St. Louis IX Art Society to present “I Desire Mercy” Lenten chamber concert

The St. Louis IX Art Society will present a Lenten mission chamber concert at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 865 Hatchell Lane, Denham Springs, on Monday, March 18, 7 – 8:30 p.m. The event, which will feature liturgical preaching, sacred music, and Eucharistic adoration, is free and open to the public.
 
“We felt called to create a parish event that could provide a deeply contemplative experience of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament with the help of sacred music and liturgically-based preaching,” said Jordan Haddad, co-founder and president of The St. Louis IX Art Society. “Rather than put on a live concert in which those gathered would enjoy beautiful classical music for its own sake, we sought to create a space in which sacred music, like beautiful Church art and architecture, would serve the higher purpose of lifting the mind and heart to God through transcendent beauty.”
 
ICC Pastor Father Matthew Graham believes the theme, “I Desire Mercy,” modeled after Matthew 9:10-13, will promote devotion to Divine Mercy and Eucharistic Adoration. In this scripture passage, Christ says to the Pharisees who saw him sitting with the tax collectors and sinners, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

James Rosenbloom, a parish music director in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, has curated and will direct sacred music to coordinate with three short sermons. “Since this is a Lenten mission, the pieces that James has chosen and the five-person chamber concert will perform are all geared towards entering more deeply into the experience of Christ's suffering and death and the Christian experience of repentance and humility in the face of God's sacrificial love,” Haddad said. “Participants in past Lenten and Advent missions have shared that these were incredible experiences of prayer unlike anything they've experienced before outside of the Mass itself.”

The St. Louis IX Art Society is a Catholic apostolate supporting and celebrating transcendent beauty through a consortium of South Louisiana artists working through a variety of media. More information on their work and upcoming events can be found at sl9art.com.