a day of great beauty in God's house

I had the privilege to participate in a Franciscan Brothers of Peace celebration today. Brothers Maximilian and Seraphim made their first vows. The Brothers chose the music and I helped execute it by playing the organ and piano. Brother Conrad played his penny whistle and I accompanied him on "Be Thou My Vision", then the Brothers sang a hymn called "Most High and Glorious God" as preludes. As the Brothers were singing a capella, I ran up to the organ to get ready to play "All Creatures of Our God and King" for the opening procession. (I cautioned Bishop Piché to walk slooooooowly as we were going to be singing all seven verses. His response: "Oh, my!") I had fun playing the organ on that hymn. Because there were so many verses, I had to mix it up quite a bit in terms of registrations. I did NOT want it to sound the same on every verse. I stayed at the organ for the Gloria, as the Brothers had chosen a chant-like version of it and it fit well with a soft organ sound while the congregation sang it. Psalm 25 was sung beautifully by the cantor Amanda Schnabel, who is one of the principle cantors at St. Columba. As always, Bishop Piché's homily was excellent. Then came the vows and the blessing of the rings. It was awesome to witness these dear young men solemnly profess their vows and commitment to God. Their fellow Brothers sang the Offertory hymn "Where Charity and Love Prevail" by themselves with me accompanying them. They always have such a beautiful sound. One can tell they sing together in prayer a lot! The Communion hymn "Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All", a beautiful old hymn, was sung by Amanda and Brother Conrad, with the congregation joining us on the refrain. Amanda sang Schubert's Ave Maria as a Communion meditation. It was absolutely exquisite EXCEPT for the fact that I came in on her first note about a nano-second before her. (This is a horrifying thing for a professional accompanist to do!) Afterward, I kidded that we haven't done any funerals together lately so I was out of practice. (The Ave Maria is ALWAYS requested for funerals!) Amanda graciously told me she hadn't noticed my faux pas. Many, many people approached her after Mass about how lovely she sang, especially the Ave Maria. I was glad I hadn't done any damage...as IF I could with her! She sings like an angel and always rolls with whatever is thrown to her at a moment's notice. As people approached her, I put in a plug for the play she is starring in at the Bloomington Civic Theatre through most of November. She is one of four characters in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. I saw it last week and it is awesome! Go see it, if you can, and tell Amanda afterward that I sent you! She'll realize Big Mouth is at it again. I'm her groupie and love to promote whatever play she's in at the moment. (Next up: Into the Woods!) After the Mass, the Brothers hosted a lovely luncheon for all of us at the friary. It was fun to extend the celebrating into their house. They are very gracious hosts!

I was on a natural high the rest of the day. A friend of mine told me she felt great joy emanating from me when she walked into church for the 4:30 Mass and before she could say anything to me. It was true! It is a great honor, a huge blessing, to be in a position to serve God through music during Mass. I always hope all people in the congregation feel the same way and they sing with great gusto and joy, no matter how badly they think their singing is!

As I was observing the Brothers' vows, I thought to myself what a blessing it was to know such holy people as were standing in the sanctuary right then: Brothers Paul, John Mary, Max, Seraphim (Brothers James and Pio were sitting in the lectors' pew off to the side in the sanctuary), His Excellency, Fathers Grabner and Hoang, Deacon Curtan... and nearby were Amanda, Brothers Conrad and Joseph who were the music ministers...others in the congregation whom I know...and not forgetting the legions of angels and saints who were there, too. I realized we were all there, helping one another get to heaven...and the angels and saints were there, rooting us on and praying for us. Isn't that just beautiful?