“Sing to the LORD a New Song”

At the beginning of this new year 2023, let us join the psalmist and sing to the LORD a new song; bless his name and proclaim his salvation day after day (Ps 96:1-2). A new song does not mean a newly composed one. Rather a new song is our response of praise, faithfulness, and thanksgiving to God our Father for all the blessings bestowed upon us, especially in 2022, through His beloved Son Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us praise Him for His unconditional love and care for us today and throughout this new year. The Holy Mass is the highest moment for us to praise and worship Him when we gather as Eucharistic People, Priestly People within the Church.  
Every time when I go into a church it comes to my mind the beautiful melody “Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down”. It is always a blessed opportunity to show my love, respect, and reverence to God who chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, called us to holiness and destined us in love to be His children through Jesus Christ (Ep 1:4-5). There are several ways to worship Him and show Him reverence and adoration. The best way I really enjoy showing Him my devotion is through song. I do believe that the sacred music is the “house” of God, – la maison de Dieu – a place where the Lord lives. Through a beautiful melody God reveals himself to us while our action of singing unites us to Him in a mystical syntony (harmony) with Him. I have no word to express this mystical syntony with God through chanting. It is a living experience of worshiping the Thrice Holy God.

The sacred scriptures invite us to that mystical syntony with God and give us insight in worship through singing. “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song” (Ps 100:1-2). “Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth: Let the sea and what fills it resound, the coastlands, and those who dwell in them” (Ps 42:10). “Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise” (Jm 5:13). “Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; cry out to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with a song of praise, joyfully sing out our psalms” (Ps 95:1-2).

At Mount Saint Mary’s Abbey here in Wrentham you may enjoy beautiful melodies of Psalms every day. It is an appropriate place to experience the mystical syntony with God through chanting. Our beloved Cistercian nuns sing praise to the Lord with love, devotion, and joy after our Mother Mary, the Mother of God.

As we celebrate the solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God – Theotokos – it is right and just to highlight that without Mary we could not sing a new song to the Lord. How shall we sing the Lord’s songs in the land of sins and death where we were prisoners? Thanks to the Yes of Mary the Word became flesh for our redemption. A lady of faith, Mary consecrated and devoted herself completely to God as the handmaid of the Lord. Her faith is the beginning of the new and eternal covenant of God with mankind in Jesus, the visible image of the invisible God, God in person. Therefore, the newness of our song to God found meaning in the Yes of Mary as the key moment for the fulfilment of God’s redemptive plan. Mary is also the first lady who sang to the Lord the new song of the new and eternal covenant. She is the first one to praise God and magnify Him who, through her womb, became man for us and for our salvation.

I enjoy joining Mary in her song of praise “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant ... the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name”. Yes, the Lord has done great things in my life and in your life as well. He is worthy of our new song, especially when we celebrate the holy Eucharist, the highest moment of our worship. Failure to sing to the Lord and praise his name can lead to a loss of joy, devotion, and admiration for the Lord in our worship. That is why new songs have always been written and sung to the Lord by people from every nation, language, and culture. 

In my African culture, life is a kind of melody. Through song we express our joy and sorrow. Through song we celebrate the birth of a child. Through song we mourn a loved one. Through song we worship God. My African “soul” is a singing “soul”. How can I keep from singing?

Happy New Year as we “Sing to the LORD a New Song”.