When we listen to music, sometimes we can be particularly touched in a spiritual sense. It is not necessary to listen to or perform religious music for this to happen, but it seems like this type of musical creativity is privileged in this way.
Just like a beautiful landscape we see can cause a deep stir of soul, often much deeper than portrait of a saint or biblical scene, in a similar way a musical composition can bring us closer to God, without having been concieved though religious inspiration or for liturgical purposes.
Oftentimes we can encounter a general comprehension of musical art, as a particular revelation of God, as a certain kind of catharsis - the way of a human’s arrival to God.
It seems that the beauty which we are finding in music is the answer. In this beauty, God reveals himself in mysterious ways and inspires man to change his heart and lift it up to his Creator.
However, it is worthwhile to look for this answer by following a path of comparison between religious and musical experiences, then it can be clearly seen which musical attributes bring us closer to experiencing God and if in general there exist reasons for thinking about music as a way to Him.
For a healthy spiritual life, it’s worth simultaneously remembering the similarities and stark differences between music and the Sacred so we do not identify ordinary emotional experiences, even if they are the most intense, with authentic conversion, with our intimate, personal contact with God.
(Translated by Bogna Mc Garrigle)