Sanctus

A song of peace for turbulent days.

Image taken from here

A little bit of Lauryn Hill, and an Afghan 'sparrow' named Soheila.

*

Some things are timely.



This documentary, To Kill a Sparrow , is both disturbing and moving, and well worth watching. Soheila's father promised her in marriage when she was five years old because her brother ran away with a woman that was due to be the next wife of the man Soheila was consequently promised to. On her wedding day Soheila ran away and a cousin gave her refuge and later married her after the two had fallen in love. Soheila's father had her put in prison. He first says he will agree to her return home if she kills the two year old son she had with the man she married and later that whenever he finds her he will kill her. The brother that caused the problem in the first place promised that he would kill Soheila, like a sparrow.

*Sparrow photo from here.

Autumn Palette - Sumac de virginie

I was captivated by this tree the other day, it provided a moment of wonder in between narrowly escaping being hit by a speeding bus and being scared out of my wits by a 5ft effigy of a girl that someone had curiously placed in their tree.

The depths and shades of the leaves' colours change depending on the angle from which you look at the tree and the amount of light. I was transfixed and could have stayed and marvelled at it for a long time had I not been with someone that was greatly in need of a chocolate buttons fix.

The tree is called Sumac de virgine (rhus typhina), or Sumac Virginia, or Virginia Creeper.

Finlandia in all its bagpipe sublimity

I came across this rendition of Finlandia several years ago whilst living in Cyprus, it was one of my go to pieces when I needed to get back to equilibrium and calm. It is played on the bagpipes - possibly electronically enhanced - by a group called Celtic Expressions, and with each successive verse of the hymn it embeds deeper into the soul.

Sibelius' Finlandia has been used as the tune for several great hymns, for example: Be Still My Soul, and We Rest on Thee Our Shield and Our Defender.

"Be Still, My Soul"

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Hymn #651
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 46:10
Author: Catharine Amalia Dorothea von Schlegel, 1752, cento
Translated by: Jane Borthwick, 1855
Titled: "Stille, mein Wille"
Composer: Jean Sibelius, b. 1865, arr.
Tune: "Finlandia"

We rest on Thee

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender.
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go.

Yes, in Thy name, O Captain of salvation,
In Thy dear name, all other names above;
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
Our Prince of glory and our King of love.

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling.
And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
"We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go."

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender.
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;
When passing through the gates of pearly splendour,
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.

Edith G. Cherry, c.1895

Copyright: Public Domain

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Scripture: 2 Chronicles 14:11

Endellion and Bethge synchronicity

Several times a term I have the privilege of listening to the Endellion string quartet rehearse. This came about because my friend, R, loves to listen to live classical music and she also has locked-in syndrome as the result of a disastrous operation in her teens. In her happiness at hearing the music she will often 'vocalise', aka whoop with joy, which doesn't go down well with other 'serious' music lovers who attend the concert. So, the quartet very kindly allow the two of us to attend their rehearsals - and often give us tea and biscuits too.

They are masters of the strings, and with great synchronicity with my studies, the first violinist is close friends with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's nephew and godson, cellist Dietrich Bethge.

Here they are playing Beethoven Op 59/2 Rasoumovsky first movement

Last week they played a piece that is new to me and it was stunning. Here it is played by a different quartet (sadly, I couldn't find a you tube clip of Endellion playing this).

The cat that looked like it was a fox and the fox that looked like it was asleep

On one of my many walks with Lady R, I came across some unexpected wildlife yesterday. As R lives in a beauty spot, Hansel and Gretel like in a woods, we frequently encounter pheasant, muntjac deer, and the occasional rabbit or hare. Yesterday, we met a cat. That may not sound odd at all but there aren't many cats where she lives, and in those rare moments that we do see one the cat usually runs away at the sight and sound of R's wheelchair; yesterday was different. The cat not only came up for a cuddle, it also very quickly decided that it wanted to climb up onto my shoulders and sit there, this was great as it meant I could lean in towards R and she could get a stroke of the cat too. After I had persuaded the ball of fluffy ginger loveliness that was the cat to disembark, it proceeded to mark R's wheelchair as her territory by rubbing against it, it was then that I saw what a fox-like face she had.

A few moments later we saw an actual fox, the largest one I have ever seen and from the closest distance. Sadly, though it looked asleep, it was dead, road kill no doubt - at least I think it was, the likelihood of a fox simply sleeping by the side of the road is minimal.

We also came across a dead rat on our path, that I didn't photograph, and a tree painted blue, as you do.

They have their reward

I have a deadline, so after thirty hours of no sleep I got to thinking about other things (and playing with meme generators), in particular this:

 'Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full'

Blessing on the Day of Atonement

There is a wonderful greeting, in the form of a blessing, which is given on Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement; it is  G'mar Hatimah Tovah  - with the beautiful meaning: may you be sealed (in the book of life) for good. It is a blessing of mercy, grace and good will. What a way to address someone; if only such kindness were extended every day and to enemies as well as those held close. 

Yom Kippur is thus a day of wishing life to others and seeking it for oneself. Therefore, it is a time of prayer, sombre reflection, and most importantly, confession - a subject close to my heart. Confession of sins is repeated ten times throughout the day.* Interestingly, the book of Jonah is traditionally read out on Yom Kippur, it speaks of God's mercy extended to the oppressor, and of forgiveness to those who sin in ignorance; it is a theological treasure mine.

One of the most sublime pieces of music ever conceived (imho) was written in connection with this sombre day. In 1881, Max Bruch published the cello piece, Kol Nidrei (Aramaic for 'All Vows') taking the title from the prayer which is recited at the evening service on the Day of Atonement. Here is Jacqueline Du Pre playing it:

You can find the prayer of confession here which begins like this:

For the sin which we have committed before You under duress or willingly.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by hard-heartedness.

For the sin which we have committed before You inadvertently.

And for the sin which we have committed before You with an utterance of the lips.

For the sin which we have committed before You with immorality.

And for the sin which we have committed before You openly or secretly.

For the sin which we have committed before You with knowledge and with deceit.

And for the sin which we have committed before You through speech.

For the sin which we have committed before You by deceiving a fellowman.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by improper thoughts.

For the sin which we have committed before You by a gathering of lewdness.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by verbal [insincere] confession.

For the sin which we have committed before You by disrespect for parents and teachers.

And for the sin which we have committed before You intentionally or unintentionally.

For the sin which we have committed before You by using coercion.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by  desecrating the Divine Name.

For the sin which we have committed before You by impurity of  speech.

And for the sin which we have committed before You by foolish  talk.

For the sin which we have committed before You with the evil  inclination.

And for the sin which we have committed before You knowingly or unknowingly.

For all these, God of pardon, pardon us, forgive us, atone for us.