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Welcome wayfarers...

I have chosen Saint Hildegard of Bingen as the patron of this website. She was a 12th century Benedictine Abbess, and as such, she and her fellow sisters of the two monasteries which she founded were faithful observers of the Rule of St. Benedict. These precepts governed their life as a monastic community.  This included the welcoming of guests and pilgrims. And so, I would like to welcome you in the same spirit that she would have greeted all on their journey: "Let all guests who arrive be received as Christ, because He will say: 'I was a stranger and you took Me in' (Mt 25:35)."

Hello, my name is Kevin Shaw. I am a practicing Roman Catholic in the Diocese of Calgary and the author of this blog. The Liturgy of the Hours is an ancient part of our Apostolic Faith, and something that I hope this website can in some small way promote, and make more accessible and meaningful to others. I am an ordinary lay person. While I do have some experience in parish choir and prayer group music ministries, I am in no way an expert on hymnody or on the Breviary. As it has for countless other Christians over the centuries, the Office helps to keep me on the right path and in a right relationship with God and his Church throughout the day. This blog is about the many hymns, new and old, associated with the Liturgy of the Hours. On this website I am going to find out what they are all about, and share that with you. You can learn more about them in my post: Introduction to Breviary Hymns.

The first time I prayed the Divine Office was in community on a retreat at Mount St. Francis, Cochrane Alberta, that I attended as a teenager with my parents. The living transmission of faith (2 Thess. 2:15) one person to the next, one generation to the next is a blessed thing, and I am grateful for my parent's Christian witness in my life. In particular, I would like to thank my mother, from whom I learnt many of these hymns. As a church organist, she would choose the appropriate pieces for next Sunday's Mass, and then practice them at home through the week. This website is my gift to the Church, and it would not be possible without her.

12 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 1, 2013 at 10:15 PM

    Thank you, Brother! I have saved your page as favourite for daily reference of hymn tunes and watching Catholic TV. Many thanks again for your dedication. May God bless you and your family always!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousOctober 7, 2013 at 11:59 PM

    Hi Kevin,

    Say, do you know where I might get a copy of the Charles Rigby Hail Redeemer King Divine? It's a great piece but nobody seems to have a copy of the hymn.

    Thanks,
    Sean...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fr Richard SeabrookJuly 20, 2014 at 5:05 AM

      It is in "New English Praise", a companion to the "New English Hymnal." It is a glorious hymn!

      Delete
  3. WebmasterNovember 2, 2013 at 11:24 PM

    I'm afraid I don't know either. I do have a post devoted the that beautiful old hymn though - http://kpshaw.blogspot.com/2012/12/102.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Marc in EugeneNovember 10, 2013 at 6:12 PM

    Thanks so much for all you do here. I say much of the office each day, via divinumofficium.com. The resources and notes you've collected here, with all your own posts, are wonderfully helpful. Oremus pro invicem!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMarch 4, 2014 at 7:53 PM

    Thank you so much for what you have done and continue to do. This site is on my favorites of my browser and I find it extremely helpful as I do the Liturgy of the Hours each day. May God richly bless you.

    ReplyDelete
  6. J. HorneApril 3, 2014 at 10:49 PM

    Thanks be to God for your work here. The Divine Office truly comes alive when sung and not just spoken or read. I also recommend David Clayton's Psalm tones on The Way of Beauty website.

    ReplyDelete
  7. MichaelMay 16, 2014 at 5:23 AM

    U r a star! Any hope of influencing/helping the execrable hymns that I suffer daily on Universalis LOH? Occasionally you have a decent Stanbrook offering, and there are other exceptions, but usually there are awful, prolix and make me feel like I am drowning in the dust of a 19th century mausoleum. I know there are copyright issues to cope with, but there must be ways, means and negotiations. Any thoughts? I did try and get conversation going, but nothing came back.

    ReplyDelete
  8. UnknownJuly 26, 2014 at 8:59 PM

    Thank you so much for this Kevin. I have provided a link on the front page of my blog to yours.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousApril 6, 2015 at 12:57 PM

    Happy Easter! Only just found this site today and will be using often. I actually wanted to publish a small book with all these hymns--but your doing in online with the music to listen to is a much better idea.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AndyApril 19, 2016 at 9:32 AM

    Beautiful story. Thank you for the website... I came to hear how to sing the Easter hymns in my Christian prayer book.

    ReplyDelete

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