As the month of the Holy Souls draws to a close, and as we come to the end of the liturgical year, we are drawn to consider our own end – how our lives will appear in the light of eternity. The liturgical year is intertwined with the rhythm of the seasons – the fallen leaves and bare trees of November bringing to mind the “blight man was born for.”
This month, the students memorized Roddy McCorley, an old Irish folk song, that tells of a man who was hung after leading a charge in defense of his homeland. This is a song about a man who fearlessly died for what he loved, who “tread the upward way” and was “true to the last.” This song is an inspiration and cause to reflect, in the Liturgical spirit of the season, on what it means to live and die well.
One of the defining elements of a culture, for good or ill, is its music. Christian Culture, John Senior reminds us, “is the work of music in the wide sense, including as well as the tunes that are sung…” In a healthy culture, there is a musical element that cultivates a proper love for the right things.
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Please remember Saint Andrew’s Academy in your prayers!
Oh, see the fleet-foot hosts of men who speed with faces wan,
From farmstead and from fishers cot along the banks of Bann.
They come with vengeance in their eyes; too late, too late are they,
For young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
Up the narrow street he stepped, smiling, proud and young,
About the hemp-rope on his neck, the golden ringlets clung;
There was never a tear in his blue eyes, both sad and bright are they,
As young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
When he last stepped up that street, his shining pike in hand,
Behind him marched, in grim array, a stalwart earnest band.
For Antrim town! For Antrim town, he led them to the fray,
But young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.
There’s never a one of all your dead more bravely fell in fray
Than he who marches to his fate in on the brig of Toome today;
True to the last! True to the last, he treads the upwards way,
And young Roddy McCorley goes to die on the bridge of Toome today.