Jesus, Lover of My Soul

Wis 11:22-12:2

Before the LORD the whole universe is as a grain from a balance
or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth.
But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things;
and you overlook people's sins that they may repent.
For you love all things that are
and loathe nothing that you have made;
for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.
And how could a thing remain, unless you willed it;
or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you?
But you spare all things, because they are yours,
O LORD and lover of souls,
for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little,
warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing,
that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD!

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This was the first Mass reading yesterday. The phrase that caught my attention was “O LORD and lover of souls.” 

It reminds me of the John Wesley hymn “Jesus Lover of My Soul.” It is often set to the Welsh hymn tune “Aberystwyth”. 

If you feel like no one cares about you, these words and this music is for you, for me, for us. 

The Wisdom passage is breath taking. 

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

1. Jesus, lover of my soul,
   Let me to Thy bosom fly,
   While the nearer waters roll,
   While the tempest still is high.
   Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
   Till the storm of life is past;
   Safe into the haven guide;
   Oh, receive my soul at last.
2. Other refuge have I none,
   Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
   Leave, ah! leave me not alone,
   Still support and comfort me.
   All my trust on Thee is stayed,
   All my help from Thee I bring;
   Cover my defenseless head
   With the shadow of Thy wing.
3. Wilt Thou not regard my call?
   Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
   Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—
   Lo! on Thee I cast my care.
   Reach me out Thy gracious hand!
   While I of Thy strength receive,
   Hoping against hope I stand,
   Dying, and behold, I live.
4. Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
   More than all in Thee I find;
   Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
   Heal the sick, and lead the blind.
   Just and holy is Thy Name,
   Source of all true righteousness;
   Thou art evermore the same,
   Thou art full of truth and grace.
5. Plenteous grace with Thee is found,
   Grace to cover all my sin;
   Let the healing streams abound;
   Make and keep me pure within.
   Thou of life the fountain art,
   Freely let me take of Thee;
   Spring Thou up within my heart;
   Rise to all eternity.

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Household music, three Preludes on Welsh Hymn tunes (1920).

No. 1. Crug-Y-Bar: Fantasia. Andante sostenuto
No. 2. St. Denio: Scherzo. Allegro vivace (Start at 4'.50'')
No. 3. Aberystwyth: Variations. Theme: Lento (Start at 8'.09'').

Mozart and Elvis

...and a bit about Mozart’s Catholicism. This is from Wikkepedia, but it seems to have been well researched and unchallenged.

He seems to have been a practicing Catholic.


"Mozart himself believed in regular religious Catholic practices and the need for the sacraments of the church. He was nevertheless less harsh than his father with fasting. He did not consider eating meat on fast days as a great sin but charged that "for me fasting means holding back eating less than usual".[21]

In his letter he wrote his father (Mannheim, 2 February 1778):

I have always had God before my eyes, ... I know myself, and I have such a sense of religion that I shall never do anything which I would not do before the whole world; but I am alarmed at the very thoughts of being in the society of people, during my journey, whose mode of thinking is so entirely different from mine (and from that of all good people). But of course they must do as they please. I have no heart to travel with them, nor could I enjoy one pleasant hour, nor know what to talk about; for, in short, I have no great confidence in them. Friends who have no religion cannot be long our friends.[22][23]”

Of course he could have said this to please his father. It is also possible that his “bad boy” image has obscured the fact of his intense personal faith. People are hardly ever one or the other - either perfectly pious or totally given over to indulgences of the flesh. He could not have written the great amount of music he wrote in his short life if he had been totally given to debauchery. Even so, he did have his interesting character flaws, that’s for sure. Most interesting people have some pretty obvious flaws as well.

I don’t think he could have shown such devotion in his religious works if he hadn’t had a strong faith himself. Listen to his Ave verum corpus or his Magnificat or his Requiem - especially the Lacrimosa, which does make me cry - and maybe you will see what I mean.

Here’s further explanation of his religious feelings.


"Trying to characterize Mozart's religious beliefs, Halliwell writes, "An educated guess at the totality of Mozart's beliefs based on reconciling the motley evidence would probably posit a broad belief in Christianity, but impatience with many of the requirements of the Catholic church."[20] MacIntyre suggests that Mozart "seems to have been a freethinking Catholic with a private relationship to God."[24]”


The article explains how Mozart could have been both a faithful Catholic and a Freemason.

"Freemasonry was banned by the Catholic Church in a Papal Bull entitled In eminenti apostolatus issued by Pope Clement XII on 28 April 1738. The ban, however, "was published and came into force only in the Papal States, Spain, Portugal, and Poland."[14] It was not promulgated in Austria, where Mozart lived, until 1792 (after Mozart's death). Hence, although the Catholic Church's opposition to Freemasonry would eventually become known in Austria, during Mozart's lifetime "a good Catholic could perfectly well become a Mason," and it is clear that Mozart saw no conflict between these two allegiances.[15]”

So, anyway. There have been various theories about what actually took Mozart’s life at such a young age - only 35. The man wasn’t a Puritan.

https://www.themedicalbag.com/story/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart

Okay, so I am going to make a tacky connection to Elvis. If someone looks only at a person’s behavior in some areas of their life, one may miss what really drives them, what really inspires them to greatness. Sometimes you have to look deeper to see that. You may have to look past what is on the surface to see who they really are.

I had always loved Mozart, but I came to appreciate Elvis much later in life. How did I come to appreciate Elvis? It was through his interpretations of Gospel music that I saw the real Elvis. Well, maybe the bad boy Elvis was also the real Elvis. However, I say that it was his love of God that inspired him as much as it was his love of fame and fortune.

In a way, I have been a performer for most of my life. No, not like Elvis or Mozart, of course. I am not famous - except I do have a small following, some fans who love me and write to me almost daily. So, in a small way I understand what it is like to have an audience and a following.

Well, not here on my blog. Mostly I just talk to myself here, but there are some who stop by. So, howdy to anyone who reads this.

It is a burden in a way to have fans and an audience. A person with followers feels the pressure to love and be loved. He or she feels the pressure to be what the fans want them to be. So, it is easy to kind of rebel against that in other ways - to try to prove that they should not be idolized and followed around as though they were something special.

On the other hand, there is the issue of pride and ego. The performer also wants to be idolized. It gets complicated. It’s even worse when a person is a performer from childhood, as Mozart was.


Anyway, that’s kind of weird to talk about Mozart and Elvis in the same sentence. I’m probably wrong. It’s a heart thing, I guess. I just see deep, religious faith driving both of them, inspiring them.  Because of their bad behavior in other ways, it is easy to miss the fact of their deep love and devotion to God.

Of course, Mozart’s genius was far greater and of a different quality than that of Elvis. So, why are they kind of connected in my mind?  Why do I feel identified with both of them?

Yeah, I’m a little weird, I guess.