We are excited to announce the hire of our new Choir Director for the Chancel and Knights Choirs, Jeremiah Evans. You may recognize Jeremiah from his involvement with the Christ Our Life Conference Orchestra, acting as a musician for the Chrism mass, directing the Teen Choir at St. Theresa’s, or cantoring at the Basilica. Jeremiah and his growing family are involved in many different ministries in their home parish as well as throughout the diocese. Jeremiah’s energetic spirit and appreciation of the liturgy and its beauty will be a wonderful fit for the lively personalities that are involved in our Chancel and Knights Choirs. Choir rehearsals will begin again on August 30^th. If you are interested in joining either of these, or any of the other choirs at Sacred Heart, please contact Leah Mohlman, Music and Liturgy Coordinator, at leah.mohlman@sacredheartwdm.org and please take a moment to welcome Jeremiah and his family to the music ministry of Sacred Heart.

The mass is one complete prayer and every part of the mass has a pivotal role, just as every word in a sentence is necessary and important, so are the parts of a mass. My goal as Director of Music and Liturgy is to make each mass a call to every one of us to live the gospel and fully participate in our faith. Fully participating in the mass is a great way to do that.
 
Pope Francis recently attended the International Conference on Sacred Music. While there he stated, “Liturgical worship is given a more noble form when it is celebrated in song, with the ministers of each degree fulfilling their ministry and the people participating in it. Indeed, through this form, prayer is expressed in a more attractive way, the mystery of the liturgy, with its hierarchical and community nature, is more openly shown, the unity of hearts is more profoundly achieved by the union of voices, minds are more easily raised to heavenly things by the beauty of the sacred rites, and the whole celebration more clearly prefigures that heavenly liturgy which is enacted in the holy city of Jerusalem.” Our God, our Maker, made all things beautiful and loves all things beautiful. Prayer is beautiful and music is beautiful, so prayer set to music is twice as beautiful, maybe that is why the ancient proverb says, “To sing is to pray twice.”
 
I urge you to look at your time in mass as an uplifting of your prayers, your sorrows, and your hearts to God. If you feel called to lift those prayers up through song and to lead others to do the same please contact me at leah.mohlman@sacredheartwdm.org to discuss opportunities to join various choirs, or to act as a cantor or musician.  ~Leah
 
Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19)