My Dear Friends,

       Beauty speaks of the Divine.  

       Have you ever invited a guest into Little Flower and seen their expression when they behold the majesty of our church for the first time? Last year, there was a young lady who had just arrived from Cuba whom I took into the church to say a prayer of thanksgiving for her safe arrival. Seeing the expression on her face as she took in the wonder of this sacred space, you would think she was walking into St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time. It’s that this space and its beauty speaks of God, lifts up our souls to God, and helps us concentrate on the Divine Realities happening before us. 

The same can be said of good music. Have you ever been moved by a musical piece in this church that it moves you to tears? It happened to me (three times!) just last week. That is the beauty of music and of art: it is supposed to be transcendent. Last week, I was moved by a song sung by our Schola at 10:30 a.m. Mass, by 2 little girls singing in unison and perfect harmony at our 9:00 a.m. Mass, and by a group of families who gathered to sing at our 12:30 p.m. Mass. To say nothing of the brilliant work done by our 5:30 p.m. choir week in and week out that causes people to stay in their pews until they are done singing the recessional hymn. 

Last weekend was indeed a musical weekend because it started out with the return of the Little Flower Concert Series on Friday night as we hosted the Seraphic Fire Vocal Ensemble.
Hearing them sing classical pieces with strings and a harpsichord accompanying the choir
reminded me of one of the primary missions of the Church: to communicate the beauty of God. That is done so magnificently through music and art. For this reason, the Church has always been a patron of the arts. You think of the classical Mass settings composed by the greatest musicians in history, or the works of arts commissioned by popes like the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. You listen to that music or walk into those sacred spaces, and you are moved into the eternal.  

We are indeed proud to bring back the Little Flower Concert Series after the pandemic to be able to host these talented artists singing some of the greatest works ever composed. I want to draw your attention to two particularly significant concerts coming up next month. On December 1, we are going to host the FIU School of Music as they perform Handel’s Messiah in our church. If you have never heard Handel’s Messiah and its glorious Hallelujah in person, please do yourself, and your soul, a favor and be present when this concert is done. The Hallelujah once caused King George II to rise to his feet when it premiered in London prompting the entire audience to do the same. Why? Because once again, beauty speaks of the Divine. 

Seraphic Fire returns for their Christmas concert on Friday, December 16th for a program that you definitely do not want to miss. More information and tickets can be found at LFconcerts.org on a very nice webpage we designed to highlight our commitment to continue to lift up souls to heaven through music.  

St. Cecilia, patroness of music and musicians, pray for us. 

God bless you all,