The music ministry at St. Mary of the Bay is a multi-ensemble collective working to unite the parish in song in the Sacred Liturgy, bringing glory to God and drawing His people to Him.
THE LITURGY. In order to understand why we have music in the Mass, it’s important to understand the Sacred Liturgy. Liturgy comes from the Greek leitourgia, derived from laos (meaning laity) and ergon (meaning work). According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the liturgy is the participation of the people of God in the work of God (CCC 1071). It is the source of our life.
The Sacred Liturgy is the Church’s public and communal worship. The celebration of the Eucharist in the Mass is the Church’s highest form of worship, but the Liturgy also includes the celebration of the other sacraments, the official daily prayer of the Church (the Liturgy of the Hours), and liturgies for special celebrations. As the Church’s official worship, each of these liturgies has at its heart the celebration of the Paschal Mystery–the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
