Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2652756/Pope-Francis-unites-Israeli-Palestinian-presidents-prayer-plant-olive-tree-Vatican-gardens.html


Can anyone read the news about our dear Pope Francis's Prayer summit at the Vatican Gardens without getting goosebumps I wonder. His words resonate :

"Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare," he said. "It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict."

The fact that such a meeting took place in the lush Vatican gardens is noteworthy, because of its most neutral atmosphere. Who could imagine such a prayer meeting, with Jewish, Christian and Muslim prayers incorporated and delivered in English, Hebrew, Arabic and Italian tongues? That too on the day of Pentecost. We first heard of such gift of tongues and the ability to understand different languages in the first chapters of Acts of the Apostles. That too was a day of Pentecost !

The three common themes that the prayers focused on : thanking God for creation, seeking forgiveness for past wrongdoing and praying to God to bring peace to the region.
Isn't that interesting?

And what about the concluding ceremony of the event? The planting of an olive tree together as a sign of Peace.
What will be the outcome? Nobody knows. But still we can start dreaming of Peace.

The music selected as the background to the whole event too is the most appropriate. "Adagio for Strings" by the American composer Samuel Barber. It has been acclaimed as the "Saddest piece of music" and is one of the most downloaded pieces of digital music. Its soundtrack made its prominent appearance in the 1986 Oliver Stone film "Platoon" . Another film in which the beautiful effect of this music is used is the final scene of the 1980 film The Elephant Man directed by David Lynch, who once remarked," I'm surprised it's not in almost every film".
Am reminded of Shelley's words in his Ode to a Skylark :

We look before and after, And pine for what is not:  Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught;  Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. There is a book by Thomas Larson  The Saddest Music Ever Written: The Story of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings".  Read about it here: http://www.thomaslarson.com/publications/essays-and-memoirs/91-the-saddest-music-ever-written.html

Also watch these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECQeLQURNuw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bECVh1dRsZw