NOVEMBER 22 ST. CECILIA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR, MEMORIAL St. Cecilia lived 2nd or 3rd century A.D. According to her acts, written in the 5th century, she was married to Valerian, a pagan. St. Cecilia converted him as well as his brother, Tibertius, prior to their martyrdom. The legend about Cecilia’s death says that after being struck three times on the neck with a sword, she lived for three days and asked the pope to convert her home into a church. Since the time of the Renaissance, she has usually been portrayed with a viola or a small organ. She was highly venerated in the early Roman Church and is the patron saint of musicians COMMENT: Like any good Christian, Cecilia sang in her heart and sometimes with her voice. She has become a symbol of the church’s conviction that good music is an integral part of the liturgy, of greater value to the church than any other art. It may be useful to recall Vatican II’s teaching about church music (see below). QUOTE: “Liturgical action is given a more noble form when sacred rites are solemnized in song, with the assistance of sacred ministers and the active participation of the people.... Choirs must be diligently promoted, but bishops and other pastors must ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightfully theirs.... Gregorian chant, other things being equal, should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded.... Religious singing by the people is to be skillfully fostered, so that in devotions and sacred exercises, as also during liturgical services, the voices of the faithful may ring out” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 112–118).
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 05:59:11 +0000
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