“Those who are sowing in tears will sing when they reap.”
On Ash Wednesday 2026, I take up my new role as Director of Music at St Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Aberdeen. As anyone involved in church music will be aware, along with the joys inherent in liturgical music-making, there are plenty of days where one seems to be “sowing in tears”. I would like to argue that now, in these post-covid days, those seeds sown by many are beginning blossom into some inspiring reasons to have hope for the future of Catholic Liturgical Music. For this short reflection, I have chosen three separate “new songs” being sung to the Lord.
I. The Jubilate Deo Programme, Australia. (https://www.jubilatedeo.com.au/)
Named after the document of the same name promulgated by Pope Paul VI, The Jubilate Deo Programme is a liturgical music programme which runs in all levels of education with the aim “to help people grow in their relationship with Christ through singing liturgical Chant, the highest artform of the Church; and to share this beauty with others.” Drawing directly on the words of Sacrosanctum Concilium, this programme demonstrates that liturgical Chant (in Latin and the vernacular) is entirely accessible when approached with straightforward pedagogy, catechesis, and a desire for the beauty of holiness.
They have created impressive and engaging resources for classroom teaching and home study, which have been implemented by musicians in primary and secondary schools in Sydney (with clear ambitions for expansion). One needs only watch the videos they have produced – visually stunning one may add – of Mass being sung by their partner schools and choirs to see just how successful this work has been. It is worth clarifying that this is a Sung Mass in the fullest sense; dialogues, acclamations, propers, ordinaries, readings, prayers, hymns, all sung heartily and well by school children, not a professional choir. The dignity and sincerity of the liturgical celebration is deeply inspiring. It stands testament to the fact that the music of the Church belongs to all her children: all can join in it, and, with patience, committed teachers and supportive clergy, we can confidently claim this wonderful treasury of sacred music that is handed down to us. It is possible and glorious to behold.
II. National Schools Singing Programme (NSSP), UK. (https://www.nssp.org.uk/)
Through diocesan Schools Singing Programmes (SSPs), the NSSP shares the joy of sacred song with nearly 40,000 young people over 437 state schools each week. These children feed into school, parish, deanery, and Cathedral choirs across the UK producing tremendous music in some of the most deprived areas of our communities.
The (Arch)Dioceses of Aberdeen, Leeds, Liverpool, Salford, Westminster, Nottingham, Down and Connor, and East Anglia are among the many dioceses and organisations in which children are receiving consistent, high-quality, and transformative education in sacred music. It is no understatement that the musical life of the Catholic Church in the UK is not only alive but thriving – filled with a renewed sense of purpose and a special care for those for whom high-quality sacred music-making has previously not been inaccessible.
In my last three years establishing the SSP for the Diocese of Motherwell I have witnessed firsthand the way in which sacred music can utterly transform lives and communities. The levels of engagement and appetite for specifically sacred music are unprecedented. To give one example, in St Benedict’s Primary School, Easterhouse – one of the poorest communities in Glasgow where child poverty is at a staggering 50% – the choir there is 90 children strong. Between them, they speak multiple languages, profess numerous different creeds, have varied and, sometimes distressing home lives. Yet they all come together every Monday to sing in the choir.
Through singing for Holy Mass, Christians and non-Christians alike, their experience of the Church is one that is infused with beauty; a place in which they are valued, wanted, and respected as the skilled musicians they so clearly are.
III. Ad Fontes Record Label, Buckfast Abbey. (https://www.adfontes.org.uk/)
Last, but by no means least, a real source of inspiration for me has been the series of albums realised by Ad Fontes, based at Buckfast Abbey in Devon. They present Catholic Liturgical Music in the most glorious, polished, and colourful way. The quality of the musicianship and recording are both second to none. Each album is finer than the last, but, as with hymns and children, one must pick a favourite. For me, and it really is as difficult as choosing between one’s children, it is Vexilla Regis: A sequence of music from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday sung by The Choir of Westminster Cathedral, Directed by Martin Baker and accompanied by Peter Stevens.
As the name suggests, the album provides windows into the music of Passiontide and the opening of the Triduum. Each track is utterly captivating, beautifully balanced, and at points the “noble Simplicity” of the Roman Rite is astoundingly revealed. The title track Vexilla Regis Prodeunt, is a masterclass in the Western Catholic sound-world and contains within it the very essence of Passiontide; sorrowful, dignified, strengthening, serious, and stunningly straightforward. The gradual build in this recording reinforces this sense of the Church approaching Calvary – the organ rich with heavy foundations, the final verse, the doxology, resplendent in majesty and awe.
“Well and good”, some might say, the vast majority hear nothing like this in their parish. However, if the previous two programmes tell us anything, this music is ours to offer to the Lord. It is our privilege to be able to hear it executed with such skill and to be edified in the hearing of it.
Conclusion
These reasons for optimism within Catholic sacred music today reassure us that the Good Lord continues to pour forth his graces on his Church. Yet it is important that we don’t focus on reaping just yet; we leave that to the Lord and continue to sow seeds, to look to the young and the needy, and to keep our shoulders to the plough. One mustn’t become stationary, surveying all of this as a critic or connoisseur, but remember that all of this is offered as a sacrifice of praise and is vital for the salvation of souls. I conclude with the unimprovable words of the great Romano Guardini in his seminal book The Spirit of the Liturgy, who warns us against this very vice:
“The Church has not built up the ‘Opus Dei’ for the pleasure of forming beautiful symbols, choice language, and graceful, stately gestures, but she has done it—in so far as it is not completely devoted to the worship of God—for the sake of our desperate spiritual need. It is to give expression to the events of salvation that she has chosen this particular style.”
As a humble Catholic Musician at the beginning of his career, there is so much to be hopeful about, so much to be achieved, and so much to be done to God’s glory – if only we have courage to cast our nets and trust that it will not be in vain.
Not all of us have the knowledge and talent and I dare say perseverance that it takes to sow the seeds of faith through sacred music especially with the young! However the outstanding contributions from young (younger than me!) teachers and leaders in the faith is heartwarming. The most important exhortation in this blog is clearly; ‘One mustn’t become stationary, surveying all of this as a critic or connoisseur, but remember that all of this is offered as a sacrifice of praise and is vital for the salvation of souls.’ Whilst avoiding sinful pleasure in just consuming the magisterium of liturgical music we can none the less witness with a certain sense of satisfaction the seeds sown by the work of young leaders and teachers – young leaders like James Greechan. Thank you James!