Beatitude

Duration: 12 minutes. Kate Bowler shared “A blessing for when you’re different now” on her podcast Everything Happens. It was then circulated as a Facebook post which is how Graham Yates discovered it on September 11, 2022. For several months, he had been looking for lyrics for a choral composition that would invoke the biblical beatitudes (“Blessed are you…”) in response to the alarming global events of the past several years. Dr. Bowler’s words moved him to tears of grief and hope, and they continued to be cathartic throughout the compositional process. There is not a single living person who has not experienced profound, personal change recently. We are embattled, wounded, scarred and, if we’re lucky, in recovery. How do we come to terms with our changed world – our changed selves – and how do we move forward? Mr. Yates hopes these sacred words will be the balm to others that they have been to him. He is grateful to Dr. Bowler for the permission to use them.