“Indeed, the condition of human nature is just this; man towers above the rest of creation so long as he realizes his own nature, and when he forgets it, he sinks lower than the beasts. For other living things to be ignorant of themselves, is natural; but for man it is a defect.”
― Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy
PSALM 33
1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of
him!
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to
nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear
him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death
and keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart is glad in him,
because we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
even as we hope in you.
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
Claude Monet
The Magpie is the largest of approximately 140 snowscapes painted by Monet. This painting features one of the first examples of Monet using colored shadows to represent the actual, changing conditions of light and shadow in nature.
1
Claude Monet (1840-1970) was born in Paris, though he later moved to Normandy when he was five to live with an older brother. He did not like being confined to a classroom and preferred being outside. He loved drawing from an early age and would draw caricatures of the people in his town. When he decided to study painting, he moved back to Paris. Monet was one of the most famous painters in art history and one of the founders of the Impressionist style. It was not uncommon for Monet to paint the same view of a subject several times to capture it in different lighting, sometimes lining up canvases and painting as quickly as he could. Some of Monet’s favorite subjects were the gardens around his home.
2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
| “Waltz in D-flat Major,” Op. 64 No. 1 |
Frédéric Chopin’s Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64, No. 1, commonly known as the “Minute Waltz,” was actually named Valse du petit chien — “Waltz of the Little Dog.” He dedicated the piece to one of his former students, a Polish countess named Delfina Potocka, and he maintained a close friendship with her until his death in 1849.
3
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) was a Polish French composer and pianist of the Romantic period, best known for his solo pieces for piano and his piano concerti. Although he wrote little but piano works, many of them brief, Chopin ranks as one of music’s greatest tone poets by reason of his superfine imagination and fastidious craftsmanship.4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Chopin ‘Minute Waltz’ Op. 64 No. 1 in D Flat Major.” Philadelphia Piano Institute, philadelphiapianoinstitute.com/chopin-waltz-dflat-major-minute-waltz. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.
↩︎ - “Frédéric Chopin.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 13 Jan. 2025, http://www.britannica.com/biography/Frederic-Chopin. ↩︎
Providence School of Tifton 