Parish music ministers, instrumentalists and singers are charged with sharing their talents at Mass while including the congregation in a deeper examination of Scripture and reflection. A successful music ministry is more than what is pleasing to the ear, but rather, what evokes prayer in those around them.

“I tell my choir to ‘pray on the music,’” said Renée Hatzold, director of sacred music in Corpus Christi Parish, Willingboro. “I hear a different tone when they do.”

Hatzold, who has led adult, youth, funeral and handbell choirs at the parish for 15 years, assures there is a definite correlation between prayer, music and the week’s Scriptural readings in the hearts of the congregation.

“You remember where you have been, where it coincides with your life,” when a song is used at pivotal moments in the Mass, she said. “The little ones get excited to hear a song again, and they get the message.” 

Gina Corrao, liturgical music director in St. Joseph Parish, Toms River, also sees the benefits of prayer in music as she leads the faith community’s vibrant, diverse program of adult and children’s choirs, two worship bands and a flourishing Spanish music ministry. In order to prepare music for Masses, she employs the aid of Scriptural readings and commentary on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, and introduces the prayers found there at the choirs’ rehearsals.

“This is a vocation, not a job,” Corrao said of her music ministry leadership, “and I have a relationship with God. Music disciplines my prayer life.”

Dawne Mechlinski, director of music and liturgy in St. Mark Parish, Sea Girt, said, “Prayer and reflection have always influenced my selection of music. I pray before even beginning to plan programs for enlightenment from the Holy Spirit.”

The lifelong musician has led the seaside parish’s choirs, which range in age from pre-kindergarteners through senior citizens, for the past 13 years. On Sept. 8, she served as music director of the Cohort 19 Mass in Belmar’s Maclearie Park.

Noting the variety of music performed at the bilingual Mass, Mechlinski added, “I hope to reach everyone at their core, leading them to prayerful petition, to offer healing, transform their heart, and transcend any barriers so the power of the Eucharist and the Sacraments can transport them in love.”

Tom Flarity, a guitarist who has accompanied St. Mark’s 10 a.m. children’s choir at Mass for the past five years, agreed in the power of prayer in music, explaining how the parish’s program drew him in. “I happened upon this Mass, sat front and center in the pew, and was transformed. As devout a Catholic as I was, [the music] took it to the next level.”

He added, “Singing at Mass is praying with the music. I am so blessed and grateful. It is uplifting. This is what our faith is supposed to be.”