HOW SOUND IS YOUR WORSHIP?

I have never forgotten Pete. That was her nickname. I met her almost thirty years ago. During her senior year in high school Pete went on retreat at Our Lady of Florida in North Palm Beach. At sunrise her father phoned. He told her that her mother had just died. Pete was in shock. She and I walked up and down outside. She said nothing. Finally, she groaned from deep down. I'll never forget the sound. I remember its tonality. I can still hear her sound of grief once in awhile

A few days later I was the cantor at her mother's funeral Mass in West Palm Beach. I can still hear the robust sound of a church packed with teenagers and adults singing psalms and hymns with gusto. It was powerful.

I am sure that your have walked by or driven by a church building on a Sunday morning and heard robust singing from inside. It is really striking. It is inspiring and powerful. So, too, is the vigorous sound of sacred speech when a congregation voices public prayer.

If you were walking your dog past St. Malachy on a spring or summer or autumn Sunday morning, what would you hear? How sound would the worship be? How would our sound impress you? What would be the mood of this church? Is this community sad or glad, vigorous or subdued, joyous or shy?

My point is simple. Worship is sound when we-the church gathering and the people of God assembling - fully and consciously participate. We do this in many ways. Welcoming and greeting, walking (from car to church building to seat to table) and processing, standing and sitting, rising up and kneeling. We are moving and quieting, singing and listening, speaking and reflecting, receiving and offering. We are praying in patterns that shape our affections and in etiquette that tutors our bodies and souls.

We are more than a bunch of individuals who just happen to be tossed together for individual spiritual nurture. We are the people of God assembling, acting, and praying together. The primary minister is corporate and communal. It is the assembly. The goal is not to have actors and audience, ministers and consumers. The goal is ecclesial. We are church. We manifest the body of Christ doing public prayer.

We can now evaluate the meaning of specific liturgical ministers. Each liturgical minister serves in order to aid the assembly.

Sacristans prepare what is needed for each liturgy. Ushers welcome the baptized and the catechumens as we gather and greet one another. Servers lead dignified processions and care for practicalities. Choirs, cantors, and musicians encourage and animate our song.

Priests preside and lead the Spirit-filled worship. Readers proclaim the life giving Word of God. Preachers unveil divine mystery for human hearts. Sponsors walk tall with catechumens. Deacons serve at abundant tables. Gift bearers present the assembly's bread and wine. Ministers of bread and cup bring communion to this assembly. They go forth to the sick and the imprisoned.

No one is "up there on the altar." Every one is in the midst of the assembly to help us do the public work of prayer. All ministry in the church and in the world is humble service.