Nerdy, music major-y question about an Anglo-Irish hymn — worth a listen even if you aren’t a music theory nerd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fqzWs6KPoE Rod Lewis and students, Church of the Apostles, Columbia, SC, Trinity Sunday 2020 Since it looks like I'm about to get locked out of Facebook again (I blogged about it HERE, back in May), I'm going to post something about a hymn that's associated with Trinity Sunday and St. Patrick's Day instead of Advent. … Continue reading Nerdy, music major-y question about an Anglo-Irish hymn — worth a listen even if you aren’t a music theory nerd

Ringing in the new (church) year on St. Andrew’s Day with the daily prayer and meditation on an Irish Jesuit website

Pietro da Cortona, 'Calling of St. Peter and St. Andrew,' ca. 1626-30 (Wikimedia Commons)  One of the few things I remember clearly from my confirmation classes 50-plus years ago in an Episcopal church is the date of St. Andrew's Day. Somehow it lodged in my preadolescent brain, when I wasn't wisecracking about the wives of … Continue reading Ringing in the new (church) year on St. Andrew’s Day with the daily prayer and meditation on an Irish Jesuit website

‘Daniel O’Connell’s Hymn’ performed by Shaun Davey and family, with excerpt from O’Connell’s original speech in 1843

Parked here until I can reactivate my trad music blog Hogfiddle. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jqvDp7JnMQ A rather different kind of Irish music, and one I find I'm increasingly drawn to, is by semiclassical Irish composer Shaun Davey. He's known for songs, backed by pipes (mostly uilleann, but with Scottish bagpipes occasionally thrown in) and symphony orchestra, typically featuring … Continue reading ‘Daniel O’Connell’s Hymn’ performed by Shaun Davey and family, with excerpt from O’Connell’s original speech in 1843

Who am I in Christ? Who are the people of God? A surprising answer from Ireland that brings the abstractions down to earth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkLzIeztC3c Shuan Davey, "The Deer's Cry" [St. Patrick's Breastplate]. [...] Christ with me, Christ before me,Christ behind me, Christ in me,Christ beneath me, Christ above me,Christ on my right, Christ on my left,Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,Christ when I arise, Christ to shield meChrist in the heart of everyone who … Continue reading Who am I in Christ? Who are the people of God? A surprising answer from Ireland that brings the abstractions down to earth

Can an 11th-century legend of St. Patrick teach a 21st-century skeptic to pray? Echoes of a hymn from my confirmation

An Ignatian colloquy for Trinity 2020 -- 2 of ___ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fqzWs6KPoE St. Patrick's Breastplate, arr. Rod Lewis, Columbia, S.C., Trinity Sunday 2020 Editor's note. As I try to jumpstart my prayer life, I've been experimenting with Jesuit prayer exercises known as Ignatian contemplation and the Triple Colloquy, in which you imagine yourself interacting with Jesus. … Continue reading Can an 11th-century legend of St. Patrick teach a 21st-century skeptic to pray? Echoes of a hymn from my confirmation

God’s presence in an 11th-century Irish poem and a gust of wind on a nice spring afternoon — for Trinity Sunday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lx-iI-kFDA St. Patrick's Breastplate, Church of the Redeemer, Kenmore, Wash. John 3:1-17 (NRSV). 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being … Continue reading God’s presence in an 11th-century Irish poem and a gust of wind on a nice spring afternoon — for Trinity Sunday

How a trip to the eye doctor’s and the Serenity Prayer renewed my interest in Turlough O’Carolan, the blind Irish harper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xInuesYrUPA Steve Cooney's arrangement of 'Si Bheag Si Mohr' (Carolan's melody begins at 1:32). It started with a visit to the eye doctor's back in October, when the case positivity rate for Covid-19 was low enough to allow for routine medical appointments. My eye test came back with signs of the very beginnings of something … Continue reading How a trip to the eye doctor’s and the Serenity Prayer renewed my interest in Turlough O’Carolan, the blind Irish harper

A ‘Lutheropalian’ take on confirmation classes and an Anglican hymn based on an old Irish legend of St. Patrick at Tara

https://www.facebook.com/peter.ellertsen/posts/2783699998557695 St. Patrick's Day came this year in a flurry of good news, answered prayers and an affirmation of my childhood faith. It came in the middle of a busy week, and I didn't even remember it was St. Paddy's until evening when I saw the pictures of corned beef, cabbage and full Irish breakfasts … Continue reading A ‘Lutheropalian’ take on confirmation classes and an Anglican hymn based on an old Irish legend of St. Patrick at Tara

Brother Richard’s “Lockdown,” a Zen moment in this time of coronavirus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x25DwatvjA&t=51s MBPPC Backyard Preacher | Mt. Baker Park Presbyterian Church, Seattle | March 17, 2020 Anderson Cooper closed the CNN News town hall he co-hosted tonight with Dr. Sanjay Gupta by reading a poem by Brother Richard Hendrick, OSF (Capuchin), of County Donegal in Ireland. It's titled "Lockdown"; it has been widely circulated on the … Continue reading Brother Richard’s “Lockdown,” a Zen moment in this time of coronavirus