The Marvelous Gift of Music and Song

This week two friends informed me of outstanding pieces of music. I found the pieces on youTube and was delighted to listen to them. Music has the power to lighten our spirits and move us to tears. It makes our feet tap and our hands clap. It moves us to get up and dance. Animals […]

Why Pray a Psalm at Mass?

At every Mass we pray or sing a psalm after the first reading. A psalm is a prayer-song taken from the Old Testament and attributed to King David, who, as you know, played the harp. I thought of blogging about psalms today because we are in the month of the Holy Rosary, a devotion that […]

Take a Dose of Vitamin N ~ Nature

Spring is upon us, so venture outside! Recent reports claim that contact with nature makes us healthier and happier. In Greek mythology, Antaeus was invincible as long as he was in contact with his mother, Earth. Apparently we too gain strength by being in touch with Mother Earth, whose clay we were made from. Spring […]

Memorization for Knowledge and Prayer

What do you have committed to memory? Probably the ABCs, the multiplication tables, and at least a few of your passwords. Nowadays, when we can always consult the Internet for information, memorizing is sometimes viewed as outdated. Yet, our power to remember things is a boon. When I was a child, for each piano lesson […]

Song as Prayer

At our July 4th Mass, we sang every verse of every song, something Catholics rarely do. It got me thinking about the major role song plays in our lives. I believe we are the only earthly creatures that can sing, not counting birds who each have their own sound (except for the mockingbird). Whale sounds […]

Something about Psalms

I heard that one of our Sisters prayed psalms for decades but never liked them. Ouch! I love the psalms, and obviously God does too, since he gave them to us to pray. The Psalms is a book of the Bible. When Christians took over the Old Testament, the psalms came too.

A Trick for Praying Psalms

Praying the psalms in the Divine Office every day, I found that often my eyes glide over the lines but the words don’t register. When I close the book, I wonder if I said anything to God! Lately I’ve been applying a tip St. Ignatius gave for praying the Gospels: use your imagination. Call on […]

Psalms: Prayers from God

Did you know that we pray to St. Anthony for lost articles because he once lost his Psalter and it was returned? At every Mass we pray a psalm. Why do we Christians pray these Jewish prayers? For three reasons: 1. They are in the Bible, which means God gave them to us. 2. Jesus […]