Today’s communion anthem is a gem. Herbert Howells’, “My Eyes for Beauty Pine,” is one of those pieces that is simply divine because of its simplicity. The text is intriguing. To think that our eyes pine! When we notice something beautiful, something breathtaking – our attention is captivated, engulfed in the present moment, in awe.

When the text about love comes to a cadence in the second verse, notice how Howells creates a sharp contrast in the texture. The piece starts with a simple, unison melody. Then as it builds to the words “Love, ’tis heavenly Love,” notice how the music suddenly seems to blossom, and expand into 4-part harmony. It’s such a treat for the ears to experience a change in harmonic texture like that, isn’t it? Not only does it highlight the text, it represents what love does – it binds us together in harmony. What a neat way of drawing our attention to those deeply meaningful and beautiful words. Like our eyes pine for beauty, so does our attention pine to innocently perceive our world, without judgement or condemnation. Our attention can be drawn in by creation, we can be aware of how much splendor is all around us, and we can notice it just about anytime we choose to, and without an unnecessary opinion.   

Our eyes hunger for beauty; our ears hunger for harmony; our souls long for what we cannot see, hear, touch, taste, or smell. It’s attention that seems to be lacking, pure attention unclouded by overthinking that is the communion that we seek with the outside world.

Attention is the most valuable thing on the planet, and we give it away frivolously to things that might not be so beautiful. The so-called news, social media, and all the chatter in our skulls absorbs the purity of our attention. When we focus, without bias, our eyes, ears, and hearts are keener than we think.

Our eyes aren’t the only thing that pine. Perhaps it’s time to draw attention to something more meaningful, something more subtle, and something that even the word beauty can’t quite capture. Soli Deo Gloria!