This apostolate is dedicated the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Overview
Dear friends in Christ:
Thank you for inquiring about our apostolate. Whether you are a young musician, a parent, or just someone curious about our organization, we welcome you to our web site.
Throughout all of history, the family has been the basic unit of any enduring society. In many of his writings, Pope John Paul II consistently stressed the importance of strong family life. If we are to be successful in creating the new Culture of Life that this Pope spoke of so often, there must be an authentic spiritual renewal of the family and this renewal must start with the youth of today, for it is they who will be the foundations of the families of tomorrow.
Saint Cecilia Classical Productions Inc. is a new, music-based, Catholic, evangelization apostolate that wants to be part of that renewal. In broad general terms, the principle focus of our ministry is the advancement of the Culture of Life by the promotion of authentic Catholic family values to today’s young people. This focus can be divided into four key areas of concern.
Basic Church teachings – Many Catholics today have little understanding of how their faith should permeate their lives and their interaction with our society. They have been assimilated into our secular culture to such an extent, that they no longer posses a Catholic identity. This point was recently emphasized by Archbishop Charles Chaput in his address at the University of Toronto this past February. He said: “…. The Church in the United States has done a poor job of forming the faith and conscience of Catholics for more than 40 years. And now we're harvesting the results -- in the public square, in our families and in the confusion of our personal lives”. It is essential then, that our young people have a solid foundation in their faith so that they will be able to recognize and challenge the false values of today’s world.
Increased education on pro-life issues – The goal here is to inspire and enable, through education, teens and young adults to be effective pro-life leaders committed to building a Culture of Life by spreading Christ’s message of love, hope and forgiveness to other young people. Essential to this task is the fostering of a good spiritual life with emphasis on personal holiness through prayer and frequent reception of the sacraments.
Dignity of Women – In our society today, respect for women is at an all time low. This loss of dignity for women has also been accompanied by a corresponding breakdown in the stability of the family. If there is to be a genuine renewal of family life in our country, it is essential that women rediscover the grace and beauty of their femininity and realize the importance of the role that God has planned for them from the beginning.
The Need for good positive role models – America’s News and Entertainment Industry, in all its various forms, is having a tragic effect on the lives of young people, especially girls and young women. When a young person looks around at our society today, what do they see in the way of good positive role models? Very little! Today's modern media forms, including television, movies, magazines, internet, music etc, all assault our youth and try to lead them away from God.
To help counter these problems, our strategy is to use entertainment groups of orthodox, Catholic, young women who can be good role models for today’s youth, and, at the same time, impart the truths of the faith to them. To staff these groups, we are currently conducting a nationwide talent search for traditional Catholic young women, who wish to use their musical talents and knowledge of the faith to make a difference in the lives of young people.
Performing in small vocal ensembles, these young ladies will take the principles of our Catholic faith, as well as the ideals put forth by Pope John Paul II in his writings on the family and "multiply", so to speak, their effect through the medium of music: quality music performed by young women of character, modesty, and grace. Through their own good example, and the witness they give, these young women will promote the virtues of true womanhood and authentic Catholic family life to today’s young people.
Through the promotion of concerts and various music-based instructional events, which will be both entertaining and educational, our goal is to instill in our young people a better understanding of the Catholic faith, which, in turn, will better equip them to challenge the anti-life and anti-family mentality that is so prevalent in today’s society. This concept, known as music-based apologetics, is discussed in much greater detail in the requirements section of this web site.
For the last half century, the devil has been using rock type music to attack our youth and lead them away from Christ. At the bottom of the requirements page is a sermon, from EWTN, about Satanic music. It gives a very good insight into this problem.
Lastly, we wish to express our thanks and gratitude to Mrs. Colleen Hammond, author of "Dressing with Dignity", and to Mrs. Stacy McDonald, author of "Raising Maidens of Virtue", whose books have provided us with much insight and inspiration.
Thank you for your interest in Saint Cecilia Classical Productions Inc.
Both Scripture and History have shown that when the women of a country are virtuous, the country is strong, but if the moral standards of those women decline, as they have in this country, then the moral standards of men also fall and that society soon begins to sink deeper and deeper into the waters of moral decay.
In times past, most young girls were raised as maidens of virtue and innocence. All aspects of their femininity were cultivated and they emerged from their youthful years as refined young women of modesty, character and grace, possessing all the necessary skills that would one day allow them to assume the important God given role of wife and mother.
Sadly, this is no longer the case in our present day culture. We have done a complete about-face in our attitudes toward sin and God’s laws. To today’s "liberated woman", the concepts of modesty and feminine loveliness are almost completely foreign. In their attempt to free themselves from their traditional God given roles, these women have succeeded only in enslaving themselves in a world of moral darkness.
Similarly, on the male side, many men have lost those qualities that, in former times, would have complimented a woman’s femininity. As Mrs. Hammond aptly points out in her book, “By trying to blur the divinely created differences between men and women, our culture has succeeded in destroying the integrity of both”. If there is to be any hope of reversing the current downward spiral in morality, this lost integrity must be restored and this restoration must begin with women. Women must rediscover the grace and beauty of their femininity and realize the importance of the role that God has planned for them from the beginning.
In our society today, respect for women is at an all time low. In her article, “The Dignity of True Femininity”, Dr. Anne Marie McDonnell illustrates well the extent of the problem. She says: “For a woman to live according to Catholic teaching in today’s society she needs heroic virtue. Every form of media, including television, movies, magazines, books, computers, music, and theater all assault women’s human dignity, often portraying her in a pornographic manner as an object of lust."
This loss of dignity for women has also been accompanied by a corresponding breakdown in the stability of the family. This breakdown has, in turn, directly impacted the Church’s efforts to build a new Culture of Life.In many of his writings, Pope John Paul II has consistently stressed the importance of the family as the basic unit of society. If we are to be successful in creating this new Culture of Life, there must be an authentic spiritual renewal of the family and this renewal must start with the youth of today, for it is they who are the building blocks of the families of tomorrow.
In regards to the family, it is quite obvious that the forces of evil have laid siege to this basic unit of society for many years now. The family is the foundation of society; if you subvert the family, you subvert the country. On the front lines of this battle are the hearts, minds and souls of America’s children, but with little, if any, moral guidance in their lives, the majority of these young people are adrift on a sea of doubt and confusion, with little or no idea of where they are going or why they even exist.In their attempt to find some meaning in life, they idolize many of the music and movie stars of today. They look to them for hope, guidance and answers, but the answers they are getting are not the right ones. It is our hope then, that, through the music we perform and the witness we give, we will be able to guide them to the truths they are searching for.
In conclusion, we would add one final note. The task of reclaiming America for Christ is a formidable one, and no one person or organization can accomplish this job alone. But with all of us working together, and encouraged by our Lord’s words that: “with God all things are possible”, we can make a difference. Again, quoting Archbishop Chaput of Denver: “If pagan Rome could be won for Jesus Christ, surely we can do the same in our own world. What it takes is the zeal and courage to live what we claim to believe”. We pray, therefore, that, with His help in this endeavor, we will be able to be a source of truth and light for today’s young people, a beacon of hope that can show them the way home to a safe harbor, home to Christ.
Saint Cecilia Classical Productions Inc. is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) public charity. We were organized exclusively for religious, educational and charitable purposes, and all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
