It’s almost here. We’re T-minus 24 hours until the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day marathon for so many of us. The instruments are tuned. The binders are prepared. The choirs have learned their music…for the most part. And the preludes & postludes have been practiced.

What’s left to do, except most possibly…everything?

Today we invite you to take a few minutes and listen to a great podcast episode as you write out Christmas cards for all of your pastoral musicians. Today on the podcast we have the privilege of interviewing John Romeri, Director of Music for Christ Cathedral in the Diocese of Orange, California.  

If you are “in the trenches” in music ministry, you know that this week can be, in some ways, tougher than Christmas week itself. It’s the last week before Christmas, and you might be making last minute binders for your trumpet players….as you get an email from your chorister that says they have the flu, and won’t be making the last choir rehearsal before Christmas. At the same time, you must prepare music of your own! One year I sat down to play the 4 pm Mass on Christmas Eve and as I began to play the prelude, I realized that I never prepared a binder of music for myself.

Not only do we need to prepare binders, but we need to prepare multiple prelude and postlude selections….while still wrapping gifts and preparing for the non-liturgical part of the holiday itself.

How do we stay afloat?  What can we do in a jam-packed week such as this?

Many of us are assisting in liturgies to honor the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Mother today, as the Holy Day of Obligation is transferred to today in the United States, and I can’t help but pray to our Mother, Mary, today, as we begin the episode.

Mary’s simple “yes” to God’s call is always an inspiration to me in a time of year that can be overwhelming to say “yes” to everything that’s expected of us. As we continue the conversation from last week’s episode, I hope that you’re taking time out of the hectic schedule for a little self-care. Silence and stillness can be the foundation of self-care if we are listening for God’s voice a little more deeply.