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Writer's pictureProfiles in Catholicism

Spirituality and Music

Updated: May 29




A Message from the Editor


Shakespeare had it right when he wrote in

Twelfth Night 

If music be the food of love,

Sing on till I am fill’d with joy;

For then my list’ning soul you move

To pleasures that can never cloy.

Your eyes, your mien, your tongue declare

That you are music everywhere.

Pleasures invade both eye and ear,

So fierce the transports are, they wound,

And all my senses feasted are,

Tho’ yet the treat is only sound,

Sure I must perish by your charms,

Unless you save me in your arms.


The musical version of this play was done by Henry Purcell who was an English composer. It is said that he began composing at nine years old. As an adult, he became organist at Westminster Abbey, and later the Chapel Roy.

We are featuring Cleo Lane’s musical version of Shakespeare’s quote in our Videos section in this issue of Profiles in Catholicism She is one of my favorite singers whom I met at an AIDS benefit.


Also in our Videos section is the Ave Maria by Marco Lo Russo Rouge which was dedicated to Pope Francis. I hope that more churches will perform it.

We applaud Mike Arnold the mayor of Blanco, Texas for establishing a charity to help Christians suffering attacks in Nigeria and prey for his success in saving lives. Currently, there are over 2.2 million internally displaced persons in the country fleeing anti-Christian attacks.


As a boxing fan, I congratulate Oleksandr Usyk for moving up to the heavyweight division.


A Quote to Remember

 

“We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing. The Son of God came into this world as a homeless person. The Son of God knew what it was to start life without a roof over his head.”

by Pope Francis

 

Prayers

 

A prayer for composers of sacred music:

 

“Sacred Sounds”

 

Oh Creator of all that comes to exist and exists because of you,

how intimately present you are to the workings of the universe,

not a sight exists but that you hear the sound, whether it be the

microbes burrowing in the soil, toiling away, taking and making

what is good for the plants, or the munching of snails, the sound

of rain as it falls, the almost silence of light, emitted and shed from

the roar of the sun, the billions of tons of boiling matter, bubbling

and broiling over, flaring and leaping alight like bright shouts.

 

How great, Lord, and magnificent, are the activity of sub-atomic

particles because of some vast, unseen, immense choreography

as the atoms and molecules dance the dance dedicated to the up

build of the bonds that bind and share electrons, which are to us

the soundless structures of matter, but to you, the electric-flying

music of matter and the deep origin of what becomes the voice of

nature in storms, tempests, winds and waves, whether audible to

us or not, as they are the molecular melodies of every material.

 

How great you are, oh Holy Spirit, co-creator of visible and oh so invisible beauty,

so strung are the hearts and ears of all creatures that they chirp and cry out to one another,raising not a cacophony,but a composition of communications throughout every species of the world,

ringing the atmosphere with a score describable by the

gifted musicians who take what they hear and develop it into the

voiced praise of the Creator, taking back to Him what was freely

given and fulsomely created, breaking new ground in sounds alone.

 

Oh Mary, Mother of the Church, how the angels sang in the wild night,

wholeheartedly, orchestrating a wondrous welcome of the

Savior, drawing all, beginning with the shepherds, who perhaps

took up the song as they walked to Bethlehem, the house of bread,

improvising on what they heard, unable to undo the angelic sound

that broke through the weary night-time work, interrupting their

rest and renewing their energy for walking and working through

the night as they uttered their songs of praise and prayed in song.

 

Oh St. Joseph and the choirs of saints, how the silence sings of love,

arising out of the great and fathomless heart of the Father, fostering

all that is good and graceful, fulfilling the longings of all whom He

he has given life and life eternal, springing from the murmurings of

lovers and resounding in the sighs and cries of exaltation, rejoicing,

celebration and jubilation, crying out to love and be loved, taking up

into the human heart, voicing the ecstatic cry that sounded from the

beginningas what came to exist echoes and expresses God is Love.

 

But oh, Holy Family, how many tears and wounds are opening,

unable to close, both in the earth and among all creatures, close

and closer still to the crucifying sufferings of the Son, that yet go

on being exposed to salt and vinegar, either worsening or being

ignored, and yet they are the sacred sounds that soar through the

noise, travelling faster than sight, passing through every obstacle

to hearing, seeing, touching, sensing and dripping with liquid

intensity into the cup of the Lord, looking and longing for help.

 

Oh Creator-God you gave us voices, instruments through the very

flesh of our lives, capable of the most touching of notes, noting the

piercing sorrows, reaching the highest expression of jubilation, the

deepest groans of human grief and yet, scarcely can we express the

cry from the heart of God who works, almost endlessly, for the call

of the sinner to be turned to rejoicing, so that the tumultuous leap

of reconciliation can rise like the skies from out of our nothingness

shouting aloud with all splendour and grace, how great is our God!

by  Francis Etheredge , Catholic married layman, father of 11, 3 of whom are in heaven,

 

A Prayer for the homeless in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

Good and Gracious God,

 

We turn to you Father, Son and Holy Spirit to ask for your help for the homeless of Albuquerque. There have been some tragic incidents happening there that need your intersession. The interview of the people that have been homeless leads us to hear that thousands of homeless people have lost personal property, according to interviews with community advocates, service providers and those who have had their possessions discarded.

 

We know Lord that you will comfort these people and assist them in regaining some dignity as they go about their daily lives. Some said their belongings had been taken by city crews multiple times. They described losing medication, birth certificates, dentification cards, cellphones, chargers, carpentry tools, clothing, a car title, a dog kennel, treasured family photos and the ashes of loved ones. Nearly all of them said the city had thrown away their survival gear, such as blankets, sleeping bags and tents, even during cold weather and snowstorms. Lord, we all rely on these material things to move us toward our heavenly home with a bit of comfort and of course the challenge of being one with you in suffering.

 

Holy Spirit please guide these people on the path that will assist them in their plight. Alexandra Paisan spoke and said: “It’s the equivalent of having your house burned down multiple times a year — just over and over again, you’re losing everything and starting from scratch each time,” said Alexandra, the coordinated entry director at the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, which assists communities with solutions to homelessness. “I don’t think people always see it that way, which is unfortunate because if I went home to find just an empty lot and my house was completely burned down ... that’s devastating.” Lord, please help them find peace in their devastation and help others to assist them in obtaining what they need. We ask you this plea through Christ our Lord. Amen

by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D. Profiles in Catholicism

 

Prayer to end child abuse 


What has happened to the world Lord Jesus that so many abuse the children? Many look away and hide the crimes, they do not cry out for justice. You said the children are the most important in the Kingdom, To accept a child, you said, is to accept you.

 

Bring the children to me you told the disciples that they be blessed and protected.

You said let the abusers be brought to account and do penance as if a mill stone were tied around their necks and they be thrown into the deep sea, you said Lord in Matthew (Ch.18: 6-7)

 

Lord, inspire us and strengthen our faith by your words and actions, that goodness, love of neighbor and action for justice will over come evil. Inspire us to save and heal the children through justice, peace so they can live a new happier life. Amen by Father Shay Cullen Profiles in Catholicism

 

Music and Spirituality Interviews


 

General Interviews

 

 

Music and Spirituality Articles and Commentaries



General Articles and Commentaries



Featured Report



Medical Journal Articles

 


Book Reviews, Commentaries, and Announcements

 


Television Articles and Commentaries


  • Shogun Commentary by Kevin Christopher Robles America

 

Film Articles and Commentaries


 

Music Reviews and Commentaries

 

 

Theater Reviews and Commentaries

 

  • Cabaret Commentary by Rob Weinert-Kendt America

 

Opera Reviews


 

Videos


Cleo Laine - If Music Be The Food Of Life

 


Ave Maria - Marco Lo Russo Coro Voces del Mar OEPV Made in Italy concert Teatro Vallarta Mexico 2018


To God's Ear: Music and Song of the Jewish Liturgy


Gregorian Chant - Liturgy of St Anthony


Henry Purcell - Christ is made the sure foundation

Gregorian Chants For The Mother Of Jesus | Sacred Choir In Honor Of Mary


Immaculate Mary | Ave Ave Maria | Lourdes Hymn | Emmaus Music 


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