The Beatles ~ Help, I Need Somebody!

Have y'all noticed the commercial with the Beatles singing "Help"?  So many memories rush back to me!

1 - I'm so blessed to have grown up when the Beatles were a "thing".  I've tried to relay their importance and music to my children and now to my students.

Photo by Kara Eads on Unsplash

2 - They created so many songs - I can't just choose one to be my "favorite".  Some make me happy, some make me thoughtful and some evoke emotions I can't put my finger on.

3 - During the multiple hours of "Beatles" conversations I've had with my husband over our twenty-plus years together...one of the topics I found most interesting...

... the Beatles created beautiful music and the words didn't matter as much - for me the song would be "Blackbird" - the music is beautiful but the words are, well,... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Kx4xVKo9z8

... or they created beautiful words and the music didn't matter as much (still looking on YouTube for an example).

... or it was just different - "Little Piggies"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upJB1XZQU0k

... or it just made you happy  "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da Life Goes On" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J9NpHKrKMw

and then there were the songs that were perfect in word and music - one would be - "Let It Be" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra3rF4b6O3E.

I have a lot to say about the music the Beatles created so I'll stop here and write more later.

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

The Songs in My Life ~ Alleluia! Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthems Rise

One thing I've learned in my 14 years of providing music for the Catholic faith - Easter arrives on Saturday night during the Easter Vigil - also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter.  It's a service held in traditional Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus.

We begin in darkness - the readings are done with the lights out - we hear Genesis - in the dark - and it's impressive.

I've learned to appreciate and look forward to this celebration.  I've been singing our recessional song all day - "Alleluia!  Alleluia! Let the Holy Anthem Rise".  It's a song of hope, a song of rejoicing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4r1Ocb0B04

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let the holy anthem rise,

and the choirs of heaven chant it

in the temple of the skies.

Let the mountains skip with gladness

and the joyful valleys ring,

with hosannas in the highest

to our Savior and our King.

May your Paschal Vigil be filled with hope and rejoicing!  He is risen - Alleluia!

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

The Songs in My Life ~ Behold the Wood

I've discovered as I wind my way through my 14th year as a musician for the Catholic faith...Holy Week is spent walking out the Passion of Christ and I truly love it!

Last night the Altar was stripped and the church was prepared for the sacrifice Jesus offered of himself for my sins.

Tonight we enter in silence and leave in silence.  As a Music Director - I'd really love a quick run through of the songs but...we enter in silence and leave in silence.

We also venerate the cross during the Mass and will be singing this touching song - "Behold the Wood".  "Behold, behold the wood of cross, on which is hung our salvation.  O come, let us adore."

You can hear it now on YouTube (another great video) and tonight when I stream the Mass on the church's FaceBook page. 

Hope your Holy Week journey is full of meaning and meditation.

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

Some of My Favorite People ~ They're Fantastic!

Holy Thursday is in the books and it was beautiful!  It was so touching to hear the congregation singing and worshiping as we worked our way through the Mass.

I was able to get some pics of the best choir a church could have!

I love these wonderful people so much!

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

The Songs in My Life ~ As I Have Done for You

I'm ready - 3 notebooks prepared.  Clues for myself because I'll be changing transpositions and we have a lot of moving pieces.  The phrase "moving pieces" has a couple of meanings because we really have moving pieces...musicians, singers and me hopefully remembering all I have to do.

As Fr. Adam humbles himself to wash the feet of 12 parishioners and Deacon Doug assists, we'll be singing..."I your Lord and Master, now become your servant.  I who made the moon and stars will kneel to wash your feet.  This is my commandment to love as I have loved you.  Kneel to wash each other's feet as I have done for you."

You can hear "As I Have Done For You" on YouTube (the video is really good also)...and "live" when I stream the Mass on the church's FaceBook page tomorrow night.

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

Holy Week ~ Almost There

I'm working on my 7th Holy Week preparation.  As a group we've come a long way.  This year we're more bilingual than ever and that makes me very happy and a good bit nervous.  I've included YouTube links of some of the songs we're singing during this time.  Feel free to join us because I'll be streaming!  https://www.facebook.com/saintstephenfirstmartyrcatholicchurch/

I grew up in a Charismatic world and now I earn my living in a Liturgical world - similar and yet very different.  Both are good and I love the diversity.

In my present liturgical world we'll walk out the Passion of Christ from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday and it touches me so.

During Holy Thursday our Priest will humble himself and wash the feet of some of our families.

The Altar will be stripped and we'll prepare for Good Friday.

  Donde Hay Amor y Caridad - Where Charity and Love Abound
As I Have Done for You

Good Friday will be Stations of the Cross in the Garden. 

Our amazing Hispanic community is giving us a "living" Stations of the Cross...

...to be followed by Good Friday Liturgy.  We enter in silence, we venerate the Cross, we have Communion and we depart in silence.  Very moving.

Behold the Wood ~ Entre Tus Manos

Saturday is our "Easter Vigil" - we begin at dark (8pm) - we enter in darkness and after the Readings, lights are turned on and we begin the celebration of the Savior's Resurrection.  Resucito

We're reminded of the importance of our Baptism.  I Saw Water Flowing

The entire evening is so moving to me.

Then we come back for Easter Sunday and what a celebration!  He is risen!

I truly hope and pray that you are celebrating the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during this time of year!

If you aren't, you're truly missing out!

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia

Apples of Gold ~ Proverbs 25:11

If you've been around me, you know I love books.

There are a few books that - no matter how many times I moved - they traveled with me - always.  I re-discovered one of them last night.

Apples of Gold by Jo Petty

My parents gave me the above book in 1979.

It's one of my all time favorite books.  I cherish it.

The title is from Proverbs 25:11 -

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."

I've been thinking about this verse a lot lately.  "A word fitly spoken".  There are so many times when my words are not "fitly spoken".  They're rushed, sometimes careless and often hurtful.  They're not the words I really want to say.

I pray that in my world of commitments and walking out my daily life I take the time to form my thoughts and my words so they're "like apples of gold in pictures of silver".

Some of the nuggets in this book...

• "What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity."
• "Children are a great comfort in your old age - and they help you reach it faster, too."
• "All sunshine makes a desert."

Thanks for visiting ~ Reia