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Moe Bandy was a popular country singer in the 80s and 90s. Some of his songs were pretty wild. But this is a Gospel number called "Many Mansions." It relates the Biblical concept to homelessness, which has not really improved since this was released (1989).

As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord, we are called to bear fruit and become disciples because we love – though this isn’t always easy How do we proclaim the Good News about Jesus when we think there is just too much happening around us and in the world? The answer is never the same and will vary from person to person. Still, the overall message of this Gospel, suggests this simple response: We show up. We love others. We share the Good News with others. We speak and act in ways that support this message of love. In our Gospel, Jesus is addressing us. Twice, he says, “I am,” reminding us that God knows our hearts. There is no need to hide from God, no need to hide those parts of ourselves of which we are ashamed. Instead, this truth, this love, draws us nearer to God. It allows us to see those parts we think cannot be restored and instead allows us to run to the Father, allows us to abide in God. Our Second Reading reminds us that if we love one another, God lives in us. There is no secret we can keep from God. But what is love? We can look to the One who sent Jesus into the world to die for us to create a clear example of love. A love that empowers us to act in ways that seek the well-being of all. Imagine the following: You walk into any nursery or vineyard and there you encounter different individuals caring and tending to the needs of every vine. The vine grower tends to them all, making no exceptions! The vine grower is aware of what each vine needs to bear fruit. The vine grower loves the branches. Similarly, God examines our hearts, provides for us, and can also remove those parts of ourselves that bear no fruit. If the vine grower worries about all the vines and knows that every branch can bear fruit, then the pruning becomes a special and necessary part of the growth process. Pruning will change the outcome for the vine, and it will change our outcomes, too. When we remain in God, we invite God into our lives – however messy that may be. When we remain in God, we are empowered to seek our place in this world, loving others, living into the mission of the Church, restoring all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. It is a slow and transformational relationship between the vine grower and the branches. We cannot do this work alone. We have Jesus’ example of love by being in relationship with people. We have the disciples’ example of love by following Jesus, even amid their own shortcomings. Our world needs people who are capable of this love because a church that only condemns and only sees sin would not truly be the church. It would not be transformed by grace or mercy. There would be no opportunity for restoring our brokenness. As God transforms us, we transform the world. Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador knew what it meant to be transformed by love; he knew what it meant to be with the people of his country and knew that speaking the truth would likely cause his death; he knew that loving the people of El Salvador meant that his actions and words mattered. He is reported to have said, “If a man knows how to detach from himself and knows how to love, he is a saint; if a man speaks too much about holiness but does not know how to love, he is no saint.” This is how we love. When we remain in God, God remains in us. God remain in our relationships. God transforms. God will allow us to bear fruit.

From Saint Meinrad Archabbey's Facebook page, news that NINETEEN deacons were ordained for the archdiocese of Hanoi on April 23rd. The Church in Viet Nam is thriving. "Saint Meinrad The good work of Saint Meinrad extends worldwide! Archbishop Joseph Vũ Văn Thiên of Hanoi said gracious words of thanks (in English!) for Saint Meinrad Seminary and for our Father Rector Denis Robinson, OSB at yesterday's (23 April) ordination Mass of Hung Tran (2023 alumnus) and nineteen more newly ordained deacons for Hanoi!" There's an accompanying video on the FB page, but I didn't post it here.

Mississippi John Hurt is best known for singing the blues, but he also sang Gospel. This is "I Shall Not Be Moved." It was adopted by the folk movement and became an anthem for people like Pete Seeger, but it actually originated in Gospel, based on the very first psalm.

My cousin died last night; this one's for him. It's the Bahamian spiritual "I Bid You Goodnight," often referred to as "Lay Down, My Dear Brother." You might know The Grateful Dead's version, but I prefer Aaron Neville's gentler and more heartfelt rendition (with his brothers, of course!). Interesting side note - this album and all the songs on it were produced by Linda Ronstadt.

Book of the day (Wednesday, 24th of April 2024) Eucharistic Miracles by Joan Carroll Cruz Source: Free Catholic Books Pope St John Paul II Open EPUB files with Skoob EPUB reader on Android from Google Play

The Blind Boys of Alabama sing "Ain't Nobody's Fault But Mine."

I can find very little information about Gloria Bailey other than the fact that she was born and raised in Louisville and died in 2021. This song, "When He Calls Me" in interesting for a couple of reasons. Her voice is not a typical Gospel Music voice; the music is so simple as to be almost a folk song; the instrumentation is almost country; and she has a very interesting accent - when I first heard her, I thought she might be from Jamaica or somewhere in the Caribbean.

Bob Ferguson wrote "On the Wings of a Dove" in 1958. Ferlin Husky recorded & released it in 1960. It spent 12 weeks at Number 1 on the country charts, and also crossed over to the pop charts where it attained #12. Sing along, or clap along, as you see fit.

"Where Could I Go But to the Lord?" was written by James Buchanan under the name J. B. Coats. It's considered Country Gospel, but it was inspired by a Black man, Buchanan's neighbor, Joe Keys. Keys was dying, and Buchanan asked him if he knew where he was going to spend eternity; Mr. Keys replied, "Where could I go but to the Lord." Which are actually St. Peter's words in today's Gospel. Buchanan wrote the song years later. This is a pretty straightforward version of it - good voices, good enunciation, nice fiddling, nice harmony.

"Title IX was meant to protect female students from sex discrimination, "Sadly, the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule does the exact opposite and makes it harder for schools to protect women. "Today, the Biden administration redefined the definition of a ‘woman.' "This means that biological women now have zero safe spaces and no real identity." "Regardless of the propaganda being pushed by the left, men and women are biologically different. We’ve seen how Joe Biden's vision for female sports will result in two teams – one team of men and another team of folks that used to be men."

Smokey Robinson is one of America's greatest singers and songwriters, and has been for over 50 years. (Say "Amen!," somebody!) In this video, he sings his Gospel composition "The Road to Damascus." It doesn't tell the story; it encourages people to conversion. It's not is "Gospel style." It's in Smokey Robinson style - it sounds similar to his pop songs. And I like that.

The word “shepherd” comes through strongly this morning. We hear the word a total of five times in the Gospel, and it’s a familiar image – Jesus as a shepherd is frequently depicted in scripture and art. Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd is the most familiar psalm, Most of us don’t regularly interact with sheep – certainly not as often as those who lived in Jesus’ time. When we think of the image, it’s likely one of a clean Jesus dressed in a white robe, carrying a lamb on his shoulders. The reality of sheep of course is quite different. For example – sheep are not easy to train. They are simple, gentle spirits who scare easily. Their depth perception isn’t very good – so they often have to rely on someone showing them the way through a gate. Also, the picture we have in our minds of Jesus as the good shepherd often paints us as being good sheep. When Jesus is depicted carrying a lamb on his shoulders, I think it is likely that the lamb is bleating for dear life even wriggling around, trying to get free. Maybe if we’re honest with ourselves, we might find that closer to our own experiences, too. Maybe you like to believe that when Jesus carries you, you are well-behaved and soft in reality, though, perhaps all of us bleat and wriggle a whole lot, finding it hard to give up control. Though we know Jesus is the good shepherd, it can still be hard for us to fully trust him. We lay down our lives when we put someone else’s needs above our own. We lay down our lives when we say “yes” to service in some way, giving our time to a good cause. We lay down our lives, finally, when we give up control, when we stop wriggling and bleating and, instead, relax, trusting that God is taking us to a good, green pasture, that God is leading us beside still waters. Laying down our lives is hard because it challenges our sense of ego. It requires us to know our place as the sheep, not the shepherd. Sometimes, when we ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” we put ourselves on par with God – forgetting that God is God and that we are not. We forget that God is good beyond our imagining, kind beyond our understanding, instead making the mistake of demystifying God, when sometimes being in awe of the mysterious Divine keeps us humble in our faith. When Jesus lays down his life for us, He is full of humble service. The good shepherd doesn’t fight off the attackers; he doesn’t lock the sheep away, so as not to be harmed. The good shepherd travels alongside us, willing to accompany us, to lay down and behave like us, to face death, just so we would know we are not alone. Our shepherd is good, even though we might not be. We are sheep – neither fully good nor fully bad. Perhaps annoying at times, perhaps simple at times. But who we are pales in comparison to who God is. Jesus is the good shepherd, and we are the sheep. We lay down our lives when we live into that relationship, when we trust that our shepherd sees things we do not, and knows things we do not, and has foresight that we do not. Our invitation this morning is, perhaps, to lay down those burdens we have been carrying, to lay down our lives, to remember that Jesus is our good shepherd, and we are all just sheep. Through the ministry of the Church, the shepherd still speaks and forgives sins, and makes His body and blood present, that all may know Him in the breaking of the bread. It is a mission that will continue until all the world is one flock under the one shepherd. In laying down His life and taking it up again, Jesus made it possible for us to know God as He did—as sons and daughters of the Father who loves us. As we hear in today’s Secon Reading, He calls us His children, This morning, be assured that Jesus is carrying us – carrying you – on his own shoulders. May that knowledge – may that assurance be a blessing.

"Down in the River to Pray" is a old standard. It got cross-over famous in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou." But that's been 24 years ago. Like a lot of folk songs, it has a very simple structure lyrically and melodically. But you know what they say, "The simpler the chords, the richer the harmonies." This is the version recorded by Alison Krauss and a choir, for the movie. I also like the old photographs in this particular video.

Michael Smith has been a singer-songwriter in the Chicago folk music scene for decades. This is his performance of his song "Sister Clarissa."

"Where the Soul Never Dies" is a standard - even a classic. Today's first reading is the stoning of Stephen, so I figure this is appropriate even if it's not all that new or different. It is sung by Heather Berry and Tony Mabe - they have different last names but they're married. Heather has a pretty voice and she plays guitar; Tony plays guitar, banjo, and piano, as well as singing. They have a YouTube channel where they post a song a day. They're not all Gospel songs, but a lot of them are.

As I've mentioned before, the Carter Family (AP, Sarah, and Maybelle) recorded a lot of Gospel songs. In 2004, somebody produced a Carter Family tribute album called The Unbroken Circle. It included "On the Sea of Galilee" by Emmylou Harris and the Peasall Sisters. They provide the innocent, angelic voices on this song. Back in 2004, they were 8 to 12 years old I'd guess, but they're all grown up now and they don't sound like this any more. Anyway, the song doesn't have a real clear point; it's mostly personal reflection/questioning, but it's very pleasant to listen to and sing along with, especially if you want practice singing harmonies.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/untold-story-real-aunt-jemima-fight-preserve-legacy/story?id=72293603

Several descendants of women who played “Aunt Jemima” are speaking out against the Quaker Oats food company’s decision to rebrand its Aunt Jemima breakfast line. https://www.blackenterprise.com/great-grandson-of-aunt-jemima-calls-attempt-to-abandon-brand-a-great-injustice/ to her family.

Here's an interesting but sad vocation story. Brother Kyle joined the Trappist abbey of Mepkin in South Carolina in September '22. He was clothed as a novice in November '23. Then he developed cancer. He was allowed to profess solemn vows on February 18, '24. He died March 5, '24. https://mepkinabbey.org/obituary-for-brother-kyle-berceau/

The Dixie Hummingbirds have been around a loonnngggg time - since 1928! Here they are singing "If Anybody Asks You Who I Am" (tell 'em I'm a child of God). It's a little on the brief side - the standard pop radio song back in the old days was 2:30 or so - but it's energetic.

It took 20 seconds to find evidence that this is a hoax. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/06/30/fact-check-aunt-jemima-model-didnt-create-brand-wasnt-millionaire/3241656001/

Handmaids of the Precious Blood just had a first profession. http://nunsforpriests.org/news/ In addition to Sr. Maria Crucis of St. St.Joseph who just made her profession they now have 4 in formation, one novice, one postulant and two aspirants.

Rev. Cleophus Robinson was one of the great Gospel singers. This is, arguably, his greatest hit, "Wrapped Up, Tied Up, Tangled Up (in Jesus)." It's got what I call "that walking beat" - slow, but steady and strong. To me, that beat expresses perseverance.