Musicam Sacram Music in the Liturgy
In 1967, the Second Vactican Ecumenical Council outlined general norms and ideas of the music ministry. I am going to quote (source) and summarize a few of these key points from Musicam Sacram (MS) throughout this article.
The Church is quite detailed when it comes to outlining the best practices of the lay music ministry. This practice is quite straight-forward.
Each role in the music ministry should have a function and clearly fulfill that role. It also means to consider each song selection for its tone, affect, mood, and proper setting.
The most important aspect of any music ministry is remembering the role of the liturgy and the Eucharist. Namely, those elements come first and are the more important part of the Mass. While thoughtful music selection aids in the experience of Mass, it certainly is not the main event.
