What a great blessing to immerse ourselves in Gregorian chant for three days. We listened to the priests chant Vespers on Friday evening followed by Mass of the Holy Cross. We sang two of my favorite Masses--Missa Cum Jubilo on Sat in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Missa de Angelis on Sunday. Heavenly!!! My heart overflows with thanksgiving and joy.
This was our little women's schola and the young women were so talented, yet humble. Same goes for the men's schola and the instructors. Dr. Treacy (middle, back row) is an amazing teacher, I loved the way she conducted, making it easy to sing without any organ support. How I wish I could go to school at Ave and learn everything I can from her. Given that Gregorian chant is the foundation for all Western music and is to be given a place of prominence in liturgy, I am surprised that many church choral groups do not invest in teaching this beautiful music. It is EASY!!! I had looked into buying A Beginner's Guide to Singing Gregorian Chant but our organist, Steve Collins, had already taught us the basics. We use the Liber Brevior because it has everything we need for all Sunday and Holy Day Masses and includes a section at the beginning on chant.
We had such a good time, meeting up with old friends, and making new ones. I got to see Max in his home away from home and enjoy the beautiful Florida sunshine and cloud formations. We had to hurry to unload all his stuff because those big beautiful clouds bring afternoon showers. We made it but it was rain, rain, rain all the way home. I was saddened to see many homes in Immokalee still covered with blue tarp. It'll take them years to recover from Irma, but I'm glad they still had their homes. We came across a little alligator, about 3 ft long, who was missing a front paw, but he crossed the road quickly with his tail snapping from side to side. It's good to be home and back to writing.
3 comments:
I'm so glad the trip went well! Dr. Treacy taught at Franciscan and conducted the Schola there the first semester I sang with them. :)
You must miss Max already, but also be thrilled that he's at such a great school!
The thought of Florida in August... Max will do fine, but I get overheated thinking about it. I imagined the car ride with good air conditioning and the steller company of your DH.
Back to home and writing, indeed. I'm still full of the glow from reading your novel, BOUND.
Faith, so wonderful that you got to sing with Susan. Small world. And indeed, what a blessing to have Max at Ave.
Mirka, I was made for FL weather and surprisingly, Michael does well in the heat as well. The kids love it. My skin is soft from the humidity. So different than in WA. I've not been on a long road trip like this in over a couple of years and find it so enjoyable. There's something about movement that takes the brain into different territories. Some of the best conversations have occurred in cars.
"I'm still full of the glow from reading your novel, BOUND." <3 <3 <3
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