Thursday, March 19, 2009

Happy Feast of St. Joseph!

In today's world, which is attempting to tear apart the family, let us pray to Joseph, Patron of the Catholic family.

Litany of St. Joseph

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, pray for us.

St. Joseph, pray for us.
Renowned offspring of David, pray for us.
Light of Patriarchs, pray for us.
Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us.
Chaste guardian of the Virgin, pray for us.
Foster father of the Son of God, pray for us.
Diligent protector of Christ, pray for us.
Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
Joseph most chaste, pray for us.
Joseph most prudent, pray for us.
Joseph most strong, pray for us.
Joseph most obedient, pray for us.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of patience, pray for us.
Lover of poverty, pray for us.
Model of artisans, pray for us.
Glory of home life, pray for us.
Guardian of virgins, pray for us.
Pillar of families, pray for us.
Solace of the wretched, pray for us.
Hope of the sick, pray for us.
Patron of the dying, pray for us.
Terror of demons, pray for us.
Protector of Holy Church, pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord!
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us!

V. He made him the lord of his household.
R. And prince over all his possessions.

Let us pray.
O God, in Thy ineffable providence Thou wast pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our Protector: who livest and reignest forever and ever. R. Amen.

Friday, March 13, 2009

7 Quick Takes Friday - vol. 5

Another Friday, another seven quick takes... :)

1.
I am getting highly excited... tomorrow is the Belleville Phil's concerto competition! I know my piece very solidly, so I am not really worried. I'm sure I'll get more nervous on the 45-minute drive over.

2.
I read an article about the Pope's visit to the tomb and monastery of St. Frances of Rome -- she really was an awesome lady! Here is a great quote:
“Also in our own time, Rome has need of women” like Santa Francesca Romana, he said. Women “entirely dedicated to God and entirely dedicated to others; women capable of prayer and of generous and discreet service; women who know how to obey pastors but also to support and stimulate them with suggestions that arise from their intimacy with Christ and from direct experience in the field of charity, assistance to the sick, the marginalised and young people in difficulties. This is the gift of maternity which is an inseparable part of religious oblation, following the model of Mary Most Holy”.


3.
I also had a great time today rehearsing a Vivaldi mandolin-concerto with our former pastor, who came from Texas for the basketball tournament and wanted to keep practicing - he's going to perform it on St. Joseph's day, when one of his parishioners will give a talk on Italian music. Sounds like way too much fun... We practiced yesterday as well, and he took us out to dinner at Lombardo's Trattoria, by Union Station. It was so good -- and the conversation was as delightful as the meal!

4.
Practice for the Laetare Play is going so well! I can't believe we only have a week left!

5.
I have that mandolin concerto so stuck in my head, I have to post it for all of you to do it too! Here you are.

6.
Two weeks of Lent nearly gone! Tempus fugit!

7.
Tomorrow will be a long day and it's late... I'd better go to sleep! I wish I could function on less than eight hours of sleep...

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Verbis Defectis, Musica Incipit.

The Latin phrase inspired this sonnet today.

Dear Lord, sometimes I find it hard to pray;
Gazing on Thee, or thinking on Thy deeds,
My heart cannot express its thought, and bleeds
From straining for the speech that's fled away.

But when words fail, or so some wise men say,
Music begins; let that, then, be my speech.
Let music go where language cannot reach,
To offer Thee my love and pain each day.

Let every note plead for thy grace -- each chord
And cadence cry for Thy sweet mercy, Lord;
Let every scale send praise to soar above;

Let every trill a Pater Noster be,
Each sweet arpeggio sing a Hail Marie,
Weaving together one great act of love.

--March 7, 2009

Friday, March 6, 2009

7 Quick Takes Friday

After trying for a while to figure out how to paste the little "seven quick takes" sign in, I gave up; but here they are, anyway.

1.
The first half of the spring term is over -- farewell midterms! So next week I am FREE!!!!!! Free, that is, to help get the house ready to show. This weekend will be dedicated to intensive clean-up... well, it is spring, so spring cleaning may as well come too!

2.
I got to play Mozart's A Major Concerto in recital yesterday; it went very smoothly indeed! I was complimented until I felt as if I ought to go floating up in the air... from swellheadedness if nothing else... :P

3.
Our concert last Monday was an absolute blast. I didn't know we had a saxophone ensemble... much less one that plays Handel and Debussy! And the percussion ensemble rocked! The choir's part, which was mine, went very well; I loved singing Schumann's awesome Zigeunerleben (life doesn't get much better than Gypsy Life!), Mulholland's gorgeous A Red, Red Rose, and our finale, the simple Zoo-Illogical, was funny, and fun to sing with the wind ensemble.

4.
This afternoon I had a wonderful lesson with our director of piano studies, in preparation for the concerto competition next weekend. He knows so much, I could sit for hours listening to him! I love studying with him and am looking forward to next year when he'll be my own teacher, instead of just giving me the occasional lesson (which is awfully nice of him; he helps such a lot!)

5.
I have an awful cold... so annoying! Hopefully it will be over soon!

6.
Our parish basketball tournament is next Saturday. It'll be fun! It's always cool to catch up with friends from the other parishes. I'll probably not make half of it, since I have the concerto competition that morning, but hopefully I'll at least see the championship. Time will tell.

7.
Now, having finished my seventh take, I have to go finish organizing music! (yay...)