On Easter Saturday morning, a small group of choir members made the two-hour journey to the Mercy Shrine. Upon arrival, they were warmly welcomed and offered a tour before heading to the Mother of Mercy Outdoor Shrine to sing the Divine Mercy Chaplet — featuring original harmonization arranged by Music Director Stephen Grimm (’75) — and the Vigil Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday. Despite a chilly evening and a rainstorm, thousands of pilgrims attended the Mass, confessions, and recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
After dinner and fellowship with the Marian Fathers, the choir members prayed a Rosary together in the Shrine chapel, then gathered around the piano in the great room and held an impromptu concert for the Fathers, singing polyphonic sacred music pieces by Palestrina and Thomas Tallis, all from memory.
The next day, the morning of Divine Mercy Sunday, the rest of the choir joined the small group at the Shrine in preparation for the day’s Mass, which was scheduled to be televised live by the Eternal Word Television Network to an estimated 2 million viewers. Before the choir members headed out to their seats, Br. Stephen Camara, MIC, gave a touching motivational speech, sharing an anecdote about how his novice master at the seminary was once deeply moved to be zealous for the Faith by hearing the beautiful sacred music broadcasted on EWTN, leading him to join the religious life.
“You, too, can have that same effect on someone today,” he told the choir members. “As the priests are encouraged to pray every Mass as if it were their first Mass, their last Mass, and their only Mass, I encourage you today to sing this Mass as if it were your first Mass, your last Mass, and your only Mass.”
Rev. Donald Calloway, MIC, a celebrated speaker and author, most notably, of Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father, offered the Mass. Members of the College Choir lent their voices in honor of the feast, sharing traditional hymns and polyphonic pieces with those celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday both in person and across the globe. After Mass, many priests and volunteers at the Shrine came up to choir members, thanking them and showing appreciation for the beautiful sacred music that they had brought to this solemn occasion.