I was recently sitting in a coffee shop for a few hours while my daughter was attending a camp at her new high school, and the song “Old Man” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash came on the radio. Instantly, I was transported to the early 2000s at La Salle Retreat Center outside of St. Louis on a Kairos retreat, listening to the end of student Ryan Corley’s talk on being a leader, remembering him talking about an uncle who passed way too young and the profound impact that relative had on him. At the time, I was a high school campus minister, and it may have been my all-time favorite Kairos because the student and adult team was made of some of my all-time favorite people at St. Francis Borgia High School.
Student leaders were involved in campus ministry and my newspaper staff. The women teachers were two who were great mentors to me. The CD for that retreat was in rotation for a long time, transporting me to moments that were definitely an example of being on “God’s Time.” The music may have been a mix of genres, but the music was and is holy and a form of prayer for me.
Music has always been tied to my spirituality; it is a holy form of prayer that helps me feel closer to God, transporting me to holy memories. When I hear the song “Jesus, the Lord” by Roc O’Connor, SJ and the St. Louis Jesuits, I’m immediately transported back to my first Teens Encounter Christ retreat (TEC) in 1995 and what was the chapel of the former Kenrick Glennon seminary in St. Louis, now home to diocesean offices. On the second night of the retreat, people from past TEC retreats returned for fellowship and joined the current retreatants for a candle lit prayer service in the chapel. Every time I hear that song, I return to those tall ceilings, the pews facing the center aisle, Mary Carty singing both “Jesus the Lord” and the echo version of the “Our Father” and to people sharing their intentions, speaking out loud to God.
The candle lights surrounded those of us on retreat, the strangers around us held them while singing, and their moving music reverberated in the packed chapel; “Jesus, the Lord” will always be holy song for me. It will always take me a moment of community, a moment of feeling the Holy Spirit stirring in my soul, one of my first moments of feeling completely surrounded by God.
I have a number of playlists of music that was special to me from a retreat; some are songs people played with their talks, and others are songs I used or contemplated using myself. “Down to the River to Pray” by Alison Kraus takes me back to my Gonzaga Kairos retreats at Loyola on the Potomac in Newburg, Maryland and makes me think specifically of Fr. Gap LoBiondo, SJ. The “Centering Prayer” by The Porter’s Guide reminds me of silent retreats at Ignatius House in Sandy Springs, Georgia and instantly helps me remember to live in the present moment. Some songs make me remember that Jesus and God are my friend, that I am called to serve, that I am lovable. “Hands” by Jewel is one of the many songs I have used with my talks over the years, reminding me how we are God for each other — we literally can be God’s body taking care of each other. So many songs remind me of scripture readings and some center me—helping me to get into that spiritual place more quickly so I can pray.
The Bible reminds us how important music is to praising God and that it can be a form of prayer, bringing us closer to God. Psalm 150: 1-6 reminds us the holiness of so many musical instruments and how they can be used to praise God:
“Hallelujah! Praise God in his holy sanctuary; give praise in the mighty dome of heaven. Give praise for his mighty deeds, praise him for his great majesty. Give praise with blasts upon the horn,praise him with harp and lyre. Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise him with strings and pipes.Give praise with crashing cymbals, praise him with sounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath give praise to the LORD! Hallelujah!” Here, even dance is holy!
And Ephesians 5:19 reminds us to “be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with one another. Sing and chant to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So it makes sense that we praise God in music, whether it’s religious, Christian, or even mainstream.
I challenge you to think about what music is holy. What songs remind you to pray or make you feel closer to God? What music holds holy memories for you? What would be on your playlist? What songs help you pray?