Newsletter for the past alumnae of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Caracas,
6 of July 2002. Circular No. 34
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Dear Friends,
This circular is to announce a special occasion occurring at the Mount St. Benedict.
It is on occasion of the publishing of a new CD, God of Music
I have annexed the details of the CD at the end of this circular so that I may keep order in things. The lyrics are enclosed as an attachment (10 pages long).
I received this from Dr. David Bratt:
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1. The Committee is made up of Fr. Francis Alleyne O.S.B.,
Marlene Chin, Sharon White, Simeon Sandiford and Frank Bradshaw.
2. Orders for CDs can be placed at the Abbey. We will mail same to
overseas buyers at no extra cost.
3. We have had some TV and Press exposure, but are not spending money on actual advertising. The CDs will also be available through Music Stores and other Catholic outlets.
4. We need to raise in excess of TT$1m. to effect restoration and repairs to the Mount.
5. We are also planning a Fund Raising Lunch for 1,000 in September 2002, but is awaiting finalization of the venue. Will forward details later.
See attached is the invitation card sent to Dr. David Bratt.
The Bank checks are to be made to “ Incorporated Trustees of Mt.St.Benedict “, the address is, “ The Abbey, Mt.St.Benedict, Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.”
Cost per CD: US $ 17.00 inclusive of mailing cost.
I hope that you would think of acquiring the CD as this would be a momentous event for all of us, I have not heard it so that I cannot comment on its content, but it must be good for it to have our beloved Monastery´s name on it.
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Continuing the Who is Where, thanks to Roger Henderson:
23. Arthur Fido Reid is deceased.
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I have received a five page list of Venezuelan old boys which I am researching as to addresses and emails, I hope to get some more of our group together, but I need your help in sending me information and email addresses together with Who is Where two liners.
I wanted to ask for your forbearance as to the articles that others write and that those that I write. Sometimes I feel that I should censor the articles that would be controversial to some of you, but on afterthought I believe that this is for all oldboys and I have no right to cut or omit writings that I send to my friends just as those that I do not know personally.
Ladislao
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Listado: C34.xls
Photos: The Abbot invitation
Shall be sent to ratified addresses this year, please send a line if you have not done so, and shall include photos in your emails.
Attachment: CD Lyrics .doc
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GOD OF MUSIC
BACKGROUND
God of Music, in the first place, is an expression of gratitude to God for the nine decades of life of Mount St. Benedict. Over that time span the people, the landscape and the activities associated with the Mount have taken on many forms. Each year has had its own theme, rhythm and melody prompting its own response; the composition of the community, size and character, has constantly been in flux; welcoming new members, ushering to their eternal reward those who have completed their sojourn in this earthly exile. The community, responding to opportunities and needs that knocked at the monastic door over the years, has been involved in parish work[i], education[ii], agriculture[iii], sports[iv], retreats, and hospitality. Individual monks have contributed to the wider community either through special skills or through involvement in work and apostolate at the diocesan level (for example, Scouting, Building, Liturgy, the Charismatic Renewal, Music). A very important outreach in its recent history is the establishment of a daughter house in Guyana. We give God thanks for all these varied expressions of life; initiatives and responses at different times to different needs, as resources would permit. Often, in faith, resources were stretched and multiplied.
The groups that assisted the monks in the production of this CD did so spontaneously and generously. It captures the mood in which so many people over the ninety years have similarly shared themselves and their resources with the community. For this too we are most grateful.
We give God thanks for the constants. The first monks from the first day came together to perform the work of God; the recitation and chanting of the divine office (today called the Prayer of the Church). This has been constant until the present where the community comes together five times a day to sing the praises of God, to sanctify the day and keep in place the primacy of prayer in the monk’s life of ora et labora (prayer and work). The vespers for the feast of St. Benedict, recorded for this CD, is a taste of the daily offering of prayer.
Pilgrims to the Mount is another constant. From the first days until the present the faithful have made their way up to the Mount each journeying with their own special purpose. There is never a shortage of people that present themselves to a monastery, says St. Benedict. The monks on their part must welcome them as they would welcome Christ and the monastery must be the Domus Dei (the dwelling place of God) where things ought to be arranged and managed in such a way that the pilgrim can experience that dwelling and feel welcomed by God.
The first note of Benedictine presence was struck in 1912. The early community, listening carefully to the reality in which they placed themselves, sought to grow in tune with the needs and appropriate responses to that reality[v]. In the 1950s a symphony of activity, orchestrated by a community of over fifty members, filled the hills and filtered into the wider community. Today the God of music directs a small ensemble of fifteen members (not counting the four members in Guyana) in quiet persevering praise, faithful to the prayer and work in the spirit of St. Benedict and listening with the heart to formulate and bring forth a new song to the Lord.
i Archbishop Dowling accepted the Benedictines into the Archdiocese on the condition that they help in parishes. In the 1970s Archbishop Pantin removed this requirement.
ii The Bosco Boys was an in house apprenticeship programme active from the 1930s to the 1950s teaching trades. The Abbey School began in 1943 and closed in 1985. The Seminary began in the 1943 and was managed by the monks until 1970. St. Benedict’s college in San Fernando (now Presentation College) was started by the Benedictines in 1930 and handed over to the Presentation Brothers in 1948. St. Benedict’s College in La Romain was also a Benedictine initiative of 1956. The last Benedictine presence there being 1968. St. Bede Vocational School, a brainchild of Fr. Bede Thuenissen, had its beginnings in nearby St. John’s village and was established on its present site in 1967.
iii From the very beginning the lands around the Mount were cultivated especially in the traditional crops of cocoa, coffee, tonka beans, provisions etc. and the community was cited for various awards and commendations from the agricultural society in the 1920s. Many people remember the Mount for its honey, the production of which ceased in 2001, and others remember the turkey, chicken and eggs that were available to customers from the 1950s until 1974. The Abbey also looked after estates away from the Mount; Guico in the 1930s and in the 1950s Kedell in Tobago,
iv A large sports facility was developed for the Abbey School. Athletes from the Abbey School, St. Bede and the Aqua Lads and Lasses swimming club went on to compete at national and international levels.
v Brother Paschal, in his music, seeks to articulate the faith in a manner that best captures the rhythms and expressions of life unique to the Caribbean culture.
BROTHER PASCHAL JORDAN O.S.B.
Brother Paschal Jordan was born in Guyana in 1944 and entered the Abbey of Mount St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1964. He is at present a member of the Abbey’s monastic foundation in Bartica, Guyana.
His early musical education in piano and violin took place in Guyana and he subsequently studied plainchant, organ and further piano in Trinidad and Tobago. A scholarship from the French Government took him to the Institut de Musique Liturgique and the Institut Superieure de Liturgie in Paris where he majored in psalmody, graduating cum laude.
Brother Paschal Jordan is well known throughout the territories of the Antilles Episcopal Conference as a liturgist and composer of liturgical music. He has served as a liturgical music coordinator to the Caribbean Conference of Churches and on the Worship Committee of the World Council of Churches. Brother Paschal Jordan is writer of the lyrics and composer of music for all selections on this CD.
© 2002 Abbot Francis Alleyne O.S.B.
(P) © 2002 SANCH ELECTRONIX LIMITED
16 Riverside Road, Curepe, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Tel: 868.663.1384 Fax: 868.645.2205
Website: www.sanch.com
Email: sanch@carib-link.net
International Mail Order Distribution:
ECaroh Communications
Tel: 781.477.0768
Website: www.PanOnTheWeb.com;
Email: PanOnTheWeb@aol.com
ATTACHMENTS
THE LYRICS
VESPERS OF SAINT BENEDICT
Leader: O God, come to our aid!
All: O Lord, make haste to help us!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son, / and to the Holy Spirit; / As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, / World without end. Amen. / Alleluia!
Hymn:
Where can we find, in these dark times, a guide to lead, to light our way?
Saint Benedict shows us the Cross of Christ, who turns our night to day.
The Word of God, alive in him and active, all throughout his life,
Inspired him to choose a way of prayer and peace: an end to strife.
Like early Christians, sharing all their goods in love, and breaking bread,
His children gather round their Lord who leads them, risen from the dead.
Are you someone who yearns for life, or seeks the fullness of good days?
Saint Benedict calls out to you: ‘Submit to Christ! Walk in his ways.’
Psalmody:
Ant.1. Psalm 19(18)B: Praise for God, the Lawgiver.
Benedict, beloved of the Lord, left all things that he might become perfect. He dwelt in solitude before the face of God, and the law of the Lord was in his heart.
- The law of the Lord is perfect, / it revives the soul. / The rule of the Lord is to be trusted, / it gives wisdom to the simple.
- The precepts of the Lord are right, / they gladden the heart. / The command of the Lord is clear, / it gives light to the eyes.
- The fear of the Lord is holy, / abiding for ever. / The decrees of the Lord are truth / and all of them just.
- They are more to be desired than gold, / than the purest of gold, / and sweeter are they than honey, / than honey from the comb.
- So in them your servant finds instruction; / great reward is in their keeping. / But can we discern all our errors? / From hidden faults acquit us.
- From presumption restrain your servant / and let it not rule me. / Then shall I be blameless, / clean from grave sin.
- May the spoken words of my mouth, the thoughts of my heart, / win favour in your sight, O Lord, / my rescuer, my rock!
- Glory be to the Father and to the Son, / and to the Holy Spirit; / as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.
Benedict, beloved of the Lord, left all things that he might become perfect. He dwelt in solitude before the face of God, and the law of the Lord was in his heart.
Ant.2. Psalm : Celebrating the great works of the Lord.
O Glorious Confessor of Christ, Father and Guide of all your Monks, pray for us.
- I will thank the Lord with all my heart / in the meeting of the just and their assembly. / Great are the works of the Lord, / to be pondered by all who love them.
- Majestic and glorious his work, / his justice stands firm for ever. / He makes us remember his wonders. / The Lord is compassion and love.
- He gives food to those who fear him; / keeps his covenant ever in mind. / He has shown his might to his people / by giving them the lands of the nations.
- His works are justice and truth, / his precepts are all of them sure, / standing firm for ever and ever; / they are made in uprightness and truth.
- He has sent deliverance to his people / and established his covenant for ever. / [Omit C] /Holy his name, to be feared.
- To fear the Lord is the first stage of wisdom; / all who do so prove themselves wise. / [Omit C] / His praise shall last forever!
- Glory be to the Father and to the Son / and to the Holy Spirit; / as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.
O glorious confessor of Christ, father and guide of all your monks, pray for us.
Ant.3. Canticle: Revelation 4:11; 5:9-12: Hymn of the Redeemed.
Let us hasten to our heavenly homeland with the help of Christ; and may he bring us all together to the glory of God, his Father.
Refrain: To the Lamb of God be glory, honour and power!
Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power!
For you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.
Worthy are you, O Lord our God, to take the scroll and to open its seals.
For you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed men for God, from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
You have made us a kingdom and priests to our God, and we shall reign on earth.
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth, and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing.
WORD OF GOD * * * * * * * SILENT PRAYER
Short Response:
If we recall that we, together, are Christ’s Body, and each of us with a different part to play, then let us strive for peace and understanding, and mutual upbuilding in love.
Song Of The Virgin Mary:
Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it. Anyone who hates his life in this world, will keep it for eternal life. And if anyone serve me, he must follow me, and wherever I am, there my servant shall be.
- My soul glorifies the Lord, / my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour; / He looks on his servant in her lowliness, / hence forth all ages will call me blessed.
- The Almighty works marvels for me. / Holy his name! / His mercy is from age to age, / on those who fear him.
- He puts forth his arm in strength, / and scatters the proud-hearted. / He casts the mighty from their thrones/ and raises the lowly.
- He fills the starving with good things / [Omit B & C] / sends the rich away empty.
- He protects Israel, his servant, / remembering his mercy, / the mercy promised to our fathers, / to Abraham and his children for ever.
- Glory be to the Father and to the Son,/ and to the Holy Spirit; / as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be,/ world without end. Amen.
Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it. Anyone who hates his life in this world, will keep it for eternal life; and if any one serve me, he must follow me, and wherever I am, there my servant shall be.
IF YOU ARE OFFERING YOUR GIFT [Matthew 6:23-24]
If you are offering your gift at the altar,
And there remember that your brother has something against you,
Leave you gift before the altar,
God and be reconciled with your brother first,
Then come, and present your gift.
COME, LET US SING TO THE LORD, OUR GOD
Come, let us sing to the Lord, our God! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let us cry out to our saving Lord: Alleluia!
[Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.]
Come, let us sing to the Lord, our God! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Let us cry out to our saving Lord: Alleluia!
LES PETITS ENFANTS.
God, our Father, we, Your little children, the joy of Your heart, sing to You.
Help us to be a sign of Your love. Guide our little footsteps straight along Your way.
Open us to beauty: You give us land and sea.
Help us do our duty: good citizens to be.
God our Father, we Your little children, the joy of your heart, sing, sing to You.
YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD, YOUR GOD. [Inspired by Matthew 22:34-37]*
Refrain: You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your soul and mind and heart.
You shall love your neighbour as yourself. In God’s love you shall take your
part. [2X]
The Pharisees found Jesus and they tried to trap him, tie him up, trip him in his speech.
But Jesus saw their malice as they tried to zap him. HE stepped aside and slipped through the breach.
What did he say?
When Pharisees of now-a-days attempt to trip us, with shiny guns or sexy talk or drugs;
We’ll recognise their malice as they try to grip us, and step aside and conquer those thugs.
What shall we say?
GLORY AND HONOUR [Adaptation of Psalm 96]
Refrain: Glory and honour, thanksgiving and praise
Be to the Lord our God! Bless Him all our days. (2X)
- O sing a new song to the Lord. Sing to the Lord, all the earth. O sing to God, bless His holy name.
- Proclaim His help day by day. Tell the nations his glory, His wonders among all the peoples.
- Proclaim: “God is King!” The world He made firm in its place. He judges the peoples with fairness.
- Glory to the Father, to Jesus Christ, the Lord, to the Spirit who dwells in our hearts.
IN GOD’S HOUSE [Inspired by Psalm 122]
I was glad when they came to tell me “Let us go to God’s house.” Doubly glad when they sent to tell me: “You will live in God’s house.” [2X]
And today you are In God’s House! And today we are In God’s House! And all of us are In God’s House!
Chorus: Do not be anxious. Don’t be ever afraid! God is sufficient. God is enough for your life. [Words of St. Teresa of Avila.]
They are happy who live in God’s house ever singing his praise. They are happy who honour God’s house. Live and walk in his ways. [2X]
We’re people of God In God’s House! We’re children of God In God’s House! We’re family all In God’s House!
There is one thing I ask You, Father: Let me live in Your House. To experience Your love and goodness all my days in Your House. [2X]
What more do I need? Nothing more! Who else do I need? No one else! My heart and my soul Love You so!
CANTICLE OF DANIEL [Daniel 3:52-57]
You are blest, Lord God of our ancestors. To You, glory and praise for evermore! Blest Your glorious, holy name! To You, glory and praise for evermore! You are blest in the temple of Your pow’r! To You, glory and praise for evermore!
You are blest, who gaze into the depths. To You, glory and praise for evermore! You are blest in the firmament of heav’n. To You, glory and praise for evermore! You who walk on the wings of the wind. To You, glory and praise for evermore!
May they bless You, the saints and the angels. To You, glory and praise for evermore! From the heavens, the earth and the sea, To You, glory and praise for evermore! You are blest, Lord God of our ancestors. To You, glory and praise for evermore!
FREEDOM SONG
Chorus:
Give thanks to Jesus, for He has redeemed us; He has released us, He has renewed us!
Give thanks to Jesus, for now He has freed us! Praise his name and shake, shake off the yoke!
Shake, shake off the yoke!
Christ reconciled the world by His death on the Cross. [2 Cor. 5:18ff]
Pierced through for all our sins, through His wounds we are free. Is. 53:5 – 6; 1 Peter 2:24]
Come to the water, come, you who want liberty. [cf Is. 55:1]
Drink from Christ’s flowing heart; then indeed you’ll be free. [John 7:37; 8:36]
Freed from sin’s slavery and alive now for God, [Romans 6:18; 6:11]
Let us make others free: break the thongs of their yoke. {Is. 58:6]
[At the end of the final Chorus:]
Praise His name and shake, shake off the yoke! Shake, shake off the yoke!
Shake, shake off the, shake off the, shake off the, shake off the, shake off the yoke!
AS THE POTTER’S CLAY
Chorus:
Mould us, Lord, as the potter’s clay,
Fire us, Lord, with your Spirit today.
Shape us, Lord, in the likeness of Jesus, Your Son,
So we his flock may continue what the great Shepherd has begun.
Set us apart as your priesthood and praise once again in Your might.
Call us anew out of darkness to walk in Your light. [1 Peter 2:9]
Wake us each morning to listen to You [Isaiah 50:4b]
As we stand in the breach. [Psalm 106:23]
When we reply to the wearied,
Provide us with speech. [Isaiah 50: 4a]
When in the heat of the battle, Lord,
Hold high our limp arms in prayer. [Exodus 17:11-12]
Alone on the lake of our terror,
We find You are there. [Matthew 14:28-31]
Fill us, renew us, restore us, release us,
All over the land.
With boldness and power, yet docile
As clay in Your hand. [Acts 1:8; Jeremiah 18:7]
RETURN TO THE LORD
Chorus:
Return to the Lord, return, O Israel
He calls to you.
For the Lord is full of love and tender mercy;
He waits for your heart.
What shall I do with you, O my people?
This love of yours so quickly disappears. [Hosea 6:4]
When will you share your bread with the hungry?
When will you welcome in the homeless poor? [Isaiah 58:7]
I do not take delight in burnt off’ring.
Give Me yourself, your crushed and broken heart. [Psalm 51:17]
And I will plant My law deep within you.
Deep in your heart will I inscribe My name. [Jeremiah 31:31]
I love you with a love everlasting;
I hold you constantly close to My heart. [Jeremiah 31:31]
WE’RE FAMILY
Chorus:
Put your hands together, then reach out to your brother (sister), we’re family!
Hold him (her) close to your heart, and share the warmth of your smile. We belong!
With our arms above, we link a circle of love; we’re all children of one God.
Human family! We belong to the earth!
What mean these rumours of war all around us?
Rivers of hatred in flood?
When will the love of our family surround us,
And not the sight of their blood?
Put your hands together… sister… hold her…
We see the clouds of foreboding mushrooming,
Fumes of disaster above.
But we have buds of fidelity blooming
Under the sun of God’s love.
Put your hands together … brother … hold him …
Why do we waste all our energy striving
For baubles and tinsel and toys?
Let’s hoard the sweetness of honey in hiving
Our precious family joys!
Put your hands together … sister … hold her …
AS BREAD THAT WAS BROKEN
As Bread that was broken and was scattered on the hillsides,
Gathered now together in one loaf of blessing,
So let all peoples of this land be gathered, Jesus.
We, though many, form one body, sharing in one bread. (2X)
As bread that was broken on the surface of the desert,
Gathered by Your people, just as each one needed,
So let Your children taste and see Your sweetness, Jesus.
As bread that was broken and shared out upon the green grass,
Gathered by five thousand and with scraps remaining,
So let Your people of this region gather, Jesus.
As bread that was broken on the Cross, and at the Supper,
Gathered by disciples down the ages, loving,
So let all members of Your Church be gathered, Jesus.
JESUS, THE CHRIST [ Philippians 2:6-11]
Jesus, the Christ, Son of the Father,
Though He was in the form of God,
Became obedient for us, sinners,
Unto His death upon a Cross.
But God has raised Him high in glory,
Bestowed on Him the name of Lord
That all mankind might pay Him homage,
And all creation own Him LORD.
WE ADORE YOU, O CHRIST [Inspired by an invocation for the Way of the Cross]
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless you
because You redeemed the world by Your blood.
We praise and magnify Your name
because You poured out Your life in love.
All glory and honour is Yours
because You obeyed Your Father’s will unto death.
God has now raised You on high
and made You Lord of heaven and of earth.
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You
because You redeemed the world by Your blood.
GOD OF MUSIC
God of love,
Father of dance and music!
God of joy,
Beauty plucked and played!
Be with us
Gathered to praise and love You,
Singing in the circle of the
Music of Your love.
Singing in the circle of Your Name.
Jesus Christ,
Rhythm of all our dancing!
You leapt down
From Your Father’s side.
Move in us
Heart of our flesh pulsating,
Leaping from the cradle to the
Cross, with all our shame.
Leaping to the Father in our name.
Breath of God,
Energy, life and Spirit!
Breathe in us
Song and dance and play!
Warm our hearts,
Link us to love, delighting.
Holding every person in the
Bosom of Your love,
Holding everyone in Your embrace.
[Holding every person in the
Bosom of Your love,
Holding every one in Your embrace.
HYMN FOR NIGHT PRAYER
Darkness now enfolds us,
Daylight is at end.
Come, O Shining Presence,
Spirit, be our friend.
Hover o’er the water,
Sleep within our breast.
Calm the waves within us,
Lead us now to rest.
Let not Love’s betrayal,
Let no traitor’s kiss
Mar this day’s Christ-sharing
Drunk and dipped in dish.
Journey with us onward
To th’ approaching morn.
Call us forth, like Jesus,
To new life, reborn.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Digital Recording Processor – Pacific Microsonics Model One HDCD® Version 2.0
Microphones and Microphone Amplifiers – Danish Pro Audio
Monitor Amplifier/Preamplifier – Classé Audio CA400, CP60
Monitor Loudspeakers – PSB Stratus Gold i
Monitor Headphones – Sennheiser HD600
Console – Custom Designed by K.O. Johnson
Recording – The Abbey, Mount St. Benedict, Tunapuna Trinidad March 11, 14, 15 and April 04 2002.
Executive Producer Simeon L Sandiford
Musical Director Bro. Paschal Jordan O.S.B.
Recording Producer Sanch Electronix Limited
Mastering Paul Stubblebine
Recording Engineer Simeon L Sandiford
Cover Design Dermott Louison
Production Assistant Sean L. Sandiford
Printing Disc Graphics Inc.
Management Committee Abbot Francis Alleyne O.S.B., Frank Bradshaw, Marlene Chin, Sharon White and Simeon L. Sandiford.
(P) © 2002 SANCH ELECTRONIX LIMITED
16 Riverside Road, Curepe, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Tel: 868.663.1384 Fax: 868.645.2205
Website: www.sanch.com
Email: sanch@carib-link.net
International Mail Order Distribution:
ECaroh Communications
Tel: 781.477.0768
Website: www.PanOnTheWeb.com;
Email: PanOnTheWeb@aol.com
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