Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us,
now and in the hour of our death. Amen.
I’ve been thinking about the spiritual soundtrack of my life, reflecting on songs I learned and sang as a child in church and while singing in choirs, all the way through college and into adulthood to the present day. I am especially thankful for the songs I learned early in life that were prayers set to music. I remember singing “The Lord’s Prayer” on many occasions and in numerous settings, including an audition for a partial music scholarship and a place in the college choir.
Thinking about the songs I learned growing up—“Cantate Domino,” “Be Thou My Vision,” Handel’s “Messiah,” lots of Amy Grant songs … and as I happen to be simultaneously learning to pray the rosary, it occurred to me that a prayer song to Mary was missing from my spiritual soundtrack. Or was it!? Then I actually remembered the early ‘90s version of “Ave Maria” performed by Aaron Neville. I LOVED that song and recognized it as a deeply spiritual song, but it only just occurred to me what the song was about. It’s the Hail Mary prayer! Growing up as a Protestant, I wasn’t taught the Hail Mary prayer. Or was I?! The Aaron Neville version of the song, sung in Latin, has stayed with me for 30 years and counting. So I did learn it through that song when I was very young. It’s the full understanding of the prayer that is now beginning to unfold.
This past Tuesday at the Prayer Experience Series, we listened to and prayed Ave Maria as a group. That experience will stay with me forever and ever on the spiritual soundtrack of my life. What songs are on your spiritual soundtrack?
—Angie Pierce Jennings, Prairiewoods hosted groups and hospitality coordinator