Music, prayer and The Power of Your Love

Pope John Paul II is unfortunately not coming to Manila for the event. This bit of news certainly put a damper on all the scheduled activities, but it is still all systems go for the Fourth World Meeting of Families to be held here on January 2003. Everybody is hoping and praying hard that the meeting will still be a success. Loads of help will be forthcoming from Heaven of course plus other places too like music. When a major spiritual gathering like this one is in the offing, you can bet that one thing the organizers can rely on to keep things upbeat will be the music.

Inspirational music will surely be one very active "participant" at the Meeting and it is in anticipation of this that the album The Power of Your Love was recently released. Produced by singer and TV personality Jeanne Young, the album combines music and prayer in one package. Every copy of the CD comes in a beautiful hard-bound book of prayers. Inside are the words of the songs and prayers featured in the recording and others that have become guideposts for many of us over the years.

Leading the line-up of songs in the album is Only Selfless Love. This is a composition by Fr. Carlo Magno Marcelo and it is the official theme song of the Fourth World Meeting of Families. Karylle, Zsa Zsa Padilla’s equally talented daughter and the Best New Female Artist at the recent Awit Awards performs Only Selfless Love with Jed Maddela plus Ronald Oporto, Bikey Oporto, PJ Custodio and Jet Nerida of Youth for Christ.

In keeping with the theme set by Only Selfless Love, the other songs in the album carry the message of faith in God and the desire to bring peace and unity to all families. Among these are Power of Your Love by Gino Padilla with The Opera; Mariang Ina Ko by Carol Banawa; Umagang Kay Ganda, with Tillie Moreno and Ray-An Fuentes; Sana by Jolina Magdangal; Please Know, My Child by Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski with her son Robbie; Butterfly Kisses by Nonoy Zuñiga; Papa, Can You Hear Me by Pinky Marquez; Tears in Heaven by D&A; Warrior is a Child by Isay Alvarez and daughter Didang; I Will be Here and Surrender by Jeanne Young; and many more.

As mentioned, you will not only get a whole album of songs that lift the heart with The Power of Your Love but also a handy prayer book. This one contains some from childhood that you might have forgotten but wish to remember again like The Memorare to the Blessed Virgin and the Prayer to the Guardian Angel, plus so many others you will surely find most helpful for all sorts of situations like The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance, Prayer for Healing, Prayer for the Family, Prayer for Forgiveness, Prayer for Priests and so many others.

Take note too that in an effort to inspire unity among people of diverse faiths, the producers of The Power of Your Love included an interfaith prayer for peace section. This is made up of the Muslim Prayer in Arabic rendered by Prof. Taha Basman, the Philippine Islamic Council Secretary General and the Prayer in Hindi by Yogita Sharma.

Free Classical Concert

On the concert scene: The San Miguel Foundation presents Suites de Ballets et Scenes de Films, an evening of great compositions performed by the San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of music director and principal conductor Maestro Julian Quirit at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo of the Cultural Center of the Philippines along Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City tomorrow, Sept. 28, at 8 p.m.

In store for concert-goers is an interesting program of masterworks that have become very familiar from the ballet, theater and the movies, and commercials. These are the Intermedio from the zarzuela La Boda de Luis Alonso by Jeronimo Gimenez y Bellido, the Infernal Dance of King Katschei from Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and the complete Carmina Burana by Carl Orff which will also feature The San Miguel Master Chorale.

Admission is free but they have run out of tickets for this particular performance. So just keep tab on announcements of forthcoming concerts and take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy an evening of fine music for free.