From Earworms to God’s Songs

           Have you ever had some song or fragment of one stick in your head and refuse to go away? I have, and I found out just the other day on National Public Radio that these things are common enough to have a name. Called earworms,* this radio article caught my attention because only a few days before I had been reflecting about one psalmist’s experience with musical memories.  

          In Ps.42 the writer says:  “… at night your song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” When I encountered this line, it evoked the memory that God often speaks to us at night, or in some moments of silence during the day if/when we step away from our frenetic activities. It suggested to me that these uninvited songs or other snippets taking up residence in my mind could carry insights from “the God of my life.” If I were to give them some extra attention, maybe these uninvited fragments would shed some light on my relationship with God, others, or even myself. Why this song? Why these words now? Is there something going on inside me that makes them particularly significant at this moment? 

            This Octave of Easter has brought another level of insight for me. During this time the liturgy tells stories of how the risen Christ often called individuals by name, people like Mary, Thomas, and others. Somehow these scripture texts reinforced what I’d been thinking about God’s voice in the musical or poetic fragments that sometimes inhabit my brain. They reminded me that if I pay some attention to these earworms, it’s quite possible, that like the psalmist, I may hear my own name and be called to an interior place I didn’t even know was waiting to be visited. 

            Next time you receive an earworm, try giving it some time and attention. Who knows, it might call your name and take you on an inner journey. What better time than Easter to try something new!

        Sr. Colleen Winston, OSB