//Clergy Coaching Network//
The Work of Christmas
The Rhythm of Life – 21 Questions that will Change Your Life – Question #6: What Makes You Feel Alive?
“Welcome back to 21 questions that will change your life.
Question #6 is about the things you can’t live without. Most of us can live without actual materials things, but there are “things” we cannot live without. A bird cannot live without flying and a fish cannot live without swimming. These things are so much a part of who they are that their life is inextricably linked.
Question #6: What is something you have to do, because if you don’t your soul will start to die?
Musicians say they cannot live without music. Artists say they cannot live without art. Parents say they cannot live without their children. Inventors say they cannot live without the chance to invent again. My grandmother said she couldn’t live without her garden. Some can’t live without golf. Many of the saints could not live without prayer, reflection, silence, and solitude. And none of us can live without God. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being.
What do you need that you don’t have? What is it that you cannot live without? In what way is your soul withering and dying? And what can you do about it?”
Best Christmas Ever – Day 15 – Listen to Music
BEST CHRISTMAS EVER
What would life be like with no music? No tune, no rhythm, no beat, nothing. In today’s video, Matthew invites you to a simple challenge that will be sure to renew your sense of joy, wonder, and gratitude. Watch the video!
Click on link to watch video:
https://www.dynamiccatholic.com/advent/12112022-christmas-reflection.html
Saint of the Day – June 9 – Saint Ephrem
Saint Ephrem’s Story
Poet, teacher, orator, and defender of the faith, Ephrem is the only Syriac Christian recognized as a doctor of the Church. He took upon himself the special task of opposing the many false doctrines rampant at his time, always remaining a true and forceful defender of the Catholic Church.
Born in Nisibis, Mesopotamia, he was baptized as a young man and became famous as a teacher in his native city. When the Christian emperor had to cede Nisibis to the Persians, Ephrem fled as a refugee to Edessa, along with many other Christians. He is credited with attracting great glory to the biblical school there. He was ordained a deacon but declined becoming a priest. Ephrem was said to have avoided presbyteral consecration by feigning madness!
He had a prolific pen, and his writings best illumine his holiness. Although he was not a man of great scholarship, his works reflect deep insight and knowledge of the Scriptures. In writing about the mysteries of humanity’s redemption, Ephrem reveals a realistic and humanly sympathetic spirit and a great devotion to the humanity of Jesus. It is said that his poetic account of the Last Judgment inspired Dante.
It is surprising to read that he wrote hymns against the heretics of his day. He would take the popular songs of the heretical groups and using their melodies, compose beautiful hymns embodying orthodox doctrine. Ephrem became one of the first to introduce song into the Church’s public worship as a means of instruction for the faithful. His many hymns have earned him the title “Harp of the Holy Spirit.”
Ephrem preferred a simple, austere life, living in a small cave overlooking the city of Edessa. It was here that he died around 373.
Reflection
Many Catholics still find singing in church a problem, probably because of the rather individualistic piety that they inherited. Yet singing has been a tradition of both the Old and the New Testaments. It is an excellent way of expressing and creating a community spirit of unity as well as of joy. An ancient historian testifies that Ephrem’s hymns “lent luster to the Christian assemblies.” We need some modern Ephrems—and cooperating singers—to do the same for our Christian assemblies today.
//Franciscan Media//
Can You Have Mass Without Music?
Sacred music isn’t required for a valid Mass, so why is it so important?
For a Mass to be valid, there must be a priest, candles, a crucifix, bread and wine to consecrate, and various other objects that you see at every Mass you’ve been to. Music is not absolutely necessary for a valid Mass, which is why there isn’t always music at a daily Mass. However, the Church places a huge value on music in the liturgy because music adds so much to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
In her book Music and Meaning in the Mass, Annamaria Cardinalli shares her love for music and how it enhances the Mass. She explains that there is a certain level of mysticism that liturgical musicians bring to the sacred liturgy. According to Cardinalli, musicians help prepare the souls of the congregation for communion.
Since the graces that we receive from the Mass rely on our openness to accepting those graces, Cardinalli emphasizes that sacred music helps Catholics raise their minds to holy realities. Cardinelli encourages liturgical musicians:
When your music at Mass influences the readiness of our souls, by stirring within us a deeper grasp of what is taking place on the altar, your welcoming of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament has glorious repercussions! Imagine the increase in His grace that could be poured out on the whole world through those souls your music prepares to receive Him with love!
Sacred music plays a vital role in the Mass because it helps us focus on God’s gift to us—His Son in the Eucharist.
//The Catholic Company//