Music has long played an important role in the life of the Church, especially in proclaiming, praying, and responding to the Word of God. The bishops who gathered at the Second Vatican Council recognized the intimate connection between word and music, declaring that the Church’s musical tradition is of preeminent value because “as a combination of sacred music and words, it forms a necessary or integral part
of the solemn liturgy” (Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy [Sacrosanctum Concilium], no. 112, in Vatican Council II: Volume 1: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, new rev. ed., ed. Austin Flannery [Northport, NY: Costello Publishing, 1996]).

Whether it is used for proclamation or prayer, music joined to the Word of God is meant to draw people into an encounter with the living Word of God, who is Christ. The Second Vatican Council declared that in the liturgy the presence of Christ is revealed in many ways—in the person of the ordained minister, in the proclamation of God’s Word, in the eucharistic species, and lastly “when the Church prays and sings” (Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 7).

Music is a gift of God that opens for us a glimpse of God’s glory. Through beauty, music and other arts reveal dimensions of truth that words alone cannot convey. Pope John Paul II noted that “on countless occasions the biblical word has become image, music and poetry, evok- ing the mystery of ‘the Word made flesh’ in the language of art” (Letter to Artists, no. 5, Vatican)

“A cry from deep within our being, music is a way for God to lead us to the realm of higher things” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB], Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, Pastoral Liturgy Series 4 [Washington, DC: USCCB, 2007], no. 2). Whether we are singing or listening, music has the power to bring us into an experience beyond the words—to a personal encounter with Christ himself, the Word made flesh.