About (original version)

First Things…

… first.  God wants you know how much He loves you.   For that reason, while the content of this site is music and reflections, the purpose of this site is silence.  We hope this site helps you enter into mental (silent) prayer – as demonstrated by Christ and universally proclaimed by the Church as the sure path to grow ever closer to Jesus.

The Basics for Experiencing this Site

Enjoying and growing in prayer with this site is simple.  Song pages include streaming audio of the songs, song lyrics, reflections embedded in the lyrics (click on highlighted phrases), and suggested scripture for meditation (quoted in the reflections).  Here’s a suggested method for using a song to lead into mental prayer (or click here for more detail).

  • Pray to the Holy Spirit to guide your time of prayer
  • Select a song
  • Read a reflection (by clicking on a highlighted lyric) while listening
  • Choose a suggested scripture passage (from the end of the reflection) that connects with you
  • Continue to meditate on that scripture, in sacred silence, after the song ends

Songs are provided in two versions – the song alone and the song continuing into an approximately 5-minute passage of reflective background music (for many people, soft ambient music aids the transition to a more meditative place).

Thus the intent of the songs, reflection and scripture are to turn our minds, senses and hearts to holy things.

Reveries are simple musical and written reflections to offer additional inspiration for thought and prayer.

Interior Life provides brief explanations of the many terms and concepts we encounter in Christian spirituality.

 

Why “Inspiring Songs”?

Sing gratefully to God from your hearts in psalms, hymns and inspired songs”    Colossians 3:16

Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and inspired songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father    Ephesians 5:19,20

 

Inspiring Songs takes its name from the above scripture which call on us to address God and one another with inspired songs.

The Latin origin of the word “inspire” is In Sprirare, and is remarkably beautiful.  In – into.  Sprirare – breathe.  Thus, to inspire is to “breathe into”.

This definition has two particular inferences for the songs and reflections on this website.  First, we pledge that each song was borne of much prayer and contemplation.  To the best of our ability to discern, each of these songs was breathed into us.  Does “inspiration” mean that the songs are musically good?  Well, music is a subjective experience (beauty is in the eye – and ear – of the beholder), so we leave that judgement to you – dear listener.  We can only attest that we’ve given the best of ourselves to meticulously craft these songs, and this site overall, with the goal of glorifying God and building up this community.

The second inference speaks to the hope that these songs, reflections and sharing from the community will breathe the Spirit of faith, hope and love into each visitor.

 

Additional Thoughts for Experiencing This Site

Our faith journeys are a tapestry of experiences and insights.  Growth in our interior lives is a continuum of growth in faith, trust, prayer, discernment, sacrifice and on and on.  No one aspect of our spiritual life stands alone; no one aspect can flourish if another is fading.  Mother Teresa gave a timeless expression of this interconnectedness:

“The fruit of Silence is prayer.   The fruit of Prayer is faith.   The fruit of Faith is love.   The fruit of Love is service.   The fruit of Service is peace”.

This chain of virtue and blessedness goes on and on, and circles back upon itself (someone with interior peace will also have interior silence, which will lead to more prayer, more faith, more love, more service, more peace, more silence, more prayer….).

In a similar way the songs and related material on this site are interconnected.  They form a tapestry of methods, challenges and fruits the spiritual life.  No one song stands alone.  Reflections are primarily drawn from sacred scripture and the Tradition of the Church (great Saints, Doctors and early Fathers); we hope you find these pearls of Christian wisdom as edifying as we do.

The key is to open yourself to the Holy Spirit and offer yourself through the gift of spending time alone with God.  As noted above, when a song is over, continue reflecting and listening, but now in sacred silence and with trust in the reality that God is there with you, speaking into your heart.  At different points in time listen and pray with different songs and scripture, as led by the Spirit and whatever is going on in your life and moving in your heart.

 

About Us

We are Steve and Karen Smith.  We have been very fortunate for Christ to turn his gaze on us and work through events in our lives to draw us to him, bring us together, bless us with a beautiful family and bring us into the wonderful faith community at St. Louis Parish.  This apostolate is an outgrowth and expression of the goodness of God.

 

We are very grateful to Rev. Erik Arnold (Pastor, Our Lady of Perpetual Help) for his spiritual review and direction.

This apostolate operates under the guidance and protection of our Spiritual Board of Directors .

But, this aposotolate also operates under the rules and regulations of the United States … so by using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

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Fr. Jacques Phillippe’s deceptively brief  – Time for God – provides an excellent summary on the importance of, and mindset necessary for, mental prayer (specifically meditation and contemplation – mental prayer is silent prayer, but not all silent prayer is mental prayer; for example you could silently offer prayers of petition).

Fr. Phillippe makes it clear that it is the unanimous wisdom of the Saints (and the repeated example of Jesus himself) that routine, mental prayer is an absolute necessity for progress in our spiritual life.  "Through the study of books one seeks, God; by meditation one finds Him." (St. Padre Pio)  Fr. Phillippe goes on to explain a few very key concepts, summarized below.

Christian mental prayer is fundamentally different from eastern varieties of meditation (yoga, buddism, etc.).  In Christian mental prayer we open ourselves up to the Triune God so that he can do his work in us. Mental prayer (contemplation in particular) is a gift from God.  All we can do is offer our will (by making ourselves present to God), everything else is up to God.  Nonetheless, there are certain dispositions that will help us be present with God (just as they would help us be present in any other relationship):

Faith – trust that God is there even if it doesn’t “feel” like it.  God is operating in the spiritual realm, the realm of our soul, whether we feel it or not. Mother Teresa is a power testimony to this – her soul was in communion with God even if for many years she couldn’t feel His presence.

Purity – we pray not to find self-fulfillment or self-satisfaction, but to please God (though by His great generosity, our act of prayer does indeed put us on a path of peace and happiness in this life).  Those who love God purely won’t be troubled if it seems like mental prayer “isn’t working”.  Even though we can’t love God purely we should aspire to, and aim for it and practice it as well as we can (don’t let the enemy discourage you).

Humility – “God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5) and “The whole edifice of prayer is founded upon humility”, so says St. Teresa of Avila.  It is very difficult for us to accept that we are so poor (spiritually); that is why people naturally tend to avoid silence. Humble people are never discouraged because they trust not in themselves but in God.

Persistence - finally our progress in prayer is very dependent on our persistence. It is worth noting that our Christian tradition identifies an order to prayer, starting with persistence (or consistency).  First comes consistency, which leads to quality, which leads to quantity:

  1. Consistency – the same as persistence.  We have to prioritize God.  Be faithful to a set time of mental prayer (at least 15 minutes at the same time each day – building up from shorter periods of time if necessary).
  2. Quality – like anything else in life quality will come over time.  It may take a day, weeks or months.  Have faith that the fruit of consistency is quality; in God's time mental prayer will become a natural part of your day.
  3. Quantity – once consistency and quality are achieved for a shorter period of silent prayer, you can increase to longer periods of time (and the cycle will repeat itself of maintaining consistency, which will bring quality and then more quantity…).

SPIRITUAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS

HEAVENLY FATHER:  That this apostolate may glorify Him and help convert, strengthen and console the souls of many.

JESUS CHRIST:  That He may be may be the Way, the Truth and Life for everyone touched by this apostolate.

HOLY SPIRIT:  The movement, inspiration and protection of the Holy Spirit is the guiding light for this apostolate. Thus the flame in our emblem.

Blessed Virgin Mary:  She has been an aid in the conversion for so many.  Her maternal guidance is always steering all things to her Son.  Her presence is signified by the blue wisps in our emblem’s flame.

Saint Joseph:  Much of the initial inspiration for this apostolate occurred during a novena to St. Joseph.  His quiet presence, his confidence in God’s call, his steadfastness in doing God’s will are great sources of inspiration.

Saint Augustine:  One of the Church’s greatest philosophers.  The gifts of wisdom imparted through the tradition of the Church are woven into the prayers, reflections and lyrics found in Interior Life.

St. Cecelia and Pope St. Gregory the Great – The two great patron saints of music.

Saint Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross:  The Doctors of Prayer and Mystical Theology.  Prayer (particularly silent, mental prayer) is the fuel of this apostolate.

Saint Jose Maria Escriva:  Christ through His incarnation sanctified the work of our hands.  Along with Saint Joseph, Saint Josemaria provides a fine example of how our work sanctifies us, and turning our daily activities into a “loving dialogue” with God.  Years of praying with this wonderful saint and his writings laid the early groundwork for this apostolate.

Pope St. John Paul II:  That this apostolate may be an effective instrument of the New Evangelization.

Blessed James Alberione, Venerable Fulton Sheen and Blessed Carlos Acutis:  The patrons and protectors of this Apostolate – for their deep holiness and gifts of spreading the Gospel through modern media.

Our Guardian Angels and all Intercessors:  The angels and cloud of witnesses interceding for us all.