Now and at the hour of our death...

A big and beautiful voice has been silenced in the concert halls of the world but is now, we pray, joined to the choirs of angels and saints in heaven: Luciano Pavarotti has died at the age of 71. This seems the appropriate day in our series to hear Pavarotti sing the Schubert Ave Maria.

Over the past few days we have heard the Ave only in Latin. Most readers here know the prayer in English but this might be a time to pray those words in our own language...

Hail Mary,
full of Grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.
Amen.

Please join us for Evening Prayer this Sunday night, September 9 at 7:00 p.m., followed by the concert Chosen From All Women given by Lauren Sprague (soprano) and Carol Messina (piano). The concert is in honor of the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin (the day before) and the program will be all Marian music.