NOVEMBER 2022
FROM GRIEF… TO GRATITUDE?
T
he month of November is a season of seeming contradictions for us pastoral musicians. We hear Scripture readings about the end of the
world; we prepare for the start of a new liturgical year. We solemnly commemorate our beloved departed ones; we joyfully thank God for our many blessings. We’ve lately experienced so many endings, so many losses—how can we move forward in gratitude and joy toward a new beginning?
I’m struck by the universality of grief. It touches, quite literally, everyone. To be human is to know loss. Te last three years are a case in point. We’ve lost people. We’ve lost liturgical practices. We’ve lost physical touch. We’ve lost our sense of safety. We’ve lost civility in discourse. We’ve lost respect for differences. We’ve experienced grief for things we never had, for things we know we need, for things we have always wanted. Laura Fanucci, who gave one of our 2022 NPM Convention Plenum talks, once told me that unresolved grief often “comes out sideways” as anger. Tis insight speaks volumes about where we find ourselves as a society today.
“I am grateful for the encounters and experiences I have had that have helped shape my understanding of grief.”
Te theme of this issue is “A Sure and Certain Hope.” In this edition, you will find reflections by Brother Louis Canter on the pastoral importance of bereavement ministry. Michael Silhavy provides his perspective on what we’ve gained and lost as pastoral musicians during the past few years. As we celebrate Black Catholic History Month, Roger M. Holland, II offers his recommendations for respectfully incorporating music from the African American experience in the liturgy. In this issue’s “Looking Back, Looking Forward” feature, you will find an article from the November 1982 issue of Pastoral Music, which highlights member concerns voiced at that year’s Regional Convention in Orlando. Mike Novak presents practical and pastoral suggestions for creating a funeral planning guide. Kathleen Basi relates some of our members’ personal experiences of grief and gratitude, along with one of her own.
As the calendar shepherds us from grief to gratitude this month, I am grateful for the encounters and experiences I have had that have helped shape my understanding of grief. I’m grateful for my family and friends and for this community of pastoral musicians. And I’m grateful for the gift of song—the gift of musical liturgy—that lifts us up in our ministry and carries us through every aspect of our lives here on earth.
Saint Cecilia, pray for us!
Nancy Douglass Managing Editor
pmeditor@npm.org
5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
