The Indian Advocate. (Sacred Heart Mission, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 7, No. 3, Ed. 1, Monday, July 1, 1895 Page: 3 of 28
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THE INDIAN ADVOCATE.
51
Wo notice the babo in its mother's
arms express its sense of pain by its
wail of sorrow; and when it utters its
inarticulate cry of joy the mother
knows that the sunshine of pleasure
and light is beaming upon the soul of
her child.
"And what n music it is to the mother's ear
"Baby's cry of joy! "
When the mother bears her first-
born in her arms the voice of nature
is awakened within her then she will
bo heard crooning to her little one if
never before her voice has been lifted
in melody.
When the heart of youth or maiden
throbs in the ecstasy of first-love all
nature becomes a sweet song and their
thoughts seek expression in harmony.
Music and love are in unison. And
what shall wo say of the heavenly
melodies heard in the depth of the soul
at the moment of their vocation by
such as arc called to a religious life !
Let us notice that even from the
beginning man has always been accus-
tomed to express his emotions of joy or
sorrow by song. Adam had not yet
finished his earthly pilgrimage when
Tubal-Cain invented stringed and wind
instruments. When the anguish of
Cain seemed beyond endurance can
you not imagine Tubal soothing him by
the sweet strains of melody and bring-
ing peace to his sore and weary heart
and by the same sweet strains give vent
to his own sorrows; and may we not
suppose that God permitted that music
should for this reason start from out
the most unhappy of men ?
Music intensifies love and that is the
reason why the Church has alwavs
recognized and from the earliest ages
has striven to move the affections of
man towards God by the sweet strains
of her " Sacred Music." As we enter
the Sanctuary we hear the melodi-
ous tones of the organ or the pious
song of the choir and on the tide of
sacred music our souls are lifted up
ward until wo almost seem to catch the
strains of the angelic music of the City
of God.
NO DHEAM IS THIS.
Itoyond that radiance golden
God's sons I see; his armies bright and strong
The ensanguined Martyrs now with palms
high-holden
The Virgins there a lily-lifting throng!
The splendors nearer draw. In choral blending
The Prophets' and the Apostles' chant I hear;
I see the 'Salem of the just descending
With gates of pearl and diamond bastions
sheer.
Thus we address the Almighty with
hymns of praise considering music as
one of the golden links that unite man
with his Creator.
Music makes the altar of our devo-
tion burn with a purer and holier flame.
Hear St. Augustine on this subject:
"0 my God! when the sweet voice of
the congregation broke upon mine ear
how I wept over Thy hymns of praise !
The sound poured into mine ears and
Thy truth entered mine heart. Then
glowed within me the spirit of devotion
tears poured fourth and I rejoiced."
Music was the consolation of the
early Christians. It was the language
of the soul by which the captive and
the persecuted gave expression to the
divine rapture which upheld them at
the stake on the cross and in the
horrid arena in which the white hairs
of old age and the tender bosom of
youth and beauty stood face to face
with the ravenous animals designed by
barbarian cruelty to devour them.
Many a pagan was led to Christ by the
anthems of victory in the presence of
cruel death. Tho statue of Apollo was
overthrown and at the tomb of a gentle
martyr the early Christians chanted
their hymns in memory of St. Cecilia
the tutelary Saint of the art of music.
"Ah Cecilia! Thou didst draw down
the angels from heaven; they hovered
near when thy pure soul sounded the
praises of God. How sweet must thy
ii
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The Indian Advocate. (Sacred Heart Mission, Okla. Terr.), Vol. 7, No. 3, Ed. 1, Monday, July 1, 1895, newspaper, July 1, 1895; Sacred Heart Mission, Oklahoma Territory. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc69759/m1/3/: accessed March 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.