1st Verse:
The older I get
The less shoulders get wet...
Because I've cried a lifetime
I used to hide at night time...
Until I found GOD and I tried harder
I reach for the sky but I don't want to die a Martyr...
I just want to share some words
I just want to care in this world...
My heart spills through my pen
So this art won't kill what's in my head...
I have had demons in the past and they still linger 
Trying to open my scars but these fingers...
Make the sign of the cross
Take some wine cos I'm not lost...  

I am working on a Catholic album but have 10 tracks I wanted to release in an ebook form because I thought they read like hip hop poetry rather than alternativly be released as songs. I have provided the link here for you to download for free from amazon.com. God Bless. Alex.

https://www.amazon.com/Heart-Warrior-Alexander-John-ebook/dp/B07B7M8GNH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=15209...

Just wanted to say Happy New Year's and that I am looking forward to hearing members new music in 2018. God Bless.

Find a music video of Totus Tuus at www.lumenhilare.com

The title is a Latin phrase meaning "totally thine" from the Marian consecrating prayer found in the book True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis de Montfort. This song sets the entire prayer with the addition of Ad Jesum per Mariam.  Totus Tuus was St. John Paul II's apostolic motto. He once recalled how as a young seminarian he "read and reread many times and with great spiritual profit" some writings of Saint Louis de Montfort and that: "Then I understood that I could not exclude the Lord's Mother from my life without neglecting the will of God-Trinity".​

In 1987, Henryk Górecki composed a choral piece (Totus Tuus Op. 60) to celebrate the Pope's third pilgrimage to his native Poland that summer. While the motet opens with the same words as the apostolic motto, the piece actually uses a poem by Maria Boguslawska for its text.

Totus tuus ego sum
et omnia mea tua sunt.
Accipio te in mea omnia!
Praebe mihi cor tuum, Maria.
Ad Jesum per Mariam.

I am entirely yours,
and all that I have is yours.
Be my guide in all things
O Mary, give me your heart.
To Jesus through Mary.

Artist: Lumen Hilare
Title: Totus Tuus
Genre: Gospel & Religious
Composer: Henryk Górecki

Refrain: For Ever I Will Sing the Goodness of the Lord, The Goodness of
the Lord.

1. “With my chosen one I have made a covenant; I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever and set up your throne through all ages.”

2. Happy the people who acclaim such a God, who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy ev'ry day in your name, who make your justice the source of their bliss.

3. He will say to me: "You are my father, my God, the rock who saves me!"
I will keep my love for him always; with him my covenant shall last.

Text: Psalm 89:4-5, 16-17, 27-29; © 1963, The Grail, GIA Publications, Inc, agent. Refrain translation © 1969, ICEL. Music: Marty Haugen, © 1988, 1994, GIA Publications, Inc.

Love is Patient Composed By: Margaret Hoar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMuC7nb_c9A

​
 

Hi Richard,
                   I hope you have been well along with everyone else contributing to this site. I'm just wondering how you feel about our collaborations and what we should do with what we have done and where to share them? It's good to see so people contributing here. All the best. Alex.

https://youtu.be/P_hMWckeQls

1st Verse:
I was an unhappy soul in the past
And dug myself into a deep hole fast...
That would take faith in something I didn't know-about
The grace was coming when I was down-and-out...
A presence could be felt and it couldn't be ignored
My negative life sentence was about to be cut-short
Because I saw the evil and pulled the cord to get some real life-support...
Jesus came to me and I somehow knew he was always watching
I was pleased and dark hallways were no longer an option... 

1st Verse:
The light can still shine on the darkest of days
At night there may still be crimes but we continue to pray...
The love Jesus has for us
Is so open yet at times mysterious...
The hope continues
From writing this note with open windows
My coat is always yours and I'm sure it will fit-you...
Brothers and sisters
Cousins and teachers...
We all deserve love and... 

Hip Hop lyrics by Alex were made into a Hip Hop song and a Folk-Country song. See how we did it! Richard has recorded two audio demos. See revised lyrics in Comments section. See the Comments section for the progression of lyrics and the two different song approaches. 

Love 101
Original Hip Hop lyrics by Alex:

1st Verse:
The cold weather followed me around town
But I never sold my soul even though I was mostly down...
Then I got to know the lord
That's when I knew it was time to put down my sword
That frown turned upside down and I started to adore...
Everything around me - and it seemed magical
Was I in a dream - because life became manageable...
And beyond - this must be the answer
So I put love into every song and mess around like an amateur dancer...
Because very few opinions only matter to me
Life gave me a platter when I decided to be free...
  

Please see this blog article to see how this collaboration with Asiansa09 evolved: topcatholicsongs.com/enchristment

Initially, I had imagined this song would be slow and meditative. But the Spirit made me go uptempo! Tell me what you think. Record the song and send it to me! A lead sheet with guitar chords is attached to the end of this story. Thanks, Dan (Asiansa09), for the inspiration.

5/12/17: I uploaded a revised audio demo in which I did voice pitch correction and also corrected mistakes I had made in singing the melody in verses 2 and 3.

7/20/2017: I uploaded a piano + voice score (notated sheet music) which can be downloaded free as a PDF file. See download links at end of story. Huge thanks to my music colleague André van Haren for preparing this arrangement!

9/28/2017: See the Sibelius score player below. A brand new feature of Sibelius 8.7. Thanks to André van Haren for sending me the embed code for his Sibelius engraving. Please comment below if you have questions about Sibelius or scoring/engraving in general. This song has been submitted to OCP Music for consideration. 

Enchristment

CHORUS
On my knees, I humbly pray.
I love to feel your radiance.
My heart is one with you, O Lord,
in this moment of Enchristment.

VERSE 1
My God, my Christ, you are in my heart.
I praise you, I worship you.
Your presence in this holy place
makes me want to be with you
forevermore.

VERSE 2
My God, my Christ, you are in my mind.
I pray, with Mary, for chastity.
I pray for us to receive your...