Today's ensemble for Holy Mass.

And so through all the length of days,
Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
within thy house forever.

Just had a trim.

Continuing the theme of International Organ Day here is the casing of the Church I have been Organist and Choirmaster of since 2006 at the age of 15.
The organ was made for the large Parish Church in 1872 by Forster and Andrews, it has Father Willis additions.

From the Letter of St. Paul to St. Timothy:-

'For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.'

On this International Organ Day I am paying tribute to, who I think, is my favourite composer; Herbert Howells (1892-1983).
His Psalm Preludes, Six Pieces for Organ, his Four Anthems and various settings all made a profound impression on me in the choirstalls of my church.

'But if we should abandon our conscience, we would abandon all we hold dear. What good is it to gain the whole world if we lose our own soul?'

St. Thomas More, in the film A Man For All Seasons. Written by Robert Bolt.

This is a St. Alphege of Canterbury appreciation post.
Saints of England, pray for us.

Today marks the death in 1876 of Samuel Sebastian Wesley. Composer and organist, and one of the most distinguished English church musicians of his time. He modernised the English parish organ and wrote some exquisite music for the church. His fine hymntunes are still sung today.

Look down, O Lord, from thy heavenly throne, illuminate the darkness of this night with thy celestial brightness, and from the sons of light banish the deeds of darkness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(From the Office of Compline)

This joyful Eastertide, away with sin and sorrow.
My Love, the Crucified, hath sprung to life this morrow.

Had Christ, that once was slain, ne'er burst his three-day prison,
Our faith had been in vain: but now hath Christ arisen.

Today is the memorial of St. Apollonius.

A martyr whose Apologia is considered one of the most priceless documents of the early Church. He was a Roman senator who was denounced as a Christian by one of his slaves.
Before his execution he spoke of love, mercy, and forgiveness.

This book has always been a great delight to me.

Eric Fenby, a marvel of a musician who volunteered to help the blind and paralyzed Delius to continue to compose and ended up caring for him, writes of his astonishing memories in that exclusive household at Grez-sur-Loing.

As the dewy shades of even
⁠Gather o'er the balmy air,
Listen, gentle Queen of Heav'n,
⁠Listen to my vesper prayer.

On this day in 1534 St. Thomas More was taken to the Tower of London. It was here that More wrote A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation, a masterpiece of Christian wisdom and of literature.

'Give me the good grace, O Lord, to set the world at naught'.

Today is the Solemnity of the Patronage of St. Joseph.

We also should have recourse to St Joseph
in our spiritual and bodily necessities.
St Joseph had to endure a great deal
in order to provide for the wants of the Holy Family.
(Cardinal Bacci)

Do not be guided in your actions by the values of this world, and do not value anything more highly than the love of Christ.

Chapter 4 of The Rule of St. Benedict.

O St. Bernadette, who, as a meek and pure child, did eighteen times at Lourdes contemplate the beauty of the Immaculate Mother of God and received her messages, and who afterwards wished to hide yourself from the world in the convent of Nevers,
pray for us.

She died OTD 1879.

Spare a thought for St. Benedict Joseph Labre who died on this day in 1783.
He sought after what he thought was a religious vocation but in turn, God called him to a unique way of life. He embodied the suffering, betrayal, rejection, and poverty of the crucified Lord himself.

'Beauty, then, is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation.'

Pope Benedict XVI, whose anniversary of birth is today.