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I find it difficult to start an episode about prayer. Prayer is the connection we cultivate with God and the saints and spirits that we, as Catholics, believe surround us every day. And yet as pastoral musicians, God works through us in our ministry. We are prayers answered. We have the gift in that we, as our broken, human selves, can be a conduit for joy, relief, and healing for those who sit in our pews. We facilitate prayer that we don’t even know takes place. For these reasons, I believe that pastoral musicians often have a relationship with prayer that is unique. We spend hours in sacred spaces for funerals and weddings and, of course, weekend liturgies. We encounter Sacraments at a number that clergy only experience. We are blessed to spend our working days in God’s house.
How can we deepen that experience for ourselves? How do we discern the time needed for our own prayer practice, apart from the ministry we offer to others?
Today on the podcast we discuss the Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharistic Adoration, two experiences of prayer that help us to encounter Christ in deeper ways. I started by calling Brother Louis Canter in the Diocese of Orlando. Brother Louis shares the importance of the Liturgy of the Hours for his prayers, his struggles and his calling upon the saints every day.
Next I called Ed Becker. Ed is a contemporary Catholic songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist with over 45 years of experience in music ministry. His broad experience includes everything from singing the Latin high mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington DC to leading thousands of teens in song for youth masses at Six Flags and King's Dominion amusement parks.
Today Ed shares his experience both composing for, leading and experiencing the prayer at Eucharistic Adoration. His time praying at the Blessed Sacrament has clearly impacted him, and he’s glad to share the wisdom- and the music- that he has found as a result.
SHOW NOTES
Bio- Brother Louis Canter
E. Louis Canter, OEF serves as a Pastoral Assistant for two parishes in the Lakeland Florida area. He is a composer with OCP, WLP and ILP publishers and belongs to an Ecumenical Franciscan Community.
Brother Louis also offered a “Thursday Thoughts at 3” reflection for NPM titled “Music, Cancer & Recovery: Body, Mind and Spirit”. You can watch it here.
BIO- Ed Becker
Ed Becker is a contemporary Catholic songwriter, singer and multi-instrumentalist with over 45 years of experience in music ministry. His broad experience includes everything from singing the Latin high mass at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington DC to leading thousands of teens in song for youth masses at Six Flags and King's Dominion amusement parks. He has performed for national events such as the National Catholic Youth Ministry convention in Denver and the Eucharistic Congress at the DC Convention Center. His music has been distributed by Heartbeat Records and John Michael Talbot's "Troubadour" label and he recently released his fourth full length CD and songbook titled, "Psalms Volume 2."
Though his undergrad degree was engineering, Mr. Becker studied music theory and composition at the University of Md. He later earned most of his theology undergraduate credits from Franciscan University before completing his graduate certificate in sacred scripture from Catholic Distance University. When not playing liturgical music or teaching CCD, he enjoys spending time with family and "shredding" on his collection of electric guitars. Ed lives in Springfield Va. with his wife Tina, their youngest daughter Melanie and their cat Sasha.
Please enjoy the video Ed references in this episode, “In Your Presence”, by clicking here.
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