SACRED MUSIC
SACRED MUSIC AT THE CATHEDRAL
WELCOME TO THE SACRED MUSIC PAGE
The Music Ministry of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help seeks to preserve and develop that “treasure of inestimable value,” the musical tradition of the Universal Church. The source and summit of this ministry is the sacred liturgy, in which the faithful assembly, choirs, and cantors join to sing the prayer of the Church. In addition, concerts of sacred music take place throughout the year, featuring the Cathedral choirs and organ, local artists, and internationally-known ensembles and performers. As the Mother Church of the diocese and a regional architectural landmark, the Cathedral of St Joseph attracts numerous visitors for liturgies, concerts, and tours. Through the gift of music, the Cathedral draws these individuals closer to the triune God; the source of all Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.
“The musical tradition of the Universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art.” (Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy)
“The Church needs musicians. How many sacred works have been composed through the centuries by people deeply imbued with the sense of the mystery! The faith of countless believers has been nourished by melodies flowing from the hearts of other believers, either introduced into the liturgy or used as an aid to dignified worship. In song, faith is experienced as vibrant joy, love, and confident expectation of the saving intervention of God.” (Saint Pope John Paul II, Letter to Artists)
REFLECTIONS ON SACRED MUSIC
“The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action.”
― Pope Paul VI, Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963)
“Gregorian Chant has always been regarded as the supreme model for sacred music, so that it is fully legitimate to lay down the following rule: the more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savor the Gregorian form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple.”
― Pope St. Pius X “Tra le sollecitudini” (1903)
“The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem in the Latin Church, for it is the traditional musical instrument, the sound of which can add a wonderful splendour to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up people’s minds to God and to higher things.” -Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium #120, December 4th, 1963
“Begin with the beautiful, which leads you to the good, which leads you to the truth.” -Bishop Robert Barron (2011)
“These qualities [sacredness, beauty, universality] are to be found, in the highest degree, in Gregorian Chant, which is, consequently, the Chant proper to the Roman Church, the only chant she has inherited from the ancient fathers, which she has jealously guarded for centuries in her liturgical codices, which she directly proposes to the faithful as her own, which she prescribes exclusively for some parts of the liturgy, and which the most recent studies have so happily restored to their integrity and purity.” –Pope St. Pius X “Tra le sollecitudini” (1903)
“The Church esteems the service (choir) that you present in the community: you help it to feel the attraction of the beautiful, which detoxifies us from mediocrity, lifts us higher, toward God, and unites hearts in praise and in tenderness.” –Pope Francis (2019)
“Music has the power to lead us back…to the Creator of all harmony, creating a resonance within us which is like being in tune with the beauty and truth of God, with the reality which no human knowledge or philosophy can ever express.” – Pope Benedict XVI, 2007
“The power of sacred music increases the honor given to God by the Church in union with Christ, its Head. Sacred music likewise helps to increase the fruits which the faithful, moved by the sacred harmonies, derive from the holy liturgy. These fruits, as daily experience and many ancient and modern literary sources show, manifest themselves in a life and conduct worthy of a Christian.” ― Pope Pius XII “Musicae Sacrae” (1955)
