Music ministers have a responsibility to be informed on the Church’s teaching and guidelines for the Sacred Liturgy. Some formative texts can be found here:

• General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM)
• Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Vatican II
• Musicam Sacram: Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, Vatican II
• Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, USCCB

Proper antiphons are texts assigned to a specific liturgical celebration. For musical resources in both English and Latin, look here:

• Lalemant Propers
• Simple English Propers
• Gregorian Missal

“Many published works are protected by national and international copyright laws, which are intended to ensure that composers, text writers, publishers, and their employees receive a fair return for their work. Churches and other institutions have a legal and moral obligation to seek proper permissions and to pay for reprinting of published works when required…” (Sing to the Lord, USCCB, 105)

Want to learn more about music copyrights and licensing? Searching for a particular song? Look here:

• Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) and SongSelect, an online tool through CCLI that allows you to search hundreds of thousands of Christian songs, to obtain chord charts or lead sheets, and to transpose instantly
• OneLicense.net
• Oregon Catholic Press (OCP)
• International Liturgy Publications (ILP)
• GIA Publications
• World Library Publications (WLP)