SEPTEMBER 2020
and the vision of the ideal will always inspire us to give our best and work hard. Te limitations we face in our current conditions are for a greater good, and we know will eventually give way to the restoration of our singing the rites as we know we can.
Te Sacraments: Assessing our Parish Celebrations of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist
Michael Ruzicki
It’s not all about the music! Our ministry is just one component of the great liturgical equation resulting in “full, conscious, and active participation.” If we add good preaching and radical hospitality to that formula, we move closer to achieving this goal. Te sum of these parts is greater than any one of them alone—that’s simple math! However, let’s include two “multipliers” into this analogy: liturgical formation and zealous pastors.
Are you with me? [Excellent music + preaching + hospitality] × liturgical formation × zealous pastor ≈ x.
Te solution to this equation, x, gets us much closer to our aim before all else, the full, conscious, and active participation of the faithful. (See Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, #14)
My final comment about math: we know that anything multiplied by zero equals zero. Tis is why our efforts in liturgical formation and collaboration with the pastor are crucially important to our work. Much of the work we do in our ministry, while appreciated by the community, may be less effective because we have yet to make liturgical formation a priority in our parishes.
Over the last few years, my vocation of serving the Church has veered away from full-time music ministry and into formation and catechesis. I see it more clearly now; leading our brothers and sisters to a greater understanding and appreciation of the sacraments and the liturgy is just as important as making beautiful music. Dare I even suggest that “the formation of faithful is a prerequisite before one
can fully enter into liturgical song?” While I love the sound of a four-part choir anthem, I prefer hearing the statements and realizations a cradle Catholic makes when they dive deeper into the meaning of our liturgical celebrations for the first time in their life.
In preparing the MEGA workshop Te Sacraments: Assessing our Parish Celebrations of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist for the annual convention, I was energized by the opportunities we have in front of us. So that the faithful may be imbued with the spirit and power of the liturgy, we aim for their full, active, and conscious participation (which is their duty and their right). We can achieve this by prioritizing liturgical and sacramental formation in our communities. Supported by a zealous pastor, we must discuss and decide how we are going to achieve our goals.
Tis pandemic is forcing us to take a step back and reassess the way we are doing things, inviting us to rearrange our priorities. Music ministry, the way we know and love it, may be on hold. Let this be the time that we focus our efforts on the liturgical and sacramental formation of the faithful.
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