The Gathering Song

At the MUSIC AT MASS: FULLNESS EXPRESSION OF FAITH session held Wednesday, February 12, here’s a summary about the Gathering Song: The gathering of the SLM community actually begins much earlier than the first note of the Gathering Song. The gathering of the community begins hours before in the homes of our parishioners as they get ready for Mass. When we enter the church, we do not leave our “baggage” at the front doors of the church. We bring all of our joys, sorrows, pains, and hopes into the church with us, as we are greeted by members of our SLM community who stand at the doors. We sing our Gathering Song not for the sole purpose of having the priest come from Point A to Point B but to raise our voices together to assemble and become church, the Body of Christ, in the eucharistic liturgy. A study by the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that not only does our singing have a calming effect on our hearts but that our singing together at the beginning of Mass inevitably brings our individual heart rates in synchronicity with one another. Our heart rates fall into a shared rhythm guided by the song’s tempo. We do not necessarily stop singing after one or two verses or once the priest reaches his chair. We might even sing another verse once the priest reaches his chair. This is how we can begin the Mass with full, active, and conscious participation in the liturgy called by Vatican II. Music at Mass helps us to express in words and sounds what our souls pray for.