A Marian Gospel

Since it is true that:

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”  (John 3:16-17)
It is also true that:
The Ever-Blessed Virgin Mother so loved the world that she gave her first born Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, the Virgin Mary did not birth her Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

A Sacred Caress

Chanting the Torah, intoning the Gospel, and reciting Quran and mantras all have distinct musical characteristics. One thing that they share in common is that these sacred utterances force the reader-pray-er and listener-pray-ers to slow down and experience the sacred words at a different pace. Singing scripture is an incarnational practice. The words swim and float in the mouths we use to eat and pray, laugh and bless, curse and kiss. The sacred tropes and melodies seem to caress the sacred words so that perhaps, to sing the sacred words is to caress them and be caressed by them.