I went to a performance of Handel’s “Messiah” about 30 years ago. It was in Princeton NJ. I had heard this music before, it is often played around Christmas. But I had only heard it one time before that being sung live.
I am often moved by great music. I remember being moved to tears one dark night in my car, driving through the woods to home, and hearing Pavorotti singing “Ave Maria.” He hit a certain note in the song and it just touched my soul. The tears that flowed were from joy, and they were instant. I remember feeling so grateful to be touched in this way. It comforted me that winter when I was having a difficult time emotionally.
I have noticed that the inspired works of religious people over the centuries are often truly amazing and deeply felt. And you don’t have to be religious to feel it. Anyone who has stood inside the walls of one of the world’s great cathedrals knows this. I live near New York City and have been able to visit Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Ave often. I feel a sense of awe when I stand in that tall church, it’s hard not to feel your spirit drawn upwards to the high-arched ceiling. The beautiful statues that line the sides of the cathedral are wonderful too. I am not Catholic, but this place moves me.
My husband and I would take our children to St. Patrick’s and we would visit the collection of votive…
