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Dear Parents: Today, I would like to talk about goose-bumps, chills and teary-eyes. I’ve experienced these sensations time and time again as the result of my daughters’ participation in the Pueri Cantores program. Quite often, I’ll be driving them home from choir practice after a long day of work. It will be very quiet in the car as I’m driving to pick them up, because after all, I’m tired. It’s the final errand of another day. They get in the car and suddenly the atmosphere is transformed. My daughters burst into strains of sacred music-----in harmony-----with voices that are very well-warmed up. The music did not end in the car. It continues in the house. If American Idol is on, they start harmonizing to some of the songs that the contestants are singing. Sacred music lives within my daughters. It has become part of their being. My wife and I don’t just see this when they perform. We see it everyday. It is common to hear talk these days about the negative effects of music. How violent lyrics encourage violence. Lyrics that glorify drug use. What needs more attention is the positive— The ability of music to bring out the best in all of us. My wife and I have seen Pueri Cantores bring the best out of my children and their friends in the choir as they sing praise to God. We saw this when they celebrated the opening of the Cathedral downtown. We saw this in Italy as they performed sacred music in the most sacred places. What an honor, What a privilege to sing at a New Year’s day mass celebrated by his holiness, Pope Benedict the 16th.
My family was blessed by the company of all the other families. We toured beautiful churches and museums and saw the most beautiful art and architecture ever created by man. Though a tour of those wonderful places could never be------ordinary, -----it was all the more special because we were all together, brought together---- by this beautiful sacred music . . . experiencing this journey through our Catholic faith. As my children have put it, Singing makes them feel close to God. It’s their prayer, their meditation on the divine. For them it confirms the words of St. Francis, “When you sing, you pray twice.” They are awestruck when they meet with children from around the world who don’t speak their language, ----yet----- they can sing-----together. They cherish the lasting friendships they make through music. They enjoy learning songs composed hundreds of yrs ago and are in wonder of their enduring power to move their souls in this modern age. Conclusion Pueri Cantores has been good for my children as individuals. It has been good for us as a family and as a church. Pueri Cantores is succeeding in enhancing the celebration of the mass. It is succeeding in inspiring all of us to sing the Peace of God. Lastly, it is providing our children with a means of deep spiritual fulfillment. We are grateful to this organization and especially to Pat and Lauren Flahive. Thanks for the goose bumps. Please, keep up the good work . - By Ed Miller
(Parent, PC San Gabriel Valley)
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