Cantors

We had a Staff Retreat on Tuesday, May 20, at Mary & Joseph Retreat Center in Palos Verdes. Our retreat facilitator was Fr. Juan Ochoa, director of the Office of Divine Worship in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. I had spoken to him about resuming the archdiocese's cantor certification program, where potential cantors can receive formation and training in this ministry. I was an instructor in this program 10 years ago.

I discussed with Fr. Juan that the ministry of cantor seems to have devolved from its pure meaning. A cantor is not just someone who has a great voice and can stand in front of a microphone. This is just a definition of a singer who can sing into a microphone. A cantor is more than that. A cantor in a catholic church is first a faithful disciple with disciplined musical training, who can sing and lead the assembly in sung prayer. It is someone who prays the lyrics of a piece or a psalm as he or she is singing it. He or she prays on a regular basis, even when not in front of people. A cantor who is a psalmist is not just a professional musician who can sight-read a psalm on the spot, but someone who has, even days before, chewed on the words of the psalm, believing the words, and imparting that belief as he or she leads the assembly in worship. A cantor knows liturgy. A cantor has the assembly’s needs at heart, not his or her own ego or ambitions. One can always tell a psalmist who can sing the notes of the text beautifully from a psalmist who sings the heart of the text with beautiful conviction. And this is just what occurs when people in the pews are touched by the power of God’s love. In essence, a cantor certificate from six weeks of training in scripture, liturgy, teaching, and psalmody does not automatically make for a great cantor or a psalmist. A cantor is not simply selected or hired. A cantor is carefully chosen. The combination of musical training and discipline, coupled with convicted faith and the joy of serving in liturgical ministry, makes for a pastoral musician, a cantor, a psalmist.