Dear Friends,
You hear in the second reading this Sunday the urgent plea of St. Paul to the people of Corinth: “that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in
the same purpose.” It is a strong request for unity. However, I do not think that St. Paul was asking for uniformity.
To help with understanding the difference, can I give you a little homework task to do? Could you Google “Palestrina”, and then click on one of the video performances of his work being performed. What you will hear is music that sounds angelic, heavenly, that is made up of many voices without any accompaniment. If you pardon me for drawing on what I learned in a music theory class many years ago…what you are hearing is
polyphonic.
Most church songs are monophonic (think “one-sound”), meaning that everyone sings the melody together. Most older hymns are homophonic (think “same-sound”), meaning that, if a group of people sing all the parts written in the hymnal, some will be singing the melody while the rest fill in by singing notes of the chords that match the melody. But Palestrina’s music, like most music of the Renaissance, is polyphonic (think “many-sounds”), meaning that each person sings an independent but harmonizing melody.
Palestrina has three to six different voices each singing their own song, but blending to create something incredibly beautiful. What does the sound of distinct, individual voices—singing their own songs—singing in
slow, drawn-out lines that express the yearnings built into prayer—yet singing the same words and interweaving their melodies—do for your understanding of unity? One of the things that Palestrina avoided in his music was dissonance.
Palestrina lived in rough times, born in the midst of the Reformation and great civic stress, he tried to convey a different truth with his music. Imagine wandering Rome in the 1560s. Your land is in turmoil; your leaders
continually falter in their efforts to purify and strengthen their rule; your very creed seems crumbling, as the church no longer looks one, holy, catholic, or apostolic. So, you come to St. John Lateran, the church in Rome
where Palestrina directed music. There you hear this music that offers your heart beauty and peace in the midst of a challenging world. However, the music does not offer one-sound, but many sounds – not in dissonance but in harmony. This is unity.
A parish community can be of one mind and in the same purpose as St. Paul encourages the people of Corinth, but it is composed of many different members who live very different lives. Another image we could use to
express the unity in diversity is that of a symphony. There are many different instruments all working together to produce a glorious sound.
You have your special gifts to bring to our community. They are not the same as the person sitting next to you.We all have different gifts, different styles, and yet we all work for the one Lord, the one Church, the one vision
that Jesus brought us. Do not try to be like everybody else, but try to offer the talents God gave you to further the mission. That is unity. That is having the same mind and the same purpose. Unity is polyphonic. And, it
sounds heavenly.
Peace,
Fr. Damian