Lord, teach us to pray

“Lord, teach us to pray.” Christ responded to this request of His disciples by teaching them the Our Father. As the catechism reminds us, this prayer becomes deeply embedded in our hearts, not only through rote repetition, but by its persistent presence in the Church’s liturgy. Our Lord teaches us to pray, “for we do not know how to pray as we ought” so the Holy “Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness” (Rom. 8:26).

This aid that God gives us to pray does not stop with the Our Father. It is that which undergirds the whole of the sacred liturgy and the Church’s guardianship of liturgical tradition. When we go to Mass, our mother, the Church, places words upon our lips, gestures within our body, thoughts upon our minds. All these prescriptions give us the tools we need to make an act of adoration, of self-offering to the Father, through the Spirit, united to the sacrifice of Cross re-presented at each Holy Mass. The Church’s liturgy is truly a school of prayer and the most special place in which we encounter Christ.

The Church’s sacred music, especially Gregorian chant, is integral to this school of prayer. Pope Pius X, in his writings on sacred music, teaches us that sacred music is that which beautifully and fittingly clothes the words of the sacred liturgy “proposed for the understanding of the faithful,” helping those words to more deeply impact our minds and hearts. It forms an integral part of the sacred liturgy, and disposes us to better receive all the gifts and graces that God makes present to us in the Mass, especially in the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist.

The Church invites us to learn to pray with this sacred music. Gregorian chant is a beautiful gift that the Church has handed down through the ages, and one that can produce many fruits in our spiritual lives. When sung well, the chant’s beauty attracts us to the truth and goodness of God, stirring up devotion and love for Him. Its Latin language allows us to pray with ease with our brothers and sisters from around the world, even uniting us to the Christians of the past who likewise prayed and sang these chants.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to pray with Gregorian chant, and even to sing and read it, there is an opportunity to learn! April 14-15 there will be a sacred music workshop at St. Wenceslaus in Dickinson. There, we will pray the liturgies of the Church in chant, both Gregorian and in English adaptations. We will learn to read the square notes and sing it with beauty. And we will talk about the ways in which this incredible music can lead us to Christ. More information and sign-up are available on the St. Wenceslaus parish website: stwenceslausnd.com. I hope to see you there!

Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka holds the William P. Mahrt Chair in Sacred Music at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, California, where she teaches the seminarians and directs the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, which offers an extensive program of formation for lay people in sacred music. A native of Dickinson, she was recently inducted into the Trinity High School Hall of Fame for her excellence in service to the Church.