Another inspection mission underway Thanks

Another inspection mission underway

Thanks to John, Teresa, and Steve for their kind welcome at St. Mark's in Vienna (VA) Sunday morning and the breakfast afterward. It was worth the trip to hear Mrs. Schultz sing.

As you might expect from some of John's posts about music performance, his tempos are indeed up-tempo: not that there's anything wrong with that. John just prays faster than I do. It did work well for the chant-style Gloria which the parish choir sang from the RitualSong book, and if the result is good, you can call it "sprightly". Sometimes when I hear a church musician moving that fast, it sounds like a hurry, and I wonder "who stuck her with a cattleprod?"

Since one of the songs sung at Mass was Here I Am, Lord, this might be a good time to post Fr. James Buffer's amusing translation.

Deus maris et caeli
plorantes meos audivi
Habitans in tenebris
salvabitur
Stellas noctis qui feci
tenebras inlustrabo
Quis portabit meam lucem?
Iis mittam quem?

Ecce ego; sumne ille?
Te vocantem nocte audivi
Ibo, Domine, te ducente,
Gentem tuam corde tenebo.