We Pray to Be at Peace

Missa Gaia: Mass for the Earth is a creed for our times. The form and spirit of the traditional Mass combines with words that speak of human beings' relationship to the Earth. The texts are drawn from the Bible, from Native American poets Joy Harjo and Maurice Kenny, from medieval mystic Meister Eckhart, from the Chinook Psalter and from poets M. K. Dean, Wendell Berry and Gerard Manley Hopkins.

 

"We Pray to Be at Peace" is movement II of the work, marked "II. Kyrie: Mother, Sister, Blessed, Honored" in the score. Gentle and lyrical, this two minute piece is a prayer for humility and awareness.

 

A recording of the whole mass is available for purchase with the album, Missa Gaia (Oregon Repertory Singers, Koch International Classics 3-7279-2HI), and the introit can also be found on Women of Note.