Because I’m a liturgical snob and it is ingrained in me that you do *NOT* sing or say “Alleluia” during Lent, I’m unable to pick hymns that do — it just seems wrong even if it’s a man-made rule. Thus, we’re going with another Lenten hymn in a minor key, one that works for Holy Week additionally. The words are by Synesius of Cyrene and date from the 5th century.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
and purge away my sin;
from harmful passions set me free,
and make me pure within.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
with care and woe oppressed;
let me thy loving servant be,
and taste thy promised rest.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
nor let me go astray;
through darkness and perplexity
point thou the heavenly way.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
that, when the flood is passed,
I may the eternal brightness see,
and share thy joy at last.
Lord Jesus, think on me,
that I may sing above
to Father, Holy Ghost and thee
the songs of praise and love.
(HT: Oremus)
I’m also a church music snob so I’m going with the Brits for this one, more specifically the Choir of King’s College.
It was yet another Sunday that I missed due to illness. Daniel needed a breathing treatment at 4 a.m. and I’ve been fighting headaches all weekend due to the weather fluctuations. (We had a pretty gnarly storm cell pass over us today that had hail, pouring rain, thunder, and lightning.) As I was searching the web for something, I found this one. It’s one that I’ve heard on KLOVE a number of times and it is simple enough that it works for Lent.
Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for Love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!
Now your burden’s lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain…so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!
And like a newborn baby
Don’t be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk, sometimes we fall…so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!
Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain…then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!
O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can’t contain your joy inside…then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!
And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on glory’s side…and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!
It took some doing to find a YouTube video that wasn’t dippy for this one.
This is one of the hymns sung at my wedding. It’s also one of my favorite ones that can be sung during Lent.
Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.
Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit,
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its Beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.
Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never,
Never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.
Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.
(HT: Net Hymnal)
My husband Jon is an Ole so I had to use a St. Olaf recording. I’m also of the opinion that Hyfyrdol is the only acceptable tune for this one.
A friend of mine, M, just lost her baby. Please keep her and her family in prayer as they’re facing some really painful days ahead.
In honor of her baby and because it’s a beautiful hymn, I chose Children of the Heavenly Father today. It’s a Swedish hymn that is the main go-to for funerals in Jon’s family. The words are copyrighted so I can’t post them. I can, however, share this YouTube video which does a great job of capturing the essence of the hymn.
Kaia’s Kindergarten Fund. We have a fundraiser starting today over at Saving Kaia called Kaia’s Kindergarten Fund. Click on the link for more details.
— 2 —
English folk music. Daniel was banging his snack container in a certain rhythm today and the English folk song “Dashing Away With the Smoothing Iron” came to mind so I looked up the words and sang it to him.
He managed to keep banging in almost perfect rhythm.
— 3 —
Dancers. For those of you who know Elizabeth Esther, her daughter Jewel and her ballet team made it to the finals for the Grand Prix in New York City. The team has to raise $15000 for the housing, fees, and transportation. They’ve currently (as I’m typing this) raised $2640 and they have 22 more days to do this. Can you spare a few bucks?
The end of a era. I watched Pope (now Pope Emeritus) Benedict XVI leaving the Vatican today, getting on his helicopter, and saying “good night” to the people at Castel Gadolfo. While I wasn’t amused when he was chosen as Pope (he has a history of calling people like me “heretics” in his pre-papal life), I respected him because of his office and I will admit that I was watching all of this happen this morning completely stunned.
Thank you to Good Day Sacramento for showing all of it without making any snarky remarks and getting a *real* Monsignor to do commentary. Next time, however, please refrain from stalking the bishop while he’s celebrating Mass. 🙂 (They did refrain from actually bringing cameras in and interrupting.)
— 6 —
Fantasy Conclave. I did enter in a guess for Fantasy Conclave though I’ll be *incredibly* surprised if I’m right. There’s also an opportunity for people to adopt a cardinal and pray for them throughout the conclave. For my Protestant readers, it would be a nice thing to do, especially as the choosing of the new Pope affects us ecumenically. I got Cardinal Angelo Scola. Truth be told, I’d rather be praying for Jason Motte (closing pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals) but Cardinal Scola looks interesting.
— 7 —
Politics. If anyone needs suggestions for lay-offs for the sequester, I can think of 535 people to lay off first…
Seriously y’all in DC, I don’t give a rat’s behind who comes up with the best plan — pretend you actually meant all those promises you made about being bipartisan when you ran for election and COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T SCREW OVER THE COUNTRY!!!!!!
Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. — Proverbs 31:31
According to Rachel Held Evans in her book, A Year in Biblical Womanhood, Proverbs 31:10-31 is part of a song the husband sings to his wife on the Shabbat. In doing so, he honors her for the contributions she makes to the household in managing it. (Hevel, please correct me if I’m wrong.) In doing this last entry of the series, I have some people who need to be honored for their contributions.
This is one of my favorite hymns and one where I “collect” recordings of it unintentionally. Michael Card has recorded it, Fernando Ortega has done an instrumental arrangement, and it can be found on a number of hymn CD’s. The tune, “Kingsfold”, is one of my favorites and used for other hymns as well.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto me and rest;
lay down, thou weary one, lay down
thy head upon my breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad;
I found in him a resting place,
and he has made me glad.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
the living water; thirsty one,
stoop down and drink, and live.”
I came to Jesus, and I drank
of that life-giving stream;
my thirst was quenched, my soul revived,
and now I live in him.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
look unto me, thy morn shall rise,
and all thy day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus, and I found
in him my Star, my Sun;
and in that light of life I’ll walk
till traveling days are done.
(HT: Oremus)
I’m thankful for the British Christian music show “Hymns of Praise” because it’s the source of many wonderful hymns. As this is one of those standards, they had a good YouTube video of it.
