Seeing as it’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog and I love telling stories from my life, I thought it might be fitting to pick back up with my story of how I got involved with music ministry as a means of reintroducing myself to y’all. This is really two-faceted, with my joining the choir at my home parish of St. Augustine and then becoming the Student Minister for Liturgy once I moved onto college at St. Leo.

Every year at the end of August, my home parish puts on a festival called St. Augustine Day in celebration of our patron saint’s feast day. In 2018, when I was just shy of fourteen years old, the band from our 10:30 Mass was enlisted to play a set for this event. Since my dad played a large role in the planning of St. Augustine Day and he was in charge of running the audio/visual equipment, he went to the band’s rehearsal and brought my family to tag along and listen. As they were running through their songs, the lead male vocalist, Edwin, called me over to sing backups for the lead female vocalist, Theresa, since it was only the two of them singing. I was more than happy to do so since I was familiar with all their music and had been hoping to be able to sing with them for a while. When the next Sunday rolled around, Edwin invited me to sing with the band for Mass since they hadn’t practiced that week and it would be easy for me to jump in. As I walked over to the choir area with him, it was evident how excited all the other band members were that I was joining them, particularly our music director, Leo. From then on, I was an official member of the 10:30 choir.

Looking back on this series of events, it is extremely clear the role that God’s providence played. At that time, I was beginning my freshman year of high school—I was incredibly unsure of myself and my abilities. After a whirlwind of a seventh grade year where it seemed like all the most important people in my life were leaving, and an eighth grade year where I wasn’t even enrolled in a chorus class (the only year of my schooling after joining choir in third grade in which this was the case), I felt lost and I was too scared to take initiative on things that I had been dreaming of doing for what seemed like ages. But all it took was somebody else recognizing my talent and inviting me in to get me started on the path that led to where I am now.

Four years later, when I made the decision to further my education at Saint Leo University, I was already sure of my desire to dedicate my life to praising God in song through a career as a music minister. Seventeen-year-old Rosa had more drive and confidence than thirteen-year-old Rosa and, as such, it was easier for me to step out and chase opportunities myself. The summer before my freshman year of college, I met Saint Leo’s music minister, Lucas, over a Zoom call and expressed my interest in being involved with music ministry on campus. Having already gained the student worker position of sacristan, I was also unofficially designated as the student minister for liturgy and music.

When Lucas went from music minister to campus minister and then director of ministry within the course of a couple of months, it affected how big of a role I played with music ministry. Fall semester, he was still leading the music and me and another student, J. Paul, would sing with him. Spring semester, J. Paul and I took over everything to do with music, so that Lucas could focus on his other duties. That means I ended up helping to pick out songs for Sunday Masses, recruit other students to join, schedule rehearsal times, and set up the music equipment before Mass. I was also basically cantoring all the Sunday Masses. And so, it was no surprise when I was chosen to officially be on the student leadership team for University Ministry my sophomore year as Student Minister of Liturgy, which encompassed both my position as sacristan and music minister. Last academic year, I was entirely in charge of music ministry for the fall semester. In the spring, I wasn’t as in charge of music ministry because we hired an interim music minister (my bud J. Paul!). This fall, I’m back in charge, but we will see what the future holds as far as hiring someone to fill that position again.

It’s an understatement to say that I have been incredibly blessed with these opportunities so far in college. Having the chance to get a taste of what it really means to be a music minister has only affirmed my desire to follow this career path. Being able to use my talents to bring the light of Christ to a congregation filled with young adults yearning for love and acceptance is a feeling that cannot quite be explained.

If you want to continue accompanying me on my music ministry journey, be sure to follow my social media pages on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn to be notified whenever I post a new blog and see behind the scenes content! Come back for my next blog to get an inside look at all that is involved in my music minister duties.