"Play Before the Lord"

This past Sunday was the feast of Christ the King, and as such, the predominant theme in my choir's songs was that of praise and worship, extolling God's wonderful power, splendour, love, and generosity.

One of my favourite hymns in our repertoire was sung at Communion. It is entitled "Play Before the Lord". If you are unfamiliar with this song, here are the lyrics:

I will play before the Lord
I will sing to Him my melody
Stand among His people here
Telling of all His ways
I will sing before the Lord
Let us sing to Him our melody
Stand within His temple here
Telling of all His ways

Sing, people of God

Bless his holy name
Offering Him our joyful hearts
Joining in endless praise
Alleluia

Alleluia
Alleluia, Alleluia
Joining in endless praise


What does this song encourage us to do? How can we "play before the Lord"?

Stand Among His People, Telling of His Ways

Part of this song is more obvious. We are called to evangelize as we "stand among His people" and "[tell] of His ways" - to share with others the Good News of God's glory and love for us.

This is not always easy. Sometimes we are met with resistance, disbelief, or even hostility, and we may feel discouraged, saddened, or fearful. However, we are encouraged to keep heart and continue to spread our passion for our faith, in a way that is positive, uplifting, and humble.

Join in Endless Praise

This song also encourages us to find and then act on our gratitude unto God, not just when big, exciting things happen, but constantly. Small things are also worthy of our thanks. For example, getting to eat a favourite meal, or even simply getting a good parking spot can make a positive difference in your day. Why not take a moment to say a prayer of thanks for it? Let us strive to make gratitude and praise habitual. When we cultivate a genuine sense of gratitude for the many good things, situations, or people we encounter, we will in turn cultivate greater joy. This brings me to the next section of the song.

Singing Our Joyful Melody to God

Perhaps my favourite lines in the song are those that encourage us to "sing to Him our melody" and "[offer] Him our joyful hearts".

How can we do this?

What does it mean to sing our melody?

We are all given a unique set of talents, gifts, hopes, dreams, strengths, challenges, feelings, and ideas. We are all different, and can all offer the world, and the Lord, different beautiful and wonderful things. The key is to find a way to balance all the facets of our lives, and to do so in a joyous way; that is, to take what we are given and weave everything into a harmonious, happy melody.

In the post "Let Your Light Shine", we discussed finding what your God-given talents are, and utilizing them to the fullest in order to help others and glorify God. This is definitely a major part of singing our melody to God. Acting on our gifts in a positive, loving way is undoubtedly the best way to thank Him for them!

Further, when we do what we love, and what we are gifted at, we experience joy. When we experience, and then find ways to express joy, it is catchy! We never know who we may be able to inspire with kind, happy words and a warm smile!

I have to express gratitude to my wonderful fiance. Recently, he gave me a bookmark with some words by St. Augustine of Hippo. The quotation is quite similar thematically to the words of "Play Before the Lord", and reading it really helped me gain a greater appreciation for and insight into the message being put forth.

Here is the passage:

"Life's Song"

Don't let your life

Misrepresent your song.

Sing with your voice.

Sing with your heart.

Sing with your mouth.

But especially sing

With your whole life.

In other words, live authentically! Let us take what we are given and make something beautiful of it. Let our joy and love of God pour forth in all that we do!

May God bless you, today and always!

Karen

"The Love of the Lord Will Stand"

The Sunday, November 18 Gospel reading discussed the end of times, when everything physical would pass away out of being. A line near the end struck me most significantly:

"...[the] earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."

That is, God is eternal, and no matter what happens, God's power, glory, and love will stand firm forever.

In keeping with this notion, my choir sang "Though the Mountains May Fall" for our Recessional hymn.

Here is the refrain and two of the verses from this upbeat, inspirational song:

Though the mountains may fall
And the hills turn to dust
The love of the Lord will stand
As a shelter for all
Who will call on His name
Sing the praise and the glory of God

Could the Lord ever leave you?
Could the Lord forget His love?
Though a mother forsake her child
He will not abandon you

Should you turn and forsake Him
He will gently call your name
Should you wander away from Him
He will always take you back


This song speaks to not only the end of life on Earth, but to times when we feel as though it is the end of the world. We have all experienced difficulties and heartaches in which we felt hopeless, sad, and alone. This sense of loss and despondence can be very overwhelming. However, it is helpful to remember that we are never alone. God is always with us, loving us, watching over us, listening to us, and helping us. No matter what losses we encounter, whether social, personal, physical, financial, or anything else, God and His love always remain. God never wavers. He is always there.

Similarly, sometimes we feel removed from God due to sin and the negative feelings that accompany it. We may experience guilt, shame, sorrow, or anger, and these emotions can sometimes create a feeling of distance between ourselves and God. Even so, to repeat, God is always there. God never pulls away from us; it is only we who sometimes pull away from Him. If we feel we have created distance between ourselves and God, this distance is not irreparable. We can always work to strengthen our relationship with God and further develop our closeness to Him through self-examination and prayer.

Prayer is an incredibly powerful thing. Prayer can help us to make sense of and meaningfully deal with our negative experiences. Also, prayer is of significant benefit in positive times, too, as we are called to offer God our thanks and praise for the many gifts He gives us.

The bottom line is that no matter what is going on in our lives, whether good or bad, we are called to remember that God's love for us is eternal, unconditional, and all-consuming. While worldly things may come and go, God will never leave us. Let us strive to remember this truth, and find comfort and joy in it in every stage of our journeys through life.

May God bless you, today and always!

Karen

"Let Your Light Shine"

One overarching theme of the Sunday, November 11 Mass was that we should strive to not only be more receptive to the needs of others, but to also act on them in a positive, meaningful way.

In this vein, my choir sang Glen Campbell's "Less of Me" as our second Recessional hymn.

Here is a selection of lyrics from that song:

Let me be when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery
Let me serve a little better
Those that I am striving for

Let me be a little meeker
With the brother who is weaker
Let me be more of my neighbour
And a little less of me


This song echoes the sentiment that it is beneficial to try to be less self-centred and more others-centred. It is easy to get caught up in our own problems, challenges, hopes, and desires and to lose sight of the feelings and needs of those around us. It is also easy to fall prey to the temptation to ignore or put off helping when others are in need, because we are distracted, stressed, ill, or fatigued. However, as Campbell reminds us, we can try to be "more cheery", to find inner strength and then cultivate joy as we help others.

Who are some people that might need your help? In what ways might you be able to assist them?

One important line in the song above is "Let me be a little meeker...", which alludes to the line in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth."

When we help others, we are called to be meek and humble about it. We are not called to make a big deal out of our good deeds and expect praise or reward. Of course, everyone likes receiving positive reinforcement. It makes us feel good and can motivate us to continue doing what we are doing. However, it is beneficial for us to work at being less concerned with praise and rewards for good deeds, and more focused on the fact that we should do good for two reasons:

1. Because it is the right, just, loving thing to do
2. Because it encourages others to give praise to the one who truly deserves it - God!

On the 11th, we sang two songs whose refrains clearly reflected this concept: "Beatitudes" and "We Are the Light of the World".

Here is an excerpt from each:

Beatitudes

Let your light shine
For all the world to see
The brightness of the life within
The peace that sets you free
Let your light shine
To fill your nights and days
And all will see the deeds you do
And offer God their praise


We Are the Light of the World

We are the light of the world
Let your light shine before all
That they may see the deeds that you do
And give glory to God


Indeed, we can contribute positively to the world by using our God-given gifts and talents to the fullest. When we do so, in a meaningful, but also humble way, we reflect well on our Catholic faith as a whole. Just like a well-behaved child inspires admiration for his or her parents, so can our genuine acts of charity and love inspire admiration for our Father. We never know when an act of kindness, as a Catholic follower of Christ, can move someone to praise God and try to emulate that behaviour. Similarly, when I experience an act of love or generosity, I try to always take time to offer God my praise and thanks.

Each week at Mass, I take time to pray and ask God to help me be the best person I can be, for the service of those around me, and for the glorification of God, not myself. As the song lyrics encourage, I want to be less focused on myself, more focused on others, and, especially, more focused on God.

To close, let me leave you with a question to consider.

What are your God-given talents, and how can you use them to best serve others and inspire praise for God?

I would love to hear your ideas in the Comments section! You never know how your words and actions can inspire others!

God bless you, today and always!

Karen

"Put a Little Love in Your Heart"

The predominant message in this past Sunday's Gospel was of God's two main desires for us: that we love God "with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds, and all our strength" and that we love other people as we love ourselves.

To love God and to love other people are not separate things; in fact, they are very much intertwined. How can we say we love God when we do not show love for his children? Remember that Jesus said that whatever we do, even to the "least of His people", we also do to Him. When we show love, generosity, and kindness towards others, we in turn show these things to God.

Some people are easy to love. These may include our families, close friends, and significant others. However, we are called to show love for everyone. This is not always easy. Some people "rub us the wrong way"; they may not be friendly to us, and may demonstrate traits we find unpleasant. Nevertheless, we are called to treat everyone with love and kindness. One principle I hold very strongly is that every single person has something special and worthy of love inside them. After all, everyone is a child of God! One's goodness can sometimes be difficult to see at first, but if we really try, we can find it. 

Some people have put up significant walls that shield their hearts and feelings from the world, perhaps due to past hurts and fears. They put on a tough, cold front and keep people out because they are afraid of being hurt again. This underlying vulnerability can be easy to overlook, and we can be quick to assume, "Oh, that person's just a jerk." Similarly, when people make mistakes and sin (and we all do!), the initial response is often to think that this person is an immoral, bad person. We do not typically see the whole situation and influencing factors surrounding the mistake, and we may come to dislike the person, rather than the action. 

Let us endeavour to see past people's defenses and mistakes and find their inherent goodness. Although it may be challenging, we are all worthy of this effort. We are all deserving of being treated with respect and kindness. 

In keeping with the theme of love for our fellow human beings, my choir sang Jackie DeShannon's "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" as our second Communion hymn.

Here are a video link and the words to this fun oldies song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acpLe00-0t8

Think of your fellow man
Lend him a helping hand
Put a little love in your heart
If you see it's getting late
Oh, please don't hesitate
Put a little love in your heart

And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place
For you and me
Just wait and see

Another day goes by
Still the children cry
Put a little love in your heart
If you want the world to know
You won't let hatred grow
Put a little love in your heart

And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place
For you and me
Just wait and see, wait and see

Take a good look around
And if you're looking down
Put a little love in your heart
I hope when you decide
Kindness will be your guide
Put a little love in your heart

And the world will be a better place
And the world will be a better place
For you and me
Just wait and see

People now
Put a little love in your heart
Each and every day
Put a little love in your heart
There's no other way
Put a little love in your heart
It's up to you
Put a little love in your heart
Come on and
Put a little love in your heart

As we can see from this song, love and kindness are not just a feeling, but a conscious decision to act. Let us work to show greater love to not only those dearest to us, but to all people, and by doing so, show greater love for our loving, wonderful God.

God bless you, today and always!

Karen