Rory Cooney, Director of Liturgy and Music at the Saint Anne Catholic Community, is a prolific liturgical composer with over fifteen collections of music, and his work is represented in most hymnals and worship aids in the United States.  He has been composing a new collection of pieces called Mass of the Beloved and would like to share it with all of us.  

The name of the collection, Mass of the Beloved, is intentionally multivalent. Since God is the object of our worship, and God is love, then we are all the beloved. But we each have other meanings and mysteries attached to the word. Certainly, we know that Jesus was called “the beloved” by the voice in the cloud. One of the disciples, in particular, was known as the beloved, but Jesus spoke to them all as his friends. For Rory, the “Beloved” of the Saint Anne Catholic Community are the living and dead, all of those who have welcomed, befriended, and employed him and his family throughout his  ministry over the past three decades.

In October, Rory introduced his new collection with five pieces: the Alleluia, the Holy, the Mystery of Faith (“Save us, Savior of the World,”), the Great Amen, and the Lamb of God. The listener will hear a lot of the melodies within these songs repeated and related, so learning by heart will come naturally.  The recordings are unison (no harmony) with piano, so singing parts stand out.

During the weekend of November 26, Rory will present at all Masses his new Gloria, the new piece from his Mass of the Beloved.  At 11:00 a.m. Mass, there will be brass accompaniment written by James Gailloreto .  Mr. Gailloreto is an associate professor of music at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts.    

Rory would like to thank the Saint Anne choir, fellow composers from among his friends at Liturgical Composers Forum, and other musicians and friends for the feedback and encouragement.