Sing to the Lord

The official guidelines for sung worship from the USCCB.

One of God's greatest gifts to us, his creation, was the gift of song. In words and music, our ancestors in Faith—Moses, David, Deborah, Paul, St. Gregory—have taught us how to revel in God's infinite love, proclaim his glory, give thanks for his abounding generosity, and plead for mercy and forgiveness.

Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship recalls this vast, rich musical tradition as it provides basic guidelines for understanding the role and ministry of music in the liturgy. Standing on the foundational work of the council fathers, Sing to the Lord echoes the call to full, active, and conscious participation in the liturgy through its sung elements.

It addresses the practical concerns of pastoral leaders: appropriate ministers, cultural diversity, instrumentation, formation, acoustics, and copyrights. It also outlines considerations for preparing and judging music for worship with an in-depth review of the musical structure of liturgy. Use Sing to the Lord to: evaluate your parish's current musical repertoire, better understand your role in sung worship, prepare particular sacramental liturgies, and train parish music ministers.