The point of liturgy is to worship God. Doing so is a matter of handing oneself over to God present and active in the liturgy. \u201cTo it,\u201d writes Romano Guardini, \u201c[one] must surrender [one\u2019s] independence, pray with others, and not alone.\u201d1<\/sup> I understand this claim to mean that one should not recite the Rosary quietly to oneself during the proclamation of the Eucharistic Prayer, for example. If the assembly is singing \u201cIn the Breaking of the Bread,\u201d one should not sing \u201cI Am the Bread of Life,\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suggest, though, that the kind of surrender Guardini has in mind need not require in all cases singing and praying verbatim with the rest of the assembly. I think that sometimes \u201csurrender\u201d can mean acknowledging one\u2019s inability to sing and pray along if that acknowledgment includes a deep sense of being borne up by the singing and praying of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I offer an example. My mother died in June. At her funeral, when the cantor led the assembly in the Song of Farewell, I was unable to sing the words\u2014or any words. All I could do was weep and say quietly, \u201cGoodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye!\u201d My words and my mindset were aligned with the meaning of the Song of Farewell insofar as I was letting go of my mother and entrusting her to God\u2019s mercy, but my grief required of me an independence from the lyrics. I had to entrust the singing of the lyrics to others, a form of surrendering to the liturgical current as it carried me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n