A Joyful Noise to the Lord

On this last Monday evening, I attended a Mass at the Newman Center at ASU, celebrated by Bishop Olmsted. This Mass, other than being special because a bishop was there, was special because of the reason that he was there: the blessing and dedication of the church’s new pipe organ.

The evening began with a prelude of music and then the entrance procession for the Mass, all done without the organ, after which the blessing took place. Bishop Olmsted, from in front of the Altar and facing towards the choir loft in the rear of the church, said the blessing prayer, and the Deacon, escorted by two altar servers, ascended the stairs to the loft and sprinkled the organ with Holy Water and then incensed it. After the blessing, the organ then came to life, with the choir singing with the organ Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven, a hymn based on Psalm 103, and the Mass continued as normal with the organ showcasing is versatile ability to accompany a variety of types of music in English, Spanish, and Latin, ranging from new to ancient compositions.

After the Mass, the builder, whose family has for generations crafted organs, including the one at our St. Simon & Jude Cathedral and St. Bernadette in Scottsdale, gave a speech introducing us to the organ. After that, his father and students from ASU’s music program gave performances of multiple pieces on the organ that walked through its various sounds from its light, high-pitched, flowery flute notes to its deep, building-shaking bellows to its triumphant horns and trumpets. The final piece played incorporated all these elements into one beautiful and joyful symphony.

The current Newman Center, built in 2013 under the guidance of its current rector Fr. Rob Clements, was designed from the beginning to accommodate a pipe organ, with the floor of the choir loft reinforced to support the massive weight of hundreds of pipes. Some of you may know that I worked for the Newman Center while I was a student at ASU, and while there was a good electronic organ during my time, it was understood that it could never compete with the sound of real pipes, and so it was a constant goal of ours to have one installed.

The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium 120) states, "In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man's mind to God and to higher things.” Indeed, now for many years to come, the organ will help enlighten the minds of the students who enter the doors of that church, and draw them upward towards the beauty of Heaven through its powerful and joyful noise for the Lord.