Singing of Mary, giving glory to God

Anna believes that music has a special power. “There’s nothing like it. It speaks to people’s hearts. Mother Mary made me realize it’s not about me. It’s about giving glory to God.”

By Marian Friedrichs

Anna Nuzzo says she “never planned to have a music ministry.” A cradle Catholic from Kenosha, Wisconsin, Anna began singing with a group at Mass when she was in fourth grade and as a soloist at weddings and funerals when she was in high school. No matter how many times she sang in church, however, Anna’s perfectionism always made her intensely nervous. Only through much prayer could she bring herself to stand up and sing that first note. 

Looking back now, she says, “I was making it all about me.” Usually, the anxiety that seized Anna every time she sang did not release her until after the beginning of the Responsorial Psalm: “Then I would have all this peace.”

By the time she was an adult, Anna took for granted two things about her service as a leader of song: first, that it would always remain within the borders of her local community, and second, that she would always be nervous about it. But God had a bigger plan, and to help Anna see it, God sent His most powerful servant: Mary.

Marian consecration 
In 2012, Anna joined a group of about 20 other women from her parish who were preparing to consecrate themselves to Jesus through Mary with the book, 33 Days to Morning Glory. On the first of the 33 days, Anna came home from the consecration class and felt immediately drawn to her piano “with this thought to write a song about Marian consecration.” Anna had never considered writing a song before, but she sat at the piano and asked the Holy Spirit to help her.

With the prayer of consecration in front of her, Anna began to work out a melody that would fit the words of the prayer. An hour later, the song was finished, and Anna was sitting at the piano with goosebumps on her arms and tears of joy streaming down her face. 

“It was so surreal,” she says. “I felt so loved.”

After that day, Anna’s musical — and spiritual — life changed. Her nervousness about singing vanished, and her newfound gift of songwriting bloomed: “From that moment on, so many songs started pouring out of me.” Anna gives credit for her transformation to “Mother Mary. She’s God’s secret weapon. Every day she brings me closer to Jesus.” 

Not long after setting the Marian consecration prayer to music, Anna wrote an original song, “Falling on My Knees,” about “laying everything at the foot of the Cross.” Soon, Anna’s voice would be calling souls near and far to join her in giving themselves totally to Jesus through Mary. In 2014, she released her first album, Be Love. 

The Marian difference 
Reading 33 Days to Morning Glory introduced Anna to the work of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. She set the Divine Mercy Chaplet to music and prayed for an opportunity to connect with the Marians. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 2015, Anna went to Confession and met Fr. Chris Alar, MIC. Anna and Fr. Chris made a Rosary CD together, and he helped her obtain permission to record her version of the Chaplet.

Anna has set many Marian prayers to music, including the Memorare and an entrustment prayer for children. She sends these songs out into the world through recordings and live performances, which have taken her to parishes, retreats, and conferences across the United States and beyond. “It’s humbling because it’s not me. It’s the Holy Spirit,” she says. “I literally became an instrument for God … It’s been an amazing journey.”

Anna believes that music has a special power. “There’s nothing like it. It speaks to people’s hearts. Mother Mary made me realize it’s not about me. It’s about giving glory to God. I can’t stress enough how much I love her.” 

Through music, led by Mary and empowered by the Holy Spirit, Anna beckons others to follow her to Jesus. “Pray,” she says. “Grow in relationship with Our Blessed Mother, and she’ll lead you to Jesus.” 
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