This past November, the Community here in Minnesota had the pleasure of hosting Fr. Martin Lagacé for a weekend of workshops on how to improve and enrich both Praise and the Liturgy. Fr Martin is an Emmanuel Priest from Quebec City. He has a beautiful zeal for the Lord and the gift of Praise as well as great musical talent. We were encouraged by the teachings he presented to us.
A particular aspect of what He shared with us was that our praise is a sacrifice that we offer to God. It draws us out of ourselves and into the reality of who He is. It draws our hearts to Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving leads us to joy. We had opportunities to practice the various musical techniques that help to make praise a bit fuller musically and several of our members pleasantly discovered that they had unrealized musical abilities (One of our members made a smashing debut on the cajon and he had never played it before!) We were able to put our practice to use in several times of praise and it was beautiful to experience the fullness and joy of these times. Even the children were able to participate with egg shakers!
In addition to these formal times together as brothers and sisters we were able to enjoy times of fellowship with Fr. Martin including a night to make music just for fun. We are so grateful for the sacrifice of His time and gifts to help us to more fully praise in the Community. It was truly a gift!
It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to your name, O Most High.
~Psalm 92:1
Autumn (MN)
Praising through song is praying twice!!