[ConorMacNessa]

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!

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Amazing Grace
(Click)
By John Newton

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, .
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
.
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
.
Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, Who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
.
When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[ConorMacNessa]

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!



Cdr. John J. O'Connor, CHC USN, Distributing Communion to Marines of the 1st Marine Division – Danang, RVN - 24Mar1965

The Lord’s Prayer
Andrea Bocelli
(Click)

DEAR LORD, who suffered torment, agony, and death upon the Cross to free our souls from the chains of iniquity, protect and defend our troops. Guide them in the performance of their duties. Strengthen them to endure hardship, danger and deprivation in Your service. Let their efforts free the people of Iraq and Afghanistan from the chains of terror and slavery, foster a lasting peace in the region, and bring all to a greater share in Your Mercy.

Amen.

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[Publius]

From last night.

In 1895, the 22 year old Sergei Rachmaninov wrote Six Choral Songs for women’s chorus and piano. Finding good performances with English texts was difficult, so I’m going to provide the text for this one song, which is absolutely stunning. It’s a two handkerchief piece. (Catch the Elvis haircut on Sergei at the far right.)

In the midnight sky an angel flew and sang a quiet song:
And the moon, and the stars, and the clouds all as one,
Attending to that holy song.
He sang of the blessedness of sinless spirits
Beneath the branches of Paradise’s gardens.
He sang of God Almighty, and his praise was without guile.
He carried in his bosom a young soul,
Destined for a world of sadness and tears.
And the sound of his song, though lacking the words,
Remained alive in that young soul.
A long time it suffered in the world, filled with a wondrous longing:
For it the sounds of the heavens could not be supplanted
By the ordinary songs of earth.

Rachmaninov: ”The Angel”, Op. 15/6

[Kathy in Alaska]

Ah....the pipes! Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound.

Thanks, Mac.