For some time I have been thinking of downloading some of my music onto the music streaming
platform, Spotify. You can download the App onto your devices. Once you have downloaded Spotify, simply type in my name and click on the thumbnail which features Janice Bateman and I on the cover of the album, 'Reason to Believe'. My other music on the platform will come up.
At present I have two new singles I recorded in December of last year featuring on Spotify. One is called 'The moon is full on our feast', a line taken from Psalm 80(81). Of course for us as Christians, Easter is the feast of all feasts and when we gather for the Easter Vigil outside around the Easter fire, if the night is clear, the full moon is a dominant feature in the night sky.
I wrote the song with Easter in mind but also conscious of the Faith and Light community. Faith and Light is a Christian community movement for people with intellectual disabilities, their families and friends. Members of the community love up-tempo songs and one of their favourites is, 'This little light of mine.' 'The moon is full on our feast' is my attempt at that kind of genre. I sang the song with guitar at a concert in Christchurch for 'Faith and Light' last year dedicating it to 'Mary de Leijer' an inspirational woman and key member of the community who had died a few months prior. Mary was the one who had invited me to Christchurch. As you can see a song can have all kinds of influences.
The other single is called, 'An Angel came'. This is a very different song from the one above. It was inspired by Luke 22: 43, 'An angel then appeared to him from heaven to strengthen him.' This of course is focused on Christ in his Agony in the Garden. I wrote the song during the 30 Day retreat I was part of in November and December of 2023 as a spiritual director. The third week of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises is a stress on 'staying with' and 'being with' Jesus in his passion and death rather than the activity of following after him. The song is particularly suited to Holy Week, Holy Thursday at the altar of repose and Good Friday and of course personal prayer focused on Jesus facing his darkest hour.
Later in February another single will be featured recorded last year as well and my album, 'Serenity', from 2003 will also be released onto Spotify which includes, 'Sons of Gallipoli.' For all those who appreciate my music, I would be grateful if you could let your friends, families and parish communities know about this. I intend to release as many of my albums as possible over time on Spotify so that my music can be widely accessible.
Jesus heals the leper in this Sunday's Gospel taken from Mark 1:40-45. The Gospel includes a delightful conversation between the leper and Jesus. 'If you want to, you can cure me.'
'Of course I want to!' Be cured!' The leper leaves Jesus free to heal him and expresses his depth of faith in him. In response, Jesus expresses his ready desire to heal him and does so. We can approach Jesus in this way too knowing that we will always have a ready and favourable response. He wants healing for us.
You may like to listen to 'Without Words' a song inspired after anointing a woman in the Hospice.
Blessings on your week.
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