St. Monica

August 27:  St. Monica

For her son, see tomorrow's post.

1 Thes 2:1-8 Beloved, we shared Gospel and ourselves in purity and truth, to please God, not people. We were gentle, as nursing mother.

Ps 139:1-3, 4-6 "You have searched me and you know me, Lord." You know my thoughts, ways, journeys. You rest your hand on me.

Mt 23:23-26 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, blind guides. You pay tithes but neglect judgment, mercy, fidelity. Cleanse inside so outside may be clean.

Music

• You are near/ Schutte (revised lyrics, audio using original lyrics) (psalm)
• Alas for you/ Schwartz, from Godspell (1973 movie version) (gospel)

[Side trip about Godspell:   The lyrics of "Alas for you" are based on a biblical text, but other lyrics were taken from elsewhere:

• "All good gifts" (audio from 2011 revival) is based on the German hymn "Wir Pflügen," translated as "We plow the fields and scatter" (sheet music & audio, German lyrics, English lyrics, higher-pitched sheet music).  
• "Turn back, O man" (revival audio) is a racy setting of the eponymous hymn (lyrics and audio, alternate) to the "Old 124th" tune (plug-in needed to view/play)
• "Day by day," a prayer to "see Thee more clearly, love Thee more dearly, follow Thee more nearly" is from a 13th-century prayer of St. Richard of Chichester set to music long before Godspell and often since (e.g. Day by Day, by Martin How).  It's also a theme of the 2nd week of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola:  "I want ... interior knowledge of the Lord, Who for me has become man, that I may more love and follow Him" (1st day, contemplation on the Incarnation, 3rd prelude).  For more on the song/Exercises connection, see Three things I pray.]

Art

For Christmas 1977, Fr. Thomas O'Neill, S.J., now at St. Ignatius College Prep, crafted a set of tree ornaments honoring saints, but with a twist:  for example, the one for St. Lawrence looked done on one side, and the one for St. Monica sported a surfboard.  

Fr. Tom, if you have a picture to share, I'd love to put it here in place of this one.

• "Hands" tie:  "You rest your hand on me" (psalm)
• White tie pin:  mother's milk (1st reading), scribes/Pharisees as whitened sepluchers (tomorrow's gospel, following yesterday and today's theme)

Today's word cloud

Blessings to our friends at St. Monica parish, elementary school, and high school!