November 24, 2024
As you may have heard from last Sunday’s pre-Mass announcements, a visiting Ugandan choir will be providing music for our 9:30 and 11:00 AM Masses this Sunday. They are called The Karolines, named after St. Karoli Lwanga, who is more commonly known to us as St. Charles Lwanga of the Ugandan martyrs. The Karolines are based in St. Mary Parish in Waltham, which is home to the Ugandan Catholic Community of Boston (UCCB). I first learned about The Karolines from Fr. Ssenfuma, who mentioned to me that there was a Ugandan choir that was interested in singing for one of the Masses at St. Joseph Parish. I’ve always wanted our liturgical music to represent a broader range of cultures, so naturally I was thrilled when Fr. Ssenfuma told me about the group. We figured it would be great to invite The Karolines to sing at St. Joe’s on a special Feast Day, and that day is this Sunday – the Solemnity of Christ the King.
This also means that our Youth Choir and Adult Choir will be off-duty on November 24th. Our Worship Band will still be providing music at the 5:00 PM Mass, and we’re looking to share one of our favorite songs, Shout to the Lord, to celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King.
Finally, as a side note, I’ll share with you a little secret: I usually write these posts on the Friday right before the date indicated in the post. So right now, as I write this, it’s actually Friday, November 22nd, which also happens to be the memorial of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music. And in about two hours from the time of this writing, I’ll be accompanying the St. Joseph School’s Saints Society for the 5th grade musical production of Xanadu Jr. My involvement with the school plays is one of my favorite parts of my work, and I’m happy to be doing this on this feast of St. Cecilia.
With my peace,
Carlo Serrano,
Music Director
