Morning and Evening Prayer: An interview with Tony Alonso

Over the past three weeks I have been interviewing noted liturgical musicians to get their views on Morning and Evening Prayer. I conlude this 3 part series with a interview recently conducted with Tony Alonso.

Lucernarium: Do you, or have you, used music in celebrating Morning and Evening Prayer? What has been your experience of these ‘hinge’ hours of prayer? How has music enhanced these times for you and the gathered assembly?

In my experience, music has always done far more than enhance my experience of celebrating morning and evening prayer. It is impossible to imagine the richness of this profoundly beautiful and simple way of praying without music; music is an integral part of these celebrations. Music puts the words of the psalms and scriptures on our lips and in our hearts. While it is difficult for most Catholics to recite any of the psalms, once they have sung them, it is difficult for them to forget them! The Liturgy of the Hours gives us a wonderful opportunity to learn the psalms and canticles of our tradition, but more importantly it allows them to take root in our whole prayer lives, to shape our relationship and conversation with God and one other.

Lucernarium: What do you see as the challenges facing Morning and Evening Prayer in a parish setting? Are there other settings where it can be celebrated?

Some people make it more difficult than it needs to be. The beauty of morning and evening prayer is its simplicity and in the fact that most of the “work” belongs to the assembly. It need not be complex to be prayerful and engaging. In fact, sometimes the more complex these services become, the more the assembly is robbed of its opportunity to pray and sing as one. In addition to the parish setting, morning and evening prayer have been some of the most wonderful parts of retreats and conferences I have attended.

Lucernarium: Is there a saturation of Eucharistic celebrations throughout the duration of any given week in a parish setting? Is there scope to balance the liturgical diet of the faithful by replacing weekday Masses with Lauds and Vespers? Comment.

Absolutely. We should come to the table hungry Eucharist is wonderful; it is the summit of our liturgical prayer. But the hours offer us another rich way of praying in community. If all we celebrate is Eucharist, we miss out on some wonderful opportunities for richness and also risk neglecting to appreciate the uniqueness of Eucharist.

Lucernarium: The developments in scriptural and liturgical music since Vatican II have been quite remarkable. In your opinion, where will we be in 10-15 years time? What developments do you think will occur, given present liturgical understandings and practice?

It is impossible to say where we’ll be in 10-15 years. This is a multi-faceted question, especially since my experience of the Church in the United States in comparison with the experience of someone in Nigeria, Ireland, Australia or Mexico is vastly different today! Whatever the case, it is fascinating to watch. I watch with sincere hope that the next 10-15 years are a progression to fulfill the vision of Vatican II. It is such a young vision, it needs to be given more time; there’s still so much possibility for growth. Some people say it’s gone far enough, I say we haven’t even scratched the surface!

A sincere thankyou to Tony for taking the time out to do this interview. For more info on Tony Alonso, his ministry, his music and written publications - go to the link at the side of this page entitled 'Tony Alonso'. Additionally, go to GIA Publications to view [and hear snippets!] of songs from his most recent collection 'Songs from Another Room'.