COLLABORATION: ARRAY OF HOPE

The following post was written by Jack E. Garno from AOH Music Collective, which has partnered with Tabella to offer beautiful praise and worship music to accompany you throughout your Lenten journey. The following is a reflection on Lent, specifically through the lens of music. To listen to AOH Music, check out AOH Praise and Worship, available for free on Tabella.

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving—the established trinity of Lenten observational practices—are expected of each good Christian not to tout their own righteousness, but to give glory to God Almighty and draw man into deeper mystical union with the Lord. The powerful, unitive, and mysteriously transcendental medium of music is ubiquitously relished (has the reader met a soul who does not prefer at least one genre of the art form?). Demonstrably, our ability to manipulate air molecules in an effort to harmonically praise and glorify the Most High is, practically speaking, an efficacious approach to Lenten spiritual practices.

AOH Music, a collective of musicians based in the Garden State of New Jersey, is thrilled and honored to offer their music streamable right on the Tabella app, which users can locate in the form of two playlists: AOH Music Contemporary and AOH Music Praise & Worship. As the universal Church enters the challenging yet rewarding season of Lent, the AOH Music Praise & Worship playlist offers hope and inspiration, stoking the fire of determination in the faithful to enter the desert of temptation with confidence as our Lord did after His baptism.

Prayer is often misunderstood as that which assists us in our relationship with God. But, in its very essence, prayer is our relationship with God. Prayer is first and foremost our primary mode of communication with the One Who holds us in being—for to what degree does a relationship exist without communication?

In its various forms, prayer requires us to slow down and reorient ourselves to focus on the presence of God—a fitting antidote to modern man’s anxiety-inducing how-many-things-can-I-do-at-once lifestyle. Particularly edifying is prayer set to music, demonstrated in traditional and contemporary hymns. Let us not forget that the great St. Augustine of Hippo once said, “He who sings prays twice.” Singing in prayer beautifully expresses the soul’s longing for God, and can deepen the spiritual connection.

Being that King David set many of his Psalms to song, it is fitting that AOH Music should write a song with a brief reference to the heart of David—after all, he was a man after God’s own heart. Found in the AOH Music Praise & Worship playlist, “Same God (Of David’s Heart)” helps its listener relax and meditate with a slow, prayerful tempo and a Biblical refrain:

You’re the Same God who said it was good and Gave man a brand new start Same God who parted the waters Same God of David’s heart

You are Father who reigns in heaven Jesus the truth and light Spirit who’s bringing revival The Same God who turned death to life

Fasting, the second Lenten discipline, requires us to deny our own will and instinctual desire for gratification. There are certainly genres and compositions that reflect the spirit of fasting. In particular, Gregorian chant is an exceptional example, with its minimalistic approach of a cappella performed in reverberant and often sacred spaces.

Fasting—from food, drink, or some other material pleasure—creates an opening in our souls for the Spirit of God to fill us with His grace. Paradoxically, in fasting, the soul gains clarity and strength, assisting her in conformance to God’s will. The reader may consider listening to “Abba Father” after a period of fasting, hoping that, being emptied temporally, God may reinforce the soul spiritually with an increase of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity as a result of our meekness and trust in God’s Word:

“I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20).

Almsgiving requires that we sacrifice some of our worldly treasure in order to combat materialism. “Light of the World” prompts the listener to recall that despite our material needs and wants, a relationship with Jesus, being conformed to His will, and a life sustained by His grace are our ultimate needs, the rest flowing from it. “Make it your first care to find the kingdom of God, and His approval, and all these things shall be yours without the asking” (Mt. 6:33).

We know through divine revelation that Christ is the Light of the world:

I need you in my life I know you can save me ‘Cause you are the light of the world You are the light of the world

But let us not forget that in His Sermon on the Mount, the God-Man reminds us that we too “are the light of the world…and your light must shine so brightly before men that they can see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:14, 16).

There are ways we can incorporate the Lenten pillar of almsgiving with the gift of music. Simple yet powerful examples include facilitating charity or fundraising concerts and performances for a noble, holy cause; or even, if you are a musician yourself, giving of your time and knowledge to teach music to individuals in your parish community.

So let us enter the desert of Lent with saintly confidence, and consider music’s capacity to strengthen our pious Lenten efforts in pleasing God, loving Him, and abandoning ourselves to His providence.