EWTN to Debut ‘The Song of the Longing Heart,’ Paul Jernberg’s Mission to Renew Love of Sacred Music

By Debbie Cowden

During Holy Mass, we know that music lifts our prayers to God, but is there a particular style of music that helps us do this better than others?

Composer Paul Jernberg thinks so, and he’s made it his mission to bring about a renewal of sacred liturgical music in the Catholic Church today. “The Song of the Longing Heart,” a new documentary airing at 8 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 8, tells the story of Jernberg’s upbringing and conversion, how he came to love sacred music, and why he and his cohorts are working so hard to instill a new appreciation for sacred music in the hearts of the faithful (See the full programming schedule in your local time here.).

As a musician and composer for the Roman Catholic liturgy for nearly three decades, Jernberg is well-known for composing “The Mass of St. Philip Neri,” a musical setting for the new English translation of the Roman Missal, which has been used in parishes across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. This arrangement is lauded for its use of all the essential elements of Gregorian chant, while still using English for the Ordinary of the Mass (the Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, etc.) and being easy for congregations to sing.

In “The Song of the Longing Heart,” Jernberg and other proponents of sacred music understand that for some people, there is a hesitation to embrace traditional styles of music, like chant (one note at a time) and polyphony (more than one note at a time), for various reasons, including the complexity of its techniques, the use of Latin, and the perception of “moving backwards.” Jernberg shared this hesitation too, particularly while living in a home that belonged to a Franciscan community in Sweden. By observing the prayers and chants at the monastery, Jernberg eventually realized how, in the same way we look at an icon and know that it’s a piece of sacred art, the distinct sound and style of chant, polyphony, and other traditional hymns signal that we’re listening to sacred music.

And he’s carried that realization into his composition. Just as Iconography involves a set of specific rules and disciplines, so too does sacred music require adherence to certain traditions in order to keep the focus on the prayers being sung. If the faithful can remember this point when listening to or singing sacred music, it becomes much easier to embrace.

After all, as Jernberg explains, music is the clothing for the words – prayers – of the Mass. The music should never draw attention to itself or to the singer. This is reflected in most sacred music. He admits that if someone were to listen to his sacred compositions out of context, they’d find the music dreadfully boring. And he’s fine with that, as the music is not a vehicle for entertainment, but of worshipping God. In the context of the Mass, these hymns and chants allow the faithful to step away from the world and to encounter Christ’s Real Presence in the Holy Mass.

To dive in deeper to the beauty of sacred music, tune in to “The Song of the Longing Heart” on EWTN.