Pray with the Pope: Sing Our Christian mission

Intention: Let us pray that praying with the Word of God be nourishment for our lives and a source of hope in our communities, helping us to build a more fraternal and missionary Church.

A famous quote commonly attributed to St Augustine of Hippo says: “To sing is to pray twice.”

I was struck, some years ago, by a talk given by a Zimbabwean scripture scholar on the importance of choruses in the African Church. He was referring to the choruses of hymns, many of which contain either quotations from scripture or allusions to scripture.

Many religions know how the setting of their scriptures to the right kind of tune can settle it in the mind and heart. A personal favourite is the French version of the Rimsky-Korsakov setting of the Our Father.

The monks of Taizé in France have done this with great effect for several generations of young people since the Second World War. “Mane nobiscum Domine” (Stay With Us Lord), “Where There Is Charity’ and “No Greater Love” by Johan ter Beek are all beautiful examples of the use of song as a vehicle for the proclamation of the Word.

A lesson from France

An interesting aspect of the Taizé composition is their conscious pan-Europeanism and the use of multiple European languages at a time when Europeans were seeking healing and reconciliation after the horrors of World War II. This multilingual openness, which has since spilled beyond the borders of Europe, has made the monastery of Taizé an instrument for, in the words of the Prayer Intention, “a more fraternal and missionary Church”.

As I write this, I am listening to a Taizé chant which is simple and singable, prayerful and profound: “Laudate omnes gentes, laudate Dominum” (Praise, All You Nations, Praise the Lord). Listen to it at https://t.ly/rhIgC

Many Catholic missionaries, such as St Francis Xavier (whom we read about in last month’s “Saint of the Month” feature), did this with the catechism, inculturating the faith in the musical tradition of the ordinary people.

Francis recognised that ordinary people learned and prayed most naturally through the melodies of their own culture. In India and later Japan, he set Christian teachings and prayers to familiar local tunes, encouraged singing in the vernacular rather than in Latin, and organised processions filled with joyful communal music.

Instead of rejecting indigenous musical forms, he allowed traditional rhythms and melodies to communicate the “new” Christian message.

This approach helped new believers make the faith truly their own and laid the foundations for later Jesuit missionary practice across Asia.

The question the intention puts to us all is how we can nourish ourselves with the Bread of the Word of God, and how we can share this bread with those who hunger for it.