A Mass with strings, organ and choir honored the patroness of music and musicians on her feast day.
Columbus St. Cecilia Church hosted a special Mass with sacred music to commemorate the parish’s namesake on Friday, Nov. 22.
Bishop Earl Fernandes was the principal celebrant. He was joined by Father Thomas Buffer, the parish pastor; Father Ronan Sarmiento from the Diocese of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; Deacon Mark O’Loughlin, who serves at the parish; and Deacon Max Gallgos, a transitional deacon in the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama.
The choir was made up of singers from Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral; Una Voce, a local schola; and St. Cecilia Church. They were joined by a strings ensemble and organ.
“We’ve had musical concerts to celebrate the feast day of St. Cecilia in the past but not to the large scale that we have today,” said Dr. Caroline Salido-Barta, the parish director of liturgical music.
The Mass prelude was the Hymn to St. Cecilia. The Penitential Act, Sanctus and Agnus Dei were selections by Joseph Haydn. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus was sung during Communion and organist Robert Wisniewski played Fugue in E-flat Major BWV 552 by Johann Sebastian Bach as a postlude.
St. Cecilia, a third century virgin and martyr, was known for her great faith and courage. She is often depicted in statues and stained glass playing a viola, organ or other musical instruments.
St. Cecilia has inspired countless pieces of music and also poetry.
Bishop Fernandes noted the willingness of St. Cecilia to give her life to the Lord and the example she provides to praise Him.
“We worship God in spirit and truth and with our limited abilities, whether because our minds are distracted or our hearts are distracted, or we just haven’t been given a good voice or a well-trained voice, we try to sing and praise God,” the bishop said. “Still more beautiful, however, is the song that we sing with our souls, where each person can sing a beautiful song for God — one of praise and of true and authentic worship. …
“Some days we’re great. Other days we’re like a discordant note; we sing off key. But today, on this feast day of St. Cecilia, we have a chance to sing in harmony with the Lord. Sing with our souls and with all our hearts for His praise and glory. And as we are healed through the sacraments we receive, we can sing more and more in harmony with God’s will. We can join the angels and saints, and all of creation which sings the song of praise to the Lord.”
