NPM-Chapter of the Archdiocese of San Antonio (NPM-CASA)

03/11/2026

https://www.globalsistersreport.org/columns/social-justice/not-tourists-pilgrims-we-followed-thea-bowman-through-mississippi

To make a pilgrimage is to surrender to a place until it changes you. Sister Thea understood this type of transformation. She knew that the work of racial justice could not be done from a distance.

02/24/2026

02/24/2026

What exactly is Taizé Prayer? It is a moment of reflection, of meditation, of deep reflection through songs, readings, psalms, and silence. It is an opportunity to share deeply, to breathe the Divine Presence in a different way.

St. Francis of Assisi will offer its annual Lenten Taizé Prayer this Friday at 7 p.m. Please feel free to forward this and invite friends and family, fellow musicians and even members of other faith communities. One of the historical beauties of the Taizé experience is that we can - across many Christian denominations - share this wonderful experience!

11/22/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CfngPaa8P/

A Special Message on the Memorial of St. Cecilia

Dear fellow NPM members,

As we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Cecilia, we extend heartfelt gratitude for your ministry. It’s always a moment of renewal for those who serve the Church through music—a reminder of our vocation, our mission, and our shared song.

Tradition tells us that Saint Cecilia “sang in her heart to the Lord” even amid the music of her wedding celebration. Her example invites us to ask: How do we sing to the Lord in our hearts? As pastoral musicians, we are called not only to create beautiful sound but to form assemblies who pray, hope, lament, and give thanks through song. It gives us a chance to pause and examine our ministry:

🎵Does our music help the faithful fully and actively participate in the liturgy?
🎵Do we help worshippers find their own voice of prayer?
🎵Does our sung prayer arise from gratitude, humility, and love for God’s people?

Saint Augustine, in a reading traditionally prayed on this feast, exhorts us to “sing a new song not with our lips but with our lives.” Our music-making is not an embellishment to the liturgy—it is an essential expression of the Gospel. Every note we sing, every chord we play, allows Christ’s message to sound forth to a world in need.

Music in the liturgy does more than accompany ritual. It changes hearts. It shapes disciples. It sends forth the assembly as witnesses. And you are at the forefront of that work to support the Church today.

As we honor Saint Cecilia, our prayer is that God will bless your ministry abundantly. May the new song you sing—through both your music and your life—continue to deepen your service and strengthen the People of God.

Saint Cecilia, patroness of musicians, pray for us!

The NPM Board of Directors
Dolores Martinez, Chair
Anna Betancourt, Vice Chair
Meyer Chambers
Christopher Ferraro
Paul Ford
Janet Loo
Janèt Sullivan Whitaker
Jennifer Kluge, Executive Director

11/20/2025

This is Black Catholic History Month. The history and tradition is vital to the US Catholic Church. This article includes descriptions of many Black Catholics whose impact is important to our Church.

When we flatten narratives about Black Catholics, we miss out on a rich cultural tradition of activism, spirituality, and scholarship.

10/28/2025

Each week NPM provides a reflection on the upcoming weekend's scripture. This "Sunday Word" reflection is a membership benefit that supports the spiritual life of pastoral musicians, especially as we prepare to serve in the liturgy each week.
Here is the Sunday Word reflection offered for the upcoming All Saints Day celebration. To receive these reflections year round, visit npm.org/join.
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“Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” (Psalm 24:6)

Near our home is a primary school. Waiting for the children and parents to cross, I was rewarded one day by the sight of a reunion between little brothers, one so weighed down by his book bag that, at first, he didn’t see his little brother racing toward him, arms wide open, to give him a hug. It was clear to me that the younger had waited all day to walk with his mother to school to walk the other home.
Similarly, I love the embraces one can witness at the arrivals gate of an airport. The warmth- and sometimes, the relief- I can see across their faces as they reach one another is what I imagine to be just a glimpse of the light and love that waits for us at the eternal gate. What a blessing it is to be reminded, here on earth, the holy love that surrounds us in the faces of others.

Prayer
“Father, allow us today a glimpse of the faces we long to see, the face of Jesus, Mary, mommy and daddy, mémé and pépé, and all the saints, who have been longing for this day. May they sing our way to heaven.”

Reflection offered by Paul Ford
Professor of Theology and Liturgy (retired)
St. John Seminary
Camarillo, California

10/10/2025

10/04/2025

Using the medium of rap and the medium of theology, respectively, Kendrick Lamar and Sr. Thea Bowman have each ushered something new into the world: a piece of God incarnated in their own unique way.

09/10/2025

There's one week left until NPM's first webinar of the 2025-2026 season!
The Singing Assembly: A Five-Year Process for Growth and Renewal
September 16, 2025 - 8-9:30 pm ET/5-6:30 pm PT
Free for NPM members; $20 for non-members

Join Dr. Jennifer Kerr Budziak, author of the award-winning “Sowing Seeds, Bearing Fruit: A Five-Year Process to Growing a Singing Congregation,” for this practical webinar, designed for helping our assemblies discover, or re-discover, their singing voices.

This webinar will offer:

▫️ A realistic, year-by-year roadmap that meets your assembly where they are now and builds success upon success
▫️ Measurable goals and milestones to track progress along the way
▫️ Troubleshooting guidance for when challenges arise

This isn’t about overnight transformations—it’s about embracing today’s parish realities and re-thinking our approach to cultivating assembly song, one sustainable step at a time.

Learn more and register today at npm.org.

09/08/2025