Mother of God

Music and the Education of the Christian Soul

In a world ringing with noise and suffused with the more or less artful idolizing of passions divorced from objective goods, where are we to find melodies capable of penetrating our hardened hearts with spiritual truths?

Do You Desire True Liberty? Then Let the Children Live!

St. John the Baptist came to prepare the way of the Lord by proclaiming the Good News of the coming of the Redeemer, and by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. According to Abba Apollo, a...

A Quintet of Sonnets for Mary

It is true that some Christians have disagreed with one another bitterly about her, but equally, in every age and every church she has been, for many Christians, a sign of hope, an example of prayer, devotion...

Ave Maris Stella

Editor’s Note: Edvard Grieg composed his "Ave Maris Stella" ("Hail Star of the Sea"), for mixed choir, in 1898. It is based on a plainsong Vespers hymn to the Virgin Mary that dates to the eighth century. Its lyrics, in Latin and English, are below the embedded video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmFFYZID4rg   Ave, maris stella, Dei mater alma, atque semper...

“Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God”

Editor's Note: Scored for a cappella choir, John Tavener's "Hymn for the Dormition of the Mother of God" was composed in 1985 as the second part of a pair of Marian devotions. Its  text is taken from the Feast of the Dormition (or slumber) of the Mother of...

The Humility of Mary

From the Annunciation to the Presentation, from the Wedding at Cana to the upper room in Acts 1 and 2, the Mother of God's life is undergirded and infused with humility... About a year before being received into...

The Seven Joys of Mary

Editor's Note: "The Seven Joys of Mary" (sometimes called simply "Joys Seven") is a traditional carol based on events in the life of the Mother of God. Though it was not originally connected to the Christmas season, it has become so with time. It should be noted...

“O Virgo Virginum”: A New Sonnet Set and Sung

Last year I was asked by the Precentor of Wells Cathedral if I would write an extra 8th Antiphon sonnet to go with the special 8th O antiphon, O Virgo Virginum, which was used in English churches and Cathedrals in the...

Blessed Flesh of the Virgin Mary

Editor's Note: "Beata Viscera Marie Virginis" ("Blessed Flesh of the Virgin Mary") is a piece intended for the Communion section of a Mass honoring the Blessed Mother of God. This setting is a monophonic (one-voice) "conductus," a musical form that gained in popularity during the lifetime of the medieval...

Oh, White Lady: Faith as a Struggle

Faith has always been a struggle for me. Indeed, throughout my forty-six years of life, very rarely have I ever felt comfortable for any stretch of time with my religion or my religious practices. I readily...

A Christmas Carol Poem

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap, His hair was like a light. (O weary, weary were the world, But here is all aright.) The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast His hair was like a star. (O stern and cunning are the kings, But here the true...