"Sing to the Lord, a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth" Ps 95:1
Mosteiro do Salvador - Coutos, Bahia
The ringing of the bells hastens the steps of the Benedictine nuns of the Mosteiro do Salvador, as they are preparing for their daily prayers. In their life in the cloister, with the gigantic mission of praising God and Interceding for the whole world, the nuns ceaselessly seek the face of God through the Divine Office, the prayerful reading of the Word, in their silence, work, fraternal life and hospitality.
Through the Divine Praise in daily life, they bring to God the clamor of His people, the cry for help from a suffering humanity, the longing for peace, all its joys and struggles. These cries are expressed in the psalms and are taken up by those who pray. For Mother Vera Lúcia, from the Mosteiro do Salvador, it is in the psalmody (the act of praying in songs, the psalms) that "we lose ourselves in God, in His mystery of love, life and death.”
The beauty of the celebration with Gregorian chant shines even brighter with the melody of the organ. Music and Liturgy touch each other. The powerful and soft sounds prepare the liturgical environment, they calm the heart for the moment, penetrating the needy souls who are thirsting for God.
The soft voices of the Benedictine nuns from the Mosteiro do Salvador echo through the church to the sound of Adeste Fideles. The verses of the prayer in the form of song, lead those present to feel that the Child Jesus is born and invite them to adore Him, because "He is the light of lights, born of the womb of Mary, true God who was begotten and not created”.
It is the Lord who speaks in the harmony of notes scattered by the incessant echo of the mystery being celebrated. It is something that brings us closer to the Divine. A sound that transports those who hear it to a profound mystical experience in the celebration of the liturgy.
Heaven and earth meet in the church inserted in the Periphery (the poor outskirts of the city). The people who go to pray there appreciate and savor the sacred song. They speak of an atmosphere of peace and quietness, as they sing with joy and respect, in praise of the Lord.
This suburb, which has a reputation for being a violent place, becomes in the monastery church, a meeting place for people who sing and praise and pray, in expectation of the Christ, the King of Kings, the King who brings peace! He who was born in a manger, to redeem human sins and still today inhabits sinful hearts!
*Text written with the collaboration of the Benedictine Nuns of the Mosteiro do Salvador.
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