldwide. We continue to do our work on behalf of the church to insure that the participation of the people of God expresses and fortifies faith through the sung liturgy.
On Sunday morning, two combined choirs, a cantor, a string ensemble, a continuo organ near the choirs and the famous Mander pipe organ in the loft worked long and diligently to produce sacred music for the Solemnity of Christ the King. The music was exquisite and I enjoyed every note. However, I found myself struggling a bit with the exclusion of the assembly’s song in the Kyrie, Gloria and particularly the Sanctus as the solo choir and orchestra performed Haydn’s MIssa Brevis. The assembly listened. After 50 years of working toward the full, conscious and active participation of assemblies, I must admit that I felt a like a voice crying out in the wilderness: “What about us?” Listening to Haydn’s Sanctus, “the great cosmic acclamation of praise” (STL 180), which ‘should be sung, especially on Sundays and solemnities” (GIRM, no. 40) felt a bit peculiar. While I have no absolutely no objection to Latin chants and encourage their use as part of Catholic musical heritage (read STL 72-80), I admit that listening as a spectator rather than a participant to a Haydn Sanctus within a Eucharistic celebration really rattled my cage.
The same unexpected paradigm occurred again during Communion. The cantor chanted a Psalm 28 antiphon (Sedebit Dominus Rex – The Lord will sit on his royal throne for ever; the Lord will bless his people in peace), followed by a sung solo of the Benedictus from Missa Brevis, followed by the organ Motet from the same Missa. The assembly processed to the Eucharistic banquet in silence. After so many years of liturgical catechesis on STL # 189 – 194 to foster the “unity of voices,” as well encouraging the posture of standing and singing in solidarity while others feast at the banquet table, I really missed the ‘communicants’ union in spirit by means of the unity of their voices to highlight more clearly the ‘communitarian’ nature of the procession to receive Communion.” (STL 189)
A resounding witness of prayer
I did taste and see a parish that prays, sings and responds in a resounding and full bodied witness in liturgical worship. Their deep appreciation and love of the faith and the liturgy prompted my own gratitude for the rich Catholic tradition that we share and I joined my voice to theirs when the opportunities came. The responsorial psalm, Memorial Acclamation, Great Amen, a chanted Lord’s Prayer, Agnus Dei and hymns were sung with robust enthusiasm. I would guess that the liturgical staff selected seldom used options in liturgical, pastoral and musical decisions for the Solemnity of Christ the King. I must admit that my out of the box musical worship experience sent me back to read the liturgical documents and discern the fine print and the suggested ‘norms’ for sung liturgical worship. The exercise reminded me that prudence, compassion and above all, the full, active and conscious prayer and participation of the people remain the goals that anyone involved in the liturgical arts needs to keep in the forefront of pastoral planning. Thanks be to God for the Second Vatican Council and all that the church has fostered within 50 years of work to that end.
Heartfelt thanks to the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola for their love and labor in the vineyard of the Lord.