Category Archives: Music

Psalm 140

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My parents used to say I was the “Queen of Excuses” and they were right.  I always had an excuse for everything!  I had a birthday recently and let me tell you what better excuse do you need to slack on fasting than that?!  I find that fasting is good for humbling me 🙂  “If I can’t even say no to … (fill in the blank) how am I going to say no when that favorite passion of mine comes knocking with all it’s enticing excuses?”  Psalm 140 is a perfect prayer for those of us who are especially good at making excuses.

“Let my prayer arise as incense…Lord I cry unto Thee hear me… Incline not my heart to words of wickedness, to contrive excuses for sin…Keep me from the snares they have laid for me… Let the wicked fall into their own nets while I escape safely”

This is the abridged version and our first run through this year. Not perfect, but not bad 🙂

In anticipation…

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we ended forgiveness vespers with “Let God Arise” to remind us of where we are headed.  Although at this time of year it seems that Pascha is further away than at any other time, this is also the time that it is the nearest.  Christ is our passover/ Paschal lamb trampling death by his own death.  I like to think of lent as the time of year where we buckle down and give trampling those passions a go.  Then we’re able to see a glimpse of the life we can have in Christ.

Here’s a musical glimpse…

Are you sleeping, Are you Sleeping, Brother John? Brother John?

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Perhaps the title of this post rings a bell (pun intended) for some of you, or maybe you would only recognize it in French(Frère Jacques)? The song I’m posting today is sort of the Orthodox Christian version 😉

The kontakion of the Great Canon has always been a favorite of mine.  It is like the “morning bells” ringing in the ear of my soul telling it to wake up.

Sung by our choir during the canon of St. Andrew…