New texts by one of the great hymn writers of our day
The latest collection from this beloved poet solidifies her standing as one of the great hymn writers of our day. Marked by vivid imagery and spiritual depth, these 35 new texts display her growing mastery of the form. Reading and singing them, alone or in community, you emerge as from a sacred place, uplifted and renewed.

Set to newly composed musical settings
While the musical settings in her previous collections were drawn from traditional hymn tunes, The Listening Heart features newly composed settings inspired by these very texts. Well-known composer and fellow Benedictine Tobias Colgan wrote 23 of the settings. Other contributors include Randall DeBruyn, Paul Inwood, Craig Kingsbury and Jesuit Father Christopher Willcock.

Written in plainsong and traditional hymn styles, the 35 new tunes are outstanding additions to the repertoire. Each setting sprang from meditations on the poem it's paired with, the music reinforcing the meaning, motion and mood of the words.

Paul Inwood's setting for "Now Robed in White," for example, moves from minor chords, for the verses on martyrs "once robed in blood," to major, for the refrain celebrating their ultimate victory. The music includes choral and keyboard parts.

Hymn texts that reflect the author's own "listening heart"
The title comes from "How Blest the Listening Heart," one of Sister Geneveive's strongest texts to date. Though it refers to St. Benedict and other founders of religious communities, the image of a "listening heart" also fits the author. She, too, has a heart open to divine promptings.

Beyond praising holy ones who came before us, it's an invitation -- to all of us -- to cultivate that same quality: "How blest the listening heart attuned to hear/ The silent Voice that once Elijah heard/ Upon the mountaintop, and cloaked his face/ In awe before the beauty of the Word."

Reflects a distinctive Benedictine spirituality
Verses this sublime could only come from one who listens, one acquainted with silence, one saturated with God's word from decades of "lectio divina." In this and other ways, the collection reflects a distinctive Benedictine spirituality. Instilled with a natural musicality, these texts also show her genius for rhyme and rhythm.

Includes inspiring commentaries by the author
The book presents each hymn in the form of a poem, with Scripture references, a commentary and suggested uses on the opposite page, followed by the musical setting. Written by Sister Genevieve, the pithy commentaries expose the sources and inspiration behind the texts. Indexes include seasonal/liturgical, themes and images, metrical, scriptural, hymn tunes, first line/titles, and composer.

Great for parishes, religious communities and retreat centers
Intended for use in parish liturgies, the collection is also perfect for Liturgy of the Hours and prayer services. It will be especially welcome in religious communities, retreat centers and prayer groups. Like her previous books, it's an excellent devotional resource, both hymns and commentaries making for inspirational reading.

As a great cathedral is the Gospel in stone, so these hymns are the riches of Scripture distilled and transformed into poetry and music. Introduce them to your community!

Surname	Name
Colgan	Tobias Colgan, OSB
DeBruyn	Randall DeBruyn
Glen	Genevieve Glen, OSB
Inwood	Paul Inwood
Willcock	Christopher Willcock, SJ

"The poems are rich and varied, overflowing with detailed images. ... The poetic delights in the texts alone would recommend this collection. But there is so much more. ... Such an extensive list of scriptural references bespeaks the authors familiarity with biblical imagery and a fluency in transferring it to poetry. ... The commentaries are the feature that sets this collection apart. They are expositions in the form of a homily, bringing in additional scriptures, describing relationships or revealing inspirations ... . For all who open this book, it invokes an attitude of prayer, wherein one's voice or mind may speak, but the heart may and must listen."
--Donna Hamilton, The Hymn