By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski's words at Solemn Vespers at St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish for the blessing of the parish's new pipe organ. Fort Lauderdale, FL. Sept. 25, 2026.
The blessing of a new pipe organ during Solemn Vespers (Evening Prayer) is a grand liturgical event that combines the ancient tradition of canonical hours with the dedication of the "king of instruments" to the glorification of God.
Your patron saint, John the Baptist, is known in Sacred Scriptures as the “voice of one crying out in the wilderness”. And thus, it most appropriate to blessing an instrument that acts as the "voice" of the faithful of St. John the Baptist Parish.
Church music has the primary role of glorifying God and sanctifying the faithful. Church music should be sacred music – so, the organ is not here for concert performances but to life up our minds and hearts to God. Its purpose is to help blend the individual voices of the congregation into a single body. In other words, to build up the Body of Christ in this parish community.
St. Paul reminds us that just a body has many members with many different functions, so too the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ. The members – some are stronger than others, some are weaker, just like the pipes of an organ – but just as the pipes when played together, in supporting each other, produced beautiful, unified sound, so the members of Christ’s body are to work together in unity and thus create harmony.
