Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
How sweet to my taste is your promise! (Ps 119:103a) Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music and musicians. I was raised in a family gifted with musical talent and passionate about using and sharing those gifts. We loved to say that singing in church is like praying twice. My wonderful parents required each of us kids to take piano lessons from elementary school all the way until we left for college (a tradition that I have continued with my own children). My extended family even had a special hymn we sang regularly at gatherings; the Choral Benediction set to the tune of Edelweiss (made famous in the movie, The Sound of Music). I learned to play the saxophone for a few years in middle and high school. And in college, I embraced a growing passion for liturgical music by becoming an undergraduate music minister on campus. Music is ultimately what drew me deeper into my faith. Unsurprisingly, I have grown an affinity for St. Cecilia over the years.
I am a firm believer that praying through music has a powerful ability to connect us intimately with our good and loving God. Music in general is an experience of beauty, and sacred music can beautifully draw us deeper into prayer, into conversation, into relationship with God. In music, we open our minds and hearts to receive God's grace, love, and mercy. To sing, alone or with others, to participate in music in any way, elevates our soul and connects us to the divine. No one in my life right now exemplifies this more than my daughter, Cecilia. Cecilia has an ability to pour her heart out into song and it is truly glorious to watch her burst with joy and passion. “How sweet” indeed is this taste in our souls when we glorify God with our gifts.
And it is exactly this that makes St. Cecilia so compelling to me–she had the gifts of preaching her faith and caring for others. Though illegal, she and her husband assisted in the burial of martyred Christians, until they became martyrs themselves. We proclaim her as the patron saint of musicians, but it isn’t because there are actually recordings, hymns, or direct contributions from her to church music. Rather, one of the most famous stories of her life is that, as the musicians played at her wedding, she was “singing a song of love to the Lord in her heart”. St. Cecilia’s love and passion for her faith lead to the conversion of her husband along with many others.
There is a quote from Johann Sebastian Bach that states, “The aim and final reason of all music should be nothing else but the glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit.” As we remember St. Cecilia today, let us be mindful that music is a path by which we might connect to the divine, a way to seek comfort, to praise, to be grateful, and to pray. The life of St. Cecilia reveals the taste of ‘sweetness’ we read about in Revelation and sing in today’s Psalm. Music is a beautiful reflection of the glory of God but is even more deeply impactful when it inspires our faith into action. Jesus cites scripture in the Gospel, proclaiming “My house shall be a house of prayer” (Lk 19:46b). May we double down on cleaning out the “den of thieves” with songs of praise and glory to a good, loving, and merciful God. St. Cecilia, pray for us!
Peace,
Brandon Meyer