Ordinary Time 
Pause
“I-based societies all eventually die… Other-based societies survive.”
– Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times
Listen
Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song; sing God’s praise in the assembly of the faithful!
Psalm 149:1
Think
I grew up with the famous saying from St. Augustine of Hippo: “A song is worth two prayers.” Later, I learned that those aren’t quite the right words—the Latin quote is more like “The person who sings prays twice”—and no one is sure whether St. Augustine said this. But the idea has stayed with me. Sometimes, our feelings of grief or joy, heartbreak or gratitude, can’t be contained by language alone. When we need to somehow express twice the emotion in the same number of words, we turn to music.
Whether I’m singing hymns in church, shouting the words to my favorite song at a concert, or laughing with my best friend as we play around on the banjo and guitar, sharing music with other people is one of the ways I feel most connected to God. When I can’t find the words to pray, I sing. When I can’t find the voice to sing, I worship by listening to the music of others. I’m still pretty sure every song is worth two prayers.
Catherine Healy
Question to Ponder:
What is one time when you felt connected to God through music?
Pray
Gracious God, thank you for the gift of music. Fill my life with beauty, and help me always find ways to connect with you, even when I can’t find the words to pray. Amen.
Go
“Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.”
– Misty Copeland, American ballet dancer
