Voices

After writing about the experience I had listening to the chants at St Francis parish a couple of weeks ago, I bought a couple of CDs, hoping to listen to them while saying the rosary in my car.  Unfortunately, my car has a cassette tape player!  So I have been waiting for the right time to play the CDs on my computer and either read the Bible or say the rosary.  Tonight was the night.

I decided to listen to "Voices--Chant from Avignon", sung by the Benedictine Nuns of Notre-Dame de L'Annoncation.  I am not a music aficionado by any stretch of the imagination, but I know what I like to hear.  I put the disc in my computer and grabbed my Bible.  Since the first reading at Mass this evening was from Daniel (Dn 9:4b-10), I thought I might read a few chapters from that book--I have always found the story of the 3 guys who were put in the furnace and saved from the flames by God pretty powerful stuff.  As they are walking around in the flames, they are singing a song and praising God to the befuddlement of King Nebudchanezzar  (Dn 3: 52-90).  I had an inclination to just "skim over" the words of their song, because it was written in "poetry style", and the refrains were redundant (see for yourself):

52 "Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
53 Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
54 Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
55 Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
56 Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.
57 Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
58 Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
59 You heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
60 All you waters above the heavens, bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
61 All you hosts of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
62 Sun and moon, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
63 Stars of heaven, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
64 Every shower and dew, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
65 All you winds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
66 Fire and heat, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
67 [Cold and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
68 Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
69 Frost and chill, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
70 Ice and snow, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
71 Nights and days, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
72 Light and darkness, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
73 Lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
74 Let the earth bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.
75 Mountains and hills, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
76 Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
77 You springs, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
78 Seas and rivers, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
79 You dolphins and all water creatures, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
80 All you birds of the air, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
81 All you beasts, wild and tame, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
82 You sons of men, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
83 O Israel, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
84 Priests of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
85 Servants of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
86 Spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
87 Holy men of humble heart, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever.
88 Hananiah, Azariah, Mishael, bless the Lord; praise and exalt him above all forever. For he has delivered us from the nether world, and saved us from the power of death; He has freed us from the raging flame and delivered us from the fire.
89 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.
90 Bless the God of gods, all you who fear the Lord; praise him and give him thanks, because his mercy endures forever."

At the same time (I think because I was listening to the good sisters singing a particularly beautiful chant) I felt compelled to read every word and meditate on the refrains in particular;  "bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever."  It was almost eerie, the compulsion I had to read this passage not once, but twice with the sweet sounds of the sisters enhancing the experience.

When I finished reading it the second time, I wanted to find out what that beautiful chant was so I read the little booklet that was on the cover of the CD.  Hold on to your socks, ladies and gentlemen--the song was "Benedictus es", with the very verses (Daniel 3, 52-56) that I was reading!  Things like this seem to happen to me all the time!  I appreciate the attention the Holy Spirit gives me, but I just sometimes wish he'd give me a little warning before starting with the eerie stuff, you know?   I get the message though, Lord.  I need to stop thinking so much about me, and start thinking more about You and thanking You for every thing You provide, both great and small.

If you are looking for some inspiration in you daily meditation, I highly recommend this CD:

I got mine a Barnes and Noble.  It's available on-line, too.  The proceeds help the cloistered nuns continue their prayers on our behalf, and you get the most soothing music in the world!  It's a win-win, as far as I'm concerned.

Bless the Lord, praise and exalt him above all, forever!