Before I entered the Daughters of St. Paul, I was very much a musician. I grew up in Hawaii where entertainment was a huge part of life. I remember our house always being filled with music. My mother was a very talented musician who often accompanied singers on the island, so they were often there practicing with my mom. But for my part, although I was a musician, I never considered myself a singer.
When I entered the community, as much as I loved music, I was willing to let it go. I remember sensing the Lord saying to me: “Music isn’t the totality of who you are,” and I felt the Lord calling me to bring myself just as I was. Several years later I was asked to sing on some of our choral albums. I had never really sung before, other than in church, so I was quite surprised to be asked. I discovered I really enjoyed it. Now, I’ve sung in our Christmas concerts since they began over 25 years ago, and Christmas wouldn’t quite be the same for me without being on the road during Advent.
The Lord really brings you to places where you didn’t expect to go. Before entering the Daughters of St. Paul I saw myself one way. But then the Lord showed me a whole side of myself I didn’t even know existed. He showed me how to proclaim his love through music.
These days, I actually start the concert long before we take to the road for our annual tour. Along with several other sisters from the choir, I spearhead the selection of songs and creation of the program. Together we reflect on what we call the “cries of humanity,” the ways that the hearts of people are calling out to God, what they most deeply long for and need. Based on what comes to us in prayer, we not only choose the songs, but also come up with how we want the songs to come across. We convey to our arranger aspects like mood, tempo, and the feeling we want each song to have, like a sense of mystery or joyful praise.
After we receive the music tracks and the vocal score, I go through the music and note how we want to phrase the song and the dynamics. I mark the parts of the music that will be more challenging. When we come together in August to practice the program, we spend a lot of time on the regular things that choirs focus on—pitch, timing, phrasing, and so on. At the same time we give attention to the people who will be coming to the concerts: we want everyone to hear the Word of God in each song, we want each person to hear the message that they most need to receive in order to find peace and the simple joy of Christmas.
“Whenever I look out at the audience during our Christmas concerts,” Sister Tracey (soprano) shares, “I’m always humbled by the many faces gazing back at us. Each face conveys its own array of emotions, desires, and questions that I am utterly convinced can only be adequately met by God’s personal and infinite love. That’s why before every concert the choir and team gather to pray and remember that our job is to give them Jesus. We beg the Lord to come, to fill our words and music with himself, and meet his people in the parts of their lives where they need him most.”
Reflecting on how the singing of the sisters helps people discover the true meaning of Christmas, Sister Amanda (alto) says: “Music does something to us. A gentle song slows us down; a fast one raises our heartbeat. Music can connect us with feelings and memories that the bustle of daily life often distracts us from. When we experience our hearts beating, tears rolling, laughter bubbling forth, or memories racing, we find ourselves in touch with the same humanity that God himself chose to share with us. Our God, too, has a beating heart and a face that knows laughter and tears. He embraced our humanity, transforming the grittiness of our human existence into a place where we can receive his love. This is the meaning of Christmas. As we sing, laugh, pray, dance, reflect, hope, and reminisce during our Christmas concerts—in short, as we reconnect with our humanity—we give God permission to open us wider to his love, to speak to us of the inherent goodness of our lives, and to rekindle our desire to know and follow him.”
If there is one reason people love our concerts it is because of the sheer variety of songs, hymns, and pop music. Sister Sean (soprano) states, “In these years’ concerts we start out with the liturgical stalwart O Come, O Come Emmanuel and throw in a Christmas themed love song released during the pandemic (Christmas Isn’t Christmas Without You); then we go from a theologically rich mashup of the Silent Night / Lord of My Life hymn to the nostalgic but utterly secular White Christmas. There’s one level where I enjoy this variety as an artist. There’s so much creativity in the ways we celebrate this all-important event of Jesus’ birth. And then on another level, I appreciate the symbolic sense that there is no single aspect of life in this world that is not touched by God’s coming among us.”
During the concerts, when I look out at everyone present, I think that each person has a story, a particular intention they are asking God for, or a person they are praying for. Before each concert, we always gather in prayer to pray for each and every person listening to us sing. The sisters back home at the motherhouse and at our smaller convents are also praying for them. A lot of amazing things happen at our concerts. It is our desire that everyone we meet will be reminded that God is with us. Always. And forever.
