Senior Service Reflection Pdf

Kua-Balbuena !1 Christelle Kua-Balbuena Social Justice Mrs. Perez 28 February 2019 Senior Service Reflection Paper Ever since I was little, I loved singing, so when I learned I could be a cantor for my parish church, St. Irenaeus, everything clicked into place. I knew that was how I could use the gifts God gave me to give back to my community: to be a leader in my Church. There were no scheduled rehearsals for Masses, so I would have to practice during my own time with my dad and come before Mass to rehearse with the scheduled accompanist. However, it became harder for me to cantor for 11:30 A.M. Sunday Masses once my baby sister was born because it was difficult to get her up in the morning. Although it saddened me, I eventually decided to leave St. Irenaeus and become a cantor at St. Pius V, a church that was way closer to my house and had a 12.15 P.M. Mass on Sunday. There were many talented cantors at St. Irenaeus, so I knew my absence would not leave a big impact. Now, I am one of the five cantors of the Filipino choir at St. Pius, and even though I am the youngest member, I would not choose to move to the more contemporary choirs. I have become more immersed in my culture and am even learning Tagalog songs. The welcoming kisses on my cheek and familial aura that surrounds the Filipino choir always gets me through the early 10 A.M. Sunday rehearsals before Mass and the late 7-9 P.M. practices on Thursdays. By being part of a choir, as opposed to when I was a solo cantor at St. Irenaeus, I learned a valuable lesson. Although I loved how joyful and dedicated to music the choir was, knowing I

Kua-Balbuena !2 had a strong choir to back me up during Mass made me complacent, and I started singing softer, realizing their voices could drown out any mistakes I thought I would make. As a result, my voice could not be heard at all. I told myself it was because I did not want to be one of those cantors who over embellishes their voice as if they are putting on a show, but that was just an excuse. I had made cantoring all about me, instead of it being about singing praises to God and leading the congregation in song. What was the point of a leader who could not even be heard? The turning point for me was when our conductor told our accompanist to play softer during the responsorial psalm since my voice was “frail.” She did not mean it in a mean way, but I needed to hear it like that. God had given me a strong voice, but because I had become overly self-conscious, I had hidden that talent away and now no one could see it (or hear it, in this case). Never again, I vowed to myself, would I stifle the voice God gave me. I plan on continuing to serve in the music ministry for many years to come, so I must sing with my best voice for the Lord and lead others to do the same. That is my role as a cantor.