Is God in Your AirPods?
By Andre Audette
The old saying “you are what you eat” refers to the food we consume changing our body’s physical composition. Similarly, various sayings estimate “the measure of a man” through how he spends his money and how it affects his character.
What if we asked a similar question about our listening habits and how they affect the way we live? Have you considered whether the music you consume is edifying to your spiritual life?
Music has a remarkable ability to change our mindset, attitude, health, and our spirituality. We know this simply by how our mood shifts when we hear our favorite song. Recent studies have also examined the use of music as a partial treatment for neurological and mental conditions. (Fun fact: they find that Gregorian chant, in particular, has powerful benefits for our brains!) Research has also long shown that choral singing improves our health, happiness, and mental acuity.
It is harder to measure how music affects our spirituality, but many attribute the phrase “to sing is to pray twice” to the 4th Century St. Augustine. The Church affirms the importance of music, saying: “The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art” (Sacrosanctum Concilium).
The Bible, too, speaks of music in high regard. The seraphim in heaven sing “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3) and the people welcome Jesus to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday by crying out “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9). We sing those very words at Mass each time we sing the Sanctus, praying that our voices blend with those of the angels. To me, that sounds like great preparation for heaven! The Bible also reports Jesus singing hymns and Psalms with the disciples at the Last Supper (Mark 14:26).
If music is so important to humanity, to the Church, and to Jesus Himself, we must ask ourselves: what music fills our lives? This week, look at your playlists, music collection, or last year’s Spotify Wrapped and ask whether and how God is there. While some music is objectively more sacred than others, God can be found in many different genres of music!
If you find a “God gap” in your music habits, consider searching out music that will bring you closer to Him. Personally, I enjoy listening to artists like the Catholic Music Initiative, Vigil Project, and others on YouTube. On your smartphone or Alexa device, you can install “Great Catholic Music” and get a mix of the Church’s musical traditions. Apps like Hallow or Formed have music and audio dramas about the faith. There are many Catholic podcasts and a Catholic Channel on XM radio. Or, maybe devoted silence is what is needed in your life right now.
Whatever trend you identify, this week I encourage you to queue up just 10 extra minutes of listening for God in your music and in the world around you.