The Celestial Choir

THE CELESTIAL CHOIR

Christmastide 2018

We have waited patiently during Advent. Now, during Christmastide [the Twelve Days of Christmas], we will joyfully sing hymns about the Incarnation.  Many of these hymns will feature “angels.” However, ponder this:  Every Sunday in Worship, we sing with the angels – not merely about angels!

The Liturgy describes this Trinitarian and Sacramental Mystery:

The Holy Eucharist: [ACNA Renewed Ancient Text]

It is right, our duty and our joy, always and everywhere, to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth because you sent your beloved Son to redeem us from sin and death, and to make us heirs in him of everlasting life; that when he shall come again in power and great glory to judge the world, we may without shame or fear rejoice to behold his appearing.

Therefore, we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who forever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

How is it possible to sing with the angels?

In Sacramental Theology, the Bread and Wine – the Body and Blood of Christ — are the very center and source of our communal life in Christ.

The Holy Trinity, in the Eucharistic Liturgy, collapses the constraints of time and space and opens up a portal between the spheres of heaven and earth.

Christ, through the Holy Spirit, unites Himself with the Church Militant [on earth] and the Church Triumphant [in heaven]. Together, we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God the Father.

In this sense, every one of us is a member of a great “Celestial Choir” and we rehearse weekly, as we prepare for our ultimate vocation: to sing and worship God forever with the angels!

How do we prepare on Sundays to sing with the angels?

Enter the Nave in silence.

Dip your hand into the Baptismal Font. Remember your Baptismal vows.

Bow, as you face the Eucharistic Table and the Crucifix.

Kneel and pray in the pew. Sit silently.

Meditate upon the words in the Worship Leaflet: Scripture, Prayers, Creeds, and [especially] the Music.

Encourage your children to do the same.

In awe and reverence, we will sing with the angels, a Liturgical moment that is mysterious, glorious, majestic, and transcendent!