Tag: Mr G

Cecilia, patron of music

Organ Case by Charles Eamer Kempe
Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Epping, Essex.

It was St Augustine of Hippo who coined the phrase: “Those who sing pray twice”.
The reference is mainly to hymns, spiritual songs and religious musical pieces.
I was reminded of this saying on Wednesday when the Church kept the festival of St. Cecilia. (born in Rome about 2000, beheaded 230). She is the Patron Saint of Music.

Her claim to be so rests on quite flimsy evidence.
She was called to be a martyr to the Christian faith when, as a young Christian, she opened her home for Christians to meet together. At this time she had married a pagan, Valerian, whom she converted to Christianity along with his brother. Unfortunately they took it upon themselves to bury the bodies of Christians who had been killed for their faith. When the Roman authorities came to hear of this, they were both arrested and put to death.
Cecilia continued in her own witness, her life an example of fortitude, steadfastness and faith.
The authorities, however, decided that it was time to act against her.
On November 22nd, in the year 230, she was martyred.
The chosen method was that she was burned in the fire but here, hagiography takes over.  Her body remained intact and unburnt despite the ferocity of the flames and she is even said to have continued preaching the Gospel until it was decided to behead her.
These are the main facts but her life was so inspirational to other Christians that more was said about her.
As with many saints, particularly those who witnessed in the early centuries of the Christian Church, their ‘lives’ where written ‘up’, in which more was claimed than could be proved. That doesn’t mean that it was a pack of lies. There is a kind of Christian writing which is known as hagiography. It isn’t a straightforward biography but rather a piece of writing which introduces legends or stories that praises a particular saint and treats their life with reverence. It honours not just them but what their life stands for. Many hagiographies were written to encourage Christians, especially in times of darkness or persecution, to hold on and live deeply in love for Jesus Christ and His Good News for the world.

It is in this area of legend that the association of St Cecilia with music can be found.It is suggested that on her wedding day, as the musicians played, she sang with all her heart to the Lord. Similarly, as she was martyred in the fire, her soul again, sang to the Lord.
This was enough to declare her to be the Patron Saint of Music and musicians.
It was finally declared when, in 1584 the Academy of Music was founded in Rome. She was made the patroness of the Academy and this was enough to make sure her veneration became widespread throughout the world.
Ever since, Cecilia has been an inspiration to musicians
Musicians such as Handel and Benjamin Britten became inspired by her legend and even  in literature she was recognized. Geoffrey Chaucer used her as the basis for his 2nd Nuns Tale in the Canterbury Tales.
It is probably more about music that we relate to her less, these days, than martyrdom. 
Cecilia stands for that other kind of witness which comes through Music

The enquiry into the response to Covid-19 which is happening in England right now, will not be looking at the loss we experienced of not being able to be absorbed by the arts in all their fullness. Live Music became impossible to hear.
For Christians, and many others the ban on singing hymns in Church was particularly hard. This was part of a huge loss for all who played and sang music and those who simply love to hear it. Our lives were diminished and our need unfulfilled through a loss of music, of hymns, of spiritual songs.
It’s true, of course, that we rarely appreciate the value of something until we lose it and now, when we can freely sing, hear music, contemplate words of hymns and make them an essential part of our prayer and spirituality, we must not take it all for granted.
Music and singing help to root our meditations and open poetry into our souls. Perhaps, like me, you catch yourself singing when you are still or in the shower or at odd timers of the day. That is when you use best the instrument God gives most of us, the human voice.
Better to sing than to shout; better to lend your voice to the music of heaven which surrounds us; better to praise than destroy; better to let God use the music of the soul to enfold people in love.

Whatever the true story of St. Cecilia is, the legacy of her patronage continues to fill our hearts and minds with musical words that can inspire us, especially in this very dark world. We can be uplifted and affirm the great truth that music is a powerful force for good. It can celebrate and rediscover beauty in our world and, most of all, it pours out praise to God. In all our current global unrest, music has a special part to play.

Here’s a poem I wrote a little while ago.

Play for me, Lord God.
I wish to hear music the music of heaven.
Play notes to calm my fears,
Soothing my soul from anxiety.

I live in a world ripped apart by sounds
gurgling up from the bowels of hell.
Bombs, missiles, bullets,
Angry tanks, guttural sounds of soldiers.
Many are far from home, tired too, hungry.
bewildered.

Sucked in by masters whose only tune is hatred.
Their words a cacophony of crashing disharmony
mixed with disillusionment.
Such cankered and disfigured hearts,
no longer at one with the music that created them.
Buildings shake and discard the rubble of their former life.
Incessant noise, unceasing ruin.
No symphony.
No sympathy.

Wars begin in hearts crumpled by demonic blackness.
Is this hell?
Despair. The concerto of annihilation.

But, if you play music to us,
We will find a way out of all this.
Your sounds of note caressing note,
sprinkles kindness over us, and love;
showing us where we need to be.

As the music lifts our hearts,
We hear it’s beautiful, clear tune –
Telling us that there is more than hell on earth.
There is earth raised up to heaven.

[Mr G. St Cecilia 2023]

Forgiveness as part of Remembrance

When the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp in Germany was liberated at the end of the Second World War, a prayer was found on a scrap of paper in the camp, and it is often used today in acts of remembrance for the Holocaust victims. Both the Jewish and the Christian faith teach followers not to seek revenge, but to pray for their ‘enemies’, for those who hurt them, or who make them suffer in some way. In Islam, pardon and forgiveness are seen as better than revenge. Although many Jews, Christians and Muslims,  and those who follow other faiths,  find this extremely hard, there are always some who astound us by their love and generosity.

In the Bible, God’s judgment is seen as something positive, something to look forward to.
Psalm 96 talks of the earth rejoicing and trees singing for joy when God comes to judge the earth. God’s judgment is seen as the time when wrongs will be put right, when those who suffer injustice or oppression will be rescued. But God’s judgment is also seen as merciful. Christians believe God’s judgment will rescue the perpetrators from their wrongdoing, as well as their victims.

Here is the Ravensbruck Prayer. It is moving, amazing and deeply generous. It is born out of compassion and mercy.

Lord, remember not only the men of good will, but also those of ill will.
But do not remember all the suffering they have inflicted upon us.
Remember rather the fruits we have brought, thanks to this suffering
our comradeship, our loyalty, our humility, the courage, the generosity,
the greatness of heart that has grown out of this.
And when they come to judgment,
let all the fruits we have borne be their forgiveness.

[Mr G Remembrance Day 2023]

Innocent victims

Nearly grown up fox cub at Latton Vicarage. Photo by Lynn Hurry

“Excuse me bothering you.
I am one of the little fox cubs who live in the garden of Latton Vicarage. I belong to a family of foxes who live safely at the top end of the garden. My mamma died earlier in the summer but papa is still with us.
As you see I am almost fully grown now and this is thanks to my surrogate mama, Auntie Lynn. She looks after us, feeds us and cares about us. She is a loving and kind person and she has taught us gentleness and care for others. I suppose you know that us foxes tend to be a bit self-centred.

What I want to bring to your attention today is about other foxes who have no one to care for them, and not just foxes.

Aunty Lynn has been telling us about the awful things that are happening in the bigger world at the moment. She told us about places called Gaza and Israel and another with a more difficult name – I think it’s called Youkrane.
Lots of terrible things are going on at the moment. Humans are fighting each other. Not in the playful way me and my sisters and brothers do – that’s just fun – but violently and with guns, bombs, missiles, shells which explode. There are so many people injured or killed. Homes are destroyed and many people, including children, old people, vulnerable sick people need lots of attention and love.

But I also want to talk about the animals. Like the children, they are innocent. They’ve done nothing wrong. So many of them are suffering. Many have been completely abandoned. Others have been injured as the bombs have destroyed the places where they live. Some have been buried under the rubble. There is no one to rescue them or animal doctors to make them better. Cats, dogs, donkeys,cattle, sheep, chicken, even some animals I’ve never heard of who lived in a zoo, are facing death and are in pain. They can’t find food, water, warmth.
They don’t know what’s happened to them or why. The humans who cared have too many other troubles to worry about animals. They don’t mean to abandon them. It’s just what happens when human beings fall out of love for each other and fight.

So I’m very grateful that Aunty Lynn loves and cares for others and all of you who care for other animals. We don’t always say, ‘thank you’, but we are lucky, especially when we think about other animals much worse off than ourselves.

Please think about the animals suffering in the places of war. Please pray for them.”

Lord God,
you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power.
You created all things for your glory,
yet there are those in your Creation who languish in pain and suffering.

Among them, we pray for all animals who have been abandoned
and who have lost security and shelter.
We pray for those without food and who are thirsty in places
where there is no water.
We pray for the animals injured by bombing, shrapnel or fallen buildings;
for those who are trapped and are dying in the rubble.

In the trauma of war and violence, stretch out your loving hands
and bless all animals in need today,
whether wild, in captivity, on the streets, lonely and afraid.
Please bless also, all who had to abandon their pets as they too fled from safety.
The hardest decisions may be small in the face of terrible violence
but hearts will have been be broken.
Please be with all who are missing their pets and grieving for them.

Lord, as Pope Francis told us that our animals will have a place in Paradise,
may those who have and died find a home in your eternally loving heart.

Lord,have mercy and bless with your peace those in conflict at this time.
Amen

[Mr G]

Dear Francis …

A few words to St Francis on your festival day, October 4th.

Dear Francis,
You were led from your raucousness and debauchery.
As leader of the pack,
they gathered around you, your disciples,
attracted by a charisma that lit up their lives.
Of course, your pockets held the wealth
which made living as free spirits so easy.
You took it all for granted.
The centre of your life was within you,
focussing on that self which has ruined so many.

But another Charisma sought your energy.
Different followers waited to be your disciples.
Different values, to be ripened by true joy.
Perplexed, perhaps that you were losing direction,
uncertainty gripped that carefree heart
and nothing satisfied.

From the centre of things, you were called to the margins,
where your destiny would discover you.
Kneeling, questioningly, in the dereliction of San Damiano chapel,
you were led to examine your own crumbling life.
In the midst of your despair, Jesus spoke to you,

“Francis, rebuild my Church.”

At first, a physical task,
drawing others to your side as only you could,
but there was so much more to come.
You did not always get it right. None do.
That is why God comes among us often,
casting his grace over us, like rose petals at a wedding.

It is said that, near death, Jesus gifted you with stigmata,  
scars, wounds of Christ, as marks on your own body.
But you had received these on your heart long ago,
when you walked as a companion of Jesus.
The Way of the Cross gave you Stations of prayer
by which you were able to shepherd poor, unloved,
uncared for humanity; vulnerable animals;
dancing birds, whose capricious flight was a sign of God’s joy.
And you did not forget the rich,
who more than most need to walk with you, into heaven.

[Mr G. St Francis day 2023]