BECOMING A CHURCH OF MERRIMENT AND MIRTH

"Where charity rejoices, there is festivity." Joseph Pieper used this phrase at the beginning of his book, In Tune With the World.. What a wonderful line! Where charity, i.e., divine love rejoices, there is festivity. Christians are merrymakers. We are mirthful and gleeful. We rejoice. We dance the jig with hands clapping, hands joining, hands intertwining. We link arms and dance feet. We sway to the melody of majestic music made on merry organ. We sing full throated. We raise up mighty and mirthful sound to God. We call this festivity.

It is fitting that the people called church rejoice as we gather to bless. God blessed Israel who remembered the blessing of creation and the blessing of the recreation called redemption. Israel sang a new song in hearty psalms and hymns. Jews clapped their hands. They danced the Torah into the midst of Jewish assemblies. They dance like David before the ark and like the Baal Shem Tov with Eastern European Jews intoxicated with God.

In 1989 the Catholic Book of Blessings appeared. This book became the textual aid that we Christians use to dance delightfully with creation before God. There are blessing prayers for families, engaged and married couples, children, parents before and after childbirth, and birthdays. There are also blessing prayers for the sick, for those suffering from addiction, for those victimized by crime or oppression. In addition, there are blessing prayers for buildings like new homes, schools, libraries, offices, shops, factories, and athletic fields.

And we have blessing prayers for baptismal fonts, church buildings, and new organs. Why bless anything? Because we want to acknowledge the holiness, wholesomeness, and goodness of God's creation. God made and saw that it was good! Blessing persons and blessing things declares that persons and things proclaim and announce, dance and sing the new creation experienced in Jesus the Christ. Celebrations of blessings contribute to God's praise and glory!

Why bless an organ? "Music is of the highest importance in the celebration of the divine mysteries, and in the Latin Church among musical instruments the organ has always held a place of honor...This instrument adds splendor to sacred celebrations, offers praise to God, fosters a sense of prayer,...and raises (our) spirits to God (Book of Blessings #1325)." It is fitting that this assembly bless a new organ because this blessing is a sign of this assembly's generosity and dedication to excellence in liturgical prayer. The organ is not to inspire, overwhelm, or replace our voices. The organ, instead, ministers to the voices of this community. Our merry music will "give glory to God and...lead us to holiness (#1330)."

Like the liturgy of evening prayer, the organ teaches the rhythms of prayer. It assists us to raise up our hands in public prayer and makes us sweet smelling incense rising up to God. This Sunday we shall present this organ for blessing. Its music will lead us to express our prayer and praise in melodies that are pleasing to God and God's people. So, church, make merry and mirthful melody! Be the resonance of God in this neighborhood!