Mass at Eucharistic Rally to feature 'Great Eucharistic hymns'

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SALT LAKE CITY — The voices of more than 75 singers from across the Diocese of Salt Lake City will fill the Mountain America Expo Center on July 9 as they sing praise to God during the Mass that will close the diocesan Eucharistic Rally.

The music ministry for the Mass will include hymns in English, Spanish and Latin.

“From the start, we (the rally steering committee) chose to make this a ‘choral’ Mass as it levels the playing field for all participants,” said Christopher Huntzinger, the choir’s director. “In early May the Office of Worship contacted all directors of music in the diocese and gave them instructions to pass along for any interested musicians to join the rally choir.” The choristers of the Madeleine Choir School will participate with the choir.

Huntzinger is director of liturgy and music at Saint Ambrose Parish and J.E. Cosgriff Memorial Catholic School. He also is a member of the diocesan Liturgical Commission and served for many years as the chairman of the commission’s Music Committee. “I know well of the struggles and challenges of the many music ministers throughout our diocese,” he said.

To prepare for the Eucharistic Rally Mass, the musicians have been practicing three times a week for six weeks, Huntzinger said.  “Putting the music together for this event is no different than planning a regular Sunday, except with, let’s say, Superbowl-like scaling. We are celebrating Votive Mass No. 5 – The Most Holy Eucharist, and the Scripture will be drawn from Corpus Christi (ABC).”

The Mass will begin at 2 p.m.; doors will open for seating at 1:15 p.m. During the 45-minute prelude, a collection of “very well-known energetic contemporary Christian music” will be performed by a local band, Huntzinger said. Everyone is invited to sing along.

The Mass will begin with a procession accompanied by a brass fanfare and the familiar hymn “All Creatures of Our God and King.” The Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei will be sung in either English or Spanish. Included will be an original composition by Huntzinger, “Universal Mass Gloria,” written in English and Spanish. This work originally was composed by Huntzinger for Cosgriff students and has been sung at Masses at the Cathedral of the Madeleine and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

The Gloria is “a major prayer of the ordinary,” Huntzinger said. “It deals with the Paschal Mystery; it deals with the relationship of the Trinity. It helps us focus on who we’re there to worship, which is the entire point [of the Mass].”

The piece was written for both small and big choirs, he said. “There’s a nice play between textures, between strings. There are moments where the brass is triumphant and there’s moments where it’s reflective.”

Among the other songs that will be sung at the Mass are “I Am the Bread of Life” by Suzanne Toolan and “Amen (El Cuerpo de Cristo)” by John Schiavone. During communion, the choir will sing “traditional, old-fashioned hymns that really reflect the theology of the Eucharist that we believe,” Huntzinger said.

At the end of Mass, “there will also be the great old Eucharistic hymns in English and Latin,” he said; these hymns will be “Tantum Ergo,” “O Salutaris Hostia” (in English and Latin), “Adoro Te Devote” (English), “La Pange Lingua” and “Divine Praise” by Proulx, which will be dedicated to Deacon Owen F. Cummings, former director of education at the cathedral who now is Regents’ Professor of Theology at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon.

The closing hymn will be “Oh God Beyond All Praising.” The choir will be accompanied by a full orchestra and instrumentalists from the Cathedral of the Madeleine’s Spanish choir.

“I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised and enjoy this,” Huntzinger said. “I am honored to have been asked to assist in the planning of this once-in-a-generation liturgy for our diocese. There was a real concerted effort to involve a lot of people from a lot of different parishes — every part of this diocese. We are all honored by this opportunity and thankful for the invitation to serve in this role for the Mass on July 9.”

The diocesan Eucharistic Rally and Mass will be July 9 at the Mountain America Expo Center, 9579 State St., Sandy. It will begin at 9 a.m. with presentations, activities for families and youth, and opportunities for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the Sacrament of Confession. Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas will give keynote addresses in English and Spanish. Dr. Timothy O’Malley of the University of Notre Dame will present the general session in English; Dr. José Antonio Medina of the Diocese of San Bernadino will present the general session in Spanish. There will be a break for lunch at 12:15 p.m. Doors will reopen for seating for the Mass at 1:15 p.m. The celebration of the Mass will begin at 2 p.m. Bishop Oscar A. Solis encourages all Catholics in the diocese to attend the rally, either all day or to join the celebration of the Mass.