Today we had the honor of playing flute and guitar music for mass, the Divine Mercy devotion to Jesus Christ associated with the apparitions of Jesus to Saint Faustina Kowalska at St. Mary’s Parish in Chandler, Arizona. The concept is around “God’s loving mercy” towards all people, especially for sinners. The two main themes of the devotion are to trust in Christ’s endless goodness, and to show mercy to others acting as a conduit for God’s love towards them.
Pope John Paul II, a native of Poland, had great affinity towards this devotion and authorized it in the Liturgical Calendar of the church. The liturgical Feast of the Divine Mercy, is celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Worshippers of the Divine Mercy commemorate the Hour of Mercy (3 PM), the hour when Jesus died for us. The Divine Mercy message highlights that God is a God of both mercy and justice. Jesus told Sister Faustina that those who run away from His merciful Heart will fall into the hands of His justice (entry 1728).
The primary focus of the Divine Mercy devotion is the merciful love of God and the desire to let that love and mercy flow through one’s own heart towards those in need of it. As he dedicated the Shrine of Divine Mercy, John Paul II referred to this when he said: “Apart from the mercy of God there is no other source of hope for mankind”.
As in the prayers that form the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, there are three main themes to the Divine Mercy devotion: to ask for and obtain the mercy of God, to trust in Christ’s abundant mercy, and finally to show mercy to others and act as a conduit for God’s mercy towards them.
In the catholic church service today, we were asked to play an important part in the service by playing music for each of 5 “mysteries”. Solemn music was thoughtfully chosen by our client.
As the priests entered, we played Canon in D by Pachelbel, often a favor for wedding processionals but perfect for any processional. Next we played Recuerdos de la Alhambra by Francisco Tarrega. This is also standard music for us which we play often because it’s well-suited for various special events.
For the 5 mysteries within the catholic service, we played a combination of classical and religious flute and guitar music including:
- Open My Eyes, Lord by Jesse Manibusan
- One Bread, One Body by John Foley
- How Great Thou Art by Carl Gustaf Boberg
- Pescador de Hombres by Cesáreo Gabaráin
- Ave Maria by Franz Schubert
The priests exited to Air on the G String by J.S. Bach.
Our client did an incredible job choosing the perfect inspirational, solemn music that was so well-suited to flute and guitar to help bring meaning to their church service today. We look forward to returning again next year!
