Vatican II, 1965: among its other reforms, no longer would the priest celebrate Mass with his back turned to the congregation, and no longer would the Mass be said in Latin. Instead, from then on, the priest would face the faithful and say the Mass in the language the faithful understands.

To many churchgoers then, it must have been a most welcome shock. All of a sudden, everyone could understand every word being said in the Mass; everyone could follow it with more meaningful worship. Eventually, Church songs also in the language of the people came in the picture and, thus, were heartily sung by all. Filipino liturgical celebration had come to its own.

Far be it from saying that the rest is history, it was all just starting for young Jboy.

“I was a first year high school student in 1981,” he relates. “I didn’t know who the Jesuits were, but I was playing and singing their songs at Mass and prayer, and my choir and I just loved the songs so much.”

It was in a vocation seminar he attended in his fourth year high school that Jboy finally got to know the composers of the songs he played: Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros SJ for Papuri, Pananagutan, Paghahandog ng Sarili; Fr. Fruto Ramirez SJ for Purihin ang Panginoon, Si Kristo ay Gunitain  and the Bicol, Ama Niamo; Fr. Manoling Francisco SJ for Hindi Kita Malilimutan.

While most of the congregation responded with enthusiastic singing, Jboy’s response came with something very special: embracing the Jesuit life.

Today, Fr. Jessel Gerard “Jboy” Gonzales, SJ, has taken the baton, for he is the present Director of the Jesuit Music Ministry.

"Fr. Catalino Arevalo said that the history of Jesuit music coincides with the history of the Society of Jesus itself," relates Fr. Jboy. "Since the beginning, the Jesuits recognize the importance of the arts in evangelization. We believe that God is reached easily through the gates of beauty and the arts."

In fact, some of the celebrated composers figure in the history of Jesuit music ministry included Palestrina, Scarlatti, and Mozart. The greatest is Domenico Zipoli who created an entire culture of music among the Guarani Indians in the Paraguay Reductions, popularized by the movie, The Mission.

In the advent of Vatican II, the Jesuits responded dutifully to the need of liturgical music in the vernacular. Though there have been Jesuit composers who came before him such as Frs. Jose Ma. Siguion and Juan Trinidad, the "Father of Jesuit Music" is still Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros SJ. In response to Vatican II, Fr. Hontiveros simply wanted to compose music that people could easily learn and sing at worship. Unwittingly, he started a whole tradition of religious and liturgical music in the country-which would later come to be known simply as "Jesuit Music." 

Taking their cue from Fr. Hontiveros, the second generation of Jesuit composers were Frs. Fruto Ramirez, Nemy Que, followed by Frs. Manoling Francisco, Charlie Cenzon, Jboy Gonzales and Arnel Aquino. "To go where there is the greatest need" is constitutive of Jesuit spirituality.

In the United States, many English liturgical songs were also composed by Jesuits as an immediate response to Vatican II, notably a group called the "St. Louis Jesuits" who composed Sing a New Song and You are Near (Dan Schutte), Sing to the Mountains and Let Heaven Rejoice (Bob Dufford), I Lift Up My Soul (Tim Manion), One Bread One Body (John Foley) and Seek the Lord (Roc O’Connor).

When Filipino songs were introduced at mass, the impact was tremendous. “It was overwhelming,” says Fr. Jboy. “Filipinos loved our music: the form, the beat, the melody. They used our songs in worship-the people sang because it was easy for them to remember the lyrics and the music had recall: they play like audio tapes in our mind. Up to now, Filipinos still sing them in church, whether nationally or internationally.” Thus, the people were encouraged to participate more actively in the mass.

Though widely popular by word of mouth and profoundly imbedded in the people’s consciousness, it took years, however, before the songs were finally put on audio records. Two long-playing albums, “Himig Heswita” and “Luwalhati sa Diyos” were released to the public in 1981. That year also marked the official founding of the Jesuit Music Ministry (JMM), a bustling component of the Jesuit Communications Apostolate in the Philippines.

In a concert he attended recently at Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome, Pope Benedict XVI had this to say: "[Music] has the power to lead us back…to the Creator of all harmony, creating a resonance within us which is like being in tune with the beauty and truth of God, with the reality which no human knowledge or philosophy can ever express" (Zenit.org, Sept. 5, 2007).

This power, this ability of music for Godliness, has long been recognized since ancient times. The ancient Egyptians, for example, believed that it was their goddess Isis who brought music to earth to help human beings cleanse their souls and calm their emotions. The Hindus, on the other hand, believed that the gods used to keep music just for themselves. Out of pity, however, they were moved to share it with mankind.

The miraculous attributes of music, of course, are not just limited to the myths and legends that attempted to explain its very origin. In fact, in our own time, there have been scientific studies that demonstrate (albeit debatably) the many helpful benefits of music in enhancing a person's learning process, and even brain development in babies still in their mothers' wombs.

Also tremendous is music's remarkable ability to heal the afflicted: music therapy centers have been opened in recent years to help patients cope with their problems through learning to sing, or playing a musical instrument, or simply listening to music.

A most fascinating case of healing music, of course, involved a catatonic schizophrenic boy who cried on hearing J.S. Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," and spoke for the first time in seven years just to comment on the music.

For all these benefits that we reap from this gift that God has so generously blessed us with, the proverbial "song in our hearts" is always on cue to accompany our thanksgiving and praise. Perhaps, nothing could be more noble or profound or even Godly.

For instance, when Mary was moved to sing her famous canticle, was it just her who sang out her praises to God? Or was it God Himself who reiterated this prophesy through Mary's song?

“He stretched out his mighty arm

And scattered the proud people with their plans.

He brought down mighty kings from their thrones,

And lifted up the lonely.”

(Luke 1:51-52)

St. Augustine once said: “He who sings prays twice.” With Mary’s song, however, it was more than a prayer doubled in intensity. It was being in intimate harmony with the God of harmony.

"We should not be restricted to some musical genres for worship use," says Fr. Jboy. "I believe that the type of music should be at the service of the congregation. If you have the elderly at mass, then the choir should sing the songs which they can sing: perhaps the traditional songs of their age.

"But if you have a very young audience, perhaps, we use the music genre of their age: we can jazz up the song, add percussions, and rock it! As long as the music encourages 'full, conscious, and active participation,' as Vatican II says, and the lyrics are liturgical, then the song should be recommended to the community."

One type of music that JMM has been dabbling in recently is Christian meditation music.

"We produce meditation music that are instrumental versions of our songs," explains Fr. Jboy. "If a person meditates on Psalm 23, and hears the instrumental version of "Ang Panginoon ang Aking Pastol" then the meditation music facilitates the prayer. If the music you listen to while praying distracts you from your prayer, then meditation music does not function as it should. And so, meditation music should be "quiet" and "not overwhelming."

“The ideal is that the music so effectively enhances your meditation that you forget that it is even there. Like the choir: the best choir is the ‘no choir’-when you don’t hear the choir because everyone sings at mass, that is the best choir. Conversely, the worse choir is the choir that performs: they are the only ones singing their songs while the congregation stares at them blankly.”

So far, JMM has released several cassette tapes and compact discs under the album series “Lauds” for piano, “Vespers” for guitar and flute, and “Matins” for chamber music.

The album titles “Lauds,” “Vespers” and “Matins” pertain to the Divine Office, a set of prayers of daily obligation, said at certain hours of the day (and night), for Catholic religious. The albums themselves, in the liner notes, were collections of songs that were “the anthem of our souls, the unspeakable yearnings of those wordless depths.”

“For Jesuit songs have a way of inviting you to dive deep into your heart to seek your soul,” wrote Fr. Johnny C. Go, SJ, “[They are] truly a practical and valuable habit in a world where we all tend to scatter and lose ourselves.”

The idea to record meditation music began when Fr. Arnel dC Aquino SJ (who was a scholastic then), began to record instrumental renditions of Jesuit vocal songs.

“Fr. Arnel is an excellent composer and pianist,” says Fr. Jboy. “When we saw how useful his recordings were in our retreats, recollections and prayer, we thought it would be a great idea to produce a series of meditation music. From then on, he also added his own compositions.”

While intended for meditation, the albums, however, have been used by people for various other reasons besides prayer. “They use our instrumental albums in the car to calm themselves in heavy traffic,” says Fr. Jboy. “They play it in hospitals for the sick. We get letters and emails thanking us for the hope and comfort our songs bring. Our music have been soundtracks for television and the movies. Panunumpa (Fr. Jboy Gonzales SJ) was sung by Carol Banawa in Star Cinema’s film Tanging Yaman and has been used in many weddings. Maging Akin Muli (Fr. Arnel Aquino SJ) was the theme song of the ABS-CBN television movie of the same title starring Marvin Agustin, Noel Trinidad and Sandy Andolong.”

But more importantly, Fr. Jboy stresses that music should “help people develop a personal relationship with the Lord.”

“We’re very at home with religious images, rosaries, devotions, novenas but our faith is insufficiently personal,” he says. “We only have to take the cue from the Lectio Divina: we read a passage from Scripture, meditate on it, dialogue with God and listen to Him. We may not be at home with this type of prayer, but meditation music can assist us in contemplating the mystery of God.”

Also a composer and choir director, Fr. Jboy finds his work in JMM "exciting because I find my ministry relevant to the present generation." In particular, he is inclined toward ministering to young people who, he believes, is an area of "greatest need" for evangelization.

Citing the McCann-Ericsson Survey of Philippine population last year, Fr. Jboy tells us that 51 percent of the Philippine population are aged 20 and below.

It is for this reason that JMM is geared toward producing music that would appeal to the young: "The 20-below listen to rock music; they love acoustic bands…so, the direction of JMM is to venture into new musical forms. It is in line with this direction that BukasPalad and Hangad, two of our resident artists, have reinvented themselves and their music.

"Of course, we are still continuing the genre that made Jesuit music popular. But if they [young people] sing our new songs, then we minister to half of the population of the Philippines. If they don't, then our service is unsatisfactory."

Aside from JMM, Fr. Jboy also teaches theology to college students in Ateneo and also serves as the Chaplain of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. Thus, he offers his insights on dealing with young people:

"To minister to the young takes a lot of energy from you. To understand them is to be with them wherever they go. The ministry of companionship and presence is important to them, and therefore it would demand from you time. But when you are with them, they energize you in return."

Fr. Jboy furthers: "The secret to youth ministry is in friendship. Don't let them come to you. You go where they are; go where they go. And if you want to compose music that they will sing, you've got to assimilate their culture and their energy. The lyrics should speak about what concerns them: love, friendship, family. And these themes can be found in scripture. Thus, use scripture for the lyrics, but make the melody upbeat and updated."