St. Cecilia Choir (8:00am Mass)

“MAKE MY HEART AND MY BODY PURE THAT I MAY NOT BE CONFOUNDED.” - St. Cecilia, Patron Saint of Music

Cecilia was a maiden of noble birth. At an early age, she dedicated her life to God with a vow of chastity. She, however, was betrothed to a young noble named Valerian. On her wedding day, she prayed to the Lord and asked Him to protect her virginity History records, “The day on which the wedding was to be held arrived and while musical instruments were playing, Cecilia was singing in her heart to God alone saying: Make my heart and my body pure that I may not be confounded.” This text led to the eventual naming of Cecilia as the patroness of music. In the original Latin, the term for musical instruments is cantantibus organis, and in later texts it was translated that she was playing an organ instead of listening to music as she prayed. St. Cecilia’s prayers were answered, and Valerian was willing to take her as his wife without forcing her to break her vow. Not only did he accept her vow of chastity, he and his brother Tiburtius were both converted to Christianity and were baptized. Christianity was still illegal in Rome at that time with the result that both Valerian and Tiburtius were discovered as professed Christians and were martyred. Cecilia was discovered soon after and met a similar fate. When a first attempt to steam her to death in a bath failed, she was beheaded. However, the stroke of the axe failed to sever her head from her body and she lived for three days. During this time, she saw to the disbursement of her assets to help the poor, and donated her home to the ecclesiastical authorities to be used as a church. Laudate Dominum! (God be praised!)

On Sunday mornings, members of the St. Cecilia Choir are among the first parishioners to arrive at church, because warm-up starts at 7.40 am and our conductor is adamant that everyone show up punctually. Thus, parking is never an issue, and we are usually relieved of our duties at 10.30 am – just before the line-up starts at the Sunday Breakfast Cafe in the PLC or at the dim-sum restaurants in town.

Our choir has been blessed with great leadership administratively, musically and spiritually since inception and this is the main reason for our continued growth and stability. Aside from singing at the 8 am Sunday Mass, attending practice after Mass and participating or assisting in the organization of parish functions, our own agenda of activities includes three general meetings a year, an annual retreat in the serene surroundings of Westminster Abbey which never cease to inspire us, music workshops to hone our skills to better carry out the main purpose of our existence as a choir, gym days to keep us healthy and fit, the St. Cecilia Feast Day Concert to share with parishioners and sing with the other parish choirs non-liturgical sacred music ad majorem dei gloriam (to the greater glory of God), and a New Year’s Eve Party to gather with our friends and family for a scrumptious meal in thanksgiving. Once in a while, we embark upon short pilgrimages, mostly to out-of-town destinations.

Apart from leading the congregation in the singing of the liturgy in Cantonese, on the fourth Sunday of each month, we sing the parts of the mass in Latin, in the hopes of getting parishioners accustomed to, or be reacquainted with, the mother tongue of the Church, which, contrary to popular belief, has not been abolished by Vatican Council II.

New members are always welcome. So, if you like to sing and do not mind getting up early on Sundays, please consider joining our happy family. Cantate ei! (Sing to Him!)

聖則濟利亞( 8 AM) 聖詠團 侍奉上主 服務大家

你們服役於 上主聖殿的，你們侍立在我主前庭的，請讚頌 上主，

聖則濟利亞 聖詠團是個 服役於 上主聖殿的團體 , 亦是個融洽、快樂、合作、喜歡講飲講食及服務大家的善會。

每主日，聖詠團在早上 7 時 40 分便到達聖堂練歌，風雨不改，為奉獻 8 點鐘的彌撒做好準備 ，帶領兄弟姊妹歌頌上主的名。年中的大節日，團員早在數星期前便作準備，音樂指揮負責揀歌、編曲、排序，團員落力演練並與其他聖詠團一起集訓。每年年底，聖 則濟利亞 聖詠團結合全堂聖詠團舉辨聖樂欣賞會和聖樂筵席，數年下來，各聖詠團的 團員都很熟絡，每次集訓都像一群鬧哄哄的大孩子。真難為各聖詠團的指揮，勞心勞力教導這班超齡的頑童。除此， 聖詠團還參與每月的聖心彌撒、四旬期的拜苦路、每年幾天的明供聖體、敬禮聖母聖人的特別彌撒、以及為亡靈祈禱等。在眾禮儀中，歡笑最多的是婚配聖事。去年 ( 2006 年）， 聖則濟利亞 聖詠團便有兩對團員在主內結合，真是四喜臨門。

在上述的禮儀中 ，我們的音樂指揮任勞任怨，他和團員們犧牲了不少私人時間，經歷身心勞累，全為練好每一首聖樂以宣揚上主的救恩，若唱得好不敢驕傲，因主說： 『你應當全心、全靈、全意、全力愛上主，你的天主。』 ( 瑪 12:30) 為侍奉上主及章顯衪的光榮而做的事，理所當然，團員有幸能參加這許多禮儀，只是遵行主的誡命並給靈魂進補。

除了謳歌讚訟上主 ， 聖詠團亦是個服務 範疇多元化 的善會 。由於團員 講究飲食 ，最緊張的項目是 每年堂區義賣會的食物供應，唯恐食物質素未如理想。聖詠團間亦預備堂區旅行的飲食，供應主日早餐。遇有堂區的大形宴會， 團員一呼百應，廚房的廚司或幫工，堂上的侍應或跑腿，都有我們的影 ? 。若有聖堂的籌款活動，團員各盡所能，設計海報、印製入場卷、編排節目、現場安排表演程序、佈置場地、操控燈光音響、更改場景樂器等，此時此地只恨團員太少，未能做到盡善盡美。除此 聖詠團的其他服務還包括義賣蛋糕及唸珠，義務為家庭攝製特刊的相片，幫助編輯聖堂紀念年刊…琳琳種種，未能盡錄。不過，無論服務範圍 多 廣，都只為有機會服務大家。

主耶穌曾說過：『你應當愛近人如你自己』 ( 瑪 12: 31 ) 。 聖詠團提供的服務，是履行天主誡命的一 種途徑， 若做得好不要稱讚我們，因為在現世有了賞報，將來在天國會 變成負資產 。

感謝主！ 聖則濟利亞 聖詠團在聖神的光照和英明的領導下已邁向第 17 個年頭。 團員互助互愛，相處得像個快樂的大家庭，偶遇風浪，亦安然渡過，每年雖添新成員，仍覺人手不足，皆因想為大家做的事實在太多，所以聖詠團全年都歡迎你們來參加 。請大家一齊來 :