Part of living in the seminary is filling your role with obedience and zeal. And while each of us has a formal task to carry out each week, we are encouraged to participate and offer our gifts to other causes as well. These are ways to keep us engaged in community life. They build upon our natural skills and passions and oftentimes lead us to try new things. They offer a balance to our lives of prayer and study.

A group in which I'm particularly active is our little schola choir that leads the congregation in music at our Thursday evening community Masses. It's a small commitment every week, and doesn't ask too much of any one of us. Nonetheless, it brings us together as brothers in Holy Cross and provides an integral component to our worship.

Each week we meet on Wednesday nights for a short rehearsal with Fr. Peter Rocca, C.S.C., our director and accompanist. Together we run through the hymns and Mass parts for the upcoming community Mass. As we practice more together we have added more difficult pieces to our repertoire, including a cappella and multiple-voiced pieces.

We try to rotate the psalm and other solo opportunities for those who are interested. Some guys who never expected to sing alone before the entire congregation are now weekly leaders. It's a great way to grow together as brothers and develop new skills. After all, there are few things worse than a priest who can't sing!

The notion that those who sing pray twice is oftentimes attributed to the great St. Augustine. That phrase may seem a bit hackneyed in today's liturgical music circles, but I think it expresses an important truth about our liturgy. Music has long held an important role in the liturgy, from monastic chant through Renaissance polyphony and into the present. When we raise our voice to God in song it involves more expression and passion. The effect is a beautiful noise that fills the space and raises up to God a prayer with more aesthetic beauty than that formed by words alone.

The new Roman Missal reflects this passion for prayer, and indicates to me the important role of song within the liturgy. Just before the congregation sings the Sanctus the celebrant declares, “Therefore, as we give you ceaseless thanks with the choirs of heaven, we cry out to your majesty on earth, and without end we acclaim …” It seems fitting that these words lead into a glorious noise that conveys the holiness and glory of our Lord.

Now I'm not trying to fool you that our Moreau Seminary choir always blends perfectly with those heavenly choirs of angels. But surely our prayerful efforts in the Mass help lead the congregation, including our brother seminarians, in a more expressive and intimate prayer with God.

So while our choir isn't made up of music majors (or angels), we still come together every week to practice and lead the music for our liturgies. As a religious community, praying in common the Liturgy of the Hours and daily Mass are integral parts of our lives. To be part of the choir, then, is an important and enjoyable way of enriching our community prayer and offering our time and talents to the Lord and one another.

Mr. Michael Eardley is a candidate at Moreau Seminary on the campus of Notre Dame. He and other seminarians at Moreau write a post each month for the Spes Unica Blog, sharing on their life and formation at Moreau. Meet our other men in formation, and learn more about seminary life in Holy Cross, and specifically about the Candidate Program at Moreau Seminary, which constitutes the first year of religious and priestly formation in Holy Cross for college graduates.