A Sunday chant -- from Taizé

You might recall the beginning of the pandemic, and how uncertain everything was. Suddenly, the world as we knew it was forced to stop, and our lives were thrown up in the air for quite some time.

Like many, I didn't quite know how to respond, and my anxiety level went through the roof. In looking for something to calm my soul, I quickly turned to the Taizé Community, which was also forced to close itself off from outsiders. But even during the lockdown in France, the Brothers of the community found a way to reach out through broadcasting their prayer online every evening.

So for the first 82 days of the pandemic, I faithfully attended online prayer with the Brothers, getting to know the backs of their heads (hee hee), the sounds of their voices, their choice of seating in the rooms where they met, and many newer chants composed in the last few years. I was especially delighted to hear the brothers I met in 2016 read some of the scriptures and prayers -- it was a consolation to know that they were still there, praying with the 60 or 70 thousand of us from around the world who were joining them online.

Since then, the Brothers have gone back to one broadcast each week, and my online participation hasn't been at all regular. So -- no surprise -- somehow I missed this particular piece of music (maybe they didn't sing it at the pandemic's beginning?) But there it was, part of yesterday's evening prayer (which can be heard every Saturday afternoon (because of the seven-hour difference between France and here) on youtube -- https://www.youtube.com/@taize)

Gib mich ganz zu eigen dir is a gorgeous chant that was part of the International Meeting in Basel, Switzerland in December 2017, and its lyrics come from a prayer by St. Nicholas von Flue, who lived in the 1400s. The beautiful video below is from the Basel gathering's Saturday evening celebration of the Resurrection (hence the candles). Here's a translation of the lyrics that you can find on the Youtube page:

"Take everything from me that keeps me from you.

Give everything to me that brings me near to you.

My Lord and my God, take me away from myself and give me completely to you."

And here are the German lyrics you hear in the beautiful video above:

Nimm alles von mir, was mir fernhält von dir. Gib alles mir, was mich hinführt zu dir. Mein Herr und mein Gott, nimm mich mir und gib mich ganz zu eigen dir.

In the years since this version, the Taizé community has changed the lyrics from "Mein Herr und mein Gott" to Lebendiger Gott (Living God). 

As I'm not a German speaker, I've been singing a simplified English version to myself since I heard it yesterday, but I promise I will learn it in German as soon as I can. These English words don't exactly work with the melody, but they're not far off in case you want to try to sing along...

Take everything that keeps me from you.

Give everything that brings me to you.

O Living God,

take me away from myself

and give me completely to you...

For any local people who are interested, our next Ecumenical Prayer featuring the chants of the Taizé community will be on Sunday, February 12 at 7 pm at St. Thomas D'Aquin church (8410 89 Street) here in Edmonton. All are welcome!

Have a beautiful Sunday.

For Ukraine

A couple of special friends -- well, so many Canadians, really -- are very worried for their country of origin. My favourite prayer for peace has been running through my head incessantly these last few days. 

For Maryana, Pavlo, their mom, Luba, in West Ukraine, for all in the regions under threat of violence -- and especially for a change of heart in the aggressors. 

Grant us your peace, O God, may it fill all our days...

Sunday Reflection: Forever I will sing

Today's reflection is brought to you by

Psalm 89.

Even when singing is not allowed,

I sing of your love in my head,

O God,

and will forever.

When I am far enough from others, 

my mouth cannot help but make music

to proclaim your faithfulness to me.

Your love is clearly seen

in the necklaces of diamond galaxies

with which you festoon our skies,

galaxies that took billions of years to form,

billions of years of your faithfulness.

I am blessed,

who see and celebrate your love,

who walk in its light and beauty,

who recognize your face

in all that you have made.

I rejoice in your creation

and celebrate your goodness.

You are my strength in these challenging days.

I don't know your plan,

but I trust,

I praise,

I sing of your love for all your creatures.

We belong to you,

Holy one,

and entrust our future

to your care.

Help us to care for each other,

to be your hands and feet, 

to bring to fruition

the common good

on this,

your earth 

and our common home.

+Amen.

* * * * * * *

Lately, in these pandemic times, I have been finding it hard to find God's presence in the struggles we face. We are in the middle of what I would call a "wake-up call," yet many of us refuse to wake up. The huge push to "get back to normal" is causing a second wave of the virus in many parts of the world, and here in North America, the insistence on personal freedom over the common good means that many people are ignoring the precautions (like simply wearing a mask) that can make a difference for so many others.

If we can't work together on reducing the effects of this virus, how will we work together to handle other serious challenges like climate change and leveling the playing field for those struggling on our planet, who seem to bear the brunt of global catastrophes?

Even as I wring my hands over our world's difficulties, I know who is in charge. The force in the universe that brought everything to be, the force that sustains all things right down to the breath in my lungs and the beat of my heart, is still here, still with us, still waiting for us to do the right things. So we continue, in hope, and I find my comfort in singing.

Here's another of my favourite Taizé chants, sung in Portuguese. Today I raise it for the people of Brazil, India, Russia and the US who are experiencing the highest numbers of covid cases these days. I sing it for all those who pretend that there is no virus, or that it will have no impact on their lives. I have posted the English lyrics below, if you would prefer to sing them. Or join me in singing the Portuguese:

Cantarei ao Senhor enquanto viver;

louvarei o meu Deus enquanto existir.

Nele en contro a minha allegria.

Nele en contro a minha allegria.

I will sing to the Lord my whole life long.

I will worship my God as long as I live.

For the Lord brings joy to his people.

For the Lord brings joy to his people.

Taizé Tuesday: Behüte mich, Gott

I'm finding it challenging to remember these Simple Moodlings these days. The weather has turned for the better since my last Taizé Tuesday post, so I'm outside more than indoors, and only at my computer for my daily prayer with the Brothers each afternoon or evening.

Their lovely evening prayer can be found livestreamed on the Taizé Facebook page at 12:30 pm MST, or later in the day at https://www.facebook.com/watch/taize/. This afternoon we sang this beautiful chant, which has become one of my favourites:

Behüte mich, Gott,

ich vertraue dir,

du zeigst mir den Weg zum Leben.

Bei dir ist Freude, Freude in Fülle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6-UneKFn2I

Keep me, O God,
for I trust in you.
You show me the path of life.
With you there is fullness of joy.

In this time of the coronavirus, it's a wonderful psalm prayer. No matter what happens, God is with us, showing us the way home. Plus I'm a sucker for images of Taize as I knew it, and the gorgeous oboe and flute descants. Enjoy!

Welcoming migrants and refugees -- in laetitia!

Today is World Day of Migrants and Refugees, a day that should be declared publicly and celebrated more than it is. I know and love many migrants, some of whom started out as refugees, and they are all wonderful, hardworking, loving individuals who have enriched our society in more ways than we will ever realize.

Why can't everyone see that welcoming those who choose to come to our countries to find a better life is a good idea? They widen our hearts and bring so many beautiful gifts to share. Many of them, coming as they do from places where life is harder and more dangerous than we can possibly imagine, have a greater sense of hospitality than we do. I often think it must be difficult to come to North America, where really, unless we are Indigenous, we are all descended from migrants or refugees from years gone by. Unfortunately, many of us have forgotten that deep sense of hospitality that came with our ancestors from the "Old Country" by sheer necessity. I think it is a sing when we fail to extend hospitality to newcomers and conveniently forget that our people were newcomers, too.

Even so, they come, they surmount the obstacles that face them, and they become valued and valuable members of our communities. Their generosity has put me to shame on occasion -- I think of the people I work with at L'Arche who add so much joy and enthusiasm to my days with their cheerful greetings and unexpected kindnesses.

If we let them, most of our migrants and refugees want only to become our friends and colleagues, and their ability to open our minds and hearts is something we ought to value more than we do. They are not coming to take our jobs or make our lives worse -- they are often fleeing situations that are untenable. We are called to let go of our paranoia and fear of the other, to be welcoming, to join hands with those who come from afar, and to raise a song of gladness. Why not learn a song of theirs, and teach them one of ours?

This evening, we had a beautiful ecumenical prayer, and our last chant was the one posted below. "Rejoice in God, people of the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness!" is the direct translation of the Latin words. As the song lifted our hearts and reverberated through the worship space, I found myself thinking of the many refugees and migrants who have come to Canada in the past year, and how they have added to the mosaic of our life here with their many languages, cultures and traditions. It's definitely something to celebrate, with gladness, in laetitia!

Your word is a lamp

I'm finding more and more that, as I get older, I need fewer words in my faith life. I suspect that's why Taizé speaks for my faith better than the regular liturgy in my usual place of worship. God’s word is a light to my path, and all those other words that attempt to embellish what is already so clear to me are a distraction from Christ’s simple message to love one another, love God, and most of all, love our enemies (that’s the hardest thing he taught, and I’m still not very good at it!)

Tonight is our first Taizé Prayer of this late summer/autumn/winter season, and it will be held at Assumption Catholic Church (9040 95 Avenue, Edmonton). If you’re in the neighbourhood, come and join us – and bring a friend if you like for some ecumenical, musical, meditative prayer... even for our enemies. 

The chant below is Finnish for “Your word is a lamp, a light on my path.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyHxHLcvbVA

Mon ame se repose

My soul rests in peace in God alone... I have always loved this. If our souls can't rest in God, they can't rest... and I always seem to find some peace resting in this music, too. Tonight we will be singing this chant at Taizé Prayer, 7 p.m. at St. Thomas D’Aquin Catholic Church (8410-89 Street) in Edmonton. All are welcome to join us. Thanks to Mostar Taize for sharing this video through YouTube. Enjoy.

Venite exultemus Domino

Being stuck at home with the flu, I've had a little more time on my hands than expected. So here's a gorgeous Taizé chant for the feast of the Holy Family, which invites us to come and exult over God's presence in our lives. Merry Christmas, all!