HAPPY EASTER TO ALL READERS

Happy Easter to all readers.

May blessings be with you and your loved ones

at this time of peace, joy and goodwill.

A candle has been lit in 

remembrance of all. 

Image: source unknown. With thanks to the creator

THE BUILDERS BUILT THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD

SO THE BUILDERS built the Temple of the Lord. And the priests stood arrayed in their vestments, with musical instruments and trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, praising the Lord and blessing Him, according to the directions of King David of Israel; they sang hymns, giving thanks to the Lord, "For His Goodness and His Glory are forever upon all Israel."

And all the people sounded trumpets and shouted with a great shout, praising the Lord for the building of the House of the Lord. Some of the Levitical priests and heads of ancestral houses, old men who had seen the former house, came to the building of this one with outcries and loud weeping, while many came with trumpets and a joyful noise, so that the people could not hear the trumpets because of the weeping of the people.

Esdras 5:58-65

Image "Trumpeters" with Chatgpt and CN Whittle

MUSIC IS AN ACT OF PRAYER AND REVERENCE

 

Sowetan: "How has your faith shaped your music ministry and your journey as a leader?"

Gospel artist Kgethang Konese: "Growing up in the Roman Catholic Church laid a strong spiritual and musical foundation for me. Music was never about performance but was an act of prayer and reverence. Leading in music ministry taught me humility, intentionality and the importance of centering God in everything I do by guiding people into encounters with Him rather than just being at the forefront."

With thanks to Sowetan, page 7, Thursday, 2 April 2026

Image "Worship in the warmth of light" by Chatgpt with CN Whittle

EXPRESS FAITH AND DEVOTION IN SONG

 

ONE cannot find anything more religious and more joyful in sacred celebrations than a whole congregation expressing its faith and devotion in song. Therefore the active participation of the whole people, which is shown in singing, is to be carefully promoted.

Musicam Sacram, Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, no. 16

https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_instr_19670305_musicam-sacram_en.html

With thanks to vatican.va

Image with thanks to Freepik AI generated content by CN Whittle

A WOMAN KNOWS THE HISTORY OF HUMAN FLESH, SHE KNOWS ITS COST" - ARTWORK BY LUMINOUS DINA CORMICK

Some years ago I found the work of luminous artist Dina Cormick. The first artwork I viewed struck me to the heart. A stark visual of a woman whose face appears to be carved in the immediacy of incredible grief, holding up what appears to be a deceased child to the heavens. Her mouth is open in what may be a wail or soundless cry of agony at the fate of the little one. The words "a woman knows the history of human flesh, she knows its cost, Olive Shreiner",  appears to the right of the image.

I found this depiction both deeply moving and meaningful. A woman goes through agony to give birth to a child, sacrifices deeply to ensure care for the child of her body until her little one reaches adulthood. Thus a woman who has experienced what it means to grow a child within, to bear that child and to nurture her offspring, knows the physical, emotional, spiritual and financial cost of bringing a child into the world and nurturing that child.

This is not to imply that fathers do not know the history of human flesh or its cost. Of course they do. Acknowledgement of the incredible role of fatherhood in the life of a child is always due. The point of this particular artwork however, to my mind, emphasizes the woman's role of motherhood: that a woman understands in her bones and flesh what the making of a child entails. 

This artwork touched my heart so deeply as it made connection for me between motherhood and war. Witnessing the fruit of your body, and the pride and joy of your heart, being sent to war possibly to be maimed or killed is so tragic. 

War has long shadows. There are countless stories of wars which had such profound and sorrowful impact on so many lives.

I pray for an end to the wars, suffering and death which are sweeping our beautiful planet at this time. Truly, a woman knows the history of human flesh, she knows its cost. If we, in our societies, realize the wonder of the cost of lives, surely we will come to value our children - and those of others of all species - with all our hearts.

The Mother of Jesus Christ knew the unbelievable pain of the loss of her Son Who died in the cosmic war to defeat satan from wrongful usurpation of the destiny of humankind. She knew the cost of human flesh received through the Incarnation being discarded, disrespected and swept away in torture and death. All mothers may turn to the example of Mother Mary in the Bible, for comfort in their darkest hours of grief and loss. There is hope again - there will one day be resurrection for all lost on earth and in war. Eternal life in the bliss of heaven will be experienced by all the fallen, all lost at sea or buried in unknown graves. The wail of the mother in the artwork of Artist Cormick will be tenderly changed to eternal joy in the reunion of mothers and children, fathers and children, families and their loved ones in the New Jerusalem. And that will be an eternal reunion and life of happiness which will never end.

I know what sober and realistic thoughts the work by Artist Dina Cormick evoked in my mind. Sorrow for past and present loss of life. Respect and reverence for women who value life, Respect and reverence for men who are devoted fathers. Acknowledgement to God in the heavens that, at the end of the day, no matter how grim reality seems, He is in control. And hope, hope for the future - that as women know the history and sanctity of life, all may come to respect and love all living beings. If not in this world, then in the next.

Thank you, Artist Dina, for your incredible mission as artist.

Click in the following link about Artist Dina Cormick, if you wish to view the artwork described above:

https://www.creativewomanartist.com/about-the-artist/

With thanks to creativewomartist.com

MUSIC IS A MORAL LAW

 

Superb musician in India. Photograph taken with musician permission

MUSIC is a moral law.

It gives soul to the universe,

Wings to the mind,

Flight to the imagination,

A charm to sadness,

Happiness and life to everything.

It is the essence of order

And lends to all that is good

And just and beautiful.

Plato

Fourth century BCE

WHAT IS THIS PLACE WHERE WE ARE MEETING?

 

WHAT is this place where we are meeting?

Only a house, the earth its floor,

Walls and a roof sheltering people,

Windows for light, an open door.

Yet it becomes a body that lives

When we are gathered here,

And know our God is near.

Words from afar, stars that are falling,

Sparks that are sown in us like seed.

Names for our God, dreams, signs and wonders

Sent from the past are all we need.

We in this place remember and speak

Again what we have heard:

God's free redeeming word.

And we accept bread at His table,

Broken and shared, a living sign.

Here in this world, dying and living,

We are each other's bread and wine.

This is the place where we can receive

What we need to increase:

Our justice and God's peace.

Huub Oosterhuis