The Taize expression of faith can take many forms including prayers, meditation and song. Singing is one of the most essential elements of worship. Short songs, repeated again and again, give it a meditative character. Using just a few words they express a basic reality of faith, quickly grasped by the mind. As the words are sung over many times, this reality gradually penetrates the whole being. Meditative singing thus becomes a way of listening to God. It allows everyone to take part in a time of prayer together and to remain together in attentive waiting on God.
Singing is the starting point in our parish’s relationship with Taize. Our parish Taize Group comes together to prepare for prayer services during the year and to sing pieces during Sunday Mass. If you are a singer or musician and would like to know more, please contact Chris White through the parish office.
Taize takes its origin from an ecumenical monastic community founded by Brother Roger Schutz in a small village in Burgundy, Southern France during the Second World War as a sanctuary for wartime refugees, including Jews and later German POWs.
Brother Roger recognised the values of periods of stillness for prayer and unifying music that works across all ages and denominations around the world.
Taize is deeply committed to religious unity Pope John XXIII called it “that little springtime”.
The most characteristic – and copied – aspect of Taize worship is their kind of song-prayer sandwich. The leader says a short prayer, then the congregation sings a short chorus, such as:
Brother Roger recognised the values of periods of stillness for prayer and unifying music that works across all ages and denominations around the world.
Taize is deeply committed to religious unity Pope John XXIII called it “that little springtime”.
The most characteristic – and copied – aspect of Taize worship is their kind of song-prayer sandwich. The leader says a short prayer, then the congregation sings a short chorus, such as:
O Lord, hear my prayer,
O Lord, hear my prayer,
When I call, answer me.
And then they sustain the last note, or continue humming, as the leader says the next prayer. This combination, say the brothers, “can form a kind of ‘pillar of fire’ at the heart of the prayer”
Taizé – O Lord hear my prayer ( Full album )
Bible readings from the Psalms are often treated the same way, a chorus being sung after each verse.
Another characteristic of Taize is stretches of silence. A prayer service may have a ten-minute silence in the middle. The Brothers explain the reason for this: “If with a childlike trust we let Christ pray silently within us, then one day we shall discover that the depths of our being are inhabited by a Presence.”
You can find out more about Taize here
Another characteristic of Taize is stretches of silence. A prayer service may have a ten-minute silence in the middle. The Brothers explain the reason for this: “If with a childlike trust we let Christ pray silently within us, then one day we shall discover that the depths of our being are inhabited by a Presence.”
You can find out more about Taize here