We thank those who let us know of the difficulty with viewing our latest video on their phone or tablet. On this day, we prayed to St. Peter and St. Paul to help us. They gave us the inspiration of providing everyone with a link to the video.
We give them thanks for their help and the glory to God!
Below is the link to our YouTube channel for "Go Forth."
The song, “Go Forth” was composed in 2000, the Great
Jubilee Year,
“Christ Yesterday, Today and Forever.”
It was a celebration of grace
of the mercy of God and the forgiveness of sins throughout the Catholic Church
on earth. We wanted to compose a song of evangelization: to spread the Good
News to all people beginning with our families and local Churches.
The Scripture passage from St.
Matthew 28:18-20 became the basis of the lyrics.
18And Jesus came
and said to them: All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.
19Going therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing the in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
20and teaching
them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you
always, to the end of the age.
(New Revised Standard
Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
You will see pictures from
some of the places we have visited. These pictures brought us wonderful memories
of the people, pilgrimages and places where Our Lord and Our Lady have sent us
through the years.
We chose to bring this to you just
before the Solemnity of St. Peter and Paul.
St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles (called and sent by Jesus
to preach the Good News) are the men most responsible for spreading the
Catholic message and faith in the early days of the Church. Both were martyred
in Rome for their love of God and their mission of faith.
St. Peter was one of the 12 apostles, as
well as the first pope and founder of the Roman Church. St.
Peter was crucified upside down because he said he was not worthy to be
sacrificed in the same manner as Christ. There are 2 letters by St. Peter in
the New Testament.
St. Paul was also an apostle, responsible
for much of the New Testament. 13 out of the 27 books are attributed to
him. Because of his Roman citizenship, Saint Paul was beheaded.
Go Forth
(St. Matthew 28:17-20)
Chorus:
Go forth! Go
forth!
Make disciples
of all nations, Go forth!
Go forth! Go
forth!
Baptizing them
in God’s Name, Go forth!
Go forth! Go forth!
Love as I have
loved you, Loved you, Go
forth!
Go forth! Go forth!
Make disciples
of all nations, Go forth!
1. Go forth, go
forth, make disciples of all nations.
God is great
and Holy is His Name!
Jesus call us
all without exception,
God is great
and Holy is His Name!
Spread His Word
in your community,
In word and
deed by holy charity! (Chorus)
2.
Jesus send us with the Holy Spirit,
God is great
andHoly is His Name!
He gives us
faithand wisdom infinite,
God is great
and Holy is His Name!
Proclaim
salvation in your family!
Then live His
Word for all the world to see! (Chorus)
3. Holy Spirit
enflame us with Your pow’r,
God is great
and Holy is His Name!
To stand with
Christin the final hour,
God is great
and Holy is His Name!
Are you ready
to prepare the way
For the reign of
Christ in your heart today! (Chorus)
“Both apostles share the same feast day,
for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they
were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day
made holy for us by the apostles’ blood. Let us embrace what they believed,
their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their
confession of faith.” – St Augustine
We are introducing a special
corner dedicated to Fr. William J. McCarthy, MSA. Fr. Bill has the gift of
being able to shed light on religious concepts to anyone from a child to a scholar.
We have known Father for almost 30 years. We have
heard his sermons and talks many times. Thank God he has written many books,
large and small and mainly easy to read. He loves poetry and singing.
His retreats at My Father’s House in Moodus, CT were
spiritually inspiring and joyful. He and Sr. Bernadette Sheldon were the
co-directors for many years. We were invited many times to sing at these events
always leaving the retreats with new thoughts and insights about God as well as
new friends with whom we are still in contact.
We had many memorable moments on our pilgrimages to
Our Lady of Guadalupe, the northeast shrines in Canada and the USA, Ireland, Fatima,
Lourdes and the Holy Land.
Now for a poem on discernment from his shortest book
and a treasure, “Listening to God.”
Blessed solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy Spirit!
This song was written based on this Scripture reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
Ephesians 4: 1-6
I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called, [2] With all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. [3] Careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] One body and one Spirit; as you are called in one hope of your calling. [5] One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
[6] One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all.
Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, Holy Spirit, Rest on us!
Blessed
Pentecost!
Come, Holy
Spirit!
Fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the Fire of Your
Love.
As many
of you know, every song has a story. This song was inspired by a friend, Josephine
Kramer Lucci. She asked us, “Can you write a song to the Holy Spirit, as we see
Him as a dove. Include what the gifts of the Holy Spirit are because I can
never remember them or what they signify.” This was a challenge.
In
preparing the lyrics and music, we pray first to receive guidance on how to
proceed. We believe this is God’s work. He knows who will hear this song. He
will use the song to touch people’s hearts.
We
first had to name the Gifts, Wisdom, Knowledge, Counsel, Piety, Courage
(Fortitude) and Fear of the Lord. That
was easy to find in the Baltimore Catechism. (Do you remember that straightforward
book?) Now we wanted to make the definitions clear yet short so we could
remember the essence of its meaning. Sometimes, we had to use an alternate word
like “Courage” instead of Fortitude. Courage and strength are included in the
meaning of Fortitude. It also work better with the music.
The
refrain of “Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, Holy Spirit, Rest on us,” was created
for groups of people who would sing throughout the song when there was no
lyrics available for everyone. We knew everyone would remember this.
The lyrics
for the 4 verses describe the Gifts with a short reflection to remember it. We
also added a counter melody with the lyrics “Come, Holy Spirit, come, by means
of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Your well beloved
spouse.”
Below are the complete lyrics
of the song. The song is found on the CDs, “Songs of Inner Healing” and “Songs
of Hope.”
This
day, May the Holy Spirit fill us all with the Fire of His Love. Alleluia!
Heavenly Dove
(Isaiah 11: 1-3)
Chorus:
Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove, Holy Spirit, rest on us.
1. Spirit of Wisdom, Heavenly Dove, Come fill
our minds.
Spirit of Truth, Heavenly Dove, Give us understanding.(Chorus)
2. Spirit of Counsel, Heavenly Dove, Guide us in
truth.
Spirit of Piety, Heavenly Dove, Enflame our hearts with
Love. (Chorus)
3. Spirit of Knowledge, Heavenly Dove,Teach
us Your Way.
Fear of the Lord, Heavenly Dove, Lead us to worship You.(Chorus)
4. Spirit of Courage, Heavenly Dove, Strengthen our wills.
Spirit of Pow’r, Heavenly Dove, Send us in Your Holy Name. (Chorus)
This
song video, “Mother of America," was composed in 2001 on Sept. 14th, the
feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The United States of America did not
have a national song to the Immaculate Conception, the patroness of our country
like many other countries such as FΓ‘tima, Portugal and Lourdes, France.
We
used the 3rd verse and the chorus to make this video. The complete
song can be found on our CD, “Mother of America.”
It
was especially important to us to compose this song to our Blessed Mother as
our nation had just suffered from the attack upon our citizens on 9.11.2001 in
New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. It was a time of great sorrow and fear
of the future for everyone as the whole country came to a ‘STOP.’
We
need to pray to our Lord, Father, Son and Holy Spirit in these catastrophic
times, then and now. Our Blessed Mother will come to comfort and console us but
also help us to turn to our God if we have strayed. Prayer will see us through
all difficulties and sadness as well as joys and peace. But we have the choice
to pray and repent as a nation. “Let us stand together, one Nation, one Nation
under God!
Mother of
America
Music and Lyrics by
Maria C. French & Gloria E. Giannuzzi
1. America, the
beautiful, my country ‘tis of Thee,
God blessed
America, our home, the land of the brave and free.
The Mother of
America, the Immaculate Conception,
Prays for her
suffering children in peace and tribulation.
Chorus:
Let us stand
together, One nation,
One nation
under God.
In peace and
tribulation
With faith and
hope andlove of God.
2. Attacked in peace with unbelief and lies that seem the truth
That draw us
away from Life Itself to the way of sin and death.
But the Mother
of America, The mirror of the Just,
Teaches her children Wisdom That in God we trust. (Chorus)
3. In
tribulation we’re attacked with
violence and hate.
Yet in the womb
and until death the violence is the same.
But the Mother
of America, Who before God’s Throne she stands,
Weeps for the
Holy Innocentsand
children of her land. (Chorus)
