Giveaway and Music Review: Lent at Ephesus




Lent is a season of spiritual renewal, a time of quiet contemplation on the Passion and death of Jesus Christ, a period of 40 days in which we enter into the desert to give our lives to the Lord to be transformed, just as He gave His own for us. Lent at Ephesus, the latest album by the monastic Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, certainly does inspire me to open up my heart to receive all the graces of this holy season.

The heavenly voices of the Sisters and the words of their poignant chants and inspiring hymns of glory and redemption lift up the soul, promoting contemplation, as well as the peace and joy that accompany it. The 23-tract CD contains both English and Latin chants and hymns. My favorites include: “Jesus, My Love,” composed by Richard Rolle, a 14th century hermit; “God of Mercy and Compassion,” composed by Fr. Edmund Vaughn, a 19th century Redemptorist missionary, “Divine Physician,” a hymn written in 2012 by the Benedictines of Mary, and “Mother of Sorrow,” an original piece written in 2007 with lyrics adapted from the closing poem of St. Alphonsus Ligouri’s “Victories of the Martyrs.”

If you are unfamiliar with the music of the Benedictines of Mary, now is the perfect time to acquaint yourself with it. In 2012 they released Advent at Ephesus and in 2013 Angels and Saints at Ephesus. Both of these albums skyrocketed to the top of Billboard magazine’s Classical Traditional Music charts. Lent at Ephesus has already debuted at No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s Classical Overall Music Chart and Classical Traditional Music.

This stunning one hour, fourteen minute sound-track is both soothing and soul-stirring. It is a CD that I plan to listen to throughout this Lenten season and for many to come.

• Jesus, My Love
• Christus factus est
• God of Mercy and Compassion
• Hosanna to the Son of David
• Jesu dulcis amor meus
• Jesu salvator mundi
• Popule meus
• On the Way of the Cross
• Pueri Hebraeorum
• Sacred Head Surrounded
• Adoramus te Christe
• Stabat Mater
• Divine Physician
• Vexilla regis
• Mother of Sorrows
• Vere languores nostros
• Tenebrae factae sunt
• Come and Mourn
• Adoramus te Christe
• Crux fidelis
• All Glory, Laud and Honor
• Ave Regina caelorum
• My Mercy

I have 2 Lent at Ephesus CD's to give away, courtesy of Carmel Communications!

To qualify for the drawing, just send me an email with your full name and mailing address at jean.heimann(at)gmail(dot)com and you are entered! The giveaway ends on Friday, March 7, 2014, so don't delay - enter now!
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