1. Before We Speak* Windows Media   Real Player
2. Borne by Grace Windows Media   Real Player
3. Song of the Ransomed Windows Media   Real Player
4. Lovely Love Windows Media   Real Player
5. Arise, Shine Out Windows Media   Real Player
6. Psalm of Thanksgiving
7. Accept, O God, Our Glad Thanksgiving* Windows Media   Real Player
8. Song of the Pilgrim
9. Let Justice Descend Windows Media   Real Player
10. Cry Out for Joy and Gladness* Windows Media   Real Player
11. Garment of Sorrow Windows Media   Real Player
12. Nightsong
13. Beloved City Windows Media   Real Player
    
    13 Selections
    Total Time: 51:16

This collection of contemplative songs draws its keynote from "Prayer to the Divine Tutor" by Clement of Alexandria (150-215 CE), which inspired the title song. As one of the earliest teachers of the Christian mystical way, Clement was vividly aware of being borne by grace-of being birthed and carried, bathed and swathed in the numinous field of divine energy which Christians call Holy Spirit. Likewise, mystics throughout the ages have known the experience of being borne by grace as a vibrant spiritual awakening and growth into the fullness of life.

Borne by grace, we are drawn toward the discovery of our original nature, and with it, our true birthright and our inheritance. Borne along by grace, we find ourselves on the path to our real homeland, inspired to sing in our mother-tongue ecstatic hymns of thanksgiving and praise. These are songs that have welled up within me, in response to the mystery and mercy of such blessing.

This album is a reworking of an earlier collection of some of my favorite prayers, poems, psalms, and biblical prophecies which have come to me in song, "borne by the grace of the Spirit." These compositions are enriched here by the orchestration of my musical companions, Anima Schola, and guest keyboardist Paul Avgerinos.

Anima Schola is the liturgical ensemble of the Benedictine Grange of West Redding, Connecticut. In this circle of praise we carry on the tradition of the schola cantorum-those choirs or "schools of singers" who for centuries have breathed life into worship with their vibrant song. We bear this inspiration into a new time and fresh musical idiom in service of the anima, a Latin word which holds the rich meanings of life-force, breath, spirit, soul. In harmony with the voices of the drum, woodwinds, and strings our name Anima Schola celebrates our vocation as soul singers.

Heartfelt thanks to our worship community at the Benedictine Grange, and to all our generous benefactors and supporters who share this ministry. We pray that this offering of songs, wherever they are heard or sung, may deepen and enliven our sense of being "borne by the grace of the Spirit."

-Kathleen Deignan, CND

Kathleen Deignan, CND, Ph.D., is a spiritual animator and theologian who composes songs for worship and devotion. A sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame, she is the founder of the Iona Spirituality Institute at Iona College, New Rochelle, New York, where she is Associate Professor of Religious Studies.