To hear 30-second samples on your Windows Media Player, just click on SAMPLE.
1. Mary's Alleluia (SAMPLE)
2. Morning Song (SAMPLE)
3. Simple Gifts (SAMPLE)
4. All That I Have Ever Desired (SAMPLE)
5. Song of the Disciple
6. Prayer of the Congregation
7. The Queen's Song
8. In the Footsteps of Mary
9. Mission Song
10. The More I Follow
11. Living Water
12. Psalm of the Beloved
13. I Want to Feel Little
14. Almighty God
15. Spirit of Charity
16. Blessing Song
17. Be Always Little+
18. Visitation Song+
19. Magnificat+
20. Ave Maria (Anima Schola)
All songs c 1999
Kathleen Deignan, CND, PhD and
+Mary Anne Foley, CND, PhD
A stone carving depicting two women greeting one another stands in St. Jean church in the small city of Troyes, France. That image of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth marked profoundly the spirit of a woman who grew up just around the corner from that church over three hundred years ago.
Breaking the conventions of her time, Marguerite Bourgeoys dared to live a life of Visitation. To bring the liberating message of the gospel to the new world, she crossed the ocean several times seeking companions who were fired by the same desire. For courage and inspiration, she reached back to that story depicted in stone and urged her sisters to make Mary's way of outgoing love the pattern of their lives.
Thus did the story of the Visitation form the community which gathered around her in the little fort town of Ville-Marie in 1657 and later the thousands of sisters and associates who have followed them in the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal. For over three hundred years, the members of the Congregation have encircled the world with their Visitations. In Canada, the United States, Japan, Central and South America, Africa and France, we learn in every encounter how to live the simple, joyful spirit of Mary's Visitation, and how to sing her song of praise, the Magnificat.
In this three hundredth anniversary of Marguerite Bourgeoys' death and birth into new life, it is our joy to share with you some contemporary songs which embody the Visitations spirit. Many of the texts are adapted from the writings of Marguerite and from Scripture; in others can be found the words of kindred spirits like the American Shakers and the poets of the Celtic Isles.
The making of this music was itself a special experience of Visitation. We hope that it will be an invitation to you to share in that experience with us.
Schola Ministries: New Rochelle, New York
Kathleen Deignan, CND is a theologian and sacred songwriter who translates Christian mystical tradition into a vibrant new repertoire of sacred song. She is co-founder and composer in residence of Schola Ministries, a project in service to the liturgical and contemplative arts that has produced her nine CDs to date. She has composed nearly two hundred songs for worship and contemplation based on the mystical texts of the Jewish and Christian traditions and her own prayer poems. Her music has been celebrated by audiences and congregations in the United States, Canada, Ireland and Palestine. She sings with several ensembles, most notably, Anima Schola, the liturgical ensemble she co-founded at the Benedictine Grange in West Redding, CT. Theirs is a unique sound that blends the Celtic lyricism and fluidity of Sister Kathleen's soulful compositions, the multi-layered textures of rich vocal harmonization, and the tribal spirit of Middle Eastern drumming.
A professor of Religious Studies at Iona College, she also writes and lectures on classical and contemporary spirituality, particularly the legacy of Thomas Merton. She is the founder and director of the Iona Spirituality Institute.
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