My own continued admiration of Gerald Finzi’s majestic and moving anthem, "Lo, The Full, Final Sacrifice," lies not only in the masterful blend of music and words, but also in the confluence of so many personal memories that touch and move me. Sometimes a piece of music or art brings different aspects of one’s life [...]
When we listen to the cross, we hear the call of His love to rise above the misery of our current condition. And from the heights of the cross, we can see into the distant country of our eternal home. John 8: 21-30 sees Jesus in teaching mode but now with the Jewish crowd at [...]
The Rhine River was the line of no return—once the paratroopers of the 17th Airborne crossed it, they’d be over enemy territory. Some pretended to sleep while others smoked or just stared into space. No one spoke. The roar of the engines and the rattling of the airframe made conversation impossible, which was just fine. [...]
Beethoven wrote "Adelaide," a song for solo voice and piano, between 1794 and 1796, when he was in his mid-twenties. The text of the song is a poem in German by Friedrich von Matthisson, to whom Beethoven dedicated the work and to whom he wrote after its completion: "My most ardent wish will be fulfilled [...]
Our prayers, works, sufferings and joys are not independent sacrifices looking for their own justification before the throne of God. What brings them to life is the sacrifice of Jesus, His eternal yes. Mark 12: 28b-34 sees another of those dialogues between Jesus and a private individual – in this case, one of the scribes. Which is the [...]
It seems we can all use a little extra cheer in life these days, so what fun to get other people interested in and excited about Clara Wieck Schumann: child prodigy, piano virtuoso, mother of eight, wife and partner to the better-known Robert Schumann. The only reason I chanced upon Clara Schumann’s compositions was a [...]
It is not easy to die on the Cross under whatever guise it comes to us this day (stresses, strains, losses, pains). But if we think of it as dying in His arms—His arms outstretched caressingly—then maybe, like Mary our model, we can say yes. Luke 9:22-25 offers us one of Jesus’ starker prophecies: the [...]
The popularity of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” has paradoxically led us to underestimate the Venetian’s true greatness. Once renowned across Europe, by the early twentieth century Vivaldi was considered a minor composer. Then, several events occurred to re-awaken interest in the music of “The Red Priest.” Inevitably, when one hears the name of Antonio Vivaldi, one [...]
The madness of our self-sufficiency comes to the fore in the discourse of Jesus at the Last Supper. There, we see that our path of perfection is in point of fact a path towards union. Not only does Jesus promise to dwell with the Father in those who love Him, He also affirms that we [...]
If we wish, like the disciples, to be taken to the eternal banquet, we had best look like we have a taste for wine (love and salvation), "woman" (Mary's obedience), and song (the return of love for love received). Indeed, we should indulge as frequently as we can! John 2: 1-11 gives us that classic [...]
While being the salt of the earth requires the Gift of Knowledge, being the light of the world requires the movements of the Gift of Counsel: the gift of knowing when and how to intervene, of when to echo the words of Jesus and when to emulate His silence. Matthew 5: 13-16 sees Jesus deliver [...]
“Should not church music be mostly for the heart?” —Joseph Martin Kraus The Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead—the Requiem, sometimes called Missa pro Defunctis (or Defuncto) or Messe des Morts—is surely the most dramatic of liturgical forms and has inspired countless composers, from medieval times to the present. What the Czech composer Antonin Dvořák, a devout [...]
Why doesn’t Jesus just try harder with the Nazarenes? To a great extent, the Lord’s choices in this moment are a mystery to us. Mark 6: 1-6 sees Jesus back in his hometown, preaching as He did elsewhere, but finding the people incredulous. After all, they knew Him, did they not? He was just Jesus, [...]
John the Baptist comes not simply to know Jesus – He knows He is the Messiah – but to know what that means, to know something more of the depths of that mystery of who He actually is; to be initiated further into that knowledge that Jesus says is the essence of the eternal life. [...]