Strike-Up the Instruments
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# STRIKE UP THE INSTRUMENTS **Inventory No. 26-032 **Scriptural Foundation: Psalm 150:3–5 (NABRE)** A summons to praise the Lord with trumpet, strings, cymbals, and every instrument of worship. Strike Up the Instruments is a meditation upon the praise of God that rises from the depths of the human heart. Its layered forms invite more than one reading: a woman turned inward in contemplation, the Cross standing at the center, the tabernacle beneath it, and the suggestion of Christ emerging at the right. Within the same composition, shapes may also be seen as a musician and an instrument. The painting holds these impressions together, as though prayer itself were becoming music. Psalm 150 brings the Psalter to its triumphant conclusion with a summons to praise God through the sound of instruments. Trumpet, harp, lyre, strings, flute, and cymbals are gathered into a great offering of thanksgiving. The psalm teaches that praise need not be confined to words alone. Breath, movement, beauty, and sound may all be offered to the Lord who gives life to every creature. Yet the music of the Christian soul begins in a deeper place: attentive silence before God. In the contemplative figure, we may recognize Mary, who pondered the mysteries of her Son in her heart. Her stillness is not opposed to praise. It is the quiet ground from which praise becomes sincere, for she teaches the believer first to receive the Word and then to magnify the Lord. At the heart of the composition stands the Cross, inseparable from the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. In the Blessed Sacrament, Catholics adore the living Christ, whose self-offering on Calvary is made sacramentally present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Before the tabernacle, silence itself becomes an act of worship. Here the music of praise is joined to thanksgiving for the gift of His enduring presence. The painting’s shifting forms remind us that sacred art need not settle every image into a single interpretation. The musician may be the praying soul; the instrument may be the heart surrendered to grace. The movement surrounding Christ suggests that heaven and earth are drawn into one hymn, as the Church on earth joins the worship of the saints and angels. Ultimately, Strike Up the Instruments calls us to offer the whole of our lives in praise. Whether through song or silence, contemplation or joyful proclamation, the purpose remains the same: to glorify God, whose love has been revealed in Jesus Christ. **When the heart turns toward Christ, even silence can become a hymn of praise.** **Deacon Rudy Calsoncin (Ret.)** Prayer On Canvas Christian Foundation © 2026 Rudy Calsoncin. All rights reserved.
