“Brother, the power of love, which is our bliss,
Calms all our will. What we desire, we have.
There is in us no other thirst than this.
Were we to wish for any higher sphere,
Then our desires would not be in accord
With the high will of Him who wills us here;
And if love is our whole being, and if you weigh
Love’s nature well, then you will see that discord
Can have no place among these circles.
Nay, the essence of this blessed state of being
Is to hold all our will within His will,
Whereby our wills are one and all-agreeing.
And so the posts we stand from sill to sill
Throughout this realm, please all the realm as much
As they please Him who wills us to His will.
In His will is our peace. It is that sea
To which all moves, all that Itself creates
And Nature bears through all Eternity.”
― Dante, The Divine Comedy
EPHESIANS 6:1-9
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.
A PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
ART APPRECIATION
As one looks at The Cornfield, which Constable commonly referred to as “The Drinking Boy,” one can imagine themself as the little child taking a drink from the cool stream. 1
John Constable (1776-1837) is considered one of the finest English landscape artists, along with J.M.W. Turner. While many artists of his day traveled throughout Europe to find the most beautiful scenery, Constable never left England. He is best known for his landscapes of the countryside around his boyhood home in Suffolk County. He developed a unique style which combined objective studies of nature with his personal love of the countryside.
2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
“Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin
“Rhapsody in Blue” stands out as one of the great symphonic contributions of 20th century classical music, certifying its author’s place in the history books as one of the most celebrated American composers of his era.
3
George Gershwin (1898-1937) was one of the most significant and popular American composers of all time. He wrote primarily for the Broadway musical theatre, but important as well are his orchestral and piano compositions in which he blended, in varying degrees, the techniques and forms of classical music with the stylistic nuances and techniques of popular music and jazz.4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- Linton, Siena, and Classic FM. “Rhapsody in Blue: How Gershwin’s Hastily Composed ‘Jazz Concerto’ Became His Greatest Masterpiece.” Classic FM, Classic FM, 12 Feb. 2024, http://www.classicfm.com/composers/gershwin/how-wrote-rhapsody-in-blue-history/. ↩︎
- “George Gershwin.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 21 Oct. 2024, http://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Gershwin. ↩︎
Providence School of Tifton 