I Have An Obsession

Welcome (back) to my blog dear reader! I am so glad you are here. 😄 I hope you enjoy your time here.

The summer has flown by! I can’t believe it is August already. One thing I look forward to every August is a faith and family concert festival that my diocese hosts at the seminary. Since it was a week ago Sunday I thought I would write this week’s post on my obsession/fascination/interest, whatever you want to call it, with live music.

I have loved music for as long as I can remember. My parents would listen to the radio in the car, Mom had a radio in the kitchen (still does) that she would listen to while doing dishes or cooking, and I got a tape player when I was 3. The Cedermont Kids cassette series was one of my favorites, specifically the green tape. Seriously. I can’t tell ya what it is called but it was green. I listened to music so much that I had favorite songs before I knew all the words. In fact if I did not know the words I would make them up. And to this day my family sings the wrong words to tease me.

In middle school I moved on to collecting CDs. When I was eleven, I got a portable CD player and 2 CDs for my birthday. ZOEgirl’s Different Kind of Free and the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack. Whenever I wanted to escape from the stresses of being 12, I would listen to my CDs and it was like I was transported to another world. But a couple years later my life changed even more.

When I was 14 I went to my first concert with my mom and sister. It was a Stephen Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith show. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before that point. The atmosphere was insane. The people I had listened to on the radio were right in front of me. I knew during that show that I wanted to go to another concert as soon as possible. The next summer was the first Fest I attended. During the Jeremey Camp set I realized that the feelings I had experienced before were not a one time thing.

Especially when I go to a Christian concert, the comradery I feel with the audience is incredible. I love being able to worship with the people surrounding me. The band on stage does not feel like they are above me or anyone else. They are just the ones leading the worship. The moments when the audience is singing every word and the arena/venue just rings with the sound of the many voices are some of the greatest moments that I have ever experienced.

Being able to unite in a moment with thousands of people is euphoric. It is a time when you can forget that there are things about us that make us different and focus in on the things that are the same. We all have a Creator who loves each and every one of us like we are the only human on earth. The happiness that floods over me helps me forget the negative things in the back of my mind. Even for a few hours that relief and ability to focus solely on God is only attainable for me in a few places and times.

Another reason I love attending these festivals is because it is a great reminder how much better my day goes when it is focused on God. I spend the whole day praising Him and thinking about His goodness and I am elated! So after the festival is over I have more memories of what it is like when I give the Lord the attention He deserves. Prayer is so crucial to my relationship with Him. My life should be a prayer.

Prayer is not meant to change God’s mind. It is meant to help us form a more firm relationship with Him so that we can more easily see what He wants for us. It is crucial to both pray and read the Word of God. “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” -- St. Jerome. When we read the Bible, we encounter the Holy Spirit, Who inspired the Scriptures from the beginning. That is the really cool part about songs inspired by Scripture. We are able to sing the words that have guided Christians for thousands of years.

So. If I love live music and worshiping God in a public setting, how do I manage to experience that feeling as often as possible? At least on a smaller scale, because of the building and its familiarity, I experience it during Mass. Every Sunday I am reminded of that festival feeling. The angels are having their own celebration at every Mass and it is my absolute honor and pleasure to join them. And that, is some beauty in the crazy!

☀️💙